Just back . . .

. . . from three invigorating weeks of music, art, family, friends, colleagues, walking, wine, and writing (piano music and poetry). 

There were three stops.

New York City: Activities included attending a Tertulia performance that featured violinists Livia Sohn and Jimmy Thompson, violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and cellist Sterling Elliott; celebrating our recent 45th wedding anniversary with members of our family who took us to the Trevor Noah performance at the Beacon Theater; taking in MoMA’s Picasso in Fontainebleau; hearing a performance at Christ and St. Stephen’s Church by Juilliard organ students; and attending James Austin Smith’s Hearing Memory at National Sawdust in Brooklyn.

Switzerland: Activities included attending the first six days of Le Bois qui Chante (a music festival in its 23rd season) in Château-d’Oex where I heard performances by Le Concert impromptu, Le Quintette du Jet d’Eau, pianist and alphornist Christophe Sturzenegger, and soprano Beatrice Villiger. Beatrice is the Artistic Director of the festival.

Italy: In addition to attending a program honoring the memory of Italian musician and composer Mario Giusti, my time in Abruzzo was spent planning future performances with artist friends, including an instrumentalist, a choral conductor, and a choreographer/dancer. Wine, as is usually the case, was an important part of my three-week trip. However, one morning stood out as a friend and I held our meeting at a winery, walking through the vineyards and an olive grove.