Ever since I researched the story of Joseph Haydn’s Kleinesorgelmesse which I played for the Hawaii Vocal Masterworks Festival a couple of weeks ago, I was bound and determined to seek out the town of Eisenstadt, especially since I was going to be in Vienna, 26 miles or 42 kilometers away. Today my GoAhead tour… Read More Mission to Eisenstadt
Our morning started with a little glitch in that the elevators were shut down when apparently the fire alarm must have gone off. Some in our group were therefore late coming to the bus because the stairwell doors coming down were also locked. Our guide got a little nervous since we had a timed group… Read More The enchanting city of Vienna
This weekend is the recital of my former student, Joey Fala, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kula, Maui on July 8 at 6:30 pm. This is Joey’s second recital appearance there and you won’t want to miss his concert as he weaves his magic. I say “magic,” because one needs a lot of creativity… Read More Meanwhile, back home …
Last night we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Danube river, an “extra” tour made available by our tour director Paul. I’m so glad I went! It was almost magical as the illuminated buildings and bridges seemed to come alive. Paul told us none of the buildings and bridges were lit during the Communist era,… Read More Last day in Hungary
Today we visited many statues and memorials devoted to the Nazi and Soviet occupation of Hungary pre-1989. Even though technically the Iron Curtain was a border between countries and not between sections of Budapest, our visit started from across the Parliament building which still shows the bullets made by police shooting at the crowd… Read More A walk behind the Iron Curtain
In spite of being awake since 12:30 am last night, I managed to get through a busy day which began with a Budapest city tour. Boy, was I shocked at the end of the day when I opened up the Health app on my phone! See the first entry: Flights climbed 24 floors! I know… Read More Going vertical
I am terrible at math but I think I calculated that it has taken me 38 hours to get from Honolulu to Budapest. On Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm, Joey Fala’s parents were gracious enough to take me to the airport and in exchange, I gave them the keys to my life: my condo, my… Read More It’s a l-o-o-o-n-g way to Budapest!
The last few days I have been preparing for my month-long sojourn in Europe which begins on Saturday, and in fact, I started packing and re-packing my suitcase about a week ago. I’m trying to take as little as possible, bearing in mind that I’ll be away from home and a washing machine for 30 days.… Read More Five countries, five currencies!
All week long, director Tim Carney was encouraging the choristers to invite their friends to the Hawaii Vocal Masterworks Festival concert on Sunday. “We lost our graphic designer which means no postcards were sent out.” I did see a number of Facebook posts about the June 25th concert from the soloists, Jennifer Lane, Naomi Castro and… Read More Sellout for Dido and Aeneas!
There will be one moment in tomorrow’s Thirteenth Annual Hawaii Vocal Masterworks Festival concert where I’ll get a chance to “shine” (either that, or be a flop!), and that is in the Benedictus movement of Haydn’s Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, nicknamed “The Little Organ Mass.” The work was written about 1775 for the Convent Church… Read More The Haydn little organ