Welcome to the June Newsletter. I have been on adventures, seen concerts and enjoyed the couch. Enjoying and cursing the cold in similar amounts.
Road Trip
After finishing up work in May I decided to go on a bit of a Road Trip to visit some friends that I haven’t seen in a while. My first stop was the Gold Coast and Shaughan in his amazing apartment looking out over Main Beach. Lovely spot and a fun weekend hanging out with more pilots than I have seen in a long time. Then off to Jondaryan which is kind of near Toowoomba to stay with Taryn, Des, Dylan and Jasmine. It was great to see them for the first time in 3 years. I enjoyed spending time with them and the dogs. I also got out and about and went to Bunya, Oatley, Toowoomba, Pittsworth and Highfields. The biggest highlight beyond the time spent with Taryn and Fam was going to the Australian Army Flying Museum in Oatley. If you are ever up there go it was awesome. I was in Jondaryan for a week. Then drove back to the Hunter Valley for a couple of nights before driving home. It was lovely to get away for a bit and see people I hadn’t seen for ages.
SSO concerts
So after two years of disruption to concerts by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It has been a month full of concerts. Two at the City Recital Hall and one in the Utzon Room at the Opera House.
Classics in the City
The two in the City Recital Hall were part of the Classics in the City series. The series is a chamber orchestra rather than a full symphony due to the stage size. The first concert was Italian Baroque. It was lovely. It included the following pieces
- MONTEVERDI L’Orfeo: Sinfonia
- GABRIELI Canzona for Brass and Strings
- VIVALDI Concerto for Four Violins
- CORELLI Concerto Grosso No.4
- JF REBEL Les élémens
OK so the last composer isn’t Italian but it was the third time they have tried to put on this concert so they included it. I loved the concert so much that I put together a Spotify playlist with all the pieces. You can also read the program here.
The second of the Classics in the City series was Inspired by Bach. The introductions of the pieces by Andrew Haveron, the concertmaster, were very fun. The pieces were
- CPE BACH Symphony in A
- JS BACH Concerto for Oboe and Violin
- Felix MENDELSSOHN String Symphony No.7
The difference between JS Bach (Daddy Bach) and CPE Bach (one of the Baby Bachs) was that JS wrote to connect with God and CPE wrote to connect with the audience. There are moments in CPE’s Symphony in A when you can hear him giving his Dad the finger. Hehehe. The String Symphony No.7 was written when Felix Mendelssohn was 12, yep that’s correct it was his counterpoint homework when he was 12. It is really funny. He sometimes forgets that he is supposed to be writing counterpoint like Bach and he writes like himself. Felix Mendelssohn also was the reviver of Bach, check out this article to find out more. Yet again I put together a Spotify playlist. The program is available here.
If you want to really get your nerd on watch some of the episodes about Bach, Monteverdi and the rest of the gang on Early Music Sources on YouTube.
The Cocktail Hour
The other concert was part of probably my favourite series, The Cocktail Hour. It kind of says it on the box. You get a cocktail and you get to hear amazing small groups of the Sydney Symphony musicians. This concert was Beethoven and Mozart. There were two pieces
- BEETHOVEN Sextet for Horns and String Quartet
- MOZART Clarinet Quintet
Of course, I made a Spotify playlist and here is a link to the program. It’s great to see a whole heap of regulars and share it with a friend. It was lovely to spend the evening with Miss Liane. I also managed to get myself a gig with the Lawyers Orchestra by chatting to one of the regulars. Get excited about the concert in October.
The cocktail was a Pims-style cocktail for those that are interested.
Princess Louise
So while watching the Secrets of the Royal Gardens on SBS on demand. They shared the story of Princess Louise who was commissioned to sculpt her mother, Queen Victoria. She entered to competition anonymously and was selected. It sits in the gardens of Kensington Palace. I had never heard of her. She had a long and interesting life. Being the first royal not to marry a royal since 1515. She lived in Canada, where Alberta and Lake Louise is named after her along with a lot of other things. There are so many interesting things. So I’ve put together a list of resources for those who want to know more about her.
Her Art
There is a series of articles on the History of Scotland website which shares her artistic life. To see photos of her work check out Royal Collection Trust, Art UK or British Museum.
Her Life
This amazing article from the crown chronicles is awesome and everyone’s favourite Wikipedia
Sport
Of course, there was sport, Bowls, Rallycross, cricket, F1, MotoGP and Rally. There is always sport to watch. But I found a new one to enjoy. Corgi Racing, yep that’s correct Corgi Racing.
From around the web
So a couple of links to interesting things
- Historic Photographs of Life in Australia
- Hidden Histories: The story of women film editors an article about Edited By
- A Lazy Way to an Awesome life – worth the visit really just for the image.
- Quantum Steam Punk – yep it’s really a thing, here’s a great article about Nicole Yunger Halpern who researches it.
Love and Math
So after many months, I finished Love and Math by Edward Frenkel. It was a very interesting book. Half autobiography and half insight into how he joined the Langlands Program and the maths that he has been involved with.
The autobiography part of his story follows him from being a student in the USSR in the 1980s who experienced discrimination due to his Jewish heritage and the people who helped shape his love of maths and gave him opportunities. It is an amazing story about what when on during a very turbulent time in history.
So the Maths part is very heavy but inspiring. He is working on the Langlands program, which he describes as a Rosetta Stone for the different disciplines of mathematics. He has worked to expand it to link to Quantum Physics as well. To find out more about the program check out this article and particularly the video (I promise it explains it with no maths, well maybe a little bit but it isn’t that important to the story).
Anyway, I found the book very informative on both fronts. I have been inspired to find out more about the Langlands Program. Also, I’m going to check out the playlist of Edward on Numberphile (my favourite mathematics YouTube channel). He is also very cute and extremely passionate about maths.
Crafting
So I have started a couple of projects, I’m crocheting a long waistcoat and doing a Minions Embroidery. I also got social and went to a community night at one of the local craft workshop venues. I had a lovely time, chatting, crocheting and checking out everyone else’s projects. I’m definitely adding it to my activities. There is a lot going on in the craft and sewing space over the next couple of months.
Anyway, I want to leave you with a quote about where my life is at.
And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust in the magic of beginnings. – Meister Eckhart
Until next month have fun
