More Germany and Vienna

Munich is a large city in the southern part of Germany. We noticed the ethnic diversity right away. There are a lot of restaurants, five and six-story buildings, and bikes you should keep an eye on. Lisa would have a run-in with one, but recovered nicely. We started off with some great Indian food. We would return the next day for the buffet. Equally impressive! Our accommodations were at a hotel across the street from a cemetery, so it was quiet enough. The train station was also close by which helped us get around easily.

Though we had been up early and on the train for a while, we were excited to hear the Munich Philharmonic with Paavo Jarvi conducting and violin soloist Joshua Bell. Jarvi and Lisa were in school together and like most of the conductors we’ve seen, he looks much the same. Maybe all that flailing around helps keep a conductor young! The program included Nielsen’s Masquerade Overture, the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Stravinsky’s Scherzo Fantastique and the Symphony No. 1 by Shostakovich. Joshua Bell was really fabulous. He makes it look so easy, though it couldn’t possibly be. His bow arm becomes a blur in some of the technical passages and as always, he sings in the most expressive manner. We really enjoyed the musicians Herman van Kogelenberg on his wooden flute and cellist Michael Hell. The string playing was full of energy.

Neuschwanstein Castle

On our second day in Munich, we took a train and a bus to the Bavarian Alps to see the great castles of King Ludwig II. King Ludwig II was close friends with Richard Wagner and many scenes from the Ring Cycle are painted on the castle walls. Walt Disney was undoubtedly inspired when he saw the Neuschwanstein Castle on the edge of the Alps. Its fairy tale appearance would remind this southern Californian of boyhood trips to Magic Mountain and Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland. Large tour groups would enjoy a beautiful day with us. King Ludwig must have been in good shape. The two castles we toured are very tall and there are a lot of stairs!

François Leleux’s oboe class

By chance, I stumbled upon the announcement of an oboe class recital at the Munich Hochschule , where Professor François Leleux teaches. Mr. Leleux is recognized by many to be one of the great oboe players of our day. It might not be possible to hear him play during our time in Europe, but maybe hearing nine of his students would be the next best thing! We found the school and met with François before and after the recital. He was most gracious. His nine students played with terrific musical expression. Even the flute player (Lisa) I was sitting next to was impressed. It was easy to imagine all the young oboists would have careers in music. François thought one student in particular might have a solo career.

Trains in Germany usually run on time. People use them and they’re generally clean and smooth running. These things don’t matter much when they suddenly go on strike! This would affect many travelers on our long trip back to Berlin. Fortunately, Lisa managed to get us on one of the few trains leaving Munich. We made a switch in Hannover and got to Berlin before sundown. Our new hotel in Berlin was pretty bad, but we enjoyed a Croatian meal right next door.

We spent much of the next day at Potsdam, home to Frederick the Great and at times Johann Joachim Quantz and C.P.E. Bach. Between the three of them, the flute went mainstream! King Frederick and his teacher, Quantz, performed regularly in this terrifically ornate palace. The rococo style is especially celebrated. This was a King who loved the arts and ruled his Prussian Empire for 46 years. The keyboard and flute that were used by Bach and Frederick were on display. They looked to be in excellent condition.

Berlin Philharmonic

We returned to Berlin to hear the Berlin Philharmonic again. The program featured a new trumpet concerto by H.K. Gruber and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Andris Nelsons conducted. The Mahler showed why the Berlin Philharmonic is such a great orchestra! It’s ranks were enlarged. Maybe having 30 violins can make a difference, but we’ve heard this orchestra sound amazing when there were only 18. In a couple of concerts we’ve heard, the orchestra was without either of their principal oboists and in the Mahler, without either one of their principal flutists. What seems to be apparent is the playing in the string sections. If you pay attention to the violins, you notice that their bows go the same direction, they use the same part of the bow, they use the same amount of bow, their left hands are synchronized, their use of vibrato matches, note lengths match, silences match and even the sway of their bodies match. There is a sense of fearlessness! It’s as though they are hugely prepared and have something to prove! You notice all this from the first stand to the last!

We returned to Leipzig in hopes of hearing the Gewandhaus Orchestra with David Zinman. Unfortunately, Zinman was sick. His young replacement, Omer Meir Wellber, led the orchestra in Haydn’s Symphony No. 87, a Dutilleux Cello Concerto and Schubert’s 4th Symphony. Our view was obstructed and I took advantage of that and enjoyed just listening. The cello soloist was Truis Mork and he was excellent. The orchestra played with precision. The conductor was more of a distraction.

The train strike ended in time for us to get to Vienna as scheduled. Our place is on a quieter street not too far from the cultural center of the city. It’s not uncommon to run into a statue of Mozart or Brahms or see their name on a menu. All the great composers from the past lived in Vienna or spent considerable time here. It’s a beautiful city with impressive buildings at every turn.

Mozart statue in Vienna

We heard the Vienna Philharmonic play an 11:00am concert with Ricardo Muti conducting. We had seen Muti in Berlin, so we were excited to see how things would go with a different orchestra. He conducted the same two first half pieces, Schubert’s Overture in the Italian Style and Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony. Our seats were behind the tympani and last two rows of first violins. My seat was such that I was able to stand for most of the performance. It was interesting to see the tympani player in action. In the first piece his sticks were two pieces of wood without felt or anything to soften the sound. It seemed more like the butt end of a set of snare drum sticks. Regardless, he controlled them to perfection. The wind playing was truly spectacular. The flute and oboe were so in tune, so of one mind, the horn solos just glorious. The Brahms 2nd Symphony seemed like it was another one of the thousands of pieces that audiences heard first in Vienna and have continued to love for more than 100 years. The applause and shouts of “Bravo!” for Muti continued for several minutes, even after we left our seats! We said hello and bravo to the principal flutist as we exited the hall.

Musikverein

We returned to the Musikverein for an evening performance of the Webern Symphony Orchestra with Christoph Eschenbach conducting. There is a lot to notice about the hall, it’s acoustics, the busts of famous composers, the artwork on the ceiling, etc. But I pointed out the ten glass chandeliers to Lisa. They all are shaped like the bell of an oboe! This student orchestra played Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6. There were many good things and the students enjoyed their time in the spotlight. A clear cool night made it nice to walk back to our apartment.

Tonight it’s Rossini’s “Italian Girl in Algiers”. It should be a fun send-off, for tomorrow at this time, we’ll be in Italy! Now, how fluent in Italian can I get before we get to Venice? Stay tuned!

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Germany

Europe has a lot more cafés, cobblestones and graffiti than the U.S., but one thing that can be hard to find is a restroom. In the Brussels train station there must be about 25 track lines, but a men’s room? Only one! And trying to find it was a challenge while waiting for our train to Bonn. The answer? Hop on another train and hope it has a restroom and it doesn’t leave too soon. Such was the scenario on the way to German soil. Fortunately, I successfully completed my mission. Otherwise I’d be writing this blog entry from Paris and as beautiful as Paris is in the springtime, we have non-refundable tickets for hotels and concerts and Lisa probably wasn’t interested in going alone!

Beethoven’s birth house

Bonn, Germany is, of course, the birthplace of Beethoven. It’s a beautiful old and new city. Substantial car-free zones dominate areas close to Beethoven’s house. Many people enjoy walking along the shops and restaurants and along the Rhine River. We did too. The Beethoven museum was really special and Lisa and I enjoyed the listening library where everything he was known to compose has been recorded. I listened to his two trios for two oboes and English Horn. On the recording was Heinz Holliger, perhaps the most famous oboe player of the 20th century. If I’m lucky, we may get to meet him in Basel, Switzerland next month. Thierry Fischer has introduced me to his secretary. In this business, sometimes it helps to know the right people! Bonn is also a college town and students were out in force during our visit. A huge lawn several football fields long was the the site of young people playing frisbee, soccer, lacrosse, etc. Several were trying their luck on a tightrope that had been strung up between two trees. It was nice to be enjoying 70F weather and the students must have thought the same thing. The monument of Beethoven and the church where he spent his early years is close by and in excellent condition.

