Changes

Following the "coldest day in Sydney," we had a warm, sunny week, during which we spent time on the beach, sat outside and drank coffee after coffee, and drove with Luke's brother, Adam, and family friend (and fifth-generation Australian), Lee, to the Hunter Valley. Our two hour drive went through bush and country towns, and Toronto...

In the Hunter Valley, we were given so many varieties of wine to taste, and compare, that I began to understand the difference between "old world" and "new world" wines (the latter is much darker and harbors stronger fruit flavors).

Adam, joyous

old world, new world

We picnicked in an ideal location just outside of one of the wineries, looking out onto green valleys and mountains.

The warm weather of last week now seems but a dream--this, of course, is an exaggeration, because the clouds are never thick or pervasive enough to keep the un-shy sun from making its entrance, some time in the day. Last night we had thunderstorms, and this morning the rain seemed endless, but now the afternoon is nothing but sun-drenched green and warm-stillness, interrupted only by the still-surprising sounds of Australian birds (not chirps, but howls and cries--sometimes I mistake them for children's cries).

Last night, while it rained, we ventured out into Sydney, by bus. Our last three weeks have been filled with cars, driving into town, driving to the beaches, driving to visit this or that person... We've become car-dependent. This is not entirely our fault. The northern suburbs, where we're staying, are possibly the most out-of-reach area in Sydney, with no train access. And Sydney is a very large city, that has a sprawl problem, so if you want to cover a good amount of distance, it is difficult to go via public transport.

But ... this is not to diminish the simultaneous sense of pleasure and displeasure I felt as I toured the city. Sydney is beautiful; its white sand beaches, its intense blue skies, its diverse neighborhoods, and its wealth of wildlife reserves, are sources of beauty and pleasure for me. But to see these things via car made for a paradox--as I witnessed the natural beauty of this place, I was also aware of how my activities were destroying the very beauty which I so enjoyed.

So last night, on a rainy winter evening, we drove to a nearby bus stop, and took the bus downtown. It was not expensive, nor was it a long ride (30 mins). It was less stressful than having to find parking, and worrying about traffic (buses here have special lanes so they can avoid getting caught in jams).

Our destination, I should add, was the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), which was performing with the "barefoot fiddler." Though I hadn't known much about the Barefoot Fiddler, or about the ACO, I came to wonder whether this wild, ecstatic, energetic performance provides insight into Australia?

Let me begin by saying this: the members of the ACO do not sit down while performing. This makes for a much more intense and energetic performance (no one sitting in the back yawning...). There were more women on stage than men (10 women; 6 men). And the women were wearing see-through black dresses with pants underneath (gypsy-like). The atmosphere was playful, exuberant and filled with warmth. The musicians exchanged hugs at the end, the solo violinist (the barefoot fiddler) played three encores, none by herself, but always with a member of the ACO, and the audience was filled with excitement as they stepped out of the hall onto the rainy streets.

The ACO with the Barefoot Fiddler in the lower left hand corner (sorry it's blurry)

The barefoot fiddler is a young woman from Moldova who was invited for a second time to perform with and lead the ACO. Her particular trait seems to be a high-energy, intensive performance, in which she is able to bring together the folkloric traditions of Eastern Europe--and the exuberance of folk-musicians--with classical music. Her performance seemed to me unique, and, being not a music critic, I cannot describe it by comparison to other musicians or give you a sense for how her playing affected the music. But a good way by which to describe her style is Dionysian. Some times you'd think she is in a frenzy. Her whole body moved with the music, and one could say that she was practically dancing while playing. This made for an interesting show, alongside the wild-sounding Haydn!! She went crazy with Vivaldi; speed was her joy (reminding me of young violinist who are so excited to play, they only play faster), and so was improvisation--she did quite a bit of that in the Vivaldi piece. The most interesting for me, though, were the Eastern European compositions she played--one by an Armenian composer, Mansurian, and another by the Hungarian Veress. Her ecstatic style went very well with the classical-folkloric elements in both their works and her high-energy was very much in tune with Veress's "Four Transylvanivan Dances." It was fun, and it gave me a sense for how wild things can get around here. (The Christmas performance of the ACO promises to be just as wild, with theater alongside the music.)

The last change of the week (besides temperature and mode of transportation), concerns habitation. Luke and I have been on the search for an apartment in Sydney, and have settled on something. But more about this next time...

Finally: I have been recently advised by friend and privacy expert that I should switch to Wordpress. But I found it so hard to work with Wordpress. Any advice?