Cervo Chamber Music 2015 - A Record Year

 

R. Schumann - String Quartet in A min, Op. 41, No. 1

This year's Cervo Chamber Music festival has reached the highest peak of success, thanks to the presence of local officials, enthusiastic audiences and favourable articles in the press.

Stefano Delfino wrote in his review in La Stampa about “intense evenings” of “quality music performed by an ensemble of young and promising artists from various countries”.




J. Haydn - String Quartet in G maj. Op. 76, No. 1

Great satisfaction for all those involved - musicians, organisers, private sponsors and public of this fourth edition, which has included a rigourously classical programme, with no excursus into the modern: Haydn, Boccherini, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms, with the unexpected final encore, a very moving transcription for strings by the excellent violist Nicholas Bootiman of “Crucifixus”, by Antonio Lotti.

 

A. Lotti - "Crucifixus" a 8 voci - Transcription for strings by N. Bootiman

 

The newly acquired Serbian violinist Bogdan Božović gave everyone great emotions with his passionate interpretation, and all musicians gave their best in very convincing performances.

The other two violinists were the American Laura Lutzke, a welcome "veteran" since the first edition in 2102, and the Dutch Lonneke van Straalen, who joined the ensemble in 2014 for a New Year concert. They are both first-class performers.

The other viola was played by the excellent Canadian Carolyn Blackwell, also a "veteran", who has never missed an appointment and is a beloved of the Cervo audiences.

One of the two remarkable cellists was James Barralet, who also organises a chamber music festival in Whittington, England and who has always attended the Cervo dates.

 

S. Callaghan

 

Another novelty was the presence of a pianist: Simon Callaghan's exquisite, miraculous touch on the keyboard cancelled the shortcomings of a baby grand that had seen better days. Barralet and Callaghan often play together and have even made a CD as a duo.

 

K. Bredenhorst, S. Callaghan

Karel Bredenhorst is both the mastermind and the artistic director of Cervo Chamber Music, beside being an enthralling cellist whose interests span from classical music to tango (he also plays the bandoneon) and who has been around the world to follow his interests, performing sometimes as a musician, sometimes as a dancer. His volcanic activities includes playing for elementary school classes, for homebound elderly people, improvising street concerts and performing on the electric cello as "The GoOzer" in pubs.

All are professional musicians playing in international orchestras and chamber ensembles or performing as soloists.

Thank you all: Laura, Bogdan, Lonneke, Carolyn, Nicholas, James, Simon and Karel for the great joy your music brings.

L. Lutzke, B. Bozovic, L. van Straalen, C. Blackwell, N. Bootiman, J. Barralet, K. Bredenhorst

© DaniBlue

10^th June 2015

A Birthday Trip (Cities, Islands and Music) - Part Three: Busseto

 

I was born and raised in the city but converted to country life. The turning point came after experiences of living in numerous places – cities, small towns and countryside in Italy, England, France, Germany and Israel.

Although I don’t feel any particular roots, I have happily settled down – for the time being – in an idyllic place in the Italian country, trying to be an olive farmer and quite enjoying it.

It’s a very tranquil life that follows nature’s slow rhythms.  No stress. Sometimes I feel I long for a little stress, so I visit a city. This I do on the occasion of the birthdays of my partner or mine, and this year was no exception: Venice was in the agenda. However, we added two extra destinations, a smaller town (Cremona) and a tiny hamlet in the Po valley (Roncole di Busseto). A theme links all three: classical music. Cremona is the cradle of violin making, Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice and Busseto was the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi.

Verdi, the “Swan of Busseto” was actually born in Roncole in a modest house, now a tourist destination. The plaque commemorates the restoration of Verdi's birthplace by the Pallavicino family in 1872 to preserve it for posterity. The house was closed when we got there, but from the outside it looked very well maintained and not really the "humble dwelling" the plaque mentions.

 

 

Our bed and breakfast was just a few hundred metres away from it, in the deep countryside. It was a very pleasant and relaxing place surrounded by a mature garden full of lovely trees. The welcome we received was typical of this warm-hearted region, kind and pleasantly informal.

Our room was airy and tastefully decorated and the kind landlady lent us two bikes with which we toured the countryside, reached the town centre, came back and a very enjoyable ride it was, too.

 

 

 

The landscape is rural and quaint, completely relaxing; there are numerous pedestrian and cycle paths cutting across fields and alongside ditches. The modern era has stopped many kilometres from here; the only sounds are those of nature, birdsong and cattle lowing from their sheds. It is the perfect place to detox from city stress – ideal after the Venetian hangover.

 

 

 



In addition to his birthplace, there are other places to visit in the Verdi pilgrimage. Villa Verdi was the mansion where the composer lived in his later years, still inhabited by his heirs but partly viewable. Then there are the Verdi Theatre and the Verdi Museum in the head town.

 

 

 

The museum was opened in 2009 in Villa Pallavicino, a stately mansion dating from the 16th c., surrounded by a water moat and majestic grounds.

The rooms are decorated according to the Italian Romantic period, with heavy brocade curtains and upholstery, reproductions of Francesco Hayez's beautiful portraits and arias from Verdi's opera constantly playing in the background. In a few rooms are drafts of the set designs for a number of operas.

A few original costumes worn by world famous tenors and sopranos are also on display. On the middle floor there is also an auditorium.