Bob and Beethoven

Eisenach was the next stop on our “musical journey” and Lisa would later say that it also seemed like a pilgrimage. We spent long hours in the Bach home and museum. One of the staff members gave a terrific demonstration on the five keyboard instruments that Bach would have used during his lifetime. One was a pump organ that required a teenage assistant. We loved the sound of the harpsichord and clavichord. It was also nice to read that one of Bach’s favorite instruments was the oboe. The Bach family lasted for generations as a musical influence. Their large three-story house was active with the collecting of instruments, the writing out of instrumental parts for any number of religious musical offerings, private lessons, practicing, etc. J. S. Bach was also a father twenty times, so all those kids must have been a challenge.

Bach’s birth house

Dresden has to win the award for the “Most Improved” city in Germany. The Allied bombing in February of 1945 destroyed almost everything, but the rebuilding gives credence to the city’s nickname, “The Florence on the Elbe”. Statues of composers like Karl Maria von Weber, Felix Mendelssohn and Richard Strauss were easy to notice and the most amazing mural adorns the side of the old palace, home to kings for centuries. We heard the Dresden Philharmonic play a very dark Prokofiev Symphony #3 and Stravinsky’s “Firebird”. The principal harpist, Xavier de Maistre, who went to school at Julliard also played the Gliere Harp Concerto. We went to see “Tosca” on our second night in Dresden. The tenor, Andeka Gorrotxategi, was fabulous and the solo clarinet and cello near the end of the opera equally good. Unfortunately, the musicians names were left out of the program.

Inside Dresden Semperoper

In Dresden, and later in Leipzig, we would witness marches or speeches condemning the neo-Nazi groups in Germany. The country is very sensitive to allowing that to happen again!
Leipzig is another beautiful German city. We had a great flat for three days not far from the St. Thomas Church where J. S. Bach spent much of his adult life. We visited the church and museum and took a great self-guided walking tour to see Mendelssohn’s house and museum, the Schumann house and other sites related to Grieg, Wagner and Mahler. We tried to get tickets for a Lang Lang piano recital, but tickets prices were about $120 a piece. We declined. However, we did hear the Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Herbert Blomstedt. They performed Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony and Schumann’s 3rd Symphony. Blomstedt is 87 years old, tall, lean and with big hands. He doesn’t use a baton. He has a full head of silver hair, bushy eyebrows, wire-rimmed glasses and he likes to wear his pants high. He still loves the music and the players responded to his energy. Sadly, the players names were not mentioned in the program. The music-making was exceptional and the collaborative effort extremely apparent. It was fun to be a part of this sold-out concert.

Evening at the Gewandhaus

We went to a great instrument museum in Leipzig. It contained some wonderful old instruments, including the first fortepiano built in 1726. The audio guide let us hear these instruments being played. You could hear the change from the harpsichord to this new piano. The evolution of the oboe was fascinating to me too. Little by little more and more keys found their way onto the oboe, but I still wonder…..has it made it any easier? I might get my answer when we go to Basel. I’m meeting up with a baroque oboe maker and trying out new baroque oboes. That’s my idea of fun!

The next morning we went to a children’s concert billed as “Peter and the Wolf”. A woodwind quintet from the Gewandhaus Orchestra supplied the reduced version. Even with German narration it was entertaining.

Musical Instrument Museum, Leipzig

Berlin is a much different city than 25 years ago. We’re staying at a nice hotel not far from the Tiergarten and the Philharmonie. We’d take advantage of both before the weekend was through.
Ricardo Muti conducted the Berlin Philharmonic on our first night in town and our seats were in the front row! I sat about ten feet from the spectacular first stand of basses and the fourth stand of violas. They were probably the norm! Lisa and I knew Muti’s conducting while he was music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, so this was fun for us. The program included Schubert’s “Italian” Overture, Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 and “Aus Italien” by Richard Strauss. The orchestra was excellent in every way! A young woman was playing 1st oboe and sounded superb. Her name was not mentioned in the program. I’m going to try and find out her identity.

Front Row at the Berlin Philharmonic

We heard the German Symphony Orchestra of Berlin conducted by Kent Nagano. The main piece was Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. The horn playing of Paolo Mendes was a stand-out.

On our last day (for now) in Berlin we went to the greatest of instrument museums and two recitals. The first was a group from Italy called “La Morra”. This three-person ensemble played Italian music from the 15th and 16th centuries. One woman played two recorders (not at the same time!) and clavichord. Another woman played the viola d’arco and had the most beautiful singing voice. They were most accomplished. We also heard a group called Concerto Melante performing on historical instruments. The music came from the 1700s and included a piece Wolfgang A. Mozart would have composed as a young boy. The musicians were outstanding. It was something special to hear a flute and an oboe from that time period. Their sounds were unique. We’re both wondering….. Shall we get one of each?

La Morra

Next stop? Munich.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

London

I.

The London Eye

London is big, it’s old, and it’s a place my older brother has called home for more than 45 years. Lee went to the Royal College of Music and continues to be involved as clarinetist and librarian for several different groups. His wife, Mary, has had a distinguished career as a cellist and continues to play with the string quartet, Fiori Bianchi. Their home, not far from the Balham underground stop, is filled with things musical and artistic. Old radiators make their gurgling noises and help keep the house warm. Mary’s pottery can be seen in most every room of the house. Their English garden is beautiful and home to several happy birds whose songs help us begin each new day. For more than two weeks it will be home.

With many major and minor orchestras, the theatre, relatives and sights to see, our schedule would be busy. And then we have to find time to enjoy Lee’s cooking or a favorite restaurant. The temperatures are still cool in March and April and I’m glad I brought a coat with a hood. Even if it doesn’t rain, there’s always the threat . We use what are called “Oyster” cards to travel by the underground, train or bus. In certain places, at certain times, the mass of people can mean you don’t get a seat. “Sorry!” is the more common expression when bumping into others. We’re getting to know the Northern Line, making sure we stand on the right on the escalator and when the buses run late.

Lisa with Rachel Brown

One of Lisa’s projects for the year is to study baroque performance practices. Coming to London made it possible to work with one of the greats, Rachel Brown. Rachel’s expertise and energy has made this musical language come to life in ensembles like Collegium Musicum 90, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Kings Consort, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and many others. Lisa’s two-hour plus lessons filled her with excitement about music as a kind of speech and the element of dance that formed the basis of so much early music.

We went to Waterloo and the Southbank to hear the London Philharmonic Orchestra play twice. Their Mozart Symphony No. 36 made a huge impression. Their performance was complete with excellent ensemble and beautiful dynamic phrasing. The violin sections seem especially virtuosic. With five competing orchestras in London and the threat of that number being reduced, every performance must have energy and “something to say”. This orchestra was good at saying it! We also enjoyed Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, a new concerto for 4 horns by James Horner and “Sheherazade” by Rimsky-Korsakov. A young Russian pianist, Dmitry Mayboroda, made a splash with the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1. He wasn’t shy about playing three encores too!

Billy Elliot musical

Lisa and I enjoyed seeing the musical “Billy Elliot” and the play/musical “Shakespeare in Love”. The West End was packed with theatergoers and busy restaurants. There are also signs, “This area is known for pickpockets”. I moved my wallet to a front pocket. During the week we noticed the theaters and halls allowed people to bring chips, ice cream and wine back to their seats. I’m not especially keen on someone munching a bag of Doritos during one of my performances.

The four us enjoyed a nice trip down the Thames River to Greenwich. The Trinity College of Music is there along with the Royal Naval Academy. The observatory is a popular place for tourists and we could be in a spot where one foot was in the western hemisphere and the other in the Eastern hemisphere. We ate fish and chips for lunch. It wouldn’t be the last time!

