Sunburnt Suburbia

Cruise fantastique - day seven

Our last sea day and last cruise day passed in a similar relaxed pace to the day before. We rose late, breakfasted and strolled around the top-most deck. At 11 am we enjoyed a salsa class, learning a short routine that we might remember.

Learning to dance together pushes our relationship. We learn dance steps at different rates, and have different levels of mental stamina. Future consideration of dance lessons as an activity to perform together remains an open issue. Immediately after the salsa lessons I went off the play pool volley ball. Though a swimming pool with its own wave crossing to and fro does not make for long rallies, it does act as an equaliser of abilities and leaves plenty of opportunity for fun. After the volley ball Susan came up for a swim, and that led into a late lunch.

The ship's crew organise plenty of activities while the ship is at sea, with the action of the ship turning shore-based sports like volley ball, table tennis and putting into games of random fun. 

Our afternoon passed with a siesta and quiet reading in our cabin. We had to pack our bags early and that consumed some more afternoon. A final promenade and our final dinner led into one of the musical highlights of the tour.

Each of the musical acts performed in one long concert, mixing up artists across the different bands and groups. This led to some excellent performances - I particularly liked Junie and Junes performing with Hit Machine - the two women and two men singers achieved marvellous harmonies together. That was an act we could have listened to all evening.

I found out that on some occasions, my voice can carry to cause me some slight embarrassment. I was pointing out to Susan a woman passenger, an attractive blonde in her mid twenties, and wondered whether she realised that her appearance was clichéd and TV synthetic. Susan noticed that she heard me.

German songs in an English Church

Yesterday afternoon we went to a Concert of German Songs, with a few English ones mixed in for interest, at which Kate Stockwin played clarinet. It was part of a series of Classical Music Concerts raising funds for the Food Relief Centre at the Richmond Uniting Church. 

The church interior was a wonderful example of Gothic Revival style, reminding us strongly of Castle Coch and Cardiff Castle. It was colourful, spacious and had excellent acoustics. 

I enjoyed the music, more than I expected. It had an almost meditative effect, combining with the interior and sunlight to induce a reverie of places elsewhere. 

Walking in Vienna

Travelling in a bed on a night train has a romantic aura that it doesn't quite live up to. Lots of noise, poor toilets, and cheap breakfast all undermine the experience. Something to do once, but probably not twice. 

Arriving in Vienna shocked our systems. Snow lay around and the temperature stayed below freezing. After 18 degrees in ROME the previous day, the cold hit hard. We spent the day walking the city. Another gallery, though warm, didn't appeal. Vienna had at least two centuries of splendour, 18th and 19th, and was full of Baroque buildings.

Vienna started life as a Roman fort - Vindobona - at the limit of the Roman Empire. We found an excellent museum covering the Roman history, including some ruins and lots of day-to-day items. I enjoyed the museum as it rounded out our knowledge of Imperial ROME. The consistency of lifestyle and values between Empire limit and ROME itself was astounding. All the same pleasures and organisational structures could be seen in Vindobona as we saw in Pompei, and in ROME, though on a smaller scale.

After the Roman museum, we finished our walking tour of Vienna, and then wandered up to the Hofburg. This massive palace complex goes for several hundred metres, all in glorious Baroque style, and extended several times over a 200-year period.

Our special activity in Vienna was a music concert specifically programmed for tourists. It comprised all Mozart and Strauss, performed by reserve musicians for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Though the surroundings were rough, the popular classics of these composers were excellently played. We certainly were not going to get that music from any of the main Viennese orchestras that night. 

Tripod Concert

Last night we all had some fun at the Tripod concert 'Pod August Nights'. Tripod sing comedy songs using a range of musical styles and some excellent three-part harmonies. We all saw them first on an ABC variety show, but Callum of course has purchased their songs. They are good songs, hilarious, musically interesting and well sung. We all like them. So we all went to their concert. (A surprising number of 'hot girls' turned up, so maybe hope exists for the geeks of this world.)

Beauty in talent and hard work

Bryony's cello teacher, Chris Howlett, has played in the yarra trio for some years. They have steadily built a reputation as a talented, engaging piano trio. This year their touring and concert work has really taken off, so Chris has withdrawn from teaching at Bryony's school. 

On Monday Bryony and I attended one of their concerts in Melbourne. They played piano trios by Mozart, Brahms, and world premiere of Book of Departures by Greenbaum, and finished with Korngold's piano trio. I am not an avid listener of chamber music, but I have heard enough to know talent when I encounter it. They were stunning. The diversity of sound and expression they achieved engaged me - and their dynamic range showed incredible skill. 

To make a career as a performer of classical music condemns a musician to many years of hard work in an industry so steeped in nostalgia as to smell of moth balls. I enjoyed the yarra trio's efforts to bring into their performance more contemporary techniques, such as the 'wall of sound' and accenting the variation of instrument timbre possible. I enjoyed this, but I suspect the reviewer in The Age, Clive O'Connell, would have preferred a gentle lullaby, as he found it all 'a confrontational experience'. To me that expectation just plays to the stereotype of chamber music - music to which fat old men fall asleep and their wives lament lost desires. 

Michael

Playing music again

For 20 years I have wanted an electronic saxophone. I first tried one about the time Susan and I got married. Just recently I decided that I wanted to play duets with Bryony and in the church band. Playing clarinet limited me too much in the areas that I wanted to expand. Yes I could improve technique, but what I wanted was to create music on the iMac and generate a wide range of sounds. 

For that I needed an electronic saxophone, or more precisely a 'MIDI wind controller'. After some research I found that the Yamaha WX5 had a lot of respect, with many professional musicians using it. Next came searched on eBay, my preferred place to purchase unusual items. After some months and a couple of disappointments, a near new WX5 and associated music synthesiser came up for sale at a good price. I pounced quickly and everything turned out great. It arrived within a few days, and I ended up spending all Friday afternoon getting to know it. 

Things have turned out great. I am learning music that we play in church so I can join the band and looking for duets to play with Bryony. I am managing 20 minutes practice most days, which hopefully sets an example too. That 20 minutes gets me away from the computer screen and in with the family. All-in-all a good purchase after 20 years of waiting. 

Michael

To iPod or not?

Today I am tempted to buy an iPod, despite my preference to not have lots of gadgets. I used to play music from my smart-phone, but that functionality broke. I walk for 60 minutes a day during my commuting, and that is when music was important. Many other people manage without music players, but can I?
Michael

 

MSO at Myer Music Bowl

On Saturday evening the Stratford family and ourselves went to a free concert from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In the summer free concerts run regularly at the Myer Music Bowl. The low cost and informal atmosphere makes it one of our regular haunts. It is the place for a picnic and great music - part of Melbourne's fabric.
Michael

Vika & Linda are great!

An unexpected blessing of the opening of the RBG's Australian Garden was a concert from Vika and Linda. Really enjoyed seeing them live for the first time. I have enjoyed their recordings since listening to The Black Sorrows and their work with Paul Kelly, but never quite made it to a live performance. Yet another regret to add to the long list. Their singing is uplifting and their performance engaging. I will be going to hear them again.
Michael

Bollywood at the Bowl

Simultaneous with the Commonwealth Games was a festival of arts. It was a massive festival with a diverse range of performance entertainment - all of it free. Last night we went with the Bennett family and their friend Sarah to Bollywood at the Bowl. This was a concert of Indian popular music at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl. The star was Sunidhi Chauhan and she was impressive. The music was both exotic and engaging. It was impossible not to enjoy the rythyms.