This is one of my faves: Schumann’s cello concerto with du Pré and her husband Barenboim (and piano concerto too).
Du Pré’s life was short due to her illness – MS multiple sclerosis. They’d better times together: they met on the Christmas Eve in 1966. After the Six-Day War (1967, June 5-10), she cancelled all her engagements and went to Jerusalem with him, performing for the Israelis. Then married shortly after in Jerusalem at a Western Wall ceremony, with Zubin Mehta (… I’d to temporarily be renamed Moshe Cohen) as the witness.
Although their union lasted till her death, but they both had affairs: she with her brother-in-law and he with a Russian pianist who born him two sons, in 1983 and 85 in Paris. Both boys were born before du Pre’s death. I saw Michael Barenboim at Carnegie Hall – a journeyman.
这是我特别喜欢的一个CD. 前面那个视频里没有 Daniel Barenboim (丹尼尔·巴伦博伊姆; 1942-). 笑弯腰的是他的媳妇杜娃: 难得一见开怀大笑
他们相遇1966年圣诞夜. 1967 年六日战争爆发前不久, 她取消了所有表演合同, 与巴一起飞往耶路撒冷. 她皈依了犹太教, 并在为以色列军队和民众举办音乐会后, 1967年在西墙结婚.
金童玉女
可惜好景不长. 她1973年10月被诊断患有多发性硬化症 multiple sclerosis MS. 她最后一次在伦敦举办音乐会是在 1973 年 2 月, 与祖宾·梅塔合作. 她的最后一场公开音乐会于 1973 年 2 月在纽约. 与Pinchas Zukerman (平夏斯·祖克曼; 1948-), 伯恩斯坦指挥四场勃拉姆斯双协奏曲. 她只参加了四场音乐会中的三场 (指头失去感觉了), 最后一场, 由 Isaac Stern (艾萨克·斯特恩; 1920-2001)代替她演奏了门德尔松的小提琴协奏曲.
死后她的姐姐Hilary (1942-) 出版了传记 A Genius in the Family (1997) 改编🎬 Hilary and Jackie (1998), 唏嘘 动容
杜和巴都有婚外情 她和姐夫, 他和一俄罗斯犹太钢琴娃 孕二子 都在杜娃死前出世. 我看过他们的小儿子迈克尔的室内🎼 音乐会 – 没有惊艳 – a journeyman.
It was a bygone era’s sumptuous bacchanal. Jacqueline du Pré (杰奎琳·杜普蕾 (1945-87) would die soon, in 1987. The three male musicians all rose to the pinnacle of their respective field: Daniel Barenboim (丹尼尔·巴伦博伊姆; 1942-), Zubin Mehta (祖宾·梅塔; 1936) and Itzhak Perlman (帕尔曼; 1945- ), which we’re going to see tomorrow.
The Chinese version on WeChat is shorter, nipped du Pré and Barenboim from the start, but kept her laughing at the end.
I’ve seen all three musicians multiple times.
Mehta conducted New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1978 to 1991, after stings at Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1961-67), LA Phil (1962-78), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (1969 to life), among many other prestigious appointments. New Yorkers are tough crowds but under his baton at NYPhil, he was not only loved but put on numerous unforgettable performances. I was lucky to catch end of his 13 years run.
This 51 seconds long video, titled Perlman, Mehta, Barenboim and du Pré Having Fun During a Rehearsal was posted in 2008, and resurfaced on Chinese Weixin recently, without Barenboim (perhaps due to 30 second restriction?)
I saw these two lists on FB, for fun I’m sharing it below. Do you own diligence. I don’t know if Vietnam ($1,000/month) and Thailand ($650/month) differs this much.
Probably will return to Mariscos Azteca Mexican Seafood Restaurant
Hearty home cooked food. Tight door. The confetti (?) from the ceiling make the room looks like a kiddie party.
The west facing front has shades, which makes the small hall dark. But it maybe necessary: we sat at the last table facing the door. Every time the door opens I need to readjust my eyes.
Heavy-duty corn chips are good. Thin stem; steaming hot food. Good service. Large portion. We’ve:
Mariscada Azteca
Carne a la Mexicans
Both are steaming hot and yummy, and doggie bags.
Teppanyaki (?) makes the room smoky.
I also visited The small Latin Brother’s Market next and purchased their chicken flavor bouillon … why? Pix here.
Another American city named after a much older city, of another country.
It’s on the west coast of Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico, 125 miles northwest of Miami. Population 19k.