We saw a terrific show on the history and recreation of the first performance (in Prague) of Mozart’s “ Don Giovanni”. In the month ahead we’ll get to see that exact spot where Mozart conducted the orchestra. A plaque designates that spot. The hall still stands and is still used by the people of Prague.

The London Sinfonietta with, Thierry Fischer conducting, played at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on March 28th. We met before the concert for tea. After an exhausting Pierre Boulez program a week earlier, Thierry seemed especially relaxed and personable. He got us tickets and would introduce us to one of England’s pre-eminent flutists, Michael Cox. The crowd was large and appreciative. The all-modern program was typical of this orchestra. The review the next day would call it an “excellent performance”. From the audience, Thierry’s conducting seemed clear and helpful especially considering the complexity of these late 20th and21st century works. The audience brought him back three times.

Thierry Fischer, flutist Michael Cox

Lisa joined Mary and the other three members of the Fioiri Bianchi String Quartet for an evening of flute quartets and quintets. The members of the quartet have all played for royalty and with the leading orchestras of London. Joan Atherton was even one of the musicians in the London Sinfonietta concert we had just heard. However, it’s not as much about the music as the food, and Lee has a reputation for never making the same thing twice! He made some delicious Indian food that everyone loved!. I was the sous chef. It was a lot of fun.

Quintets with the girls

We had some great meals at a dim sum restaurant, a neighborhood pho restaurant and a Lebanese restaurant. Mary’s daughter Susie, grandson Alfie and son-in-law Philip joined us for a plum chicken dinner. Susie helps manage the career of conductors like Thierry Fischer, and Philip is an acoustical engineer. He’s helped build concert halls in Glasgow, London, Norway and Egypt, to name a few. We became a little more familiar with the science of sound. Alfie was entertaining us with tales of British humor. He spent the night.

I spent part of an afternoon trying new oboes at the Howarth Oboes store. They’re getting better and the temptation to go further into debt is great. After time trying oboes in Los Angeles, Paris and London, I feel the need to take stock. After all, a new oboe is tax deductible!

We heard the Royal Philharmonic play an all-Beethoven concert at Cadogan Hall. Of the four principal winds, only one was a regular. A player switching between orchestras is a common occurrence in London. Principal clarinetist Katherine Lacy and guest principal bassoonist Joseph Sanchis were two of the stand-outs. The program featured Beethoven’s 2nd and 4th symphonies and the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 with Freddy Kempf. Mr. Kempf was spectacular. You could see why he was a prize winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition.

Handel House

We enjoyed visits to the Handel House and Westminster Abbey. Handel lived for more than 30 years at this home on Brook Street and is buried in Westminster Abbey. The house has been renovated beautifully. Replicas of his harpsichords are present (one of which he spent the four weeks composing “The Messiah”), along with the paintings he would have displayed. Though his roots were German, Handel was known as “a Londoner”. A plaque identifies the Handel House, but in a strange example of contrast, next door is a plaque identifying the house of Jimi Hendrix. They would have been neighbors except for 200 years of time. Westminster Abbey can be overwhelming. Besides Handel, grave sights, plaques and dedications can be seen for composers like Purcell, Vaughn Williams, Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, William Walton, people like Isaac Newton, Robert Browning, Winston Churchill and kings and queens going back more than 800 years. Our limited American history pales in comparison, as does the family and political intrigue of royal succession. The enormous church, surrounding churches, Big Ben, the Eye, Parliament, etc. are good backdrops for a lot of picture-taking.

Westminster Abbey

Lisa and I enjoyed a concert at St. John’s Square with the London Mozart Players. This program included the first movement of the 40th Symphony by Mozart and the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20. Howard Shelley talked, played and conducted the program. It was very exciting. Afterwards, we said hello to Michael Cox again.

With less than a week remaining in London, we are faced with the fact we’re not going to get to everything. Sold out performances by the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera House have altered our plans. Besides, Lee probably has some dishes he wants to try out on us!

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes
 

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II.

The challenge of traveling to a foreign country can be great. One might think another English speaking nation would be no problem, but the accents and vocabulary can create issues. In the U.S., you can imagine a boy saying to his mother, “Mom, I’m going to the park to play soccer with my friends Alex, Nick, Josh and Cody!” In the U.K it would be more like, “Mum, I’m going to the common to play football with my mates Alastair, Nigel, Giles and Colin!” Whereas we have the hood and trunk of a car, the Brits have the bonnet and boot. When asking a server at a fish and chips place in Greenwich, “Where are your restrooms?…..Your bathrooms?…… Your toilettes (with a French accent)?” and still getting a puzzled look in return, my brother suggested “Try loo!” The young woman quickly pointed the way.

Lisa and I went to hear concerts featuring the English Concert and the Academy of Ancient Music. The latter group played Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion and one of the stars was Rachel Brown on baroque flute. As Lisa had spent several hours working with her, Rachel’s beautiful playing meant that much more. We really had the sense of the music “speaking” in that true baroque style.

Family day on the Thames

One of the fun things about coming to London is seeing family. Besides spending all the time with brother Lee and sister-in-law Mary, we got to see a niece and her husband, their two beautiful daughters and my oldest nephew. We enjoyed lunch together and a walk along the Thames River. The girls fed the “royal swans” and ducks. Mary pointed out a mandarin. Miraculous! Everyone seems well.

Easter included time with Mary’s son, Andy, his two sons and Andy’s girlfriend, Corrine. We dined on roast ducks and a dessert called “Pavlova”. Everything was delicious. We all took a walk in the Common. Corrine’s dog, “Sydney Dog”, played soccer, or should I say football, most of the way. The trees are starting to show their leaves and the temperatures are getting warmer.

Easter Sunday

Lisa and I went to hear the Saint Luke’s Passion by James MacMillan, which had some exciting moments. There wasn’t a lot for the reduced orchestra to do, but the choirs were especially good.

We took a break from the concert schedule and made a trip north to the seaside town of Whitby. Whitby is famous for fish and chips, the ruins of a huge abbey and, for Lisa, ancestors. The Chapmans lived for centuries in this coastal town as ship builders, sea merchants, sail makers, etc. We spent time in the local library and discovered there were a lot of Stephenson’s living in Whitby, too. We took pictures of paintings of Chapmans that can be shared with family in California. We also enjoyed the Victorian photographs of Whitby native Frank Meadow Sutcliffe and the paintings of George Weatherill. The fish and chips lived up to it’s reputation.

Old shipping village of Whitby

On our last night in London we went to hear the London Symphony Orchestra. Gianandrea Noreda led the orchestra in the Shostakovich Violin Concerto and the Faust Symphony by Liszt. The violin soloist was Leonidas Kavakos and he was fabulous. We sat in the seventh row. His Stradivarius violin drew us in immediately and the energy in the faster material was electric. The woodwinds did a great job of keeping up in an accompaniment which is very difficult. The trumpet and horn playing stood out in the Liszt symphony. It’s an orchestra that uses dynamic phrasing expertly. The strings sound like a great collection of virtuosi. The fugue in the last movement was really thrilling. It was a good way to finish our musical journey in England.

LSO at the Barbican

Now, Germany!

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Amsterdam and Bruges

Slanted Amsterdam house

Amsterdam leans. It leans left, it leans right, it leans to and it leans fro. It’s like a city designed and built by Dr. Seuss! Our first stop in the capital city of the Netherlands put us in a house built in 1663 on the street Leidsegracht along one of the many beautiful canals that run through and around Amsterdam. The home’s owners were Elizabeth and Dick, an archaeologist and an engineer that had known each other since childhood. Their long lives together had taken them to places familiar and exotic. Art treasures were everywhere in this seven-story home. Our room was on the sixth floor, which required scaling the most narrow of stairways. The Dutch people of 1663 must have been lean and strong-legged. Outside our window was the canal and occasional boats filled with sight-seers, bicyclists, walkers retracing the steps over the same cobblestones walked upon by perhaps Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent van Gogh, Bernard Haitink or a young Anne Frank. A small green bench sat outside our front door and was a popular spot for photographs following the recent movie, “The Fault in Our Stars”.

