My "travels" in Shakespeare ...

Andrew Byrne’s latter-life tango with the Bard.

 Since retiring from my medical practice 3 years ago I have developed a very keen interest in and appreciation for Shakespeare, something I seem to have missed out on in my younger life. 

 With help from an accomplice partner, a retired librarian, teacher and administrator, I have read almost 30 books on the 36 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 poems as well as the Elizabethan era itself.  I have also learned a dozen or so of the more well known speeches.  Do I have any deeper insights into the genius storyteller?  Probably not, but I have gleaned a few surprising facts over the months of study. 

 There are two ‘lost’ plays, Love’s Labour Found and Cardenio, fragments of which exist yet the miracle is that 36 plays are available in numerous forms, most reliably in the First Folio of 1623.  These were published the decade after Shakespeare’s death by a dedicated group including several notable actor colleagues who knew the value of the plays and the tragedy if they were lost.  At least eight of the plays are now known to have been co-authored most notably at the very beginning of his career and at the very end (Henry VI parts 1-3 with Marlowe; Henry VIII; Two Noble Kinsmen, both with John Fletcher).  AI has now confirmed to a very high degree of accuracy what some scholars had been proposing for years. 

 Bill Bryson’s slender tome on the subject (he states he is no expert) tells us that Shakespeare avoided using the word ‘ALSO’ unlike his contemporaries like Marlow and Jonson (Bryson gives examples he searched).  This may be a minor anecdote but every little clue may help in establishing just what Shakespeare was all about. 

 The most revealing fact for me was contained in my 30^th book which was about Shakespeare in translation by Daniel Hahn.  In it he points out that only native English speakers are aware of and have to deal with the unfamiliar vocabulary and grammatical constructions of Early Modern English.  Virtually every translation is more up-to-date and familiar so that a Japanese, French or Maori reader or listener will experience language which is much more familiar and comprehensible than we do in English. 

 This raises the issue of up-dated Shakespeare in English.  This was first proposed in the Restoration period around 1660 when theatres were again opening in London after a long period of closure related to the Puritan sentiments against performing arts generally.  I read one quote dated about 1675 that the English language had moved on since 1600 and audiences would be unfamiliar with much of the content, justifying re-writing (a sentiment we hear occasionally today!).  But this also involved rewriting some of the plots such as a happy ending for King Leah as well as deleting many of the more unsavoury characters, something we would not condone today under any circumstances.  Shakespeare dodged the censors and churchmen of his day partly by being so popular with royalty, both Elizabethan and Jacobean. 

 It may not surprise that the books I’ve been reading all use quotes and these quotes are nearly always from the ‘top-twenty’ such as ‘To be or not to be’; ‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow’; ‘Now is the winter of our discontent’, ‘There is a tide in the affairs of me’; ‘All the world’s a stage’, etc.  This made me wonder if the rest of Shakespeare is simply not worth quoting.  So in order to test this thesis I chose at random the third scene from the third act of half a dozen plays to look at this question.  I did the same for Tamburlaine by Marlowe and a play by Ben Jonson of the same era finding that all had magnificent poetry and drama, if not eclipsing the famous quotes, worthy of their fame alongside. 

 Readers may be interested to know how so much could possibly be written about Shakespeare.  Even the titles make interesting reading, reflecting the enormous scope of fields covered. 

 Mad about Shakespeare. J. Bates 2022

The Soul of The Age – J. Bates 2009

The Genius of Shakespeare – Johathan Bates 2008

Some Achieve Greatness. John Bell 2021

Shakespeare is Hard, But so is Life. Fintan O’Toole

Shakespeare and the Countess.  Chris Laoutaris 2014

1599 - A year in the life of William Shakespeare. James Shapiro 2005

1606 James Shapiro 2015

Shakespeare in a Divided America. James Shapiro 2020

Will Contested. James Shapiro 2010

Acting Straight. Will Tosh 2024

Shakespeare’s Sisters. Ramie Targoff 2024

Shakespeare’s Book. Chris Laoutaris 2023

The Great White Bard. Farah Karim-Cooper 2023

Everyday Shakespeare. Ben Crystal and David Crystal 2023

Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Penguin Books

King Leah (Quarto and Folio texts). S. Orgel 2000

This is Shakespeare. Emma Smith 2020

The Man who Pays the Rent. Judi Dench 2023

The World As a Stage. Bill Bryson 2007

She Speaks. Harriet Walter 2024

Dark Renaissance. Stephen Greenblatt 2025

A Piece of Work. Simon Russell Beale 2024

Swerve. Stephen Greenblatt 2012

Shakespeare was a Woman (and other heresies). Elizabeth Winkler 2023

Shakespeare & The Poets War. James Rednarz 2001

John Bell on Shakespeare. John Bell 2012

Hamnet. Margie O'Farrell 2020

Shakespeare's other son?  RE Pritchard 2022

History Play. Rodney Bolt 2004

Shakespeare on Toast. Ben Crystal 2008

Shakespeare as a Dramatist. Sir John Squire 1935

Shakespeare's Sonnets. David West 2007

Women of Will. Tina Packer 2015

If this be magic. Daniel Hahn 2026

The Scapegoat. Lucy Hughes-Hallett 2024

Playgoing in Shakespeare's London. Andrew Gurr 1987

Mapping Shakespeare. Jeremy Black 2018

 

The speeches I have taught myself include the following:

 

All the world’s a stage (Jacques; As you like it).

