On your 200th birthday we wish you all the best…
The birthday boy: R. Wagner ©Wikipedia
…although it is more than probable that you have no idea that we celebrate you or, mostly, what you left behind – your music. I think it speaks for itself that – even after all this time – we have fierce arguments about you and your music; we can’t have them with you anymore at this point, although I’m pretty sure you would always find a way to weasel yourself out of a situation find the correct arguments to serve your purpose, for instance if your music takes a certain political point of view or not. A lot of ink has been spilled over it – without any final conclusion or agreement. How cool is it that we can still hotly debate this 200 years after your birth?
Who would have thought that a short man with a pronounced Saxonian accent, a love for velvet berets (I’m assuming he had more than one…), who apparently could be very gallant to women (charmed your second wife away from her then husband, who none the less remained a fan of your music until his death – quite impressive!) would still ignite passionate debates?
I have never had more passionate arguments about any composer’s music than the ones I had about yours. On this occasion I’d like to remind everyone who was there (you know who you are!) of the memorable ‘Wagner only writes loud music’ debate – a seemingly harmless sentence that I couldn’t agree with, not even out of politeness (because it’s not true, ever heard the Siegfried Idyll or the beginning of Lohengrin?). A small statement that suddenly made me look like the most passionate of Wagner fans, just because I couldn’t stand this ignorant remark. Without prior meditation, I turned the entire conversation into an ignorance-how-dare-you-and aha-you-can’t-even-prove-this-statement-to-me lecture. My point was easy to prove: one look into Wagner scores will make that obvious. I didn’t even need to play it on the piano (yep, I can push a point, not just make one…).
One can see the influence of your time period and the prevailing thinking patterns in your music, and yet it still inspires people to re-create your work, not only on the opera stage, but also beyond, for instance in Stefan Karminski’s fun re-narration of the Ring. Whether this is completely true to your score (like advertised in the ‘making of’, by whom I think is the producer), I doubt very much. But then again, who would trust a person who claims that after having seen a few Wagner operas they know the entire Ring score inside-out. Isn’t that like going to have a surgery with someone who has taken a couple of walks through the OR? Ok, I exaggerate, but do you see my point?
To all our lovely blog visitors: I hope you had your share of Wagner music this week – because, after all, even if it has long moments of – hmm, let’s say… reflection, it has breathtakingly beautiful other moments and still speaks to us today.
Roof Terrace – The Spanish Garden - or the calm before (in the middle of?) the storm. G snapped that picture during her one minute of peace in the middle of the event she had organised, when everyone was settled for the panel session.
Our own urban garden on our super small balcony – this includes a 120-year-old hosta (or a part of that plant) several lavender, one rosemary, and new plants: a ncurry plant, peas (currently already raising their heads out of the soil), rocket salad and peppermint – there is also one left from last year, but it’ll take a while to recover from the winter.
I know, they are not new, but having spent (what feels like) an eternity in bed, they just make me happy when I can switch them on and see them from my bed.
Embroidered napkins for N&R’s late wedding present (yes, we sewed the napkin, played around with some fonts and then hand embroidered, sounds not simple, but in the end wasn’t too difficult at all) – super traditional, I know, but we found that it suited them. Right, and now I have to close my eyes before I have to make my way to my editorial catch-up meeting and maybe (if I survive this) I can go the the arts fair on the weekend? What are your plans? I’m so curious to read about it even though it might take me a while. Happy weekend everyone!
I won’t make wild garlic pesto (or Baerlauchpesto), make salted banana chips (very addictive, should come with a warning sign) or try to make courgette chips and cutting them too small so reducing them a version of courgette paper. Instead, you will find me trying to finish one sub-chapter.
For anything not work-related. The tower-with-a-vision-of-the-shard picture is somehow representative for what we didn’t have time the last months (thanks to the great combo of flu then stomach bug then cold). We somehow forgot that we actually live in London…. as far as the cultural things go.
I suppose Mörike wouldn’t object to that sort of popularity, but I do! I have something against earworrms – musical or otherwise – and this poem is a serious contender for an earworm. It gets stuck in my brain and there it sits in form of an endless loop. Somehow very fitting for world book day… it shows that we did read, and especially read our classics. With a bit of good will one could mistake the sawing that goes on somewhere on the street for that soft harp sound…. what will you read today?
If there is sun this weekend we will take the bike and have a coffee at our local coffee shop – if it rains we’ll do the same, but we’ll have the coffee inside then.
My parents are here for a visit and to go to a friend’s wedding in Yorkshire today – and forgot to bring a tie. So G organised a selection… we chose the lilac one – Dad didn’t get too much of a say… 
We (finally) managed to get these old chairs a new cover – totally removable. Why did we wait so long to do this? It looks so much better now!
Sunshine on the way to the ‘place where all the mad people are’ (formerly known as college) to sign a paper that I forgot to sign so they can pay me.
Technically I don’t have a desk anymore. Since we moved into this tiny place I had to get rid of my desk. I use G’s desk, which also doubles up as dining table (or sewing table). Maybe, I should write a post on how to survive in a mini flat 
… is that really necessary? After weeks with the flu I managed to catch G’s weird stomach bug and all I want to eat is apple sauce (otherwise known as Apfelmus) 
According to this add found in several métro stations, these are great biscuits…. and I’m sure H would agree. When we shared a place we always had them in the house. We didn’t cook anything special this week, but are planning to try to do some Osso bucco for our Easter lunch and maybe some version of 
Bought tickets to go to Paris for the day – actually we did this in January already – I guess, some thinking ahead was involved after all. It was just great to escape the routine even for just one day. And going to Paris always feels like going home.
