Sunday 30 September 2007

Ludbreg Castle (22nd Sept) and Golubovic Castle (23rd Sept)

Our final 2 concerts are back in Croatia, in 2 beautiful castles both undergoing renovation. Ludbreg is a short drive from Varazdin, and is an old Roman town. There are some rather wonderful modern-day additions including a fountain that spouts local sparking white wine for one day each year on 1 April. Ludbreg is also referred to by locals as the 'centre of the world'. This tradition dates back to a legend which placed Ludbreg at the world's centre, as circles around the world were drawn with the town as a central point. Many of the world's major cities lie on the edges of these circles. After our concert we are treated to a wonderful meal in a restaurant serving locally made cheeses and cured meats. The pudding speciality is a type of sweet cheese strudel - wonderful, but not your everyday pudding!

Our final concert was several hours away from Varazdin on a journey which took us through a beautiful steep and wooded landscape. For the first time all week there was a hint of autumn in the air - a taste of weather to come back home in England. This last concert was an emotional event. Lucrezia is always an intense 16 minutes, and as well as a really enjoyable concert of Handel, Leclair and Rameau, there was sadness that the tour had come to its end. Still, we'll all meet again soon to continue rehearsals for concerts in October and November, and for our next Wigmore Hall concert on 16 December.

Thursday 27 September 2007

Our 2 audiences in Austria

For the first time on the tour there is no language barrier with the audience as Rachel speaks fluent German. We spend a lovely evening performing and chatting to our hosts and audience in an intimate venue with a beautiful acoustic. The current exhibition features some challenging portraits and photographs and Nicki comments that we have 2 audiences - those in front of us sitting round tables with glasses of wine, and those on the walls looking down at us, including some rather stern-looking portraits of people including David Bowie and William Burroughs.

Wednesday 26 September 2007

Zalaegerszeg Synagogue (20th Sept) and Leibnitz (21st Sept)

Have I mentioned that we are travelling around on our tour in a City of Varazdin VW fire truck, complete with red paint and (non) flashing blue light on the roof. This is because it is the only vehicle big enough to take us plus instruments and luggage. The drivers are also very experienced, genuine firemen, although probably slightly nonplussed by their unorthodox cargo. The van causes raised eyebrows at most borders and especially when we get lost in Hungary. Our Croatian driver speaks no Hungarian or English, and we have only a few words of Croatian. We end up rationing crisps whilst waiting for someone to come and find us from the venue!

Eventually we arrive at Zalaegerszeg Synagogue, now a rather magnificent concert hall. The concert is very atmospheric and we are delighted to be staying in a hunting lodge in the middle of the forest. Again we are spoilt with food and presents and wonderful hospitality.

The next day we drive to Austria for a concert in a modern art gallery in Leibnitz. Our generous host recommends where the best strudel can be found. You might be forgiven for thinking that this tour is turning into a gastronomic extravaganza.

Ptuj Castle (18th Sept) and Salon Cecelja (19th Sept)

We have performed in some wonderful venues over the last week. Our first concert was at the magnificent Ptuj Castle in Slovenia. Torrential rain and flooding failed to deter our audience, although none of us have ever performed a concert accompanied by such a storm. Huge lightening flashes added another dimension to Handel's Lucrezia. This was followed by a performance in Varazdin (Croatia) the following night. This launched the opening of a new music salon at the beautiful home of Zeljko and Martina. No expense was spared in preparing the room, with wonderful wall-hangings and chandeliers brought in from Vienna. We were overlooked by a picture of Handel, checking out the proceedings. As seems usual in this part of the world, we were spoilt with wonderful hospitality at both concerts with local food and wine specialities.

Tuesday 25 September 2007

Central European Tour September 2007

The Band has just returned from a fantastic tour of several central European countries. This was organised by Maja Zarkovic of Illyria concert management, in conjunction with Varazdin Baroque Evenings. We all met in Croatia, then travelled to Slovenia, back to Croatia, on to Hungary, then to Austria and finally back to Croatia again. We gave 6 concerts in 4 different countries over 6 nights. The Band's line-up for this tour was Nicki Kennedy (soprano), Rachel Harris (baroque violin), Tatty Theo (baroque cello) and Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord).

More to come!