I recently finished rewatching, for the second time, all seven seasons of “The West Wing” television series, when government was sane. The term, “What’s next?” is President Jed Bartlet’s signature phrase in The West Wing, used to signify moving forward, tackling the next challenge, and relentless dedication to the job. It is frequently used when finishing… Read More What’s next?
This week we have been hosting the four players of New World Recorders (Gwyn Roberts, Hélöise Degrugillier, Emily O’Brien and Rainer Beckmann) and it is a real team effort to put all the pieces together. Our Early Music Hawaii president, Scott Fikse, was in Honolulu last weekend to coordinate all the details of the service,… Read More New World Recorders — a team effort
I left Honolulu on Monday morning via ANA airlines, my first time on that carrier, and in spite of the fact that I booked my trip over three months ago, all that was left were middle seats. Still I was impressed by the outstanding service, the design of the aircraft, and fortunately, being a Star… Read More Memories of Paris in Japan?
We are at the Saintes Festival and each day, the festival office sends us a link to a PDF of the program with artist biographies and the order of music. However, what is missing are any texts or translations, so Bill Potter has taken the time to research as many lyrics as possible to compile… Read More A massive wall of sound!
Today the first concert we booked was not until 6:00 pm, so we decided to drive to La Rochelle, a seaport town about an hour away. In case you’re wondering, I am doing all the driving while Bill Potter is doing the navigating. I am absolutely terrible at reading maps so it’s better this way,… Read More A day in La Rochelle
Today we visited the Belvedere Palace, which houses a collection of 24 paintings by the exceptional painter, Gustav Klimt, Vienna’s most important artist. Klimt was a founding member of the Secession movement. According to Wikipedia, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918): His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d’art.… Read More The perfect souvenir
Tonight we went to an Austrian tavern, called a “heuriger,” where the beer and wine flowed freely, along with traditional Austrian food, and musicians played raucous but familiar music, while the people sang heartily and loudly. The musicians, a violinist and an accordionist, asked what nationality we were, which gave them a clue as to… Read More Revelry at an Austrian “heuriger”
The weather changed drastically today—rainy, cold, and “wishing I had brought warmer clothes” type of weather. It was a travel day and it seemed we spent many hours on the bus going from Lucerne to Munich. Without stopping, it should have taken us about 4-1/2 hours. The rain, however, made it possible for us to… Read More Neuschwanstein Castle
For our last day in Zürich, we decided to follow Vreni Griffith on her weekly walks around Lake Zürich to look at the colorful flower beds. Along the way we saw swans and ducks, an outdoor concert by a children’s Suzuki violin class, and an exercise class where the teacher and participants wore special attachments… Read More Last day in Zurich
The day began early at 3 am when I was awakened by rain and thunder but resulted in welcome, cooler temperatures in contrast to the hot and sticky days we’ve experienced since we’ve been here. Still, even though I woke up at 12:35 am and during the rainstorm, I was able to go back to… Read More Excursion to Rapperswil-Jona