Another fave

The Orchestre de Chambre de Paris was playing Brahms 4 at the Théâtre de Champs-Élysée and we were there. Not just Brahms, but that’s a favourite. Again, it’s one I’ve played and so it has that special awareness. Megan just knows it as a favourite from ages ago. Also Mozart 25 and Mendelssohn Piano concerto. The Mozart is a pleasure, of course, the theme from Amadeus, and done with ease by all though the quick passages and nicely balanced otherwise. Nice. The Mendelssohn solo was played by Lars Vogt, otherwise the conductor, and he led from the keyboard for various passages here, at least when not otherwise engaged. It’s a busy piece, played with intensity and nicely responded to by the orchestra with limited conducting. But the biggie was the Brahms I had swapped to front row seat so heard and watched as a orchestra member does. I knew the lines, so followed the basses, but also could take in violins and others that are otherwise less in conscious awareness while playing. So the appreciation is different. The pleasure, perhaps, is too. Great joy in hearing the snappy bass, following the bowing, enjoying principal Eckhard’s physical immersion in the music. Another bassist Fabian later mentioned that Brahms’ father was a bassist, so Brahms knew how to write for bass. I didn’t know that and it got me thinking. The orchestra is called Chamber, but it’s a decent size: 3 basses; ~50 performers, including winds and percussion. The sound is different in an old acoustic like this theatre. The upper strings were softer, the sharpness was reduced and the sound more muffled, but not at all unpleasant. And that Brahms was magic. Tight playing, fascinations with the changing passages, exhilaration with the interplays. We enjoyed it immensely. Paris looks to be a great city for music, classical of jazz.

The Orchestre de Chambre de Paris played Brahms, Mozart and Mendelssohn at the Théâtre de Champs-Élysée under Lars Vogt (conductor, piano). The bottom end comprised Eckhard Rudolph, Fabian Dahlkvist and Charlotte Henry (basses).

Little biggie

The biggie comes up soon: the Louvre. Not like it used to be. I remember yonks back seeing the Mona Lisa from a few feet with just a few people. Recently, it’s been from a distance with multitudes and selfies. Now it requires a Leonardo ticket. Presumably you need that for the others, too, so we have it. But that’s tomorrow. Today it was the Musée d’Orsay, the modern art museum, ~1850-1940? Much better than I expected and quite a buzz. Some of the most renowned impressionists which are not usually my favourites, but I got a buzz here. Sculpture, visuals, decorative arts. Recent days have been Musée de Cluny (mediaeval) and Pantheon and the c. The Pantheon was disappointing; a secular mausoleum with the graves of Rousseau, Votaire and others. Not unexpected. I had high hopes for the Musée de Cluny but it was tiny (although what little was on display was excellent), the Roman ruins were not open for inspection and the major work, and we’d already seen the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries in Sydney. The Musée des Arts et Métiers is a Scitech museum, worthy given the importance of some French science over recent centuries and Foucault’s (virtually original) pendulum.

One for my mates

This was one for my mates in Maruki and NCO. We went to the RadioFrance Auditiorium to hear the Orchestra National de France playing Rach 2. It was blissful. The theatre is a gem, obviously with great acoustics, this being the main space for a national radio broadcaster that regularly records concerts, but also intimate and comfy and close and with a large workable stage centrally located. The orchestra is full sized (8 basses, 14 first violins scaling down), the sound was clear and the basses prominent. But it was the performance, the rich dynamics that didn’t hit but puff and billow gently around you, the tempos that laid up like a rolling ball slowing to the top of a hill and falling, speeding on the other side, all with a softness and gentility that spoke romantic. Such a lovely rendition. Of course, we’ve played it twice and that is the best preparation for insinuating every line and twist. That helped. I certainly didn’t have the same pleasure from the first half, Puccini Symphonic prelude and Samuel Barber violin concerto. The playing seemed as capable, sweet, clear, neat on the most challenging passages on the Barber, and the violinist up front, quick with flashing bow and neat rising lines into the harmonics. Megan knew these and was impressed. He encored with something we didn’t recognise, more modern, more subdued and with interesting harmonic twists. But acquaintance lends love and the Rach 2 was my huge pleasure of the night. To play like that!

The Orchestre National de France under Juraj Vulčuha (conductor) and soloist Valeriy Sokolov (violin) and Sarah Nemtanu (concertmaster) performed Puccini, Barber and Rachmaninov Sumphony no.2 at the RadioFrance Auditorium in Paris.

