valencia

bullfighting ring next to the train station where we arrived

upon arriving in valencia, the weather was absolutely beautiful. so a group of us set out to the old part of town. first on the agenda though was to find some food. since it was around 3, many places were closed but we soon found a turkish kebab restaurant (much to efe's delight). it was delicious.



efe was saving some of his dessert for later





unfortunately, the paella place leonidas wanted to take us to was closed after the concert so we ended up going elsewhere. but since he had been talking about this place since our concerts in philadelphia, i had to try it the next day. che-hung came w/ me and we enjoyed our final paella of the tour at la pepica, by the sea. as usual, we ate until we could barely move.




che-hung watched and quickly learned their secret recipe

since we were so close to the water, i had to go in. the beach was so beautiful and enormous. it took me about 5 minutes to walk to the water but i only lasted about 5 seconds in it. the water temperature here made las palmas feel like the caribbean.



after getting back to the hotel, efe (who i have been rooming w/) and i decided to check out more of the city. we walked to the original gate of the city and along the oldest street.





can you tell efe enjoys his desserts?

does this hall look familiar? same designer as the one in tenerife. we played in the hall next door.

flamenco in valencia

For our first night in Valencia, we went out to see some authentic flamenco. John Koen (cello) found this place that was so not touristy that most taxis didn't even know how to get there. So we left our hotel around 10:30pm for dinner and a show. And yes, I do mean 10:30PM for dinner. No one in Spain ever eats dinner before 9pm, hence our 10:30pm concert in Madrid the other night--that must have been our only post-dinner show in Spain. Here's the club: El Toro y La Luna

I know the following photo is pretty blurry, but it's the only one I got of all of us, with a dancer in there as a bonus. From the left it's Hirono, John, me, Marc, Hirono's friend Akiko, and the dancer.

Lee Gravagno and Carole Haas Gravagno got there after we did, and somehow had a better table. They must have known a guy. But they left pretty early and we got to take over their good seats after they left.

So the show started around 12:30 (midnight, Spain time). The term flamenco refers to not only the loud, vivacious dance, but also the particular kind of song and guitar that accompany it. The tradition grew out of a mesh of cultures, as gypsies mingled with other minorities of the time, so the style is very unique. The song is considered the heart of flamenco, while the guitar and dance are ornamental. But the dancers are pretty amazing to watch!

The dancers also sang and played castanets.

Dancer taking a smoke break.

And here's our main singer guy:

He put on a sombrero and started singing some Mexican tunes. A lot of people knew the words to some of the songs and sang along.

John had a little conversation with our tango singer, who I think is also a proprieter of El Toro y La Luna. He was impressed that we played with the orchestra, and showed us all the photos on the wall of him with Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, and numerous other famous people.

Members of the audience were participating more and more throughout the night--they'd hop on stage and dance for a tune, and some of them were really good! By the time we left it was practically a dance party in there.

We left the club around 3:45 and they were still going strong. Spaniards really know how to party!

tenerife - las palmas - barcelona - lisbon - madrid - valencia

lost in madrid

hello again and sorry for the long silence. it's been quite busy here w/ traveling and concerts. on top of that, there are just so many places to see and so much food to eat!

paella w/ chicken and rabbit

seafood paella

valencian paella in madrid

paella broth w/ lobster (not sure of the name but it was DELICIOUS!)

things have been going quite well here. all the concerts have been very well attended and received. our violin soloist, leonidas kavakos, has been INCREDIBLE as always. each night after the bartok #2 or sibelius, he has delighted all of us w/ an encore of bach, paganini or tarrega (the orchestra's favorite).

here is an old clip of the tarrega:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A_CCOsNn_w

i've had the privilege of getting to know leonidas over the past few years. not only is he an unbelievable violinist, but he's also an extremely nice, down to earth guy. during the 06-07 season, he played the berg violin concerto w/ us and after the first concert, a group of us went out to eat. we had such a good time, we ended up having dinner 2 more times that week and also got together when he came to philadelphia for a recital about a year later. it has almost become a "tradition". so during our week of concerts together before leaving on tour, we made plans to hang out and get some paella.

in las palmas, a group of us went out for some good food and hilarious stories

tonight, we're actually going to a very famous place here in valencia where the queen even goes. can't wait.

the halls have been quite interesting as well. the first one in tenerife was very cool on the outside and the one in las palmas was incredible on the inside. the back wall of the stage was actually a huge window overlooking the ocean.

in tenerife

in las palmas

the most beautiful and ornate hall has definitely been the one in barcelona. i've never seen anything like it. even the lobby is incredible.





one thing i really wanted to do during my free time in the canary islands was go to the beach. everyone said it would be too cold but the water was just too inviting. the wind was also quite strong which made for great waves.

couldn't believe i was doing this in the middle of winter!

madrid was also very nice. several of us took the metro into the old part of town to take in the many sights.



outside the royal palace in madrid

statue of don quixote and sancho panza (truly appreciated by this group of violists and cellist)

barcelona has been my favorite stop so far. unfortunately, we only had a few hours to spend there before our concert so we didn't get to see very much. i wish my wife pauline could be here to enjoy these amazing places. i hope to come back and spend more time exploring this fantastic city w/ her.



i think everyone is looking forward to our free day tomorrow in valencia. after that, we head for the final stretch in luxembourg, budapest and vienna. will update you tomorrow (hopefully)......

from Jeff Kirschen

We have arrived in Valencia. This is our last stop in Spain. (and just when I started to get some of the language, too) Sunday, we have a concert here. Then a well deserved day free on Monday!

Our fast and smooth train left from Madrid precisely at 11:20 AM and lasted 3.25 hours. I was able to enjoy watching a DVD and a nice lunch while we traveled through Spanish plains dusted with snow, rolling hills with working wind turbines, and old vineyards. I saw a few castles high up on the rugged low peaks that overlooked the small villages that were scattered along. Eventually, we came upon the orchards where those little boxes of clementines we see in the grocery stores come from.

We've had a tough run of travel/concert days. I loved Madrid but it was cold. Had to use my gloves alot. I really enjoyed The Prado museum and getting around using the Metro. I think it is one of the best systems in the world. Well marked and only 1 Euro. The concerts were well attended. Even the Friday night concert that started at 10:35 PM. Violin soloist Kavakos was as superb as usual.

Photos: Arriving in Barcelona, concert hall in Lisbon, train from Madrid to Valencia, and Madrid.

Philadelphia Orchestra in Espania...

I am very happy to finally have the opportunity to write this blog entry. As one can imagine, it is great for us to travel all around Europe and make music (especially with our amazing violin soloist, Leonidas Kavakos) and eat great food. So far my most memorable moments in this tour were in Tenerife, Canary Island where I was able to Wind Surf in El Medano, which was a really great experience. The wind was blowing over 24 knots and it took me almost a week to get over my sore muscles. Violinist Noah Geller joined me to El Medano to learn how to Windsurf but strong winds prevented his lesson unfortunately. I also had great hike on our next stop in Las Palmas thanks to Albert Filosa. We were lucky to be guided by Ivan who who is a clarinetist and librarian in the Las Palmas Orchestra. He took us to Racque Nueblo and many other great peaks of Las Palmas. Then in Barcelona, I had a few free hours in the early morning to see many wonderful cathedrals and explore the old city. Barcelona has such a great atmosphere, especially early in the morning . Then we arrived in Lisbon and it was a great city to walk around and eat fantastic food. So much history and great sightseeing. And now we are back in Spain (Madrid). This city has a royal feeling of grandeur on every corner.

I am very much looking forward to our next leg of the tour in Luxembourg, Vienna and Budapest. All the best wishes from old world.

palau de la música catalana, barcelona

The hall where we played in Barcelona last night was ridiculously ornate. After the Pintscher, I went out into the audience to listen to the Schubert and stare at the ceiling. Here are a couple shots I was able to get before the usher told me to stop taking pictures. You can't see them from this far away, but around the perimeter of the stage, there were heads of statues sticking out of the wall, each playing a different musical instrument. Enjoy!

barcelona quickie

We have very little time here in Barcelona--less than 18 hours between check-in and check-out--so we tried to make the most of our afternoon here. Marc Rovetti (violin) and I decided to check out the Picasso Museum. Picasso divided his time between Barcelona and Paris in the early 20th century, so quite a few of his works have ended up here.

Getting out of the cab, you start to think your cabbie took you for a ride and dropped you off in a random place, but tucked away in this tiny alley is the Museu Picasso.



From the Museu Picasso website:

"The Picasso Museum occupies five large town houses or palaces on the street carrer de Montcada. The original palaces date from the 13th-15th centuries, undergoing major refurbishments over time, the most important in the 18th century. The palaces are a good example of Catalan civic gothic style. They have a common structure surrounding a courtyard with access to the main floor via an outdoor open stairway."

The buildings housing the museum were fascinating on their own.



We weren't allowed to take pictures in the gallery, but I did get some postcards in the gift shop of some of my favorites we saw upstairs.



We had a few minutes to walk around after the museum. It's a shame we're not here longer, because this city is amazing! We couldn't resist a little churro shop we passed by. Here's an action shot of the churro man frying the delectable dough fresh just for us:



So tasty!!!!



I'd better finish up here, since we have a concert in less than an hour! We play another Beethoven/Pintscher/Schubert concert tonight, then it's off to Lisbon for another one-nighter tomorrow. Whew!