Yoav Kutner Tells the Beatles Story

Posted on November 15, 2010 by admin

I was last week in Beijing for the IETF meeting, and after an intense week of work as all IETF meeting weeks are and one day spent on airplanes and airports I landed in Israel late on Saturday night (or early on Sunday morning). Yet, at 11 in the morning I was in the AVAYA office for an event that I could not miss – hearing Yoav Kutner speak about the Beatles.

Kutner is one of the well-known music experts and radio presenters in Israel. His radio broadcasts promote best quality Israeli music and sone of the TV films he made trace the history of the rock and pop music in Israel. He is also probably the best expert in Israel in what concerns the Beatles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGQgd2PT4mw

(video source zooootv)

The meeting hosted by my company had Yoav Kutner present the history of the band from its first record in 1962 until their formal split in 1970 (actually the breakdown started a few years earlier). Using musical clips in order to create the atmosphere and illustrate the principal steps in the evolution of the band, Kutner marked the key moments in their evolution and made pertinent comments about the musical track followed by the Beatles from the early simpler rock tunes to the sophisticated music and arrangements of the later disks, the impact they had on the young generation of their time, the characters of the principal members of the band, and their evolution as musical creators while they were together and after they broke away. Interesting to note that his sympathies in the creative duel and personalities clash between Paul McCartney and John Lennon go in favor of Paul, whom Kutner considers a much more fulfilled musician as well as a more balanced character. Overall Kutner shows that he not only masters well the subject, but also is in love with the Beatles, talking about them with warmth and familiarity. For him as for many people in his generation (which is also mine) Paul, John, George and Ringo are heroes and also close people, important persons who marked our lives.

Exactly because Kutner is almost the same age as I am, it also was interesting to see the differences in perspective and reception the Beatles had in Israel and Romania. Initially their music and influence was not welcome by the establishment in either place. They almost came to Israel on tour in 1964-65 but bureaucratic and ideological resistance prevented two planned visits. In Romania as in the rest of the Communist world they were perceived as ideological enemies as the documentary film How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin (which Kutner was not aware about) shows. While in England and the US the band got quick acceptance and became part of the nicer face of the pop music (compared to other music genres as rock or underground) it would take a few years in Israel and a few decades in Romania until their music became part of the main cultural streams. Their influence however was overwhelming in all places, censorship and ideological resistance could not defeat the talent and the impact on the young generations of – maybe – the most important musical group in the history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU7JjJJZi1Q

(video source ThoughtRidden)

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Carte: Cristian Teodorescu – Medgidia, orasul de apoi

Posted on November 14, 2010 by admin

Lectura cartii lui Cristian Teodorescu ‘Medgidia, orasul de apoi’ mi-a adus imediat in
minte ‘Cartea soaptelor’ a lui Varujan Vosganian. Cele doua carti aparute in ultimul
an au multe elemente comune. Ambele sunt intitulate ‘romane’ dar structurile lor epice
sunt fiecare in felul ei diferite de cea a romanului clasic, si se aproprie mai mult de un
mozaic social si istoric cu o puternica nuanta autobiografica. Ambele carti isi plaseaza
actiunea (cartea lui Teodorescu exclusiv, cea a lui Vosganian in parte) in epoca istorica
a tranzitiei din anii 40-50 de la dictatura dreptei nationaliste spre dictatura stalinista cu
specific romanesc instaurata dupa 23 august 1944. In ambele carti apar ca personaje
principale la dimensiuni aproape mitologice figurile bunicilor autorilor, si in ambele
carti unul dintre orasele in care nu se intampla nimic ale Romaniei devine un univers in
care se intampla totul, o combinatie intre un microcosmos etnic si tipologic reprezentativ
pentru intreaga Romanie si un spatiu nostalgic si formativ, in care fiecare autor in parte
se maturizeaza sascultand povestile batranilor si isi construieste romanul mai tarziu
punand pe hartie tragediile si comediile mai mici si mai mari ale istoriei. Sunt desigur si
deosebiri, cea esentiala fiind ca saga de mai mari dimensiuni a lui Vosganian se ocupa
cu prioritate de istoria comunitatii armene de-a lungul unui secol, in timp ce cartea lui
Cristian Teodorescu acopera de intregul mozaic romanesc simbolizat de Medgidia, intr-ul
stil mai concentrat, dar cu un rezultat similar in ceea ce proveste complexitatea imaginii
si farmecul si satisfactia lecturii.

source: www.cartearomaneasca.ro

‘Medgidia, orasul de apoi’ este organizata ca o colectie de vreo suta de povestiri, aproape
egale ca lungime, fiecare pretandu-se la o lectura individuala si avand in centrul ei fie
un personaj din complexa istorie a urbei in tragicul deceniu de tranzitie, fie unul dintre
episoadele care marcheaza aceasta perioada martora a catorva dintre cele mau dramatice
schimbari si cele mai tragice momente ale istoriei nationale. Tipologia personajelor
descrise in carte este remarcabila prin diversitatea ei, si prin tehnica concisa si impecabila
folosita de Cristian Teodorescu pentru a le face reale in mintile si inimile cititorilor.
Figuri cum sunt cele ale bunicului Stefan Theodorescu sau a chelnerului Ion/Ionica/Jean,
a judecatorului neidentificat prin nume ca un simbol al conceptului de justitie indoit si
ingropat de greutatea vremurilor, sau ale maiorului Scipion si doctoritei evreice Lea si
povestea lor de dragoste sunt materiale pe care de obicei le denumim in mod apreciativ si
in sensul cel mai pozitiv posibil ‘de roman’. Dar si multe dintre personajele ‘secundare’
sunt memorabile cum sunt cele ale mosierului Caludi, politistului Pomenea, ‘martirului’
comunist Paulica sau a bijutierului erou Marcel, precum si episoade si situatii care citite
ca proza scurta reprezinta fiecare in sine un concentrat exercitiu de expresivitate virtuoasa
(‘Vestitorii Apocalipsei’, ‘Bairam Ramadan’, ‘Poporul ales a doua oara’). ‘Dans pe linie
moarta’ poate avea sansa sa devina una dintre schitele cel mai frumoase de inceput de
dragoste din literatura romana. De retinut este si imaginea simbolica a carciumii de gara,
o lume in sine si o poarta de legatura a orasului cu restul lumii. Satisfactia lecturii fiecarui
episod individual este intensa, iar episoadele si personajele se leaga si se combina bine
si intr-o citire continua (cum a fost a mea, prizonier vremelnic al unei curse de avion de
lunga distanta cu aceasta carte si neputinta mea cronica de a dormi drept companioni de
calatorie).

Cristian Teodorescu - source: www.artactmagazine.ro

Am apreciat scrierea lui Cristian Teodorescu si pentru refuzul solutiilor usoare in
abordarea istorica a materialului bogat cu care se ocupa romanul. Desi simpatiile sale
sunt evidente din tonul aproape elegiac de plangere a pierderii aproape totala a unei
lumi si a celor care au populat-o abordarea relatiei cu dusmanii care o vor distruge, fie ei
huliganii criminali legionari, fie ocupantii sovietici nu este in niciun moment schematica,
si autorul nu evita prezentarea aspectelor umane din caracterul acestora, acolo unde ele
ele au existat. Postasul legionar si criminal Claudiu, primarul colaborationist si turnator
Mitica sau plutonierul rus Zaharici devenit din preot raspopit propagandist de ‘ateism
stiintific’ sunt personaje dincolo de schema maniheista pozitiv-negativ, complexe si
integrate alaturi de ceilalti cetateni ai universului descris in carte. Este prima carte a lui
Cristian Teodorescu pe care am citit-o si lectura ei mi-a produs o mare placere si mi-a
starnit interesul sa caut cartile mai vechi ale autorului si sa le astept cu nerabdare pe cele
viitoare.

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Carte: Andrei Codrescu – Ghid Dada pentru postumani

Posted on November 1, 2010 by admin

source press.princeton.edu

Acum un an cand televiziunile erau invadate de emisiuni ocazionate de implinirea a 20 de ani de la caderea Zidului si prabusirea regimurilor comuniste din Europa de Est, am vazut printre altele documentarul regizorului veteran Leslie Woodhead intitulat How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin despre care am scris aici pe blog. Verbul to rock are sens multiplu in engleza insemnand si a zgudui si fiind si o parte din rock’n’roll. Ideea filmului era pe cat de simpla pe atat de revolutionara – razboiul rece nu a fost castigat nici de NATO, nici de Reagan si nici macar de superioritatea economica a Vestului, ci in primul rand de muzica Beatles-ilor si a celorlalte formatii de muzica pop si rock care incepand din anii 60 au infiltrat in constiinta tinerilor cetateni sovietici si ale celorlalte tari ale ‘lagarului’ subversivele lor melodii, si odata cu ele simtamintele unei generatii care dorea sa traiasca si refuza ordinea sociala stabila de orice culoare, si mai ales ideile de libertate de gandire si creatie. Cartea publicata in 2009 in engleza de Andrei Codrescu la Princeton University Press sub titlul The Posthuman Dada Guide – Tzara & Lenin Play Chess si tradusa de Ioana Avadani in editura Curtea Veche ca Ghid Dada pentru postumani – Tzara si Lenin joaca sah include o idee asemanatoare – in 1989 caderea comunismului a reprezentat cel putin o victorie temporara a binelui intr-un razboi continuu care opune in istorie gandirea totalitara si limitarile ordinii istorice inererente ei cu libertatea de creatie si de expresie reprezentata de curentul Dada si de urmasii sai.

source www.curteaveche.ro

Postumanii carora le este adresata cartea – editata in editiile engleza si romana in format de ghiduri de buzunar pentru un presupus si utopic tel practic imaginar suntem noi, cetatenii secolului 21, a caror fiinte si pesoane sunt in procent din ce in ce mai mare reprezentate de instrumentele electronice care ne extind personalitatea si ne conecteaza in aparent invizibile dar foarte reale retele de comunicare si interactiune sociala. Noua si urmasilor nostri din ce in ce mai robotizati ne este destinata lectia care arata ca pentru a supravietui ca entitati libere trebuie sa pastram anarhismul, hazardul, libertatea de a crea si de a ne exprima dincolo de regulile scrise si pre-programate. In sprijinul acestei teze este adusa descrierea istorica, dezordonata sau arbitrar ordonata in intamplarea alfabetica – dar regula principala in Dada este lipsa de reguli – a conflictului de la inceputul secolului 20 intre Dada si revolutia bolsevica, conflict indirect si materializat printr-un joc de sah care poate a avut sau poate nu a avut loc in Zurichul neutru al anului 1916, adapost vremelnic al refugiatilor politici si al protestatarilor antirazboinici, scena a artei de avangarda si a tuturor intrigilor spionajului european,  intre intemeietorul dadaismului si taticul revolutiei, intre Tristan Tzara si Vladimir Ilici Lenin. Jocul de sah favorizat atat de revolutionari cat si de avangardisti capata aici o valoare simbolica dincolo de pasiunea propriu-zisa a jocului caci cele doua curente de gandire jucau un joc de miza mult mai mare pe esichierul istoriei, o partida intre modelul omului Dada (clovn siber si ludic) si politicianul care preconiza modelul ‘omului nou’ (care daca nu este ucis material este condamnat la moartea prin plictis).

Andrei Codrescu - source diversity.org.mk

Eseul lui Codrescu este compus ca un dictionar de termeni cu o ordine aparent aleatoare, dupa parcurgerea caruia cititorul ramane insa cu o imagine clara si convingatoare a istoriei dadaismului, a influentei sale in cultura secolului 20, a perenitatii dadaismului (‘Dada nu rugineste’) ca concept si ca simbol al libertatii contrapuse constrangerii sistemelor. Ca intr-un text internetic textul include trimiteri care intr-o varianta digitala ar putea fi hiperlink-uri si banuiesc ca pe undeva Codrescu ascunde sau poate pregateste o asemenea varianta. Unele dintre articole cuprind mini-eseuri de istorie literara, politica sau culturala cu excelente capitole dedicate originii evreiesti a lui Tzara si a altora dintre exponentii de marca dadaismului, a vietii culturale si politice romanesti in perioada interbelica, a evolutiei dadaismului si a pionierilor sai in cursul secolului, contributia si conflictele cu alte curente importante cum ar fi suprarealismul. Analizele istorice ale mediului elvetian in care in decurs de cativa ani s-au intalnit conducatorii revolutiilor in arta si in politica ce aveau sa marcheze istoria restului de secol sau a influentelor culturii si mentalitatii balcanice asupra avangardismului sunt profunde, inteligente, amuzante si interesante la lectura. Observatii culturale de exceptie marcheaza din loc in loc textul – cum ar fi cea care diferenteaza istoria majoritatii popoarelor care au la baza un text scris politic cum ar fi o constitutie sau o declaratie de independenta de cea a romanilor care are ca fundament poezia lui Eminescu. Cateva inexactitati istorice (putine) merita a fi corectate intr-o viitoare editie. Cadetii au aparut pe scena istorica a Rusiei dupa prabusirea regimului tarist in februarie-martie 1917 deci Lenin nu se putea framanta cum sa le contracareze influenta in octombrie 1916. Rebeliunea legionara din ianuarie 1941 din Romania a fost inabusita de Antonescu si nu de rege (‘un rege cu ceva mai feroce’). Marcel Iancu nu a fost creatorul scolii israeliene de design (s-a ocupat foarte putin de design si arhitectura in Israelul ascetic si utilitarist in care ajunsese in anii 40 si cel din primul deceniu de existenta in anii 50) ci ‘doar’ un pictor important si intemeietorul satului artistilor de la Ein-Hod. Capitolul despre Internet pare in afara de context – interesant in sine dar putin relevant pentru ansamblul cartii si daca deja Internetul este vazut ca o continuare istorica a unor interneturi neelectronice – observatie corecta si profunda – atunci poate ar fi trebuit sa se faca si diferentierea in restul textului intre Internet si interneturi. In schimb anecdota istorica legata de originea germana a numelor evreiesti est-europeene in catalogul de nume comisionat de imparateasa Maria Tereza poetului E.T.A. Hoffman este delicioasa (si inedita pentru mine).

Tristan Tzara - source istmina3.s3ra.com

Personalitatile lui Lenin si Tzara sunt prezentate si analizate in detaliu. Lenin este demitizat, coborat depe piedestalele statuilor propagandei comuniste si adus la masura limitarilor sale umane, ale unui geniu cenusiu, calculat si planificat, dar si indiferent la consecintele umane ale actiunilor sale revolutionare. Pe Tzara cautarile artistice il vor impinge spre Franta de dupa primul razboi mondial, il vor pune in dialog si apoi in conflict cu alte personalitati si curente ale avangardei. Al doilea razboi mondial in vremea caruia spre deosebure de multi alti artisti de origine evreieasca lui Tzara nu i s-a oferit biletul salvator spre America il determina sa se alature miscarii comuniste de rezistenta antifascista. Victoria de dincolo de mormant a lui Lenin asupra personalitatii lui Tzara nu dureaza dincolo de revolta anticomunista din 1956, cand Tzara paraseste partidul si miscarea comunista, intorcandu-se spre finalul vietii spre radacinile sale evreiesti si spre misticismul Cabalei.

Lenin - source sector930.com

Pe masura ce relatarile avanseaza pe axa timpului intervine in text si experienta personala a autorului. Curentele poetilor beatnici si ale hippie-ilor sunt asociate nu in mod neasteptat lui Dada, si de aici subversiunea ideologica a libertatii de gandire izbandeste in final si invinge inchistarea regimurilor totalitare la sfarstul secolului 20. Izbanda momentana, caci asaltul tehnologic pare a fi in ochii autorului o noua incarnare a amenintarii totalitare, si de aici necesitatea ghidului. O lectura interesanta, intriganta, o carte cu multe pasaje memorabile, diferita de majoritatea altor carti pe care le-ati citit sau le veti citi.

(video source pdxjustice)

Am gasit pe youTube si o secventa cu autorul vorbind despre cartea sa la o universitate americana.

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Dance: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Tel Aviv

Posted on October 31, 2010 by admin

I know Alvin Ailey’s company for a very long time. It was this company and choreographer and the one of another great artist Alwin Nikolais and his ‘Nikolais Dance Theater’ who came in tours in Romania at the beginning of the 70s and opened my eyes and soul to the world of modern dance, starting an interest in this form of art that continues until today.

While Nikolais’ company is gone after the death of his founder, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater founded in 1958 continued the tradition of its founder under the direction of Judith Jamison and is today one of the better known dance companies in the world. I have seen another performance of theirs a few years ago, in a theater on Broadway around the 51th street. Last night was my third opportunity to meet with their art. America changed radically since the company was founded and the world of dance changed as well, pushed ahead by artists like Ailey among other. If in 1958 the idea of a multiracial company was a novelty, as well as the use in modern dance of music and themes descending from the Afro-American tradition, today such groups are to be found almost any place around the world and jazz and gospels and blues and popular American music are an integral part of their creations. While Ailey created many of the performances of the theater, he also raised and opened the stage for many other creators to research, create and express their voices in the company performances. The expressiveness of the body as a whole which Ailey saw and developed starting from Martha Graham‘s style and the freedom that dancers express exposing their own perspective while remaining part of the ensemble, a method driven by Ailey from jazz music had become part of fundamental alphabet of modern dance.

The program last night at the Opera House, closing the fall dance festival in Tel Aviv, included an original creation by Ailey, another classic work from the 70s and two works from the last decade. Luckily I found on youTube fragments of all performances for me to remember and for the readers of the blog to get a glimpse of the wonderful experience that we enjoyed. The success was tremendous, the knowledgeable dance audiences in Israel spoiled with almost everything that modern dance can offer including a hot and innovative local scene know how to appreciate such a combination of high professionalism and attractive programs.

(video source AileyOrganization)

The performance started with one of the recent works of the company – Dancing Spirit created in 2009 by Ronald K. Brown – en exploration of the African roots of the Afro-American music and dance melted in a modern style and ambiance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpy3V-lYfKY

(video source danceconsortium)

Suite Ottis was created in 1971 by George W. Faison, a young choreographer at that time who further developed and became a well known creator and founded his own dance company. It’s a tribute to the music of Ottis Redding and a good opportunity of nostalgia for those who love the soul music of the 60s.

(video source AileyOrganization)

The shorter piece named Unfold completed the second part of the performance. It’s a duet on an opera aria which was interesting to watch not only by its own concentrated beauty but also as an indication of the direction the company may take in the future, as the choreographer is Robert Battle who will take over the direction of the company in the summer of 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT8SX35m0lU

(video source andithankyou2)

The last part of the performance included the classic creation of Ailey Revelations. When created in 1960 it was one of the first pieces in the history of American dance to bring directly to stage the music and spiritual experience of the Afro-American community. Since then it became a classic and a reference piece, with new generations bringing their own perspective within the framework drawn by Ailey. It certainly is a crowd-pleaser any place in the world where it is presented, and an excellent closing for an evening of modern dance to remember.

The Web site of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater can be accessed at http://www.alvinailey.org/.

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Jazz: Warren Vache in Tel Aviv

Posted on October 30, 2010 by admin

The new season of the Hot Jazz series at the Tel Aviv Art Museum has a larger (eight concerts) and more ambitious and more promising program this year. If we are to judge after the first concert last night, it has good chances to be a season to remember.

(video source erwigfilms)

Warren Vache was born in 1951 in New Jersey, and he had the chance to play as a young instrumentalist with Benny Goodman. He plays trumpet and horn, and sometimes mixes voice pieces in his concerts, although last night in Tel Aviv he chose to play the trumpet and in only one piece (a composition of his own in the style of humorist blues) he sang vocals. He played in different bands of his own or as a member of the group, as varied as big-bands and small ensembles, polka orchestras or Dixieland bands. He recorded for a while at the legendary Concord label.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpK2LCO0poA

(video source jazzbobop)

Vache appeared in concerts in big jazz festivals all over the world. Some of the clips that I found on youTube were filmed at such events – for instance at the Toronto festival in 1977 and at the Bern festival in 2001.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcXF331Zfwg

(video source jazzbobop)

The program was composed of many jazz anthems which Vache takes and freely translates them in dixieland style. Some other came from unexpected sources, like ‘Night in Moscow’ – a tune too well known to Russian and East European audiences. While creating the framework for each of the songs in the show, Vache does not impose his presence, his instrumental parts are not longer then those of the other instrumentalists, and  he gives them the opportunity and leaves them the time to express themselves with their own vision of the tunes. More than that, one of the things Vache did in the concert last night was leaving the scene (properly) and letting the other run the show for one song each – saxophonist Morton Kam, pianist Nitai Hershkovits and trombonist Jonathan Wolczuck received such opportunities last night. Kam and Wolczuk used them beautifully, Hershkovits disappointed me last night.

(video source libbyvideo)

Warren Vache’s Web site is http://www.warrenvache.com/

Posted in jazz, music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Bring ‘FlashForward’ Back!

Posted on October 29, 2010 by admin

It’s for the second time that one of my favorite science-fiction series is canceled after the first season. Luckily it happens once every 15 years. Last time it was Earth 2, a space travel saga on an alternate Earth world which was not too happy to receive visitors. This time it’s FlashForward, one of the fest of the few science fiction TV series that were left last year on screens, of course, excluding Lost which is also over and was in a league of its own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25kXHgWg938

(video source screenslev7n)

Maybe the comparison with Lost and the fact that some of the producers were the same damaged to a certain respect the impact of FlashForward. Sure, FF is different, both as concept, and also at the level of the execution. Based on a novel by Canadian science-fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer, the show combines the story of a planetary catastrophe caused by scientific experiments fallen under the wrong hands with a FBI team type of story and with soap opera. As the whole planet blackouts for two minutes, every man on Earth is capable of seeing a glimpse of their future six months ahead, and then needs to deal with this future, try to live it or to avoid it, to fix or to welcome it. Excellent premises for several parallel stories about how men deal with their destinies and how they control their lives and relations, in the conditions where some of the unknown becomes known, and when time gets one more relative dimension. Both the scientific and the phylosophical grounds of the story are sound. 

(video source SerialeFW)

The first season of FlashForward was far from perfect and its development during the 22 episodes could not keep the pace and the interest built in the first quarter. As the season advanced the amount of soap opera and of stereo-typical situations grew at the expense of the intriguing questions about the roots of the events. Not all characters were interesting to the same extent and many of the events became predictable not because of the blackout but because they just belonged to predictable TV. Yet, there was enough good stuff all along, acting was good (Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Sonia Walger, Dominic Monaghan – the last two also acted in Lost) and the ending just opened the gate to further questions. This show has the promises of developing into new and interesting territories, as the different alternate future paths that the story tells about. It deserves to be continued. Please bring it back!

Posted in TV | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

An European Vacation / 15 – Strasbourg, in the Streets and from the Water

Posted on October 28, 2010 by admin

Best Western hotel in Strasbourg

By the end of the 5th day of our vacation we had reached Strasbourg. This was the first stop in the trip where we decided to stay two nights, with one day in-between fully dedicated to visiting the city. The hotel that we chose was the Best Western on 38 rue du fossé des Tanneurs – an old building from the 17th century, well renovated and brought up to all modern needs and amenities. It’s an ideal location for folks who plan to stay in the city at least one day, leaving here the car in the valet parking and taking the city by foot. This is exactly what we did.

Petite France

The touristic center of Strasbourg is all located on the Grande Ile between the river Ill and the Fosse du Faux Rempart a deep channel that constituted one more obstacle protecting the old city from the invaders. It has two principal areas, one around the Notre Dame Cathedral and the other in the area named Petite France, once the fishermen and tanners district. The Best Western is located close to the later.

channels and bridges

It’s an area of channels and bridges, with old buildings that combine French and German styles, and remind strongly the Netherlands because of the water landscape around. Restaurants can be found all over the place. The weather was beautiful (after the storms of the day before) and so it was to stay for the next few days, so that evening we had dinner on a street terrace. I will tell more about the restaurants and the food in one of the next episodes.

lurking through the window

We strolled in the streets that evening, enjoying the nice weather, and admiring the houses and even the interiors through the open windows.

place de la Cathedrale

Next day, the 6th of our vacation we took the streets of Strasbourg. I will write separately about the Cathedral and about the museums that we visited. Strasbourg is a beautiful city, one of the most beautiful in France. The combination of German and French styles in architecture, food, language and behavior of the locals works well. It is said to be a crowded city, invaded by tourists in summer and by European parliamentarians and bureaucrats the rest of the time, but we were lucky to catch it in between the two seasons. It was the end of the summer, peak vacations seasons was over and the politicians were not yet back. The city was all ours.

taking the boat trip

We love taking boat trips on city located on water. Paris, London, Bruges, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Berlin, all these cities revealed to us special angles when seen from the boat. We took confidently a trip boat on the Ill, the river that crosses Strasbourg and we were not disappointed.

Ponts Couverts - medieval Strasbourg seen from the Ill

Mentioned since the times of Julius Caesar, Strasbourg is located at the crossroads of Europe, close to the place where the German and French areas of political and cultural influence as well as the religious influences of Catholicism and Reform have clashed along the centuries and not far from the border with neutral Switzerland. All invaders one way or the other stumbled on Strasbourg, which had to build in time not only a resilient character but also a fabric of tolerance to changes of the dominant culture which helps her today to play the role of bridge in the new Europe.

old Strasbourg home

The streets are dominated by German architecture, at least the area built until the end of the 18th century, although the city was annexed by France since the times of Louis XIV. The city however kept a strong German influence and the Lutheran University founded in the 16th century continued to function until the Revolution, the only such institution in France.

19th century architecture

The French Revolution is the milestone that changed the fate of the city and made of it a bastion of French culture and identity. It is here that Rouget de Lisle composed La Marseillese. All 19th century architecture is of French inspiration, despite the fact that after 1871 Strasbourg fell under German rule until the end of the first world war.

Palais d'Europe

Today the city not only bridges between the two cultures, languages and styles so much impregnated in its history, but became the symbol of the new multinational Europe, co-capital of the European Union, and host to many of the principal institutions of Europe. The boat trip takes the visitors to the Palais d’Europe and the other modernistic buildings of the European government complex hosting the European ministries, court of justice and Parliament.

the ARTE TV station

Another symbol that I could not miss was the building of the European culture TV channel ARTE TV. Started 20 years ago the bilingual (French and German) station is building cultural bridges not only between Germany and France, but also between all nations of Europe, a symbol of the possibility of coexistence in a city that was that much in the past a symbol of hate and division.

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Carte: Andrei Oisteanu – Narcotice in cultura romana

Posted on October 25, 2010 by admin

In spatele titlurilor unora dintre cartile lui Andrei Oisteanu nu se afla exact ceea ce s-ar putea astepta cititorul. De exemplu Imaginea evreului in cultura romana ascunde o adevarata istorie a antisemitismului romanesc, nu numai a celui cultural, probabil cel mai extensiv si complet studiu publicat pe aceasta tema pana la ora actuala. La fel si Narcotice in cultura romana aparuta in acest an in colectia Plural a editurii Polirom (www.polirom.ro) cuprinde mai mult si mai putin decat s-ar astepta cititorul. Mai mult pentru ca definitia ‘narcoticelor’ in aceasta carte este destul de elastica, ea extinzandu-se (desi nu in mod consecvent) de la leacurile populare trecand prin ceea ce in acceptiunea comuna sunt numite narcotice sau droguri si pana la tutun, alcool si cafea. Mai putin pentru ca desi titlul vorbeste despre ‘cultura romana’ abordarea diferitelor domenii si fatete ale culturii este inegala. Daca literatura este acoperita in mod consecvent si constant de-a lungul dezvoltarii sale istorice si domenii ca istoria religiilor (domeniu de expertiza al autorului) sau experimentele medicale gasesc o reflectare consistenta, alte domenii ale creatiei culturale cum ar fi artele plastice (cu exceptia capitolului dedicat lui Corneliu Michailescu si a participarii sale in experimentele doctorului Gheorghe Marinescu) sau muzica sunt aproape complet ignorate. Toata perioada folkului si rockului romanesc a anilor 60 si 70 de exemplu este complet ignorata, doar o singura trimitere la o nota in penultima pagina a cartii mentionand-o ca pe o ‘pata alba’ in cercetarea in domeniu, obiect de studiu si completare poate pentru o viitoare editie a cartii.

Narcotice in cultura romana preia si continua lucrari ale autorului din ani si decenii precedente, fiind evident rezultatul unei cercetari extensive si a unei preocupari stiintifice si culturale care se extinde peste cateva decenii. Prima parte al cartii extinde un studiu publicat inca in anii 80 descriind diversele feluri de ‘plante psihotrope’ (in limbajul cu caracter cripto-aluziv al epocii) folosite in diverse perioade istorice in spatiul romanesc. Este o buna introducere in tema, clasificarea si descrierea plantelor si a substantelor derivate fiind foarte utila neinitiatului in domeniu.  A doua parte (care acopera cam trei sferturi din text) urmareste evolutia narcoticelor si halucinogenelor in cultura romana, dela contactele cu Orientul indepartat si obiceiurile sale ale spatarului Milescu pana la cele mai recente romane si texte hip-hop ale ultimilor ani. Unele capitole continua si dezvolta texte publicate in avanpremiera in revista ’22’ (pentru a testa reactia ‘pietii’ in legatura cu tema cum se exprima undeva autorul). Senzatia de ‘colaj’ exista in unele momente, prima parte de exemplu incepe si se termina brusc, ea ar fi putut beneficia de putina grija scriitoriceasca in a adauga o introducere si o concluzie care sa elimine senzatia de abrupt la inceputul si sfarsitul lecturii (este unul dintre amanuntele care in opinia mea fac diferenta intre studiul stiintific si o lucrare care se adreseaza unui public mai larg, cum are ambitia aceasta carte). In alte locuri este greu de perceput logica incluziunii unora dintre texte in capitole – dece de exemplu textul despre “ravagiile alcoolismului” a fost apendat capitolului despre Cioran si Ionesco? (in general cred ca dependenta de alcool este tratata tangential si nu isi prea gaseste locul in carte, poate lasata ca subiect al unui viitor studiu despre ‘alcool in cultura romana’ – si asta in pofida capitolului despre ‘Vita de vie si iedera – Zamolxis vs. Dionysos’ care este savuros ca disputa istorica).

Cel mai in largul sau pare autorul atunci cand subiectele au consistenta, cand includerea unei anumite personalitati nu necesita un exercitiu de echilibristica sau arheologie deductiva in text dublata de decriptari, necesare in multe cazuri datorita implicatiilor multiple legale si morale ale subiectului. Evolutia atitudinii sociale fata de droguri si reflectarea lor in productia cuturala este excelent prinsa, incepand de la analiza celebrei metafore marxiste care alatura religia opiumului intr-o conotatie care s-ar putea sa nu fi fost in contextul jumatatii secolului 19 (cand stupefiantele erau o medicatie cvasi-unanim acceptata si un mod acceptat legal si chic din punct de vedere social de a evada din realitatea cotidiana) atat de negativa cum suna astazi. Aflam de exemplu si ca prima lege pentru combaterea abuzului de stupefiante a fost legiferata in Romania interbelica doar in 1928, si tema consumului si efectelor sale este pe larg reflectata in proza romana interbelica. Capitolul dedicat lui Mateiu Caragiale adauga semnificativ nu numai temei cartii ci si exegezei caragialesti. Analiza ‘Rigai Crypto …’ ca si intreaga sectiune dedicata lui Ion Barbu sunt stralucite. Experimentele avangardistilor din perioada romana interbelica si alaturarea care pare ciudata astazi dar era logica in epoca a extremei drepte la experimentele cu substante halucinogene sau auto-inhibante sunt excelent redate. Detaliile si analiza diverselor perioade ale evolutiei lui Mircea Eliade, interactia acestuia cu narcoticele si momentul de sincronicitate intre interesul culturii occidentale fata de istoria religiilor si eliberarea sociala si comportamentala promulgata de miscarea hippie ii prilejuiesc lui Oisteanu scrierea poate a unuia dintre cele mai consistents si mai interesante capitole ale cartii. Evolutia interactiei istorice intre tarile romane si Inalta Poarta in secolele 17 si 18, si apoi Romania in devenire si in primele sale decenii de existenta si Rusia si apoi Occidentul (in special cel francofil) in secolul 19 este reflectata prin influenta specifica a fluxului de obiceiuri din fiecare sfera de influenta culturala care a inclus componenta sa legata de narcotice. Personaje marcante ale istoriei noastre culturale clasice precum Eminescu, Macedonsky, Odobescu dezvaluie la o cercetare atenta influente vizibile ale unor experiente directe sau indirecte cu narcoticele de difereite feluri si multe dintre informatiile si asocierile cuprinse in aceste capitole vor fi inedite pentru multi, interesante mereu la lectura.

Sunt si momente amuzante in carte cand este descrisa insasi abordarea temei de diversii istorici si oameni de cultura romani – dovada a unei evolutii istorice si a inerentelor implicatii moralistice si a politizarii subiectului – de exemplu polemica istorica dintre Odobescu si Bolliac in legatura cu inhalarea (sau nu) de care traci a fumului unor plante halucinogene, continuata mult mai recent de istorici contemporani in disputa cu Eliade si Culianu pe aceeasi tema.

O bibliografie extensiva insoteste cartea, impreuna cu un numar de materiale relevante, fiecare interesante in sine la addenda, inclusiv doua inedite – unul un fragment de roman apartinand lui Ioan Petru Culianu, si celalalt un text scris special pentru carte de Mircea Cartarescu. Editia prezenta este ilustrata, ceea ce adauga calitatii si satisfactiei lecturii, in special portretele desenate de artisti ca Marcel Iancu ale unora dintre personalitatile luate in discutie avand valoare documentara si artistica in sine. O carte imperfecta, care ar putea beneficia la o viitoare editie de o ‘rotunjure a colturilor’ din punct de vedere stilistic si structural, dar fara indoiala o contributie interesanta si cu mult miez si in unele locuri fascinanta in legatura cu una dintre fatetele mai putin dezvaluite si analizate ale culturii romane.

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An European Vacation / 14 – Musee Judeo-Alsacien in Bouxwiller

Posted on October 24, 2010 by admin

The itinerary of the second part of the fifth day of our vacation included Saverne with the intention to visit the castle (we ended by just taking pictures from the outside) and was aimed to end in the evening in Strasbourg – the first city where we planned to spend two days, one of them fully dedicated to discover the city.

chateau de Saverne

It was however the stop that we made in the early afternoon that was going to represent one of the most moving discoveries and interesting encounters of our vacation – the Musee Judeo-Alsacien, the Museum of the Jews d’Alsace in Bouxviller.

Musee Judeo-Alsacien in Bouxviller

Bouxviller is one of the many picturesque small cities North of Strasbourg, with German names and style in the buildings witnesses of the complex history of the area. It was also the place where a flourishing Jewish community estimated at its pick to several thousands people lived for many centuries. Yet, a few decades after the second world war there were no Jews left in Bouxviller and the building of the principal synagogue of the city built in 1842 was due for demolition in 1983 to clear the place for the parking of the adjoining supermarket. And then a small miracle happened. A Jewish miracle.

with Mr Gilbert Weil

When we entered the building of the museum we were welcome by a young lady who asked us where we come from. When we said that we are from Israel she immediately shouted – ‘monsieur Weil!’. Monsieur Gilbert Weil immediately showed up and the conversation that followed was a fascinating trip in time, not only in the history of the museum but also through the whole history of the Jews of Alsace, and his personal history. Gilbert Weil is the man who saved the building in 1983. With a few days left until the demolition he fought the red tape of the bureaucracy and got a special permit from Jack Lang, the minister of Culture of Francois Mitterand that avoided the demolition. The condition for saving the place was to include it in the national patrimony of France as a building destined to become a museum. So a museum it will be decided monsieur Weil, and he started to let people in the area and institutions around France and the world know that a museum of the history and culture of Jews in Alsace is in becoming. Most of the objects in the collection were gathered from the donors in the Jewish homes of the area. If no Jews are living any longer in Bouxwiller there are chances that the place will become the source of knowledge and memory for the Jewish community that existed here more then eight centuries. Monsieur Weil lives part of the year in Bouxwiller and part of it in Jerusalem (our conversation mixed French and Hebrew). The museum is open between Easter and mid-September (Rosh Hashana I guess), for the rest of the year visitors need to call and arrange for a special appointment in order to visit it.

expulsion of Jews from France (12th-14th centuries)

The rooms of the museum are ordered in an ascending spiral shape, starting with a corridor where the first centuries of the Jewish presence in the area are documented. While Jews are mentioned with certainty starting with the 12th century, their presence is assumed to be older. France was already in the medieval period one of the places were persecutions and segregation of Jews was widely practiced, and the decrees of expulsion of Jews from France predate the 1492 expulsion from Spain by several centuries.

1349 - autodafe in Strasbourg

1349 was an especially dark year in the history of the Jews in Alsace, and of their relation with their Christian neighbors. February 14 that year 2000 Jews were gathered in the Jewish cemetery and burnt alive on the stake, as the inhabitants were hoping to avoid the city being hit by the Plague. Five month later the epidemic hit the city. Following that traumatic incident, the life of Jews in Alsace developed mainly in smaller rural communities like Bouxviller, which gave a specific direction to the Jewish culture and history of the area.

sefer Torah from Jerusalem

The French revolution liberated the Jews from persecutions and ghettos, and made of Jews equal citizens. Together with Jews in all France, the Jews of Alsace were among the first in Europe to be awarded full and equal rights with all other citizens. They developed a strong attachment to France and Jewishness came second in the definition of their personal identity. Yet, rabbis continued to keep the flame of the faith, which became for most of them more of a private issue. Jews at home (where objects like the Torah book above were kept and used), equal citizens in the city.

Jewish Holidays and Customs

The continuation of the museum alternates the historical information with the customs and ethnographic data. It’s a good and balanced mix, which allows for the non-Jewish visitors to be introduced in the Jewish customs and way of life, and has enough local information to be of interest also for the Jewish visitors.

explaining Passover

Each of the Jewish holidays and principal moments and aspects of Jewish life and institutions have dedicated windows – here is the one explaining to the visitor the spiritual meaning and the ceremonies related to Passover.

photographies documenting the Jewish life

As the trip in time continues we can see documents and photographs that describe the Jewish life in the small cities of Alsace. Part of the areas fell under German rule after 1871, but most of the Jews of Alsace stayed faithful to France. Among them an officer named Alfred Dreyfus.

Alsacian Jews supported the beginnings of Zionism

The Zionist alternative to the life in Diaspora triggered the interest of part of the Jewish community in Alsace. Delegation of Jews from Alsace participated at the first Zionist congresses and Jews from Alsace were associated to the agricultural projects of the baron de Rotschild in Palestine at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Living in rural communities many of them had more knowledge about agriculture than most of the other Jews in Europe, so they also contributed to the founding of the first agriculture schools in Eretz Israel.

Shoah - a prayer book that saved a life

The dark years of the Holocaust did not spare the Jews of Alsace. The lives of many of them were saved inititally by the fact that after the war broke Jews as well as other inhabitants close to the border with Germany were evacuated in the South of France, so they did not fall under the German occupation. This is what happened also to Gilbert Weil and his family. Surviving all the war years with no homes and no means of subsistence was not easy. However, the fate of these who were caught by the German occupants or their French collaborators and sent to the concentration or death camps was much more tragic. The life of a Jew from Strasbourg named Marcel Lorand was saved by the prayer book in the photography. When the Germans evacuated the concentration camp of Dachau they took their prisoners in a forced march where the weak ones were executed on the side of the road. Lorand was left as dead on the way, and found a few hours later by the Russian. A Russian soldier saw the prayer book that fell out of the pocket of the coat. The soldier was Jewish, he looked carefully, saw that Marcel was breathing, and he saved his life.

view through the window of the old synagogue

After the war only a minority of the Jews in Alsace returned to their homes. Many of them stayed in other parts of France, or emigrated to Israel and other parts of the world. Jews from North Africa replaced them in a few places, mainly in Strasbourg. In most of the smaller cities like Bouxviller which were centers of Jewish life for centuries there are today no Jews left. It is this museum, that keeps the place on the map of the Jewish objectives of the area, a local initiative that can be taken as example and emulated in many other places where the light of Jewish life is nowadays extinct. With its programs and initiatives that bring in visitors and especially young people from schools in the province the Musee Judeo-Alsacien will preserve at least for a while the memory of a way of life and of a culture that contributed to the history of this special place in Europe.

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Film: Duminica la ora 6 (Lucian Pintilie, 1965)

Posted on October 23, 2010 by admin

In his book 4 Decades, 3 Years and 2 Months with the Romanian Cinema the Romanian film critic Alex Leo Serban considers Duminica la ora 6 (Sunday at 6 o’clock) as an extreme case of difference between content and form – a story about the invented ‘heroic’ Communist past wrapped in the most modern means of expression of the cinema of the 60s. After having seen the film again many decades after its first viewings my feeling is different. I believe that Lucian Pintilie‘s first film is as daring in content and especially in its subliminal message as it is in its form which clearly shows already the hand of a skilled director, having learned and assimilated all the lessons of the French New Wave and placing them in the service of his cinematographic message.

source http://www.cinemarx.ro/filme/Duminica-la-ora-6-Duminica-la-ora-6-68949.html

I see Duminica la ora 6 as a beautiful love story in impossible times,  a story that can happen under any repressive regime. The art of director Pintilie is brilliant in the pacing of the action using repetitive motives (the elevator going down, the dark tunnel leading to an uncertain light which can mean deliverance or death) and in the way he directs his actors (Dan Nutu and Irina Petrescu, young, beautiful, sincere, frightened, desperate). A few scenes are worth being included in anthologies, like the ambiguous end with the run of the hero filmed from the windows of the police car, his tentative to run away towards the deep sea, his so human giving up. All is natural and well directed, with the sole exception of the few sequences were the ‘bourgeois’ police appears and the few lines of dialog which were inserted to please the censorship by locating the action in the fabricated history of the Communist resistance. Seen 45 years after the film making the contrast is too flagrant to avoid the feeling that this scenes where visibly inserted by the director (and maybe script author Ion Mihaileanu) to make the film pass and see the lights of screening – but the language is so different that they look intentionally out of context. My impression is also enforced by the very ‘modern’ look of the heroes and extras, which avoid localization and historical dating, inviting the viewers to consider the heroes contemporary to their own times, and to live the story in the present and not in the past. Again, for a director with the level of skill that Pintilie was already showing at that time, this cannot be coincidental.

Made in the year 1965, a year of crossroads in the Romanian history, the start of a short period of hope at the beginning of the rule of Nicolae Ceausescu, Duminica la ora 6 could have signaled a new start for the Romanian cinema which was still forced to use the vocabulary and thematic of the socialist-realist art but was daring to dream to new forms and freedom of expression. The political and artistic hopes were to fade out soon, and Duminica la ora 6 remains one of the few singular moments in a history of Romanian cinema whose destiny was to get back to its natural course only many decades later.

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