USA 07

Leaving New York City is always a let down. To have the best of the urban world in such pumping high density infuses even the most suburban person with a sense of awe. The drive out from NYC through Queens and the outlying suburban mess is depressingly enervating.

The audience response in Carnegie Hall ( Zankel Hall ) was gratifying (unlike the acoustics) and we played Debussy and Walton as encores.

Melissa Barnard, Tipi, Pieter Wispelwey and co. are on a cello trying-out frenzy. Instruments by Vuillaume, Grancino, Gasparo da Salò (1542-1609) amongst others vying for their love and appraisal. Very interesting to hear all the different attributes in a piece of wood and how it can really change the way people play. It’s also different to note how, like with wine, people can be persuaded by the pedigree of a name hence it’s best to have blind tastings. Steven Isserlis haughtily claims that he’s not interested in instruments but rather by how people play them…mmm!

The violinists are going mad trying out different bows. A Kittel (turns out to be a fake) and Peccattes. All very frustrating chasing one’s tail.

Stumbled into Gordon Ramsey’s The London restaurant. The nastiest man on TV is an elegant chef and for $16 you could get taster plates after the concert with not many people and exemplary service. Amazingly it’s not too expensive AND unlike Sydney, NYC restaurants are open late!! No doubt the full dining experience is something else and this reviewer let go with the barbs. http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/insatiable/24994/

Cellist Julian Thompson is late for the bus out of NYC and can’t be awakened by phone, or repeated knocking on the door, so Damien (orch manager) has to get security to break into his room - and there the little lamb is sleeping off his martinis. Reeking of vodka we howl abuse at people late for buses. Shame on you Prisoner Thompson. HA. I’ll post a photo later.

Apr 25, 2007

What a relief to be in the north east. Boston, now the ACO’s favourite US city, has saved the tour. It boasts Jordan Hall (where we played) and over the road Symphony Hall where expat Tony Fog runs the Boston Symphony and Tanglewood. Jordan is a vibrant, golden hall (capacity about 1000) with acoustics to match. Let’s put our chin out and say it’s the finest small hall in the world. Dawn Upshaw was in the audience. Can’t wait for her to return to Oz with ACO (fairly soon).

Boston concert went really well. We adapted our sound for the resonance of the hall – esp. in Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence which can blow out the speakers (so to speak) if you over play it in such an acoustic. The early music sounded resplendent and it’s a relief not having to push the sound.

Caught up with great friend Ben Zander who took RT out to Walnut Hill performing arts high school for an energetic 3 hours of masterclasses with Ben’s contagious energy inspiring 150 of the country’s most talented high school age music students.

Apr 16 2007

Strip mall madness is everywhere here in the south. Trying to be positive about this country, but hard to find anything but midriff stupidity at the moment. The Suicide Bomber at Virginia Tech. hit when we were in Georgia. No debate, no introspection only more empty self-serving praying. John McCain (Sen R) who sang on the news Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran to the sound of Beach Boys. He also said that ANY POLITICIAN who tries to enter into debate about gun control will be R.E.T. retired.

65,000 injuries and 30,000 deaths per anum and they don’t want to fix the problem. Just being near a gun scares the crap out of me. With such a massive gun problem and all the politicians can do is mindlessly invoke the second amendment : “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. We must be worried by predictions that America’s population will be 400 million by 2040.

Yes! Everyone is bitching about the food, the obesity, the guns, the war, the arrogance, the T.V., the super-powerness. Of course there are INCREDIBLE things in the USA, but if you put yourself up as a superpower then expect the rest of the world to have high standards.

Pasadena California.
“As I was gearing up to emailing my good friend Penny Arcade in New York, this message from L.A came through. Penny is one of the original and most astonishing performance artists. She became famous in Sydney in the early ‘90s with her show Bitch Dyke Fag Hag Whore.

Dear Richard

Chris and I are in LA. Last night we went to dinner at the house of Billy Hayes and Wendy West - friends of mine for nearly 30 years. Billy Hayes was the guy who wrote the story (and lived it) Midnight Express about his bust for hashish smuggling, 5 years in Turkish prison and his daring escape from Turkish Prison.

We started talking about Shantaram, obviously a story he has a lot in common with, and I brought your name up. Suddenly Billy says "ACO???" Australian Chamber Orchestra??? Hey I just drove a double bass and two cellos out to Santa Fe for them!" They are playing in Pasadena today!

When he is not acting, or playing poker for a living, he does some long distance driving for the company that delivered your instruments. He gave me Damien Low, your road manager’s cell phone. I called last night while you guys were playing about 9pm. If he is a good road manager he will have delivered my message to you and he will call me with details this morning. Naturally we want to see you and hear you.”

Damien Low is a good road manager – the best – and he did pass on the message. Met up with Penny and was stoked to receive this amazing coincidence. Unfortunately we had our phones off during dinner as Billy was trying to meet up with us. Synchronicity or what?

Now we’re in Daytona Beach, Florida overlooking the Atlantic with dribbly little waves coming in. Last night was the Virginia massacre. Bush is praying for the victims and defending his country’s defenceless gun culture – you know how it is: People Kill People Not Guns. Where was your good Lord during the shooting, George? Why is he going to come out now and offer you comfort?

Everywhere you travel, you absorb something of the place you’re in. …

When it comes to energy saving, this country is not changing its habits in any ostensible way. At airports fast food outlets help to further oversize the consumer, they have few if any recycling bins and the packaging is unbelievably wasteful and redundant.

Like its inhabitants the cars appear larger than ever, and few people appear genuinely disturbed by the consequence of continuing down this unsustainable route. America – it’s up to you to lead the way. Tell your citizens to shape up and the rest of the world will follow.

Playing in Santa Fe was a refreshing experience. Nowhere have we seen so many art galleries. At an altitude just under the highest point of Kosciusko, Santa Fe’s air is dry and in April, still bracing. It even started to snow as we were leaving. The hall was similarly dry in acoustic, but they enhanced with a bit of “luxury” as we call it – indeed we were given an electronic 3 sec. delay.

For those too short-sighted to see the worth of bringing the Sydney Opera House up to the standard it should be believing it to be a waste of money should get out and about and see what they’ve done to MOMA in NYC and what they’re about to do to Alice Tully Hall alone - the latter costing US$700 million. It is these iconic buildings that make a city. We only have one in Sydney – let’s at least get it right after all these years. Come on land of sport and beer!