Two house concerts on historic instruments.

A strange week. My guest has left, so normality should return. Instead everyday of this past week I have either visited or been visited by friends I have neglected for a long time. It is lovely to see different friends each day, either here or at their homes. Add to that a backlog of paper work, fitness classes, choir practice and two house concerts: A very full week indeed.

Of course the concerts were the best part of the week. Both were in the houses of friends in The Hague. They have the fortune to live in old and elegant houses, with big, high ceilinged rooms which can easily be converted into or used as a music hall. The first concert was a recital for fortepiano, fourhanded. 

The Duwaer

Not only on a historical instrument, but the house itself is like a museum, and seems to transport visitors to former centuries. Gilded mirrors, dark painted walls, showcases with beautiful and expensive china, paintings and candelabra’s, it all gives the visitor the feeling that he has entered another age when he steps across the threshold. But it is a family home and people live here. My friend restores historic pianos, harpsichords and pianofortes and also organises recitals and concerts at home and in interesting historic buildings, be it castles or buildings in old towns such as Dordrecht and Amsterdam. 

Two of the owner's historic instruments, the Duwaer on the right

It is a delight to go to those concerts, not just for the music, but for the whole atmosphere and his interesting and witty introductions. This time the recital was played on a Duwaer, a pianoforte built in Amsterdam around 1830. It has an amazing sound, just as loud as a grand piano. The two musicians formed an interesting duo: a tall Finn, Ere Lievonen and a very small, elegant, young dark haired Italian woman, Tullia Melandri. Their performance kept us spellbound on our old/antique? and uncomfortable chairs. The nice thing is of course the wine we share during the interval and after the recital, together with the musicians. They draw us into their music; tell us about performance techniques, their choice of music and how they manage to work together. They played late 18^th and early 19^th century music, Hummel, Mendelssohn and Czerny, of which the latter wrote more than piano etudes for unwilling students. The second part of the recital was reserved for Schubert. 

Ere Lievonen and Tullia Melandri

The other event two evenings later was a house concert by the Hopkinson Trio.

The Invitation

They played Mozart, Telemann, a cello concert by Stephen Paxton which was most interesting, and three compositions by Haydn. The musicians were very involved with their public, explaining a composition, or in the case of the violin player the difference in bows and how that influences the sound of the violin. Here too were drinks and coffee before, after and in the interval of the concert, as well as pleasant and interesting company. But in this case the concert was on the ground floor of a spacious house with lofty ceilings, which the owner had turned into a real concert hall and gallery. He no longer lives on that floor, so the atmosphere was totally different from that of the first concert.

Cynthia Freivogel played Fantasia 7 by Telemann, a solo concert for violin.

On this video Cynthia is playing one movement of the Fantasia. At the recital she played all four movements: Dolce, Allegro, Largo and Presto.

On both occasions I tried to take some pictures, but since I did not use flash they did not really come out well.

 Cynthia Freivogel and Fred Edelen

 

Christina and Fred Edelen

A very exciting and rewarding week, ending on Sunday with a two hour confirmation service followed by a pot luck lunch during which we enjoyed the delicious sweets the British are so good at. And of course the interesting hot dishes prepared by people from many different parts of the world and different backgrounds. I do not often stay for the monthly family lunch, but when I do I am always surprised by the wonderful food and the skills of the various cooks. 

I was also surprised that a service which took two full hours did not seem very long at all. The sermon of the bishop was most interesting and the way he confirmed the candidates and addressed them was very personal. An unusual Sunday.