dav Tuesday: Bach's magnificent, monumental Christmas Oratorio, one of the recurring joys of the musical year. This one was particularly special because it was performed by the Amsterdam Baroque orchestra and choir directed by none other than Ton Koopman. A quick walk through Brera to the Basilica di San Marco, long queues in the pouring… Continue reading Bach Bliss
Month: December 2019
Chili con carne
How difficult can it be to eat? In Italy, very difficult indeed. It's a cult, it's a religion, it's an obsession. They have the same maniacal attitude to food as they do their clothes . You can tell an Italian at a hundred paces anywhere in the world because how he wears his jeans is… Continue reading Chili con carne
Traumatic concert,continued..
So we listened to a Chopin piano concerto performed by Boris Petrushansky Rusian-born but naturalized Italian; after the Chopin, Prokoviev's Cinderella suite, composed for ballet. After the concert, back to the tram stop.There's a certain ferment there, what's up? A notice telling us rather tersely that there is no tram but a SUBSTITUTE. The very… Continue reading Traumatic concert,continued..
Traumatic concert
Well actually it wasn't really the concert which was traumatic: it was the journey. I started off in very thick fog and I nearly gave up and came home, thinking about the return journey, which would be late and made amongst mad drivers fuelled by god-knows-what, going out to rave.!! Then I decided to risk… Continue reading Traumatic concert
Flippant Philosophy.
I've read 'em all. The Greeks, the great mystics, the Hindu gurus, the Buddhists, the Existentialists, but the other day I came to the conclusion that the best I can do is Piglet."What day is it ?" asked Pooh. "It's today", squeaked Piglet, "my favourite day".
English that grows 