Breakfast with clarinetist Nancy Braithwaite Wierdsma

The next morning we met up with Nancy Braithwaite Wierdsma, one of the country’s celebrated clarinet players and teachers. She looked wonderful in her red wool coat and had changed little since our time playing together in the Savannah Symphony 35 years ago. We found a little place for breakfast near an outdoor market. I enjoyed some little puffy pancakes with chocolate sauce. We would see later that the metal form to cook these pancakes was also in the kitchen of Rembrandt’s home. It was nice to think of having this like in common.
Nancy teaches at the Rotterdam Conservatory and her daughter, Amarins, is now actively pursuing a career as a violinist. Before the week was over we would read about Amarins’ solo violin performance in a concert celebrating Pierre Boulez. Conducting the concert was Thierry Fischer. Small world! Between pancakes, we did well to catch up on our lives. But sometimes, old friends are the best!

Lisa and I enjoyed walking about Amsterdam, but it’s something which requires great vigilance! In this city of almost a million people, most of them ride bikes. Special lanes exist for the bikers. Cars yield to the bikers, as must the pedestrians. We would witness the bikers transporting children, other adults, pizzas, flowers, groceries, their cell phones (while they were texting!), a chair, their dogs, guitars and what looked like a kid’s science project! The bikes sit idle along bridges and waterways, fences and trees. But when on the road, the clang of their clangers and the ding of their dingers was a constant sound. Admittedly, they are most directed to the tourists, so we heard it often. We took time for a great falafel and returned to our place on Leidsegracht to pack up and move again. After the shopping in Paris, our suitcases got a little heavier.

My brother Lee and his wife Mary booked a great place by the Prinsensluis Bridge. Our second floor vantage point gave us a great view of this busy intersection. On this canal there sits houseboat after houseboat. Tour boats cruise down the canal where a couple blocks away is the “Anne Frank House”. We can see church steeples, shops and restaurants and the constant stream of people on bikes.

Canal in Amsterdam

We all went out for Indonesian food, which was terrific, and then we went to hear the Concertgebouw Orchestra with Mariss Jansons conducting one of his final concerts with this great orchestra. He still conducted with passion and the orchestra rose to the occasion. The concert featured songs by Mahler and Copland with Thomas Hampson singing and the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. The 47-page program failed to list the players in the orchestra, which I found especially irritating. Maybe the players are all household names!

The hall of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Our visit to the Rembrandt house the next day was really interesting. This ample home was used as both studio and school for promising painters. The large studio where Rembrandt painted some of his greatest works was filled with light from a row of windows, armor from the period, vases and sculptures and statues of various kinds. The “school” was not enough to pay the mortgage and eventually Rembrandt declared bankruptcy. Being an artist can be difficult, even for a genius like Rembrandt.

Rembrandt’s studio

We visited a great Delft pottery store and took a canal boat ride before hitting a Greek restaurant. I tried to order in Dutch, but our server took pity on me. Sometimes their English is better than mine, anyway.
Early the next day we got on the train for the opening day at Keukenhof, after Dubai, the world’s largest public garden. The cool temperatures may have kept the crowds away. We didn’t mind. The windmill, various structures, the winding rivers and the indoor collection of tulips made for a memorable day. With people having their favorite flower, the “selfie” was everywhere. We ate our picnic lunch on bales of hay by the windmill. Some people smiled and took pictures.

Back in Amsterdam, we ate at nearby Winkel. The weekend activity was pronounced. The next morning it would seem like a ghost town. Saturday and Sunday morning are very quiet and even the ever-present sound of people towing their suitcases over the cobblestones was gone. Smoke from the stovepipes of the houseboats was about the only thing moving. Church bells sound, bouncing off the centuries old homes.

Bruges canal ride with Lee and Mary Stephenson

The four of us left for Bruges, one of Europe’s great medieval cities. Our home for two days was a modern three-story home on Kleine Heiligegeeststraat. Bruges is known as the “Venice of the North” and if the chocolate is as good in Venice as it is in Bruges, we’re going to be very happy come May! Besides the chocolate, which is on every street, there is the lace, waffles, frites and beer. I didn’t get any lace, but tried everything else. There were no disappointments. We enjoyed a fine Belgian meal at The Habit and watched some American TV, “Forever”, starring Ioan Gruffudd. Like actresses Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence, Mr. Gruffudd played the oboe in his youth. Maybe a TV pilot is in my future? Well, we can dream.

Lisa and I were up before sunrise. We headed east to the walled edge of Bruges and the huge windmills on the banks of the wide canal. It was fun to have the large “Markt” almost to ourselves. The early morning trucks were making their deliveries and a biker spotted my bright red University of Utah baseball cap. He stopped to tell us he had been a student at the U. majoring in Finance, fell in love with a girl from Bruges and had lived here for ten years. There was something about his wife wanting to live close to home. Four children later he wasn’t going anywhere. Lisa and I had a quiet breakfast on the big square and went to the post office. The idea of mailing items back to the States seemed like a good alternative to carting everything around for the next eleven weeks!

Morning walk by the windmills

After I had another breakfast with Lee and Mary, Lisa joined us for another canal boat ride. Bruges became a great melting pot in the 15th and 16th centuries. Many of the houses and bridges we saw were erected during this period. Great painters like the Breughels, Rene Magritte, Anthony Van Dyck and Jacob van Oost made their homes in Bruges. Their bright colors were a signature of Flemish art and their works look just as vibrant today!

Lee and I climbed the 366 steps up the great tower on Markt Square. Of particular interest were the chimes, which ring daily and have so since the 13th century. They rang while we were “in the neighborhood”. I can now understand why the Hunchback of Notre Dame had a hearing problem. Of course the view was amazing. I also spent some time visiting the Dali museum and the museum of Russian ballet photography.

Market Square and tower in Bruges

We said goodbye to Bruges over some Belgian chocolate ice cream. It was the best!

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Paris

The 11-hour flight from Salt Lake City to Paris is filled with light meals and intermittent sleep. But it is enough time to read, watch bits and pieces of several movies and TV shows and contemplate the next three months. Did we bring the right clothes? Will we be able to meet the people we plan to meet? Will our accommodations be okay? Will our language skills get us from one place to another? Will the money last? Five days in Paris will begin to answer these questions and more. Getting your luggage in Paris takes a while. It involves a train, passing customs and a lot of walking. Regardless, it’s a relief to see it swinging around the carousel.

Coffee in the park with Maja Bogdanovic

We took a cab to the apartment of Maja Bogdanovic, not far from the Telegraphe Metro station in the northeast section of Paris. We were met by “Elena”, an old friend of Maja’s. Maja is a concert cellist and was off performing a new work by Penderecki with Penderecki conducting. She has an active career and most recently had performed in Lubbock, Texas, where David Cho serves as the orchestra’s Music Director. David was our assistant conductor in Utah about four years ago. The apartment is on a quiet, cobblestone street and was a welcome home for our time in the city.

We already had tickets for a concert on Day 1. Unfortunately, getting the tickets was involved and confusing. It meant securing the tickets in a spot far from the concert venue. Finding it was challenging. By the time we had made all the train connections, we had missed the Beethoven overture. Sorry, Ludwig! The orchestra was the Orchestre National de France conducted by David Afkham. Our balcony seats gave us a good view of the action and with the Brahms Violin Concerto and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, there was plenty of action! Much of the audience encircles the stage below and the stairways are steep. This “Maison de la Radio” is old, but we already felt we were in Europe. Maybe it was everybody speaking French!