Could great men … But man, proud man (Isabella; Measure for Measure).

Methinks I am a prophet/This royal throne of kings (John of Gaunt, Richard 2)

O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth (Marc Antony in J. Caesar)

When beggars die no comets are seen (Calpurnia; J. Caesar). 

You do look, my son, in a moved sort, (Prospero, Tempest).

There is a tide in the affairs of men (Brutus; J. Caesar)

She should have died hereafter (Macbeth)

This was the noblest Roman of them all. (J. Caesar)

The quality of mercy (Portia, Merchant)

To be or not to be (Hamlet).

The crickets sing … (Cymbeline bedroom scene)

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun (Cymbeline funerary song)

It is our fast intent .. (King Leah)

 

Springtime in Bowral ... what's Andrew up to?

Tulip time in Bowral - now over for another year. 

Andrew and Allan at Lord Howe Island February 2026

My friend in Bellevue Hill wrote that I only ever send out bad new!  While this is not strictly true, it got me to pen a few lines, most happy stuff. 
 
So I’m in rude good health after some medical bumps along the post-retirement road (as most of you know).  I’ve been living a gorgeous spring in Bowral with weekly trips to Sydney in the BMW EV for concerts, family dinners, hair-cuts, The Metro and most important, Paddy’s Market which I love.  I can practice my (rudimentary) Cantonese and stock up on exotics at the same time.  Annie Cannon-Brookes has opened a bakery and café next to Burradoo Station where I get early morning croissants, baguette and other pastries for meself and Allan. 
 
My nephew Felix Elwin had a major part in a school play in October at SCEGGS Redlands … The Lion Boy … it became a huge family dinner in Military Road then the show with three generations attending.  Meantime my niece Gracie Hay is on a second year GP attachment in Byron Bay and the BIG news is that she is 16 weeks pregnant after being with Luke for over 12 years! 
 
The world is not in a happy place but along with our neighbours in Potts Point we watch the cruise ships going in and out of Sydney Harbour each week and pretend the Middle East is not happening. 
 
My continuing devotion to Shakespeare is starting to drive my friends and family crazy.  To be or not to be ...
 
Best wishes to all for the approaching silly season.  Andrew B ..

New York in late spring ... Hamlet, Frick concert, Turandot and everything Russian.

Some people are rude about pot-boilers but I generally love them.  And we had our share in New York this May.  Hamlet (the play), Nessun Dorma (twice), Mozart symphony 12, a group of Handel counter-tenor areas ending with Lascia io piango, Handel concerto grosso, Eugene Onegin, Haydn trumpet concerto, Evgeny Kissin alone then in a violin and 'cello trio both at Carnegie Hall.  We heard graduating orchestras (it's that time of year) at Julliard and Curtis schools and even some serious jazz with Wynton Marsalis and the Philadelphia Orchestra, balanced by a rousing rendition of Beethoven's 7th symphony at Carnegie Hall.    

The Frick Collection has reopened after extensive renovations and they now have a charming theater in the basement with about 250 seats.  We heard Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset and counter-tenor Key Mon Murrah.  These concerts are proving to be very popular and may need to be put on more often in future such is the demand.  

Here are some program titles in case anyone is interested in the details.  My head is full of those tunes, those songs and those soliloquies.  My sure-fire way of getting rid of an ear worm  is to listen to Schubert's Trout quintet with its catchy tunes (but how to get rid of them?!).  

Hormuz, EV, chickens and self-sufficiency ...

Despite the geo-political circumstances I am flying to New York for the month of May with cultural events aplenty.  The only unknown is whether flights will still be operating normally for the return to Sydney.  For the third year in a row I am taking ANA via Tokyo.  It is half the price of Qantas - who I would love to patronise but my patriotism does not extend to $15,000 return business class when ANA is half that and the flights are of comparable duration.  Furthermore, their service and cabins are superlative with two long legs (9 and 12 hours) split by a few hours in a classy lounge with bathrooms, bakery, brewed coffee, bar  lounge and more.  

I have been watching the Hormuz Monitor web site to note numerous ships slipping through but still over 200 waiting to pass.  I just hope some of those getting through are able to relieve some of the shortages in our part of the world.  

What has Andrew Byrne been up to of late?

Dear Friends, 

I wake every day with a feeling of energy and gratitude having been brought back to health from my 22 year old lymphoma recurrence at the end of 2023.  Like so many other cancers now with immunotherapy, it is often a matter of treatment, control and surveillance.  I had a rare spinal recurrence, an almost unique case in the long experience of my haematologist.  I spent most of 2024 on chemo bouts (2 in hospital) then 2025 recuperating slowing and can safely say I am fully restored to health.  

