This evening, still raining. One of my favourite directors, Claus Peter Flor, directing one of my favourite pieces, Beethoven's Concerto for violin in Re maggiore op.61.This is a mind -blowing classical music experience, one of those which made me decide classical music was my scene. Certain parts of it cause me the Stendhal syndrome, I… Continue reading Funny day: continued.
Month: November 2019
Funny Day
Now you're probably asking: funny/ strange or funny /haha .Well maybe a bit of both. I decided to have a totally me- day after a very hard week's work. So hairdresser in the morning, rain, and the yearly Christmas visit to Agribrianza for their mega seasonal spectacular! I don't know how those poor people stand… Continue reading Funny Day
Time to kill.
Today I had to kill time in a rather squallid part of Sesto San Giovanni. An area seemingly lacking in everything except mechanics ,funeral homes and Chinese emporia full of tacky Christmas plastic. I found a spartan bar manned by two ladies (then maybe womanned ?) from Eastern Europe. One of them was having fun… Continue reading Time to kill.
From the Darkness to the Light
mde An interesting title, an interesting concert. Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", who doesn't remember the Witches Sabbath in Walt Disney's Fantasia? Probably based on Slavic folk legends concerning the summer solstice on St John's Eve...or was it? Some believe that it relates to the composer's stay in Italy. Mussorgsky was inspired by the folk… Continue reading From the Darkness to the Light
Idiomatic advice to myself
Well it's time to get my act together. It's getting harder by the minute to write this blog, yes it's an uphill struggle, maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew because I've certainly got my work cut out .I'm beginning to feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders dragging me down! My… Continue reading Idiomatic advice to myself
Giulio Cesare in Egitto ( Julius Caesar in Eygypt)
Monday evening at La Scala they put on a performance of Haendel's "Julius Caesar in Egypt", rare in Italy but popular in the rest of Europe,and unsurprisingly so , being such a perfect fusion of dramatic action and musical inventivity. Companies tend no longer to meddle with casting, the days they substituted the counter tenors… Continue reading Giulio Cesare in Egitto ( Julius Caesar in Eygypt)
Nordic Walking
My friend Catherine in a valiant but probably doomed attempt to keep us both fit invited me to go to try nordic walking. Luckily the day we were supposed to try, it rained so we had a week's grace, Unfortunately the next Sunday we woke up bright and early because we had put the clocks… Continue reading Nordic Walking
English that grows 