Bob’s birthday boat ride on the Seine

The Brahms Violin Concerto featured Viktoria Mullova on violin and a great orchestra accompaniment. The orchestra was sufficiently understated and the famous oboe solo beautifully played. The soloist was clean and commanding. We might have preferred a more romantic interpretation, but still enjoyed it. The Bartok gave the orchestra a chance to shine and the players delivered. The series of woodwind duets in the second movement and the violins made strong impressions. Getting home went a little better and a day that had started in Salt Lake City almost 40 hours earlier came to a happy, though exhausting close. By the end, Lisa was able to say, “Happy birthday!”

On our first full day, we took a boat ride down the Seine River on a huge double-decker boat. Important landmarks were pointed out in several languages. Cameras were snapping photographs at every moment. The crowds were big enough that I wondered if it was possible to photograph anything without having somebody else in your shot photographing something!

We stopped, as many Parisians do, for a cafe visit. In honor of another birthday, I had some chocolate cake and hot chocolate. The temperatures are still cold and most of the people go indoors. Within a week, the outdoor seating would take preference. We went to a really good instrument museum by the new Philharmonie de Paris and tried to get tickets for a Rossini opera being performed at the Conservatoire. It was sold out. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d say, “C’est la vie!” We dined at a sushi restaurant and enjoyed walking through the streets of Paris.

Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

The next day was devoted to seeing Versailles. Home to several Kings (Louis) and Marie Antoinette. The Mozart family spent about 12 days there when Wolfgang was seven. He made a sufficient impression for anyone who was once a child prodigy and history’s most celebrated musical genius. Of course the palace and grounds are magnificent, even weeks away from Spring. A poster of a ballet performance at the Versailles Opera House caught my attention. We got tickets, not knowing what to expect. After dinner in Versailles, we returned to the palace grounds to see “Cinderella”, music by Prokofiev. The dance company was Malandain Ballet Biarritz. The music was taped and the program gave no credit for the orchestra or conductor. Whatever group it was sounded amazing! I hoped it wasn’t a European thing (not crediting the musicians).

Malandain Ballet Biarritz

The stage was framed by 48 rows of black high-heeled shoes that hung from the ceiling. The step-mother and two ugly step-sisters were danced by men. The mother had crutches and wasn’t afraid to use them! The choreography was clever and thrilling. Headless mannequins on wheels, floor-lengthen wigs, the athleticism, beauty and synchronization was unforgettable! All this in a hall hundreds of years old. Our seats were more like benches and like the inside of Louis XIV’s bedroom, every inch was elaborately decorated! The bows commenced before the end of Prokofiev’s score and added to the energetic conclusion. If two days in France were any indication, our three months could be life-changing.

On the next day, we made a significant trek to La Chambelland on rue de Ternaux. This gluten free bakery had breads and pastries of all kinds. We ate several things there and left with several other items. It was all good. Our afternoon was spent at Père Lachaise, the most commonly visited cemetery in the world! We paid homage to composers Enesco, Bizet, Gaubert, Rossini and Chopin. Flowers covered the gravesite of Chopin, beloved all over the world!

We went to hear the Brussels Philharmonie at the new and unfinished Philharmonie de Paris. The hall is not very attractive and tractor shovels and cranes are scattered about the exterior. The dining/drinking area is without tables. Much of it seems unpainted and aisle ways lead to short walls. There were numerous bottlenecks slowing access in and out of the hall. The concert was conducted by Michel Tabachnik and featured three ballets. They pushed the orchestra back to make room for a dozen dancers. I could have done without the dancers. The choreography had little to do with the music. The music of Webern and Xenakis took up the first half. The Webern was interesting. The second half featured Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”, which premiered in Paris in 1913. There weren’t any riots or fistfights this time! The orchestra sounded distant. The choreographer couldn’t decide whether his dancers should or shouldn’t wear clothes and whether pulse and rhythm should go hand in hand with the score. After the experience at Versailles, this was very disappointing. We dined at La Coupole. The best part was the decor. An Art Nouveau style was everywhere. Also common in Paris are people who bring their dogs to restaurants. I’m not sure what’s on the menu for them, but they come any way! On the streets of Paris, cleaning up after your dog seems not to be encouraged.

Debussy’s grave

On March 16th we took the Metro to the Passy Cemetery. Debussy, Ibert, Faure and Manet are all buried here. The grave sites are very close together and finding one often means squeezing between headstones. Finding Debussy’s grave was important, as he is one of Lisa’s favorite composers. This cemetery is also close to where Debussy lived. We found that too, however, an Arabian princess now occupies that home and security seems to be tight.

We ate a nice lunch close to the Arc de Triomphe and then walked to one of the amazing streets in Paris, Rue de Rome. This street has dozens of music-related stores and we would leave with about a dozen new items from “La Flute de Pan”.

La Flute de Pan music store

Across from this store is the Lorée Oboe Shop. For 50 years I’ve been playing on Lorée oboes, so meeting the de Gourdon family and trying a dozen instruments was especially fun. I saw the photos of my (oboe) grandfather and great-grandfather, Tabuteau and Gillet, respectively. Just down the street was the old Paris Conservatoire where they went to school. We went in and walked about some. The school services the nearby musical community and has a better “feel” than the newer conservatory by the Philharmonie. Still, they both pay little homage to the musicians of the past. We enjoyed dining at a Thai restaurant with Maja. She told us it was one of Vladimir Kulenovic’s favorites.

Bob at the Lorée Oboe factory with Marie-Lea and Alain de Gourdon

The next day we took the train to Mont Saint Michel. The countryside was really beautiful. Large estates, chateaus, rivers, stone walls, hamlets and green fields could be seen out our train window. The cool weather and the off season kept the crowds away from Mont Saint Michel, one of the world’s great wonders. We could see the monstrous cathedral miles from the town. It’s history goes back more than 1000 years! We had time to visit the island before dark and ate a delicious meal below the abbey. Of course the view and sunset was spectacular!

The Abbey

Our hotel was a long walk away, but we’re getting use to it! Our hotel was outside the city and very comfortable. The next morning we walked again to the shuttle, which drove us to the island. High tide was on it’s way and a new waterway has a substantial crew of workers shoveling and hauling away huge truck loads of sand. This time we made it to the abbey and enjoyed a great free roam around the massive structure. Huge stone blocks have been in place for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s something not going anywhere soon. Gardeners and renovators service the walls, structures and gardens. The fog gave it all a feeling of mystery and amazement.

One of the surprising observances at Mont Saint Michel were the many shuttle buses. These modern day transport systems never had to turn around! The driver could drive from one end, switch a lever, walk to the other end, put his hands on a second steering wheel and drive off in the opposite direction!

Mont St. Michel

We returned to Paris, said goodbye to our wonderful host, Maja, and left on a train for Amsterdam. Before the end of the day we were in a tall seven story house along a canal in Amsterdam. For a place built in 1663, it was a real treasure!

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Return to Utah

The first half of our year-long sabbatical would come to a busy end in Los Angeles. The touring Russian National Ballet Theatre presented “Don Quixote” at the California State University in Northridge. This is a school where a couple of colleagues in the Utah Symphony studied and where on this night, a large contingent of Russian-speaking ballet enthusiasts gathered. The costumes were elaborate and the principal dancers were especially impressive. Unfortunately, the music was not live and the score by Leon Minkus seemed impeded.
We went to Pasadena on Valentine’s Day to hear The Pasadena Symphony with David Lockington conducting and his wife, Dylana Jenson, fittingly playing the solo violin part in the Shostakovich Violin Concerto. As a former medal winner in the Tchaikovsky Competition, her approach was convincing and passionate. The orchestra played Beethoven’s 7th Symphony on the second half. It was well received by the large audience.

Walt Disney Concert Hall & L.A. Opera

The next night we heard the L.A. Philharmonic with Juraj Valčuha conducting. Their program consisted of Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes”, the Schumann Piano Concerto with Martha Argerich and “Death and Transfiguration” by Strauss. Ms. Argerich played in an expansive romantic style and we really enjoyed the performance. The L. A. Phil. is an excellent orchestra and within this group, you can’t help but notice players like clarinetist Burt Hara, flutist Julien Beaudiment, hornist Andrew Bain and English Hornist Carolyn Hove. Their musicianship seems infectious.

