FESTIVAL BANDS WITH HAPPY TUNES IN GENOA

I could kick myself for not realising earlier last week that there was an International Music Festival going on in Genoa! Shame, as I missed the party in Porto Antico, where the Copenhagen Showband from Denmark danced on the street ( http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/multimedia/genova/2014/07/12/ARbWr5AB-grande_genova_tutto.shtml?hpar=1.) Some lucky friends had also been on Piazza Matteotti on Saturday evening where several bands played happy dancing tunes until very late into the night.

Finally I managed to see some of the action yesterday at Palazzo Ducale - last day of the festival - where bands from Hungary, France, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Israel, Italy and Spain entertained an enthusiastic audience with everything from old classical numbers to jazzy pieces of contemporary film music.

Concert Band of Sarvar from Hungary 

The Junior Orchestr Plzen from Czech Republic has won several band competitions and it showed, they were a joy to listen to. 

This was the sixth time Filarmonica Sestrese www.imf.filarmonicasestrese.com has organised such a huge, international gathering for brass bands, marching bands and youth orchestras. The whole event was free to the general public, thanks to generous sponsorship from the public and private sector.

When one band finished, another one took the stage. Here are members of the German band Fanfarengarde getting ready to play.

THE DIFFERENT SIDES OF EDWARD M

It is incredibly expensive to bring in an art exhibition featuring an international star. Decisions are made years in advance. Then it is the actual transportation of priceless paintings across borders and setting up the whole exhibition. In this light, it is exciting that  the city of Genoa and the Foundation of Palazzo Ducale have decided to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the most famous Norwegian artist, Edward Munch, at Palazzo Ducale where 120 of his paintings and lithographs are on display until April. 

  If there ever was an artist who has suffered from over exposure of one piece of work, it has to be Munch's painting "Scream". Thankfully, the original painting is not on display among the works selected for this exhibition, however, it is featured in the parallel exhibition of Andy Warhol's works titled  "After Munch". These are on show for the first time in Europe. 

 I have recently read Munch's biography by Atle Naess. Munch had a very stormy life full of dramatic events, such as being involved in a shooting incident where the other participant was his over jealous and totally obsessed girlfriend who would have been classified as a stalker, if it would have happened today. Munch's life story fresh in my mind, I was curious to see the works. 

  But I have to say, the exhibition left me lukewarm. There was a whole room dedicated to portraits of the family of Max Linde, Munch's supporter and someone who commissioned him when nobody else would. These were sweet and presumably the likeness was praised by everyone, but a whole room of these portraits? In general, there were a lot of portraits. There were very few works from his early years. Most of the lithographs did not speak to me at all. 

   If I compare this to last year's blockbuster at Palazzo Ducale, the Miro exhibition, it was not half as interestingly put together as the Miro was. There was one particularly delightful surprise at the end though: music by an English composer Frederick Delius, who met Munch in Paris around 1896. We are told that they both influenced each other and wanted to collaborate by creating a work which would combine painting with music. This never happened. We can only guess what kind of a painting would have accompanied the beautiful piece of music by Delius, "Aqvarelles". In any case, it is a very fitting tribute to Munch. 

STREET MARKETS: EVERYTHING FROM CARROTS TO FUR COATS

  A friend staying in Milan came for a visit and  and I went to meet her at Brignole station. Since I arrived early and there was still time before the train arrived, I decided to take a little stroll around the little streets around Brignole. To my utter delight I stumbled upon a street market selling antiques on Via Galata, only 5 minutes walk from the station. As soon as my friend arrived, I suggested we go back there to check what is on offer. She agreed and we ended up walking up and down the market for couple of hours inspecting every single bancarella, tables covered with suitably aged goods, such as decorative glass bottles and stoppers, handbags, jewellery, books, posters, dolls and numerous other small items.

   I love all kinds of street markets in general and Italy is an especially good country to visit these. Every local area have their own monthly or weekly veggie, fruit and general goods market. A street stall can be as simple as a lorry stopping for some hours in the street near you - here in Nervi there are regular opportunities to sample Sardinian cheese, wine and salami every Monday and Thursday on Via Oberdan and often during the weekend a fruit and vegetable lorry stops there as well. Organic farm produce is sold on Wednesday mornings in the little park near the Commune.
   On Tuesday mornings one can have some serious savings and real bargains in Quinto, where at least hundred stalls are selling clothes, shoes, underwear, bags, fur coats (looked real to me), bedlinen and sheets, kitchen utensils, children's clothes and many other things. In these times of financial distress, this type of a general goods market makes a tight household budget a little bit more flexible. Bus number 15 stops right in front of the market.
    Sometimes it is tricky to find out when and where the markets are happening. So, when I went back the following week to check if the antique market is on at Via Galata, it wasn't. It happens only once a month, on a Thursday of the second week of the month.
  Then there is a big antique market on in and around Palazzo Ducale every first weekend (Saturday and Sunday) of the month (www.genovantiquaria.com). I recently went there and came back with collectable Danish Christmas plates (10 euro a piece), vintagle ear rings, old postcards of Genoa, one vintage compact powder case and an unsual leather handbag from the 1950s (in truth, it is a bit difficult to open, but once you figure out how the little key works, it is possible to use it on special occasions).

If you are a foodie, the monthly market in front of Palazzo Ducale is the place to discuss the finer points of Italian delicacies.

  The same place in front of Palazzo Ducale (via San Lorenzo side)  is transformed into a regional gourmet food market every second Saturday and Sunday of the month. I am now a regular custormer for a nice nutty rye type of bread from South Tyrol. There are also unusual country type cheeses and salamis, olive oil, wine and plenty of other delicacies. However, no bargains on this market. It is a serious meeting of foodies. These farmers/producers are particularly keen for you to sample their product. That one bite should tell you the difference between the product that is for sale here and the one in the supermarket. Italians can definitely taste it.
  I was just about to finish this by saying that the City of Genoa could do a bit more to advertise these markets, when I saw a little booklet John had left on my desk: Calendario degli Eventi Fieristici in Liguria 2013. He had picked it up from the tourist office and it has a list of all regular events, festivals and markets in the whole of Liguria. No more detective work needed!

  

GENOA THROUGH THE CAMERA LENSE

I had an amazing weekend - a 2 day photography course with Di Mackey (www.dimackeyphotography.com) in Genoa. Di lives in Belgium, but has been coming to Genoa since 2008. She organises photography courses and workshops especially here as she loves the city and wants to return to Genoa time and time again. 
   I have been firmly in the group of snappers, who mainly trust the automatic functions and - I am ashamed to admit - have barely given the camera manual a casual glance, if that. But I have felt for some time that it would be interesting to learn more, getter better pics and understand the science behind it, hence the course with Di.
  During the weekend Di and I walked around the city, especially in the centro storico area, where it is always easy to find something new, an intriguing detail or a landscape where beauty is often combined with rough edges. When you walk around with your camera ready, even frequently visited places start looking different and inspiring.

   Take Palazzo Ducale, for example, which is one of the first landmarks anyone visiting Genoa learns to recognise. This is a buzzing cultural centre with museums and cafes, but also a place where people come to walk in the beautiful atrium, seeking shade during the hot summer months, listen to music or participate in a debate. Often these events are free or there is a small entrance fee.
Inside the Palazzo, there is currently an unusual installation called "Timeology" by Lorenzo Petrantoni, a graphic designer and an artist, who uses historical images to tell a story.



These pillars have been transformed into vessels for an art installation.

  This time Petrantoni's  collection of black and white images are on the pillars, full of fascinating details, collage of images. They come alive on closer inspection. Playful and fun, these images are of people and events from Genoa's historical past.

Petrantoni was born in Genoa in 1970, studied graphic design in Milan, then moved to France to work there. But after returning to Italy, he wanted to take a break from the advertising world and started to concentrate on his own art instead. 

When we came back later in the afternoon to Palazzo Ducale, we noticed that there was clearly a free concert on offer. A Campagna, a folk music group with musicians, singers and dancers, performed traditional songs and dances from Genoa. They sing in genovese, the local dialect, which is difficult to master unless taught by someone who has used it on regular basis. Even native Italian speakers struggle to understand this dialect.

Members of A Campagna group in their traditional costumes.



 Most people in Genoa know some words in genovese, but less and less people can actually speak the language anymore.  In the past, perhaps a century ago, genovese was actively used in all verbal communication. People were even able to tell which part of the city someone comes from based on their accent or some words they used. A Campagna is dedicated to keep the language alive.

Genoa is full of free events. Take your seat and enjoy! However, especially with concerts, it is customary to give a small donation afterwards as a token of appreciation.

FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ

There is one museum in Genoa, bang in the city centre, next to Palazzo Ducale, which you might never even notice unless you knew that it is there: the Museo del Jazz.

   I have wanted to visit this place for a long time, but this turned out to be a bit of a mission. I knew that it is open only for couple of hours in the afternoon, but the first time I went the museum was clearly closed and I could not even see, where the entrance might be on Via Tommaso Reggio. There was no signs of the museum even existing in that place. It was a Monday, which is typically not a good day to visit any museums, but I read from somewhere that it might be open - well, it wasn't. But last week I got lucky. The very heavy doors were open, just a fraction. There was a notice in italian that the Museum is open from Tuesdays to Fridays from 5 PM to 7 PM. Bingo!

The Museo del Jazz is just next to Palazzo Ducale, the entrance is on a side street, Via Tommaso Reggio.

The glass door was closed, so I rang the bell. A very friendly, elderly Italian gentleman came to open and let me in. It was immediately clear that this is not a musem in the traditional sense and the gentleman confirmed this to be the case. It is more of an archive where jazz fans can come to listen their favourites or find recordings by a particular artist or an era in jazz, which they want to explore more. It is an amazing place and very clearly run by people who are passionate about jazz.

  The musem, which was founded in 2000,  houses over  10 000 pieces - records, CDs, cassette tapes and videos -  and the collection includes most of  the recordings ever made by Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday and other jazz royalty. The museum also organises jazz related gatherings such as lectures of a particular artist/era/style of jazz. And if you want to learn how to play jazz, there is a music school where you could learn how to sing jazz or play sax, clarinet or other instruments. More information (all in italian) can be found from their website - www.italianjazzinstitute.com.

This sign for Lousiana Jazz Club is displayed right next to Palazzo Ducale, but the club is actually located elsewhere in the city, on Via San Sebastiano.

  The museum is attached to the Louisiana Jazz Club, which has been the centre of jazz in Genoa since 1964 and if you want to get to know the jazz scene in Genoa,  that is the place to be on most Thursday evenings (Via San Sebastiano 36). However, it is wise to check in advance on their website (www.louisianajazzclub.com), if there is anything going on. A membership card currently costs 30 euro and it is valid for the whole calendar year, giving access to all concerts at the club. 

 Heaven!