 

 

 

 

 

Parma with its district is the capital of the Italian gastronomy and we asked our landlady to address us to a local restaurant. She couldn't go wrong. It is called Le Roncole, the same name as the hamlet.

 

 

It immediately struck us with its very genuine, cordial Emilian atmosphere and with numerous patrons apparently enjoying their meal with great gusto.

We had two starters: a "Parmesan ice-cream" (not really frozen, but very original) and a classic platter of "Culatello di zibello" (locally produced raw ham). We then ordered ham ravioli and stewed rabbit in a herb sauce, both delicious. For desserts, we had "Sbrisolona" (a crumbly pie) and a semifreddo of the house.
We drank red house wine with our main courses and sweet malvasia with the desserts. The overall quality of the meal was stellar, but everything was so economic compared with Venice!

 

© DaniBlue

 11^th May 2015

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

A Birthday Trip (Cities, Islands and Music) – Part One: Cremona

 

Our personal tradition is to visit a city or an island to celebrate our birthdays. In 2015 we have done both on the same trip. Not one, but TWO cities, and not an island, but the Venetian group of islands. And the whole is tied up with the common thread of music.

We started off in Cremona, known worldwide for its violin makers (Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati etc.), but rich in many other treasures as well. First and foremost its gorgeous Cathedral square, Piazza Duomo, a wide quadrangle around which stand three impressive landmarks: the Duomo, Torrazzo and the Baptistery.

The Duomo has a magnificent pink and white marble façade in exquisite Romanesque style; construction began in the early 12^th c. and continued till the end of the century. Later additions were made in various periods – Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Two large stylised lions are crouching on either side of the narthex (lobby). They attract in particular children, who enjoy straddling them, and people taking selfies.

To the left of the cathedral rises the “Torrazzo” bell tower. It is the tallest and oldest bell tower made of brickwork still standing. The building dates from the 13^th c. and is approximately 112 m high. It is possible to climb the 504 steps to the top for a fee. On the front of Torrazzo is a large astronomical clock representing the constellations built in the 16^th c. (I have found it impossible to tell the time or even the date…).

The third important architectural gem is the Baptistery, to the right of the cathedral. It is built on an octagonal plan and some of its eight sides are bare brick whilst the others are covered in pinkish-white marble, just like the nearby Duomo.

The piazza, like most of the historical town centre, is a pedestrian precinct, but it fills up with visitors on weekends, making it very lively.

 

Cremona is famous throughout the world for being the cradle of violin making, the best known historical makers being Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati; indeed there are scores of luthier workshops in town, many of whom with foreign names, and all the shop windows are fascinating.

 

As you would expect, there is also a Violin Museum www.museodelviolino.org , a large structure with thousands of priceless exhibits, interactive displays, an auditorium and a number of seminars being held all year round. You have the opportunity to hear the voices of some of the most precious pieces being played by great artists. The museum features not only violins, but violas, cellos and contrabasses as well. Bizarrely, this wonderful structure is housed in one of Cremona’s least appealing, but most functional, buildings, with a modern sculpture park in front.

Beside musicians and art historians, Cremona is a pole of attraction for gourmets as well. The gastronomy in the Po valley is an important form of culture based on a rich, sophisticated cuisine, with dishes of filled pastas covered in creamy sauces, fantastic air-cured hams, tasty mature cheeses and mouth watering desserts.

Two of Cremona’s best known specialties are “mostarda”, a brightly coloured sweet and sour fruit pickle, and “torrone”, an almond and honey nougat that can be plain or covered in plain, milk or white chocolate, often violin-shaped. There are dozens of excellent restaurants, and we were lucky enough to try one of the best, called – would you ever guess – Il Violino.

(Continues to Part Two: Venice)

DaniBlue
9th May 2015

"Look for the Solution in Yourself"

With these words Daniel Barenboim summarised the message of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony before directing the performance of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at the BBC Proms in 2012.

The wonder of the Choral repeats itself once more under his baton, even more wondrous this time, for the presence of over a hundred artists from Israel, Palestine and other middle-eastern countries, jointly with the 200+ elements of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and four fabulous soloists, all of whom represent the perfect harmony Beethoven had intended when he put the verses of Schiller’s poem about universal brother- and sisterhood into music, in the years of his tragic deafness, but maintaining  his prodigious sense of hearing within himself .




Ludwig van Beethoven

 

Barenboim conducts with unusual inspiration and flare, combining force, rigour, levity and tenderness, like a loving father educating his children. Those attractive, concentrated young faces portray indeed universal harmony and love of one’s neighbour, merging their notes with those of the artists sitting next to them, and represent the invaluable prize of joint efforts towards a common cause. While their mates in the Middle East are brandishing submachine guns, hurling stones at each other or wearing explosive-filled belts, attempting to take as many “enemy” lives as possible in their perverse quest for glory, these young women and men use their bows, mallets and instruments to achieve the real glory, one that is the cause and the ultimate end of Joy.

Two men with a vision who could translate their dream into reality, Daniel Barenboim and the late American-Palestinian intellectual Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan in 1999, and this is perhaps the first instance of peace in war. Music doesn’t kill; it is the universal language more than any other and promotes hope and love.

I know it is long, but I would like you to watch and listen to this video of Beethoven’s masterpiece, to me the absolute pinnacle of all forms of art; I promise you a unique experience. This highly symbolic event has really filled my soul with beauty, hope and joy.