Indian food with Burt Hara

On February 19th we went to hear the L.A Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Kahane conducting. Mr. Kahane gave a terrific though long-winded talk about Mozart and the Requiem. The orchestra, choir and soloists played through the entire piece following intermission. The string playing was especially good, though the solo voices were not on the same level. Margaret Batjer is the concertmaster of this orchestra and afterwards I took time to seek her out and say hello. We were in school together at both Interlochen and Curtis. It was nice to see her after so many years.
We returned to Disney Hall to hear the L.A. Phil again in a concert celebrating the Chinese New Year. Xian Zhang conducted, Ning Feng was the violin soloist, Haochen Zhang the piano soloist and Jian Wang the cello soloist for the evening. On the program was Saint-Saëns’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso”, Chopin’s “Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise” and Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme”. The three soloists were all admirable. They joined the orchestra again for “The Triple Resurrection” by film composer, Tan Dun. It didn’t make much of an impression.

With Ariana Ghez and Ben Ullery

Burt Hara got us tickets for the dress rehearsal of “Alice in Wonderland” by Unsuk Chin. Susanna Malkki conducted. Burt was singing the praises for Ms. Malkki. The voices were strong, the sets and costumes colorful and the orchestra made up of L.A. Phil players was excellent. It was a visual treat. I did feel sorry for the young children who came to the rehearsal. For a children’s story, at two and a half hours, it definitely seemed long. We went to another opera the following night, John Corigliano’s “The Ghosts of Versailles”. The Los Angeles Opera Company supplied a great thrill. The voices were superb and Corigliano’s music made a big impression. Conductor, James Conlon did a fabulous job with the orchestra, choir and soloists.

Premiere of Alice in Wonderland opera with L.A. Philharmonic

On one of our last days in L.A. we went to hear the L.A. Phil. again. Their associate conductor, Mirga Grazinyte, conducted a program which featured Mozart’s Overture to the “Abduction from the Seraglio”, Stravinsky’s “Petroushka” and Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. Like all the Sunday afternoon concerts we heard in California, there was a full house. The busy orchestra continued to perform at a high level.
We took about 11 hours to get back to Salt Lake City. The temperatures were cooler, but the beautiful mountains made us feel at home. We kept up our concert-going routine and heard the Utah Symphony with Hugh Wolff conducting. The program featured Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”, the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 with Conrad Tao and Copland’s 3rd Symphony. Our seats, high in the third tier, gave us a great view and sound of the orchestra. James Hall did a great job with some of the trickiest oboe solos in the repertoire, and Lisa and I both thought Mercedes Smith sounded good on all her flute solos, as did the ever-reliable Caitlyn Valovick-Moore on piccolo. Kudos should be distributed throughout the orchestra, but one thing that is noticed is what an amazing percussion section exists and the beautiful collective sound of the orchestra. It is nice hearing things from the audience’s perspective. From our playing seats in the middle of it all, it’s hard to fully appreciate the many facets that make up this first-class orchestra. I also made a trip down to Sandy, UT to hear the American West Symphony. It was fun to hear their all-French program and my student, Robin Vorkink, shine on the many beautiful oboe solos.

Lucas Florin in recital

Lisa and I spent a lot of time with our students at the University of Utah. Oboist, Lucas Florin, gave a very musical performance in one of his doctoral recitals. Lucas is every teacher’s dream and really captures the attention of his audience. His musical presentation made for a wonderful afternoon and I predict good things for his future.

Our next entries to the “Musical Journey” should come from France or England. In a few hours our plane leaves for Paris, the first stop in a three-month trek around Europe. Our bags are packed and we have concert tickets in nine different countries. It should be fun.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

More Southern California

With Mom in Prescott, AZ

February in California would prove to be a stark contrast to our snow-shoveling final days in northern Michigan. When we weren’t going to concerts or working on our projects, we had the time and the good weather to visit family, eat the food and have some fun. The family connections took us to Prescott, Arizona, San Diego California and the nearby towns of Monrovia and Pasadena. We’d see parents, significant others, brothers, a niece, an aunt and uncle, a cousin and his wife and two first-cousins-once-removed. It was great to see familiar faces and share the stories of travel, work and the future.

My brother Tom was just awarded “Best Actor” for theater in San Diego, Dad’s finishing a novel, Terry Kempf just finished and will be working on another motion picture, both filmed in Albuquerque, brother Frank has a new CSI-style textbook that is making headlines in the field of forensics and genetics and little Erin and her big sister Lilia were two of the stars in a recital heard in Monrovia. I never heard the theme from “Peanuts” for four-hands played better!

Sierra Madre cabin

The drought in California lasted through the first three weeks of February. Our morning routine usually began with a walk from our little place in Sierra Madre. The weather was so warm, shorts and tee shirts were common. We usually were out from 60 to 100 minutes and covered areas that took us into the streets of Astoria, Pasadena and Monrovia. Hills were always a part of these early morning treks. Going by foot always made it possible to really see the neighborhoods. The often winding and sidewalk-less streets offered views of some amazing homes. Where the bungalow is king in Salt Lake City, the ranch-style home reigns in this area at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Large mansions with imposing gates and high hedges, big Victorian homes with ornate lawns, haciendas, tiled roofs, modern homes, a variety of bungalows, basically, a colorful collection of well-kept homes. The economy is bouncing back and new homes are being constructed, old homes are being renovated, landscape crews are busy working their magic and huge trees are being trimmed. The oak, juniper, and palm trees were as tall as a ten-story building. People walk their dogs and we had days where we saw a quintet of deer, a quintet of pheasants, wild parrots and birds of all kinds that accompanied us on our walks. The temperatures were often in the upper 80s and the blooming wisteria, cacti and bougainvillea were everywhere.
We enjoyed going to the Pacific Ocean and walking about the Santa Monica pier and the long walkway of Venice Beach. The cooler temperatures at Venice Beach didn’t deter the many skateboarders, vendors, people on Segways, bicyclists, strollers or beach-combers. A dozen sailboats could be seen from the sandy shores, people tossing frisbees and footballs and a large dose of homeless individuals. We had a terrific breakfast at the Fig Tree right along the beach.

At The Atheneum with Rosalee and Dennis Byrnes

The restaurant scene in California is the best. We couldn’t try them all, but had a fabulous time at Real Foods Daily in Santa Monica, Lum Ka Naad in Northridge, Cameron’s and The Athenaeum in Pasadena, Paco’s in Astoria and Badmaash and Inaka in Los Angeles. Maybe my next sabbatical will be restaurant-related!

Gate at Stravinsky’s home

We spent time at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Griffith Park, the front of Igor Stravinsky’s home, Old Pasadena, the Gamble House (an Arts and Crafts house from 1906), The Getty Villa, the Getty Museum, the L.A. County Museum, the farmers market and when we wanted to avoid the horrible freeway traffic, the movie theater. We saw, “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon. This true story had the main character walking the Pacific Crest Trail, which had a stretch high above our lodging in Sierra Madre.

The traffic in L.A. is always an issue. To fit in, I had to improve my evasive, pervasive and even persuasive maneuvers. All the same, it was a relief to be home. There we could see a high-speed chase on the L.A. freeway or a train derailment from the comfort of our living room.

Gamble House in Pasadena

Even when we left L.A at 5:20am to get back to Salt Lake City, the stream of cars coming into the city was constant.
In the next blog entry look for some wonderful musical experiences from our last few weeks in California. The sabbatical would cause Lisa to say, “I feel rejuvenated!”.”