We live in Burradoo and motor up to Potts Point each week for a couple of days to see family, eat out, get a haircut and see a show if there's anything on.  It is a nice rhythm.  And the BMW i-4 EV is a charm. My weekly trip costs around $4 and half that if I wait until after 10pm to charge.  And for those with solar it's FREE! I find it strange that not one person I've spoken to, even EV owners, was aware of the dramatic difference in energy bills with electric vehicles over petrol cars (not to mention all the other advantages).  Why is it not advertised I wonder?  Are they afraid of extra taxes for EVs?   

Lord Howe Island in January was paradise indeed, warm weather and warm water too allowing a brief dunk twice every day.  I find salt water is so good for the skin, hair, etc.  Lovely walks, too old for the serious mountains, however.  People ask why we travel to Hawai'i and Manhattan as well but we have done so annually and thus have friends in both places, favorite eateries, concert venues, etc.  It used to be universities and hospitals as well but my medical days are over, and for some reason I have no regrets despite enjoying every day at work in the addiction field.  

Shakespeare is taking much of my time and rewards me doubly with every scene, sonnet or synopsis I read.  I've learned a dozen speeches, mostly short pithy ones like "Tomorrow" from Macbeth.  But also a couple of longer ones.  This royal throne of kings ... 

Lots of other news, my niece Gracie Hay is third year training GP in Alice Springs was married last July in very moving Red Centre ceremony.  We caught the Ghan.  Apologies for repetitions.  

Lord Howe Island ...

Paddy's Markets at Sydney's Chinatown great fun with bargains to be had. 

Big culture month!!

Few music items would eclipse Beethoven's Ninth and Wagner's Ring operas.  And we will have had both in the space of two weeks.  The third Ring opera, Siegfried and the symphony are performed in the renovated Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House - thanks to chief architect Tony Allen and his team, working right through Covid lock-downs to perform this miracle.  

My friend and colleague Dr Bill Brooks has written the most pertinent words in defense of Wagner's operas "in concert" after attending the second of two performances (some might say a devil for punishment) ... 

We returned for a second serve today (Sunday) and it was equally well received. I love these SSO concert performances. Firstly they allow us to hear the full Wagnerian catastrophe with the orchestra unmuzzled and unleashed, producing a sound that is not feasible in the theatre. The singers were all unfazed by this, even in those moments when they were effectively overpowered by the orchestral sound, however these are less numerous than one might expect, since Wagner often intersperses loud orchestral blasts with a rapid decrescendo as the singer begins, and of course there are long sections accompanied by a wind octet or an ensemble of lower strings. That said, the demands on the singers are superhuman, and Simon O’Neill in particular appears to have an indestructible voice! Secondly, for those of us who like to look under the bonnet and see how the sausage is made (is that a mixed metaphor? Oh dear), it’s interesting to see why there are 3 oboes, when the Wagner tubas are employed, and how many of the large brass menagerie are on the loose at key points, etc. Thirdly, I find I have more time to read the surtitles and ponder some of the wacky phrases RW puts into the characters’ mouths. He really never says something in five words that he could say in two hundred. Verdi would be aghast. I quite enjoyed the way a bit of theatre was proffered. Having the men in penguin suits made them look theatrical anyway, given that most had a quite characterful embonpoint. The sight of wild-haired Alberich slinking out cautiously, looking warily about and suspiciously scrutinising the orchestra as he approaches the Neidhöhle, was more theatrical than several fully staged Ring performances I’ve seen - but of course we could rely on Warwick Fyfe. Teddy Tahu Rhodes made a welcome return to Wagner as a very credible Fafner. But I thought they were all excellent. 

As for the rest, following the 'cello sessions, Kathryn Selby and Friends performed a lovely concert in Bowral.  We heard the longest Brahms piano quartet (violin, viola, 'cello) before retreating to the Bowral Ngununggula Regional Gallery with a touring exhibition of Clarice Beckett from the NGA.  What seemed like perhaps 50 of her works were interspersed with contemporary artist from Sydney Mirra Whale with still lifes, landscapes and portraits of great interest and variety.  Her domestic monochrome trompe l'oeil kitchen scenes are particularly noteworthy to my untrained eye.  

This week, on two days running, we will experience one of the greatest works in the English language, King Leah then Beethoven's Choral Symphony, one of the greatest musical works ever written.  Lots of expletives have been written and will be written.  I just feel enormously fortunate to be present, awake and aware for both of these events.  In case I'm losing my marbles I am currently trying to memorise a number of famous Shakespearean quotes before it's too late.  

I hope you also manage to attend some fine artistic endeavours as the festive season approaches.  

Why is it always the 'cello?

