A very special concert

I recently had the privilege to be invited to a very private concert, organised by the “Association Artisitique Suédoise à Paris” and which took place in the home of the pianist Helge Antoni and his wife Marissa.

Helge is a fascinating person with a very international life … and of course a brilliant pianist. You can go to his site for further details. He offered us a Chopin recital, of course with reference to the 200 years since Frédéric’s birth. It may be mentioned that Frédéric lived for a number of years only two minutes of walk from here, in Square d’Orléans (see previous post).

Helge also played a wonderful interpretation of François Couperin’s “Les Barricades Mystérieuses”, normally of course performed on harpsichord (cembalo), but I’m sure that if the piano as we know it had existed during Couperin’s days, this might have been the interpretation he would have liked to perform or hear. Maybe also a word about the surprising name of this piece of music, the “mysterious barricades”; Helge told us that he had learnt that during the Louis XIV period this would refer to the ladies eyelashes. You can listen to it here; unfortunately the sound recording leaves to desire.

What further added to the value of the evening was of course the talk with Helge and the members of the audience … and the champagne!

… and also the fact that the home of the Antoni couple used to be the workshop of Degas during his last – almost blind - years. I guess he produced some of his famous ballerina statues here. Degas lived and died in a flat on the other side of the street – Boulevard de Clichy.

Behind a normal entrance on the Boulevard Clichy to a private mansion which once belonged to a French Minister, Téophile Delcassé and his rich wife, you can find another building, full of artist studios; this is where Helge and his wife live. The Delcassé couple decided to build this on their property to allow space for those days’ artists and fortunately most of the studios are still occupied by artists. So, Degas was one of them, Picasso was another one (he lived here some three years during his cubist days), Sarah Bernhardt a third one (she used the studio for one of her hobbies – sculpturing).

Looking out through the windows, you have a chance to overlook the very private little alley, Avenue Frochot, inhabited previously (Jean Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec…) and still today by a number of celebrities.

It should be noted that these addresses are not open to public – you need to know the entrance code or be invited.

Addendum:
There is now a better recording available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDv0SkP4tVY&feature=player_embedded

More from Burgundy

On the way from Paris to Dijon, Beaune and the surrounding wine districts, a few other places are of interest, actually quite a few, but here are two:

Abbey de Fontenay

The Cistercian Abbey de Fontenay was founded by Saint Bernard de Clairvaux in 1118. It was very prosperous during some centuries, but suffered from the Hundred Years’ War and other religious wars and was finally closed during the Revolution. It became a paper mill until 1902, owned by the Mongolfier family, more known for the montgolfière hot air balloon (see previous post about the first human flight). In 1905 the abbey was bought and restored by a rich banker (Edouard Aynard). Almost all original buildings remain and can now be visited. Being one of the oldest and most complete Cistercian abbeys it was classified a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

A Benedictine Abbey existed at Flavigny-sur-Ozerain already during the 8th century. The town, situated on a hill top was prosperous during the Middle Ages and was a stop on for the pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella (see previous post). The town was then surrounded by fortifications, some of them still there. During the 17th century an Ursuline convent was founded. Today there are only some 400 residents, some more during the summer months. The place is still known for the production of anise-flavored candies, called “Anise of Flavigny”, first done by the Benedictine monks.

If you have seen the film “Chocolat” by Lasse Hellström, starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Leslie Caron… you may be interested to know that it was to a large extent shot here.

Dijon and Beaune

After the tour through some Burgundy vineyards in the preceding post, let’s have a look on the cities they surround, Dijon and Beaune.

 

Dijon

Dijon is today the capital of the Burgundy Region and was the capital of the Province of Burgundy, the home of the Dukes of Burgundy (and Valois-Burgundy) between the 11th and 15th centuries. What was to become the Duchy of Burgundy was in 1032 given as compensation to a brother of the French king, who disputed the throne. After a lot of disputes and fighting, the Duchy of Burgundy was finally again annexed by France in 1477. The Ducal Palace as it looks today dates partly from the 14th century, but has been remodeled over the years, more especially during the 17th century.

Dijon has been a very wealthy city and is quite well spared from destructions; it's full of old buildings and churches. Some of the half-timbered houses date from as early as the 12th century. One should also note the special roofs made of tiles glazed in different colours – however perhaps even more visible in Beaune.

The city is of course also known for its mustard, wine houses… and the “Kir” (the drink composed by "crème de cassis" and the white wine "Bourgogne Aligoté" and invented by the catholic priest Félix Kir who was the mayor of the city 1945-68).

Beaune

Beaune is a beautiful little city with a lot of charm and some nice places for eating and drinking (wine tasting). Like Dijon, it has very old origins and is still partly surrounded by remainders of a wall and a moat. It’s of course also a centre for wine commerce and gourmet food.

The most remarkable buildings are obviously the "Hospices de Beaune", founded in 1443. Although the original building, "Hôtel Dieu", now is a museum, the hospital, a charitable institution created for “poor and needy” and living on old donations including large vineyards, is still in operation in other modern buildings. There is a famous charity wine auction end November each year (now organized by Christie’s and held in the market hall in front of the hospital), which also serves as a good indicator of the Burgundy wine prices in general.

I wish you a nice weekend!

Burgundy

We will leave Paris for a little while. I will make some posts about Burgundy, starting with what it perhaps is most famous for, its wine districts. Before the photos maybe a little bit of geography?

Burgundy wines include Chablis, Tonnerre, Auxerrois, Côte Chalonnaise, Maçonnais and normally Beaujolais is also included. This post will concentrate on Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, where you will find some of the most well known labels, often corresponding to a village name. I guess you will have heard of a few that are marked on the map above.

Wines have been produced here since maybe 2000 years. The Church played a great role in developing the wine culture and the nearby Abbeys of Cluny (Bendectines) and of Cîteaux (Cistercians) became important vineyard owners. There are a number of old Roman churches around.

The landscape is beautiful, all villages seem so calm and peaceful, you don’t feel any commercial aggressiveness…

Let’s start from the north with the Côte de Nuits.

If you leave Dijon towards the south and follow a small departmental road (leave the highway!) for some 25 km (= 15 miles), you will cross most of the villages you would like to visit. Almost every village will have a name that is known by somebody who likes wine. The “grands crus”, the highest appellation, can basically be found at Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Mussigny, Vougeot, Flagey-Echézaux and Vosne-Romanée, mostly red.

Maybe the most famous vineyard here is Clos de Vougeot (see top picture), created by Cistercian monks around the 12th century. The Château dates from the 16th century. After the Revolution it became private and has today some 80 owners. Since 1945 it serves as headquarters for the "Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin".

So, let’s continue with the Côte de Beaune.

The vineyards are partly situated just north of Beaune, but most of them more southwards. The “grand crus” here are referred to as “Cortons” and the “Montrachets” which are produced at Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny, Pernand-Vergelesses, Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet… but you will of course here also find names like Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, Monthélie…. More white wine is produced here compared to the Côte de Nuits region, especially in the more southern vineyards.

I will revert to the cities of Dijon and Beaune.

Giverny

Claude Monet lived at Giverny (some 80 km or 50 miles from Paris), as from the age of 43 to his death in 1926, at the age of 86. 

Giverny is a small village some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Paris, close to the Seine River.

After seven years, Claude could in 1890 afford to buy his own house, with a large garden, to which he later added the “water lily garden”. Since1980, after important restoration, the house and the garden are open to public.

The place should be visited several times during the year, following the flower seasons. In April, when I made this visit, together with some blogger friends, the water lilies just started to appear.

Here are some examples of how Monet painted his own garden.