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Salt Lake City & Southern California

It was nice being home and getting use to our environment in Salt Lake City. December and January would be devoted to our students and continued practice. Lisa is busy focusing on the Baroque period as well as the solo repertoire from the past 20 years. It’s a convenience we have less time for during the busy symphony season. I’m making my way through dozens of etude books and reading a variety of books like Vester’s “W.A. Mozart” and Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s “Baroque Music Today: Music As Speech, Ways to a New Understanding of Music”. They have changed my musical interpretation of music up to the Romantic period.

Lisa, Tully Cathey, Bob

Our flute and oboe students at the University of Utah were busy with recitals and concerts. Lucas Florin, Sarah White, Cynthia Chen and Dallan Gordon all presented recitals with special moments. There was time to hear the “Running Flutes”, the U. of U Wind Ensemble and the Utah Philharmonic. We also enjoyed playing a flute, oboe and guitar recital with Tully Cathey. Tully and I go way back. He taught guitar and composition to my two daughters and this occasion was the impetus for him to compose a new piece for flute, oboe and guitar. We programmed it on the recital and the audience reaction was very positive. We’ll look to record it later next summer.

Not having to play with the Utah Symphony made it possible to hear the Utah Symphony. We heard the orchestra play with Pink Martini, perform Shostakovich Symphony #15, the “Pearl Fishers” opera by Bizet and a concert of Wagner, Berg and Strauss. A true sense of pride happens when we hear our colleagues play. There’s a lot of talent on the stage at Abravanel Hall.

Lucas Florin arranged for us to speak at convocation at the U. of U. He wanted to hear what it’s like to play in a symphony orchestra and what we’re doing with our sabbatical. The hour was probably not enough to include the lively discussion about the importance and influence of classical music.

Santa Monica Pier

On the last day of January, we drove to California where we planned to spend the month of February. Lisa had arranged for us to rent out a quaint place alongside the San Gabriel Mountains in Sierra Madre. This would prove to be a smart decision as I look at my weather app and see that the temperature in northern Michigan, where we thought to return, will be -11F tomorrow! Sierra Madre is quiet and beautiful. The properties are varied, as are the style, size and age of the many homes. Stone walls, winding narrow roads and signs saying, “Not a through street” are the norm. The air is clean and temperatures are in the 80s. The freeways destroy any calm we experience living in the foothills by the imposing mountains. It’s rare to go anywhere where the flow is constant and the congestion is not extreme. People on motorcycles don’t use lanes, but the lines. Sudden lane changers and stop-and-go are typical. It’s all a little scary.

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Our first concert was the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Herbert Blomstedt performing at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles. The program included the Mozart Piano Concert #27 with Richard Goode and the Bruckner Symphony #9. The orchestra and soloist were excellent. We then drove down to San Diego to hear the San Diego Symphony play Mozart and Strauss. The pre-concert lecture by Nuvi Mehta was most memorable. The oboe section and the principal horn were some of the stand-outs. It was fun to meet the oboe section afterwards. We came back to hear musicians from the L.A Phil play a chamber music recital at Disney Hall. The program included Debussy, Schumann, Woods and Bloch. We were especially taken by the Bloch Piano Quintet No. 1 (unknown to us), led by concertmaster, Martin Chalifour and cellist, Barry Gold.

Lisa, Andrea Overturf, Sarah Skuster, Jonathan Davis, Bob

We drove to Costa Mesa to hear the touring Rotterdam Philharmonic conducted by Yannick Nezet- Seguin. The program featured the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with Helene Grimaud and the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5. We took seats in the 4th tier and then the second tier for the second half. Many of the seats had almost no view of the stage! The architect chose a snake-like design over decent sight-lines. With all the concerts and professional orchestras we’ve heard, this was one of our favorites. There was a strong sense that Nezet-Seguin made a difference. Like in Philadelphia, the players really seem to enjoy music-making when he’s on the podium. He conducted without a baton and the Tchaikovsky Waltz that was played as an encore was especially exciting!

Tonight it’s the Russian National Ballet, followed by the Pasadena Symphony on Saturday and then another Sunday afternoon with the L.A. Philharmonic.

Segerstrom Concert Hall

We’ll try to soak in the sun before heading back to Salt Lake City. Maybe we can take some with us!

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

The Last Days in Michigan

Two months and 8,900 miles after we left, we are back in Salt Lake City. We seemed to leave winter behind, for the time being. The sun and temperatures in the 50s make for a welcome change. In northern Michigan we had been shoveling snow almost daily and the lake out our front porch window was beginning to freeze over.

Bob, Lisa and Bruce Douglass

During our last week at Interlochen we enjoyed spending time with new and old friends. “Little Bruce” Douglass got us tickets for the Met broadcast of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” at the beautiful State Theatre in Traverse City. Seeing that opera in a movie theater was one of the great revelations from our first three months of the sabbatical! Seeing and hearing the action from different camera angles, the amazing orchestra, the voices of Isabel Leonard and Lawrence Brownlee and the many backstage interviews made the experience even better than going to New York and hearing the opera in person. We’ll look forward to hearing the next broadcasts in December and January (Die Meistersinger and The Merry Widow).

Lynn Tobin, Bob, and Jan Ostrowski

We spent time with Jan Idema Ostrowski and Lynne Tobin, classmates from high school and two movers and shakers for classical music in northern Michigan, Lynne’s husband and jazz musician, Tim Spalding, the Riccobono’s of Interlochen and classmates of Lisa’s at Eastman, my cousin Toni and her husband Gary, Barb Sandys and many others. We got the call that a local woodwind quintet needed a flute and oboe for a gig at a winery near Long Lake. Jeanmarie Riccobono (clarinet), Lauren Murphy (bassoon) and Bob Pavelek (horn) joined us in playing through several movements of quintet music. The Brengman Brothers Winery was generous with the wine. It was fun to be playing with a group.

Woodwind quintet rehearsal

Our Thanksgiving was spent organizing, cleaning and boarding up the cabin. Shutters had to be installed on at least a dozen windows. Lisa had shoveled away snow from around the cabin, which made the task easier, though the cold breeze from the impending “polar vortex” reminded us of how long the winters last in Michigan. In trying to empty out the refrigerator, our choices were limited for our Thanksgiving dinner, but when you’re hungry even quesadillas taste good!

We left Interlochen the next morning, stopping in St. Joseph for lunch with Lisa’s former student and Chicago freelancer, Jim Brinkman, and Jim’s grandparents. It was a great visit. Jim is working on an inspiring collaboration with artists and music in the Chicago schools. We look forward to seeing and hearing the end result.

Abraham Lincoln house

Our first stop getting back to Utah was in Springfield, Illinois. On the morning following our arrival we visited the home of Abe Lincoln. Compared to the seven other Presidential homes we had seen, the Lincoln home was very modest. A film we saw at the Visitor’s Center mentioned that Mary Todd always wanted to live in the White House, so she definitely got an upgrade.

We also spent part of the morning touring the Dana-Thomas House built by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built during the time Mahler was composing his 5th Symphony, Puccini “Madame Butterfly” and Schoenberg “Verklärte Nacht”. It seemed a perfect example of his arts and craft style and big enough to get lost. One large room had a second level above the main level that had room for musicians to perform. Susan Lawrence Dana’s second husband was a young opera singer that died young (according to our tour guide) and she was a great supporter of the arts.

Lisa and Matt Rombaum at the Kaufmann Center

The next day we made it back to Kansas City in time to hear the Kansas City Symphony conducted by Bramwell Tovey. Their new hall is really gorgeous and the acoustics superb. The program consisted of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”, the Mozart piano concerto No. 23 with Orion Weiss and “The Planets” by Holst. The musicians seem inspired and the full house didn’t hurt. All the musicians that we spoke with are extremely excited about their future and it seemed like a real “event” for the patrons. The beautiful collective sound of the strings, individual musicians and Mr. Tovey’s artistry made for a terrific concert. Lisa and I were both struck by timpanist Timothy Jepson. He was worth the price of our tickets. Afterwards, we went backstage and met three-fourths of the oboe section. It included Kristina Fulton, Michelle Duskey and (visting from the Atlanta Symphony), Emily Brebach, playing bass oboe. They were a happy bunch. Principal Flutist Michael Gordon was introduced to us by violist and friend Matt Rombaum. After the concert we had fun going out for Mexican food.