As it happens we have heard four magnificent ‘cellists of late.  Most recently a rehearsal of the Dvorak concerto by Kian Soltani (Persian family via Austria) on Thursday 30^th October.  

Then we happened to meet SSO chief ‘cellist Aussie Catherine Hewgill and her mother in a Bowral restaurant earlier in the week, and before that the Rococo Variations of Tchaikovsky played brilliantly by Daniel Muller-Schott with SSO at Sydney Opera House.  Also, they played an encore of a Czech song set for 8 'cellos which was charming and a contrast for the hurly burly of the Tchaikovsky.  At the performance we were able to say hello to Ms Hewgill in the intermission.  The rehearsal is always less formal than a full performance.  Everyone seems to appreciate the newly improved acoustics of the Concert Hall.  Only the conductor Simone Young seemed to be in a ‘mov’d sort’ for some reason.  Her orchestra sounded fantastic (substantially due to Maestro’s strict standards).  

We also heard Daniel Yeadon with the Australian Haydn Ensemble in Bowral on Sat 1^st November in a glorious concert of chamber versions of Mozart’s 40^th and Beethoven’s 8^th symphonies.  

By yet another chance senior Sydney ‘cellist John Painter died last week.  The SSO performance was dedicated to his memory.  He was long-time partner of our friend Renée Goossens.   

We have almost had too much music of late yet we are preparing for Beethoven's Ninth and Wagner's Siegfried 'in concert', also at the Sydney Opera House, later in November.  

Best wishes to all and NO I don't observe Halloween!  AB .. 

PS - I was lucky enough in my youthful travels to hear Maestro Rostropovich play the Rococo Variations and it is not by chance that Ms Hewgill told us that she had lessons from the Maestro himself back in the day.  

What has Andrew Byrne been up to lately?

Allan just said to me over our penultimate Honolulu breakfast “how did we get old so quickly?” 

What a question?  With no answer apart from a whole lot of gratitude.  And perhaps an appropriate time to put a few words down for posterity of our luck in meeting up with fascinating people, places and circumstances, some quite remarkable. 

Before retiring, I ran a medical practice in Redfern while Allan had worked for the NSW Minister of Education at Circular Quay until about ten years earlier. 

Forgetting the memories of last year’s New York spring at Hampshire House, our present travel log starts in May 2025 on our beloved Lord Howe Island where we coincidentally joined my niece (Dr) Gracie Hay and long time partner Dr Luke Steller (PhD) for a couple of days of glorious overlapping holidays.  Since then they have married in Central Australia and recently followed in our footsteps in a long and somewhat delayed honeymoon.  Despite not overlapping this time we enjoyed Waikiki Beach within weeks of each other and have been in constant touch for recommendations, encouragement against the prevailing political turmoil in the world, etcetera.  Gracie started a week earlier at her mother’s in Mullumbimby (my sister Mindy), then a huge world zig-zag including Calgary, Honolulu, Kona, Nashville, New York, London (Wimbledon) and Turkiye.  All have yielded happy surprises and now on Instagram for photographic proof if any were needed. 

With our own Hawaiian holiday in recent memory there were numerous memorable moments, a year after the presidential election including a ride with an older taxi driver who heard our back seat conversation in which my partner Allan said something to the effect of: “Well, elected members should need to say that they may disagree with the members opposite but they will abide to respect their views and decisions while they remain in a majority”.  The old cabbie said that this was the most sensible thing he had ever heard in his car in 30 years of driving.  He then dropped us duly at the Elk Club on East Waikiki Beach near the Diamond Head rise for a dinner with friends near the end of our marvelous Hawaiian adventure. 

Without a mensa brain, lacking patience and a habit of waffling I have never excelled at anything very much in life, despite notching up a few odd diverse contributions.  A naive insecurity or mere shyness prevented me singing in the school choir, acting or debating.  I literally fell into addiction medicine due to the HIV situation back in the late 1980s.  So, if anything secures my place in posterity it would be for making preserves and running reunions and class blogs.  This yields some ill-deserved gratitude with only a modest input from me.  My school motto was ‘to be rather than to seem to be’.  I seem to have learned best to fake things in life and usually get away with exactly the opposite of the motto: 'Fake it 'til you make it'.  

Since retiring I have spent untold hours reading Shakespeare, I started with Cymbeline.  Plays, sonnets, poems, critiques, etc plus the life and times in England circa 1600.  It has been a great joy and I have now read over 20 books on the subject from Bill Bryson to Stephen Greenblatt to Judi Dench to James Shapiro and other captivating and knowledgeable writers.  But mostly the words of the Bard himself which speak for themselves, even though it sometimes takes a little effort to derive the fullest pleasure and meaning.  I’ve memorised a few speeches, mostly short and concise, not that I think anyone would be interested to hear me! 

Best wishes to my readers, family, neighbours, etc and hope all have a nice summer on the way. 

Andrew Byrne ..

       Luke, Gracie, Andrew and Allan on the wharf at Lord Howe Island.  

PS - I have just recharged my EV after a trip of about 150km.  It cost $2.00!  

New York via Tokyo with ANA highly recommended.

For the second year in a row we took ANA business class and very pleased we did.  I would say it is closer to first class and on the northern leg the cabin is virtually first class and is called 'the room' by the crits.  I cannot fathom how they can charge less than half the  regular business class fare offered by Qantas via Auckland, making it way out of our range.  

New York City is different in some ways in the new Trump days yet essentially it is still the Big Apple, as ever, and as described by my grandfather Harry Gracie in his letters from 1924 (Harry's Letters - Chicago, Detroit, Niagara, New York Part 1).  

Central Park has been smartened up, renovations are happening, people seem to stick to themselves and get on with the job.  Spring is a lovely time to visit.  The Frick Collection has reopened after 4 years of restorations, definitely worth a visit if just for their four Vermeers.  

The Frick reopening day 17th April.  

More elsewhere about the new Aida at the Metropolitan Opera ... Magic Flute ... concerts at Julliard, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully and Geffen Hall.  

PLUMS GALORE!

Dear Friends,

I was pleased 20 of you were able to take some of our wonderful summer crop of Satsuma blood plums.  The fruit are still a week or two away from full ripeness but can be cooked straight away into jam, compote, plum cake, plum sauce*, etc, etc.  For drying plums probably the riper the better (and sweeter). 

We still have a few more, believe it or not, so let me know if you, friend or neighbour could use another delivery, first-come, etc. 

Wishing all a Happy New Year for 2025 … Andrew B and Allan G, Hunting Lodge, Burradoo ..

* PS Old family plum sauce recipe from ‘Melinda’ in Bong Bong Street (updated for metrics):

1kg plums

600g sugar

30g salt

7g allspice

2g peppercorns

1½ large onions

450ml brown vinegar

1 medium apple, sliced

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

4g ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

Chilli powder to taste (optional). 

 

Combine all ingredients and stand overnight. 

Boil well for at least 3 hours next day. 

Strain thru colander (or zizz with zizzer). 

Then decant into sterile bottles. 

 

Hawaii week (and Presidential election)

 After numerous morning and evening dips in the ocean at Waikiki Beach I went to an election “party” in Honolulu mid-week.  The mood was sombre indeed.  I heard the word ‘gutted’ many times from locals.  We are lucky in Oz but should never take democracy and freedoms for granted. 

 In contrast, a lecture by ‘Atlantic’ historian Professor Marcus Rediker at Hawaii University Manoa on the subject of ‘Resistance to Tyranny’ was most edifying.  I knew next to nothing about slavery and the complex and tragic history involved, culminating in the Civil War.  Many of the audience’ questions related to the Trump win and whether that was tyranny too.

 My (Ascham) kid sister Marguerite and hubby Cameron Elwin travelled along with us which was fun.    

     Andrew, Marguerite ('Doll') and Cameron at Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head behind.  

Allan, Andrew and sister Marguerite Elwin in departure lounge at Mascot on way to Honolulu.  

Andrew's Health Issues (continued)

 Dear Patient readers,

 This will surely be my last health posting combined with a message of goodwill for the new year 2025 almost upon us. 

 Happily I can report that after a year of treatment I am fully restored to health.  I thank our medical system and those many involved.  If I were religious I would thank the deity as well. 

 I still have a diagnosis of follicular lymphoma (the most common type) which began in 2003 and while this is very treatable it is incurable.   So like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or Parkinson’s Disease this is a controllable, treatable condition and mine is extremely slow growing according to my St Vincent’s doctors.  So we cross fingers for a long remission. 

 Thanks to all of you who have been in touch, the support has been very important to me so I am very grateful. 

 Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy and Prosperous New Year. 

 Andrew Byrne ..

Andrew's Health Issues ...

 Dear Friends,  

 After nine months I have finally had my last session of chemotherapy for lymphoma recurrence at St Vincent’s Private Hospital.  This one, like the first in November, was 5 days intensive in-patient infusion with ‘rescue’ using folinic acid.  Meantime I had 12 out-patient infusions, most of which were trouble-free.  Each time I walked from our flat in Potts Point to the hospital, exercise which could only help considering my sedentary lifestyle. 

 I am grateful to all of you for intermittent messages of support which have been very sustaining.  As the months rolled on the previously modest side effects were greatly augmented by contracting influenza A (despite double vaccination) in June.  I could no longer pretend that some other poor soul was having the therapy while Andrew went on having a good time: New York, Lord Howe, family gatherings, 70^th birthday, opera, restaurants, etc.  Even my first bout of Covid in March was minor compared with the recent ‘flu.  To help with the residual bronchitis and to prevent other infections I am having a transfusion of immunoglobulins before discharge.  Allan and I should be home in Bowral on the weekend if all goes according to plan. 

 After a clear PET scan I am now in remission and happy to say been given every chance that it should be a long one, thanks to the doctors and nurses at St Vincent’s Hospital.  Ever grateful, etc, for the opportunity to benefit from wisdom and experience of top professionals. 

 Hope to see you all around very soon,

 Andrew Byrne .. 

Highlands cultural pursuits ... why go to Sydney?

 Dear Highland friends,

 This is a reminder about some cultural events … apologies to those who are already familiar – concerts and gallery viewing in Bowral. 

 Selby and Friends continue to come to Bowral second monthly with chamber music carefully chosen and expertly performed at the Bowral Memorial Hall.  They are usually a group of piano, violin and ‘cello but sometimes with another instrument as well.   They generally play on a Saturday late afternoon in a program which travels to Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.  They play traditional classics as well as occasional modern pieces as well. Highly recommended.  Classical Music Performances | Selby & Friends | Australia Tours (selbyandfriends.com.au)

 The Australian Haydn Ensemble also visits Bowral every couple of months along with numerous other country destinations.  They have up to six soloists playing a variety of string works with added woodwind or brass instrument when required.  Over the past few years they have performed a number of symphonies in versions for reduced orchestra, something which was commonplace in the past but rarely heard today.  It is such a pleasure to hear a familiar Beethoven of Mozart symphony in a smaller hall with the immediacy of virtuoso players … not to mention being close to home.  Australian Haydn Ensemble

 The Ngununggula Regional Art Gallery has managed to obtain a large collection of paintings all of which were first shown at the Macquarie Galleries in Sydney’s CBD from 1938 to about 1960.  The list of artists and quality and diversity of their works is staggering … Nolan, Olley, O’Brien, Olsen, Dobell, Cossington-Smith, Gruner, Crooke, Smart, Pugh, Rees, Boyd, Bunny … to name just a few.  The gallery is part of the renovated out-houses of the Retford Park Estate but entry is via East Bowral with user-friendly car park, entry gratis with a nice café on the premises.  Closes 17^th November 2024.  Home (ngununggula.com)

 Best wishes to all,  

 Andrew Byrne .. Hunting Lodge, Burradoo.

 

The Big Apple in April 2024 ...

It is an awkward time to be writing about happy travels when there is so much unhappiness, trauma and pain in the world.  And our country is not immune with serious war protests and unrelated but almost unbelievable public carnage as reported in Bondi and Western Sydney.  However, with apologies and sympathies to all who are affected I write for the record.  

We are here in New York City for the month, well settled into our digs in Hell’s Kitchen, 54^th and 9^th near the USS Intrepid on the Hudson, not far from Times Square and 42^nd Street.  This year we have a 2 bed, 2 bath flat and unwisely mentioned same to family whose third member (and second sister of mine) will arrive this Friday to stay.  Great fun being in the city again with friends and family. 

We took the first sister Mindy to Turandot with Christine Goerke, Roberto Alagna and Angel Blue in the wonderful old Met Zeffirelli production.  Then Allan and I attended Terrence Blanchard's 'Fire Shut up in my Bones', to be followed by La Rondine HD broadcast on the Saturday matinee, Madama Butterfly, Carmen and El Nino, all at the Met in the last week of April. 

We have also been lucky to get to 2 concerts at Carnegie Hall, Schubert four hands program with Jonathan Biss and Mitsuko Uchida.  Then Carnegie Zenkel Hall Orpheus Chamber Group doing Mendelssohn’s little known and early (aged 13!) D minor violin concerto, along with Bach’s famous concerto masterwork for two violins.  Oh, and NY Philharmonic at Geffen Hall with Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto plus Tchaikovsky’s 5^th symphony (no Winfield jokes please).  

Sondheim's Sweeney Todd on Broadway was a magnificent professional show with rush tix a further incentive as we are staying nearby. 

Still to look forward to: Merrily We Roll Along (also Sondheim) and La Clemenza di Tito at Julliard on our final day. 

With keen sister Mindy in tow we have been to UWS Zabars, Fairways, Baptist Sunday service, Christie’s antiquities preview (magnificent Greek and Egyptian pieces), Williams Sonoma, Mandarin Oriental Hotel gander, luncheon at La Bonne Soupe in Midtown, Strawberry Fields John Lennon memorial, Dakota Building on Central Park, Ansonia Building on Broadway, Columbus Avenue Sunday markets, Citarella (to get produce for chef sister to make dinner!).  

The main event so far was probably the New Jersey earthquake (4.6 on Richter scale but not felt by us) and trip to Buffalo to see Niagara falls and the amazing solar eclipse.  We walked over to Canada on the Rainbow Bridge for a spectacular view of the three Niagara Falls ('American', 'Bridal Veil' and 'Horseshoe') thundering over to the ‘whirlpool’ below where some take the risk of a water journey, not for us, thanks!  

Seeing the world go cold and dark in the middle of the afternoon was an extraordinary event to behold.  And to do so at Niagara was a bonus indeed.  Despite being rather run-down and dilapidated, the locals pulled out the stops with festivities, cameras rolling and fireworks in the evening.  While Niagara town has seen better days the Canadian side seemed prosperous and well organized.  We walked across the Rainbow Bridge (and were happily let back into the good ole USA afterwards!). 

Best wishes to all ... [see ON THE TOWN performs ON LOCATION in New York, New York! (youtube.com) ]

With sister Mindy at Zabars

Dakota Building from Central Park near Strawberry Fields. 

             With Marguerite and Cameron on their 25th wedding anniversary dinner(s). 

At Cafe des Artistes

Post script: Full points to All Nippon Airways who rightly deserve their high rankings of late.  Scrupulously clean, on-time, excellent service, comfortable seats/suites.  And less than half the price of Qantas on a business package Sydney to New York (JFK).  

 

Andrew finally gets back to the Big Apple, November 2022.

I am so delighted to be able to write again from New York after the Covid closures. 

Topics: Covid consequences in NYC; 

Opera season; Newly re-opened Geffen Hall and NY Philharmonic concert series; 

Reaching out to medical colleagues and advocates; 

Christie’s art auction preview trumps Met Museum of Art; 

NY Marathon; Halloween; ‘Only in New York’!  

Travel from Australia to mainland US via Hawaii highly recommended.  

Leopoldstadt; Mendelssohn at Carnegie Hall; Haydn at Rockefeller University. 

This city is much changed after the Covid tragedy played out … like Shakespeare's tragedies, a relentless infringement on humanity ... and at the same time all else that makes up our society.  The worst days were obviously only experienced by those who were here, mostly locked-down and either too sick or too frightened to go out for anything but absolute essentials.  And deaths in numbers we Australians find hard to comprehend. 

The most obvious visible change in New York is that cafes and restaurants are now permitted a covered pavilion on the street in front where diners were permitted to eat during the lock-downs as they were considered 'outdoors'.  This means that in both streets and avenues there are major lanes of traffic and parking completely blocked by these 'temporary' structures.  Many, however, look extremely well built, weatherproof and heated yet none I saw had ventilation which is so important for avoiding the virus.  I read that food scraps and crumbs falling onto the roadway below caused a rat problem in some areas.  Nothing is easy.  And many businesses are gone completely.   

The virus is still around: the very first person we met on the mainland rang us a week later to say he had Covid-19 and was in isolation, mildly symptomatic (and despite 4 vaccine shots).  

As always, I came here partly to continue to spread the word about the effectiveness of D&A treatments as well as opera and catching up with friends including a psychiatrist who turned 100 years old last month … and who is still active in our field of drug dependency.  I have participated in Zoom meetings and finally have a face-to-face meeting at Columbia University which I have not been able to attend physically for 3 years.  New York now has it first injecting rooms which are called 'overdose prevention centers' (OPC).  This is 30 years after they were opened in Switzerland and 20 after Sydney's own MSIC in Kings Cross.  

The miracle is that things still tick along at all in this city.  Kids go to school again, transport is running, some stores and restaurants are still operating while museums, parks and galleries are open.  Halloween is the last day of October and like Christmas it has been totally commercialised and goes for many days - we saw it start in Honolulu the week before!  And sadly it has been exported with those terrible consequences reported from South Korea. 

The opera has been marvellous and for the first time in decades I have gone to the stage door to meet and greet the artists afterwards (Tosca and Medea).  It is always a strange experience since one by one people exit and you don’t know if it is the title star herself/himself, a stage hand or even the second trombone.  Post-performance dressing room visits at the Met have been banned due to Covid concerns, even for generous donors and supporters and family members. Don Carlo also splendid, looking forward to Rigoletto.  Tucker Gala booked as well.  Then 'The Hours' with Renee Fleming, Joyce DiDonato and Kelli H'Hara. 

Verdi’s longest opera Don Carlos opening was sandwiched between two performances of Tosca (with difference casts) then with the terrible Greek infanticide tragedy Medea - all wonderful experiences.  No house was more than three quarters full, some less.  In both Hawaii and New York we have seen some old friends and made some new ones. 

It seems almost daily that something happens which is a ‘first’ for me.  I saw aloe vera plant fronds on sale … yet I would have no clue what to do with them.  Yuzu lemons on sale, popular with the Japanese, are like a cross between lime and lemon with yellow/green dappled zest, enormous white seeds and modestly juicy flesh.  Great in gin and tonic. 

On the subway I saw a young man dressed in just a large cardboard box while his friends were also in fancy gear, some mimicking a skeleton.  I saw Brussels sprouts sold on their stems for the first time … I did not even know that they grew on stems! “Baby cabbages?” I must be a city boy.  Never before heard Cherubini.  I was also a Bruckner novice.  Never before seen a cannabis dispensary … but our local Broadway bakery has been replaced by a cannabis shop!!  Very annoying! … unless you dote on dope for breakfast.  And two doors further up is a shop selling pipes, bongs and other paraphernalia!  Last time I was here these would have been indictable offences!  

The David Geffen Hall is the home of the New York Philharmonic and has been closed for over 2 years for renovations like our concert hall in Sydney.  The October reopening has been a grand affair, formal and informal Gala nights, televised and projected performances including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.  Our visit revealed many similar attributes to our own opera house … greatly improved acoustics with extensive wavy wood panelling, relocation of the ugly escalators, better bars with baristas, efficient elevators and wider passageways for the disabled, additional stairs and balcony bar overlooking the circular Lincoln Center fountain. Surprisingly the box office windows are gone forever, replaced by receptionists smiling at computer/printer desks "May I help you?"  No more shouting into an ill-positioned hole in the glass!  

The stage has been advanced substantially allowing a large bank of ‘organ gallery’ seats installed (for choir or overflow audience).  Hence everyone is closer to a more centred stage.  Only a couple of orchestra members wore masks along with about 10% of the audience (including me).  Mozart’s 22^nd piano concerto with Bronfman playing was half an hour of aural joy, then the huge experience of an hour of Bruckner’s 7^th symphony, at times almost painful for the ear drums as we were in row C and the orchestra was at its full compliment. 

A young friend is visiting from Chicago to participate in the NY Marathon which is 42km (the distance from Marathon to Athens according to Google Maps) starting in Staten Island, going across the Verrazano bridge to Brooklyn then across the Queensboro Bridge and up second avenue to cross briefly into the Bronx, back to Manhattan and ending at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park.  Sydney’s City to Surf ‘fun run’ is 14km (one third of a full Olympic marathon). 

We have learned that when you see a queue (‘line’) in New York you should consider joining it.  There is likely to be a good reason like best bagels, free admission to a gallery or other opportunity to be had in this amazing, diverse but competitive city.  The Christie’s auction preview was for the estate of the late co-founder of Microsoft, Paul G. Allen.  It was phenomenal! And all for free with knowledgeable guides (after a short wait outside on the sidewalk). About 20 paintings were marked "estimate on request". We were told these were all over 50 million (gasp!) dollars! There were many magnificent recognisable classics by Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Bonnard, Breughel, Seurat, Dali, Tanguy, Ernst, Turner, Bacon, Kandinsky, Hockney, Klimt, Canaletto, Botticelli, etc, etc. Also a lot of hugely priced 'garbage art’ (my own derogative) including a Mondrian ‘rectangles’ of which an example was recently reported to be hung upside down by mistake for 40 years in Europe!  There was a room full of spun circles of multicoloured paint to my mind of little artistic value at all despite a wonderful display of colour and splatter.  Yet some such art is highly valued and it’s a free world!  The entire auction is expected to realise up to a billion (one thousand million) dollars!  The funds go to various charities. Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection Part I (christies.com)

For the first time in decades I did not travel direct to the US via California but was persuaded by my wonderful travel agent to do a big triangle: Sydney, Honolulu, New York, LAX, Sydney.  Air fares have skyrocketed in recent months so this allowed my long delayed reunion with friends in Hawaii along with the New York trip.  Hawaiian Air and United both have direct 9 hour flights to New York.  

"Leopoldstadt" on Broadway by Tom Stoppard was a brilliantly staged event lasting just over 2 hours (no break).  At the same time an entertainment, a catharsis, wrenchingly ended and in parts, hilarious.  We learn about Vienna high society, Anshluss, the Riemann hypothesis of prime numbers, Seder blessing, secular ‘Jewish’ Christmas and baptisms with circumcisions.  The only ‘real’ character (who does not appear) is Sigmund Freud.  It is an autobiographical product of a brilliant playwright who learned about his Jewish heritage late in life.  This play is highly recommended but I don’t think it will change anyone’s life, apart from the author whose parallel character ends the play alone on a darkening stage, in tears. 

 

Mendelssohn’s Piano concerto No 1 and Midsummer Night’s Dream incidental music … wonderful with St Lukes Orchestra, Trinity Church Wall St Choir, conductor Harry Bicket and Benjamin Grosvenor on keyboard. 

This Carnegie Hall event was indeed a high point.  The piano was like a constant cascade of double trills up and down the keyboard in a varied and melodic concerto with all three short movements played without breaks (attacca). 

Midsummer Night's Dream (incidental music) is indeed a discrete piece of theatre and the Bard would be proud I’m sure.  The narrator was David Hyde Pierce who spoke Shakespeare’s immortal words beautifully.  At times he was accompanied and there were two soloist ‘fairies’ plus the large Trinity Wall Street Choir (only soprano voices).  A high point was the wedding march which is one of the most recognisable pieces of music ever written. 

 

Halloween and 'temporary' restaurant booths. 

Allan at Hudson Yards on High Line. 'The Vessel' in background.

Central Park

Bakery replaced by cannabis store.  

New York Marathon rules; below our mate Rob with his medal at the end of the race near Tavern on the Green. . 

[Acknowledgements: Thanks to Allan Gill for several of the photos and to Lilla Elwin for help with editing.]