Fifth Avenue South is their main street: filled with restaurants, shops, art galleries, cafes… The western end is on the Gulf of Mexico. Parking is very limited at the beach.
There is an open house on 5th Ave S, one home away from the beach, asking $24m. A young woman who said she’s the greeter, doing the screening. I wondered, at this price range, shouldn’t it be a private sale instead?
In any case, I thought about Great Neck in New York:
Naples, 19k pop, 125 miles northwest of Miami.
Great Neck, 40k pop, 20 miles east of New York City … but couldn’t afford cafes, art galleries, antique shops and decent restaurants like Le Colonial … what’s wrong?!
This Italian restaurant – Gianni’s At The Former Versace Mansion – in South Beach is most famous for it’s previous owner Gianni Versace (1946-97) who was rundown in 1997 by a serial killer. (M2)
We’re seated by the pool, which is swimmable for the hotel guests. Throughout our lunch, we’ve to share or witness other diners’ photop. One Chinese woman gets up four times: first was her husband taking photos of her, then her son. For Pete’s sake, how many photos do you need?
The restaurant offers set lunch menu at $38 each with multiple choices. We’ve
Neat, small and well maintained, opposite from the Convention Center and a block away from City Hall. No earth shattering flowers and greens but is a good place to stroll. It has bathrooms and recreation rooms for kids.
… then a cigarette smoke brought me back to
earth – a woman smokes openly: not a hint of apology.
This 17-acre urban park is the southern most tip of the South Beach, on Miami Beach Island. Whenever we visit Miami, we come here.
It reminds me of Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, in which they all face east to Atlantic Ocean, which has the pounding waves. (Miami is in the north and Rio’s in the south of Atlantic Ocean.) But a slight angle to the South, the body of water becomes calmer.
Bikers, walkers, joggers, kids, pets, beach, Smith & Wollensky, meter parking can be tough.
What are they doing?
The water is aqua blue or green: extremely clear and very beautiful.
Probably will return: they need an upgrade urgently.
The good: convenient location. 4-5pm wine they offer in the lobby is decent. Complimentary bike; they also provide beach chair, bag and suntan lotion – thanks – didn’t use.
The long table at their ground floor restaurant is beautiful; the front desk in the small reception hall is hand carved out of marble, it’s one-of-a-kind table.
Rooftop and the pool (my best guess is about 20 yards in length) is great. Heated pool opens during daylight hours (sunrise to sunset). During our stay, the air temp is about 50°-72°; the water I’d guess is below 80°, which I enjoyed it tremendously.
The little balcony over looking Washington Avenue is good place to have a nightcap and morning coffee. They provide coffee and tea in the morning in the lobby – termed it as breakfast (helllooooo!!), in lieu of coffee maker in the room.
The bad: asked for an extra blanket that never came. I’d rather not to have turn the heat up. They called the following morning at 7:38am, and said will bring it up but never did.
Telephone pad & mobile phone charging banks are dusty & dirty; and the USB ports are “unstable” (?) my phone keeps beeping, as if I just plug it in.
Bathroom sink bowl is cracked. One of the facet is dirty. The silicone is moldy. Lotion pump and hand soap are not working well: either doesn’t work; occasionally when the stars all aligned, it came out in force, splatters all over. Lounge chair paddings are disgusting on the rooftop.
Valet parking is $45 per night with unlimited in and out privilege, with their app. But the guy also serves as bellhop. Saturday is a trying day. We waited for 20 minutes in the afternoon to leave. Returning at 11:30pm, we waited for another 20 minutes, with a few non hotel guests who have gone to the rooftop party. The staff at the front desk said he has three valets. As I was riding the elevator up, another staff asked how’s everything, and said he’s four valets working at the moment. Oh well.
The following day, I went to the rooftop for my daily swim, cigarette butts are around the pool and papers are all over in the bathroom. I’d guess the cleaners have not arrived. One of the days, we returned to the room around 4pm, our room has not yet cleaned. Not that big of deal but it seems they’re short on staff.
Thinking back, we passed by the hotel on our way to Smith & Wollensky, so I thought to go in, to see if they could check us in. It was 2:20 and knowing the check in is 4pm. Nope, they didn’t have a room ready, but could keep my carry on. In my little memory, this is the first hotel that didn’t have a room to accommodate early arrival.
“Oh, can I use the pool, while waiting for the room?” Although I was torn between a late lunch by the water and a swimming.
“No.”
So, they decided for me -:) So much for being their platinum member.
