Retractions / corrections and additions : Winter Festival 2011

When you don’t speak a language well, there is always the chance that listening in on other’s conversations will get you bad information.  Misunderstanding verbs is my worst problem with language, and second to that is adjectives or adverbs.  So you can just imagine what comes out of my listening – not understand who (whom) is doing what and why.  When I am feeling good about myself and my new found language skills, I don’t ask for clarifications, taking my listening / understanding / asking skills – with apparently misplaced confidence.

You may need to go back one post to see what I am talking about.   First retraction/correction: the Municipal Theater of Nova Friburgo holds 480 people not around 250.  While waiting for the doors to open for our second concert this week, we ask and received, directly, info versus counting seats and multiplying, (and not taking the balcony into account). 

Second retractions (the listening skills):  the concert series was organized by the Major’s office and was not separate from the Winter Festival 2011, but was a side event.  The main winter festival’s events are organized and sponsored by SESC Rio.  (www.sescrio.org.br) and in Nova Friburgo runs from July 8 – through the 31st.  There are also events in Petrópolis and Teresópolis – check the SESC web site for those events. 

Okay that is enough apology – that did sound like an apology didn’t it?-

On Wednesday, we went in to town after DARK.  It wasn’t bad at all to drive our little curvy, country road at night.  We should do it more often.  We went in to see an Spanish / Argentine band Otros Aires, (piano, drum, a bandoneon, sometimes guitar) presenting “Milongas Electronicos”.  There were two arrangements done with only the bandoneon and piano that were (in my opinion) beyond excellent.  The use of old videos tied to the modern musical sounds was very interesting and well worth the drive.  They were only 15 minutes late starting and the show lasted a good hour and a half.
I don’t know if I said but these concerts were gratis (free) a contribution of food the only requirement for admittance. 

Finally, On Thursday, we went in late afternoon to listen to Miguel Proença performing “romantic” compositions.  The program listed Gluck-Kempff arrangement, Schubert, Schumann, Scriabin, and Chopin, and if I understood correctly, he substituted Schubert with a Grieg piece and then did Schubert on request at the end.  He was nearly 30 minutes late getting started but then played for 1 and a half hours.  After the standing ovation he played a tango – everyone left happy – again in my opinion.  Have you ever wondered how the classical pianist are able to play without music pages in front of them.... ?