I am writing this on Saturday Oct. 24th (UN day – we used to mark the day in primary school). In a bit we are heading out into Paris and uncertainty – how messy and violent will today be? We are 32 kids aged 14 to 18 and 5 adults, and we have done our duties to the gods of music, and now it’s just for fun. Louvre is closed, Musée d’Orsay is closed, and we are headed for the hills – Montmartre. Dinner is already booked, a 3-course at La mère Catherine.
Our duties. We attended a concert at the rather beautiful Radio France concert hall with its in-house orchestra. Vier letzen Lieder by Strauss – strange title to give a work, as if saying “that’s it” – and then the 5th by Sibelius, which I found a bit disjointed and not so interesting. Strauss included a soprano – and she was great, though we mainly saw her back due to the seating. The reactions in our group can be summarised through the comments of one of adults, a professional with 30 years in orchestras: “when you are young you listen out for faults. There will always be faults. As you mature, you listen out for other aspects of the music”. She also noted that the style in France is individualistic (so sound will be less homogeneous), and compare to Berliner Filharmoniker for a taste of the opposite approach.
Heading out now…
Montmartre was rainy and crowded with tourists, and police and a few soldiers with assault rifles. With the rifles always in ready-to-fire position and a finger on the trigger, it makes you feel quite uncomfortable. What’s the point? Despite this, a small group of demonstrators appeared and were chased by police in full riot gear and shields – then they were gone, and that was all.
Going back in time a to the evening of the concert, here is the tower that Eiffel built, or at least drew. I can understand why people hated it at first- some probably still do.
On our second day we went to Cité U and had master class at Maison de Norvège, ate at the Restau U, and then offered a free concert back at the Maison. It was quite well attended, by a mixture of students from other countries, music aficionados and relatives and acquaintances. They were treated to some pretty good performances.
The Norwegian house was designed by a Norwegian architect and built in about 1954. It now houses 100 students. Among its former residents are Jon Elster and Per Spook.
Crowded RER B
Can you think of a caption for this?
As the demos were going on on Saturday, we made our way up to Montmartre and came across this rare example of French self irony.
The old-fashioned Metro-stations are still holding out
On our way to Montmartre (that again) we stopped by the Rue de Rome and almost everyone bought some sheet music or other. We ate lunch at Cafe Europe and killed time around Montmartre before dinner at La mere Catherine. Despite being in the most touristy spot imaginable, it had good food, good service and great atmosphere. We then headed back to the hotel in the rain. Yes, we missed out this time, since the city centre was closed, Louvre was closed, and so on. So we shall have to come back – though not as a group.
A dark chapter in European history.
We were given a tour of the Opera at the Bastille. The backstage is never-ending and with its system of rails and lifts, two different sets can be rotated each night. Impressive.
By way of contrast to the austere and modernist Bastille-opera, the old one by Garnier is completely over-the-top. The word “restraint” had clearly been banished from the design brief. It is currently being refurbished, and some of the old shine is back already.
32 young souls, all dedicated, most of them planning to embark on a career as musicians. What will life bring. It’s too early to tell. As for me – I have had the privilege to look after them and feed off their energy and regale them with fun facts and the odd dad-joke. And for that I am grateful.