Bob with Oboe section of Kansas City Symphony

Working our way back to Salt Lake City, the drive was long and there was a biting cold as we began December in places like Nebraska and Wyoming. The roads were clear and we enjoyed a great lunch in Laramie at “Anong’s”.

We packed a lot into our two months away. This time at home might seem like a break. We can only hope.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Chicago, Ann Arbor & Interlochen

Cloud Gate

As soon as you drive out of Michigan the toll booths become especially common. With all the bills and coins being exchanged they must just sweep up the buckets of loose change that is surrendered during these cold winter months. Chicago would live up to it’s reputation as the “Windy City”, though maybe something like “The Chill Factor Arctic Blast City” might be more appropriate. Regardless, what a great place! It doesn’t take long to get used to the drivers in Chicago. I quickly realized to be alert, use my turn signal to squeeze into other lanes and turn a deaf ear to all the honking. In Chicago, honking means “Go!’ but also “Go faster!”. Speed limits on Lake Shore Drive are just a suggestion. Several cab companies with clean, smaller sized automobiles compete for fares. They know where they’re going, so someone with Utah plates is an easy target. We survived.

JohnThorne, Lisa, Alicia Kim

We met John Thorne, flute instructor at Northwestern, at his high-rise apartment halfway between Chicago and Evanston. Lisa and John were classmates at Curtis. The vista from John’s beautiful apartment on the 34th floor was really amazing. Chicago, Lake Michigan, Evanston and points beyond were all a part of the expansive panoramic view. John has beautiful photographs, furniture and various collections from his many travels. He said the sight of storms coming in from the lake was especially fun to watch. We had a nice Italian dinner (as well as lots of “flute talk”) at Francesca’s in Chicago.

Lyric Opera

Lisa and I had tickets for “Il Trovatore” at the Lyric Opera. The entire production was fabulous. They rivaled what we heard at the Met and kept our attention throughout the evening.

We met Lisa’s former student, Alicia Kim, for breakfast at The Original Pancake House in Evanston. Alicia is a graduate of the University of Utah and is getting a Masters degree at Northwestern. The restaurant has been in operation for more than 50 years. Stained glass windows, beautiful woodwork and antique lighting fill the multiple rooms. That’s not enough to make a restaurant successful, the food was great, too! Alicia gave us a tour of the new and the old at Northwestern. The new music building on the shores of Lake Michigan looks spectacular. Large sections of glass will allow the building to maximize the view of the lake and stand in stark contrast to the music building of old. The old building seems more like a factory, but so many of our colleagues went through Northwestern, so they must be doing something right!

Alicia Kim, Lisa, Bob

Lissa Stolz, Utah colleague and Chicago transplant, gave us suggestions for things to see and do in Chicago. We were quick to take her advice. We explored Millenium Park, the Architecture Foundation Gift Shop, shops along Michigan Avenue and ate lunch at “The Gage”. The architecture in Chicago is both beautiful and varied. We spent much of our time outdoors looking up. The giant buildings have a uniqueness and character all their own. The walk along the river was a lot of fun, though we tried to face downwind. The cold winds kept us bundled up whenever necessary and it was always necessary.

Crown Fountain

Northwestern University

Our Yelp app helped us find a good Chicago deep dish pizza close to our hotel on Ohio Avenue. Like the Original Pancake House, Lou Malnati’s has been dishing it out for more than 50 years. People cooking, serving and eating pizza are usually a happy lot and this was no exception. We’ll go back, if we get a chance.

The Chicago Symphony concert was conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. The piano soloist was Alice Sara Ott. The hall where the Chicago Symphony plays is ornate and acoustically excellent. Or was it just that they are such a good orchestra? Former Utah Symphony musicians, harpist Sarah Bullen and tubist Gene Pokorny continue to shine. Individuals, like Jennifer Gunn on piccolo, Eugene Izotov on oboe and entire sections, notably the clarinets, the trumpets and the trombones, performed brilliantly. The program featured “Figures-Doubles-Prismes” by Boulez, Stravinsky’s “Four Studies”, Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Debussy’s “Iberia”. The Chicago Symphony is loaded with star players, but the thing you notice is the collective cohesion and the unselfish pride. Nobody is “phoning it in”. Everybody gives it their all. John Yeh did an amazing job playing three different instruments from various spots in the clarinet section. The orchestra’s accompaniment in the Bartok was clean and understated. It seems to be an orchestra that listens carefully and balances itself. The Boulez involved a seating arrangement that placed musicians from like sections in different positions on the stage. All the sections made the most of their time in the spotlight. We noticed there were no plexiglass shields on the stage. This may be the result of an orchestra that plays with a round, darkened tonal concept. It seems to envelope without having a strong penetrating quality. There may also be a degree of fearlessness amongst the players. Full bows and active left hands were common with all the string players and an awareness of one another was noticeable among the winds.

Chicago Symphony marquee

The next morning we met horn player, Dan O’Connell, for breakfast. Dan free-lances in the Chicago area and has some rising stars in his horn studio. Lisa and Dan go back to their time in New World and like the best of old friends, they enjoyed every minute of their two hours together. I was happy to enjoy the scene.

Our drive around the southern end of Lake Michigan was uneventful. We arrived in Ann Arbor in time for an excellent dinner at the “Lunch Room”, a vegetarian restaurant frequented by mostly students from the University of Michigan. The pad thai was delicious.

The San Francisco Symphony played in Hill Auditorium and conducting was Michael Tilson Thomas. Gil Shaham was the violin soloist in the Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 and like his Brahms in Denver almost six weeks ago, he really connected with his audience. We were happy to hear him again. Opening the concert was the Liszt “Mephisto Waltz No. 1”. Three stand-outs in the first half were oboist Jeffrey Rathbun (on loan from the Cleveland Orchestra), clarinetist Luis Baez and bassoonist Steven Dibner. Though I’ve seen Michael Tilson Thomas as a guest conductor in Utah, I had forgotten what to expect. His style is not flamboyant, but his orchestra plays with enthusiasm and spirit. I enjoyed seeing familiar musicians like harpist Doug Rioth and concertmaster Nadya Tichman from my school days and violinist Elina Lev and hornist Bruce Roberts former Utah Symphony musicians. But the reason we came to Ann Arbor was to hear Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe” and principal flutist, Tim Day. My association with Tim goes back to a summer at Interlochen and Lisa studied with Tim at the San Francisco Conservatory and even baby-sat two of his children. The orchestra sounded terrific and the flute solos were great. Tim has a way of bringing you in and taking you away. MTT gave him the freedom and we loved every note. Robert Ward had some stunning moments on horn repeatedly picking off notes in the extremely high register and the string sound was at times intimate and at times movingly passionate. The sold-out audience rose to their feet at the end of “Daphnis”.

Green Lake

The snow was falling on our drive back to Interlochen the next day, and we saw more than a couple of cars on the side of the road. However, some of those cars are there not because of icy roads but because it’s deer hunting season. We’ve seen at least six deer in the past ten days and many more casualties of cars on the highways leading north. My cousin’s son, Andy, hunts it and eats it year-round. With all the empty cars along highways #37 and #31, I’ll guess he’s not the only one.

The Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra played excerpts from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” in concert on Saturday. Carolyn Watson conducted and did a splendid job. We sat with Dan Stolper and got to enjoy his student from Japan, Ryoei “Leo” Kawai. I may have heard a star of the future.

Back at Interlochen we didn’t have that bone-chilling feeling like we did in Chicago, but we were days into shoveling. Back in Salt Lake City shovels were still stored away. With two weeks to go and a long drive ahead of us, our eyes are on the extended forecast.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes