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Addio Brescia
Apr. 26th, 2009 09:18 pmIt’s been an interesting weekend!
I’m in Brescia, and despite having performed here for a week in 2007 and again in 2008, I was surprisingly told by the police on Thursday evening that selling CDs was a problem. So I got creative. On Friday I went back to Bergamo, busking both the lower and upper cities (and the upper city is truly beautiful). Saturday morning, an Italian national holiday celebrating its liberation from Nazi dominance, I took my chances and played in Brescia. That afternoon I commuted to nearby Cremona (home of Antonio Stradivarius) for an evening set, which went quite well. It’s a beautiful city that I visited last year but didn’t have a chance to perform.
Today has been rainy, but I did get a chance to play for a bit in Brescia, again taking my chances. This afternoon I had a great time meeting my friends Sara and Ricardo, whom I met last year, for lunch, and had a delightful visit. Tomorrow I’m headed to Trento (home of the Counter-Reformation’s Council of Trent standardizing Catholic practices in the face of the Protestant Reformation), which I’ve heard is lovely. The forecast is a bit discouraging, but I’m hoping to get a chance to do at least a little playing while I’m there, before I head to Ravenna on Wednesday.
A few highlights:
Playing for a Chinese dulcimer player, part of an orchestra visiting to open the Brescia Theatre’s musical concert season.
Walking past a family in Cremona, whose child I overheard saying “it’s a medieval instrument”. Impressed, especially considering the dulcimer was still in its trapezoidal case, I talked with them for a bit and then later saw them again while playing on the street.
Talking to a Pennsylvania family visiting Bergamo about Pennsic, which they live near (and hence know obliquely).
Discussing divided politics with a Belgian, where we talked about the divisions between Basque/Catalan/Castilian Spain, Northern and Southern Italy, and his native Walloon/Flanders in contrast with a lacking (but progressing) sense of European collective identity.
Lastly, I’ve been partaking in a last-day-in-town tradition of killing off the last of the wine I’ve bought while staying in Brescia, so please forgive me if this has been a bit rambly or poorly written. There was a lot of giggling involved in its composition.
I’m in Brescia, and despite having performed here for a week in 2007 and again in 2008, I was surprisingly told by the police on Thursday evening that selling CDs was a problem. So I got creative. On Friday I went back to Bergamo, busking both the lower and upper cities (and the upper city is truly beautiful). Saturday morning, an Italian national holiday celebrating its liberation from Nazi dominance, I took my chances and played in Brescia. That afternoon I commuted to nearby Cremona (home of Antonio Stradivarius) for an evening set, which went quite well. It’s a beautiful city that I visited last year but didn’t have a chance to perform.
Today has been rainy, but I did get a chance to play for a bit in Brescia, again taking my chances. This afternoon I had a great time meeting my friends Sara and Ricardo, whom I met last year, for lunch, and had a delightful visit. Tomorrow I’m headed to Trento (home of the Counter-Reformation’s Council of Trent standardizing Catholic practices in the face of the Protestant Reformation), which I’ve heard is lovely. The forecast is a bit discouraging, but I’m hoping to get a chance to do at least a little playing while I’m there, before I head to Ravenna on Wednesday.
A few highlights:
Playing for a Chinese dulcimer player, part of an orchestra visiting to open the Brescia Theatre’s musical concert season.
Walking past a family in Cremona, whose child I overheard saying “it’s a medieval instrument”. Impressed, especially considering the dulcimer was still in its trapezoidal case, I talked with them for a bit and then later saw them again while playing on the street.
Talking to a Pennsylvania family visiting Bergamo about Pennsic, which they live near (and hence know obliquely).
Discussing divided politics with a Belgian, where we talked about the divisions between Basque/Catalan/Castilian Spain, Northern and Southern Italy, and his native Walloon/Flanders in contrast with a lacking (but progressing) sense of European collective identity.
Lastly, I’ve been partaking in a last-day-in-town tradition of killing off the last of the wine I’ve bought while staying in Brescia, so please forgive me if this has been a bit rambly or poorly written. There was a lot of giggling involved in its composition.