Tuesday

It’s Tuesday, it’s Rue des Lombards and Baise Salé and it’s another jam. I guess that’s the format for early in the week because the weekends seem more formal and with cover charges. This was a jam session with reference to guitar hero John Scofield. The band was a quartet, guitar, organ, drums, percussion, with bass provided by the organ. From the top it was hot. There’s not a lot of chordal variation underlying this music, but there’s drive and heavy groove and sparkling solos and plenty of harmonically and rhythmical diversity therein. It can get a bit samey to my ears, although I’ve played this style with pleasure. And these were some great players all round. Keys laid down the organ bass and constantly twitched organ tones. Along with the percussion and drums there was real drive here. And the blues-oriented but also fusion-speedy guitar was a pleasure, also pulling his own rhythmic weight. And nice solos all round, not least form the two skin players. It’s loud but it’s virtuosic and seriously fun. There were to be jammers but I didn’t see any before I left. These were challenging chops to sit in for. Very well done.

François Constantin (percussion) invited Nenad Gajin (guitar), Fred Dupont (keys) and Loïc Pontieux (drums) to host the John Scofield jam at Baise Salé in Paris.

Famed streets

It’s strange, but one of the most odd things about being in Paris is how many street names seem familiar. Not sure why, and not sure they do to all, but they do to me. Obviously, these are street names in the centre, First Arrondisement, tourist central, but still surprising. Rue des Lombards is probably not so well known by tourists, but I returned there. It’s a jazz street. I’d been to Baiser Salé before but it was closed this night. Instead, I got to Sunside, the next-door ground floor venue of the Sunset / Sunside pairing. It was a log jam to enter, but then through to a seated area with a piano trio playing in support of a string of jazz vocalists for a vocal standards jam and to finish, the host joined her band to sing a final set. The band was sharp and interesting. There were a few sit-in pianists and one, Julia, was especially satisfying. I enjoyed the rounded toned bass played very nicely and some very nifty and inventive playing from piano. The singing was all standards at least for the jam session. The singers I caught were all women except one male. They varied and age and skill. I sat next to Florence Balouka and she did a nice latin take on Night and day. Perhaps my favourite was a young black girl (I missed most names) singing and scatting East of the sun with youthful verve and joyful chops. Then host Cecil L Recchia ended with easy, confident presence with her band of Pablo, Viktor and David. Nice.

Cecil L Recchia (vocals) with trio Pablo Campos (piano), Viktor Nyberg (bass) and David Grebil (drums) supported a vocal jam session at the Sunside jazz club in Paris. Florence Balouka was one jammer.

Unexpected additions

It was our last day in Milan and we were relaxing with an outing to the Castello Sforzesco and its museums. It’s quite a fascinating and mixed collection of museums and in the end we didn’t see it all. We did see several ancient and mediaeval collections and decorative arts and musical instruments and Leonardo and Michelangelo. I hadn’t expected either of them. The Leonardo is the roof decoration in the Salla delle Asse (Room of Wooden Boards) but it’s in terrible condition, having been painted over and much lost in restoration. But you can imagine the glory of the room’s columns appearing ass tree trunks and a complex, swirling arrangement of branches and twigs and leaves above. Stunning in concept if much less in presence. The Michelangelo, too, was a challenge. He died while making it. It’s the Pietá Rodanini, looking unfinished, long and perhaps unreal, faces unfinished, just one leg finished with polish mostly with chisel-markings evident. Very much like several statues fronting David in Firenze. Jesus’ face seemed unable to be completed given lack of stone to cut. The stretched bodies suggested an error but was likened by an overheard guide with Modigliani as evidence of Michelangelo’s early modernity. Perhaps. Certainly it’s a late work so a simple error seems unlikely. All matters for thought and further reading. Otherwise, three contrabassi were in the museum of musical instruments: a slithery flat-back with three gut strings; two with curved backs and violin shapes, one with four strings, the other with five. Plenty more instruments. Otherwise, furniture and porcelain and statuary and paintings and frescoes and furniture, mediaeval through to Canaletto and later. Archeology and Egyptiana (closed for restoration). And the areas we missed, including photography and drawings. Odd that commentary on the Net suggested 1-2 hours to visit. We took ~5 hours and ended in a rush and still missed a whole wing. But that’s our way. A nice and broad collection and even a Leonardo and a Michelangelo.

Leonardo da Vinci Salla delle Asse and Michelangelo Pietà Rodanini and lots more are in the Museums at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.