the talking bear

Musical Overtones Reviewed

Those of you who read yesterday's entry will know about the concert I went to. The programme consisted of three pieces of minimalist music (by no means meaning that the programme itself was minimal), by Steve Reich, Philip Glass and a lesser-known Polish composer, Tomasz Sikorski.

Each piece was introduced on a large screen (which also served as a multimedia backdrop for the oeuvres) by Polish musicologist Andrzej Chłopecki. Each introduction was in the form of a mini lecture, and because of the musical niche that the programme comprised, I am sure that most of the concert-goers were students at the Music Academy (Akademia Muzyczna) in Kraków.

But on to the music. Tomasz Sikorski's  piece was what the programme declared "a trial for Slavonic minimalism". A trial it was, although the music was sublime, if not subliminal. Much of the audience dozed off for the duration (including myself), not out of boredom, but due to the tonality (and a fair share of minimal atonality that is fairly common in music of this type) and harmony of the piece: Struny w ziemi (Strings in the earth).

Steve Reich's  "Triple Quartet" was played by 12 string players (who would have guessed), although the piece has also been written so that two quartets can be played back from a pre-recorded tape. Luckily we were given a fully live performance. The piece had Jewish overtones in it (although there wasn't the kind of 'wailing' you get in Klezmer music), and was lively enough to get the audience back on track after the dreamy chords of Sikorski's opus. Funnily enough, the piece was especially written for the Kronos Quartet, which played in Kraków not so long ago.

The third and final piece of the concert was Philip Glass' Symphony no.3. It was one of the most beutiful pieces of music I have heard this year. Very typical Glass, with waves of chords and juicy modulations that swung back and forth whilst keeping the audience on their toes. The two outer movements were very calm (one reminded me of a movement Glass had already written for Koyaanisqatsi or a film of similar ilk) with a very crowded inner two movements. I am not a music critic, but anyone who likes Glass would have loved to listen to this piece of music. So rounded and full of extatic sonority... (That's as far as my music criticness extends to: Chłopecki did a much better job of it...)

As far as minimal music goes in Poland, well, it isn't that popular. Yet the concert was a sell-out affair, and it proved how this kind of music can have such a profound effect on the human psyche. But then again, Wagner's music did too, and his music wasn't minimal at all...

Musical Overtones

Going to listen to some Steve Reich and Philip Glass at the Kraków Philharmonia this evening. It's the first time I will've seen Glass publicly performed: I had no idea he wrote symphonies, let alone eight of them! Should be good. It's being played by Sinfonietta Cracovia, and looks interesting... Quick write-up tomorrow, for sure...

Poster from the Orkiestra Sinfonietta Cracovia website

Missing Links...

Just to catch up on a couple of things:

Here's the Polish Radio link to Quadruple espresso from Kraków, my Around Poland report. Blog post here.

and also...

Logo of the Polish Days in Kuwait, November 2006

I did a report for the Polish Radio News Agency (IAR - Informacyjna Agencja Radiowa) about the sailing of the second-ever tanker of oil to Poland from the State of Kuwait, where I was sent for little under a week to report on the Polish Days event to get trade moving between the two countries. I can't find the link on the site, but you can download the mp3 here. It's the only recorded report done by me actually in Polish. Enjoy!

I also co-hosted a live radio show on RKFM Super Station 99.7 for the duration of the festivities. It was my first time actually presenting a live broadcast (I had been on Polskie Radio BIS before that...), and it was stressful, not least because of the censorship they have. I gained a lot of experience just from those four days, and working with Kuwaitis was actually quite a pleasant experience, plus they really enjoyed the cheesy Polish pop that I brought along with me for the shows, like Kayah, Blue Café, and other such groups...

That's all for now. More anon, most probably for Around Poland. Ciao.

Why I'm glad I don't live in the UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6108496.stm

To save your time: one CCTV camera for every 14 people in the UK.

THAT'S WRONG.

Off for a week...

Servus. Have managed to contract a bout of bronchitis, hence my blogging spree. This post from my Nokia E50. Let's hope it works, as it could pave the way for more musings from the Talking Bear. For now- the view of the bench opposite in the doctor's surgery where I hung out this morning. Cześć.

Stag Parties in Kraków contd.

The press in Kraków and indeed all around Poland has recently gone nuts about reporting about lagered-up Brits who are coming to Kraków and basically getting pissed and looking for whores.

I find it incredible that Cracovian journalists have only just cottoned on to this. I must admit, since the report (blog post here) that I did last August (broadcast in early September on Radio Polonia, now Polish Radio External Servce), many more bars have turned their backs on Brits engaged in stag activities.

Some recent sources:

Właściciele krakowskich klubów mają już dosyć Anglików, przyjeżdżających do miasta na wieczory kawalerskie. Podkreślają - Pijani Anglicy na wieczorach kawalerskich to żenujący koszmar. Podczas takich imprez macają po pupach kelnerki, tańczą na golasa na stołach i wykrzykują piłkarskie przyśpiewki.

Owners of clubs in Kraków have had enough of Englishmen who come to the city for bachelor parties. They state: "Drunk Englishmen on bachelor parties are a bloody nightmare. During such festivities they tap the waitress' asses, dance naked on tables and scream out footie chants."

from http://w_krakowie.tur-info.pl/p/ak_id,23941,,anglicy,krakowskie_kluby,krakow,w_krakowie,rozruby,pijani,nic_nowego,wieczory.html

and even the Women's section of the daily Gazeta Wyborcza has a whole article devoted to what exactly stag parties are. Or should that be hen parties? You can read it here (in Polish, natch).

Of course, such media representation only shows Brits in their bad light. I have actually met Brits on stag parties who were quite obviously pissed, but nonetheless tame. There's no problem in that; I mean, who hasn't gone on a bender from time to time? But surely these people should respect the fact that this city has people living in it and everyone has the right to get from A to B without being harassed by, well, anyone!

I say this: if the local coppers (both the Police and City Police, Straż Miejska) spoke English and not just turn their backs when they see stagged-up Brits, then there wouldn't be a problem. I reckon that if these men of the law didn't wimp out and took things in to their own hands, then we could have the situation under control, and life in Kraków would be that much better for it.

So I appeal to the local constabulary: learn some English and take matters into your own hands! Or, for my bredren in the force, nauczcie się angielskiego i weźcie sprawy we własne ręce! Dosyć tych pijanych Brytów na Pl. Wszystkich Świętych!

Medical Tours in Kraków

This post goes quite a long way back. It was for a news item for Polish Radio (then Radio Polonia) back in September (?), and since the organisational changes at the station it is no longer in the archive.

I uploaded the MP3 in October last year, but never got round to doing the post for it. Many foreigners come to Poland now to get their teeth done, get plastic surgery, the amusingly-named Botox and all that lovely stuff. My mate Jurek, who lives round the corner, is in the tourist business and organises trips for you western types to come and get a facelift. Check it out!
His site is at www.jorgegroup.pl

Download the MP3 here. (ca. 3,6MB)

To read the article, continue reading below...

Since Poland’s entry into the European Union in 2004, there has been a growth in tourism in the country’s southern city of Kraków. Apart from stating the obvious though, the city’s medical trade has also taken advantage of the Union’s enlargement. Already a few years back there were stories in the British press that addressed the possibility of travelling within the EU to get specialist treatment without the queues and without having to spend too much well-earned cash for the priviledge. Polish doctors have started to make a reputation for themselves, and with the opening of the job market, Polish nurses are making increasing appearances in hospitals and clinics in western Europe, especially in the UK. And of course with the advent of cheap flights to Kraków, specialist treatment is now only a few hours away and costs a fraction of what it would cost in Britain.
Jerzy Postawka, a tourism specialist based in Kraków, is pioneering a new programme for tourists who want to take advantage of Poland’s jewel in the crown. He told me more:
“It’s a medical travel, and basically it’s travelling to get some treatment like, for example, dentists, opticians, and also plastic surgery. I’m insuring the accomodation, they can pick it from different standards and different types of accomodation, beginning from hotels, also with some apartments, then I’m organising the treatment, I’m making the schedule of visits and everything, and I also support them with some attractions, trips, and all the other things they can do during their stay in Kraków. For example, I’ve rented an apartment, quite comfortable, 60 m2 in the city centre for one week, and then I set up the visits during the whole week, to make one tooth and then to make Botox treatment, to remove wrinkles. Basically I’m aiming at all people who need such treatment, and who want to see something new or to visit Kraków, or to do it a different way than usual. Usually these are people who are over 30 years old, and they are just looking for good treatment.”
The cost of treatment is probably the most important factor for people who would want to come to Kraków. Jerzy explains the difference in price, and what you would get in Kraków for the same amount of money paid for specialist treatment in the UK:
“Definitely it’s a way of saving money. I would say it like this, that to come here, including the cost of travel, including the cost of accomodation, including the cost of the other attractions, I mean Auschwitz, Wieliczka, and all the things you want to do, and including the treatment, the amount is the same for treatment abroad, in western Europe, so I think it’s much cheaper and for the same price you get much more, and you visit something and have some attractions.”
I put the idea to Max, a Brit currently on a short holiday in Kraków:
“You know I think I would, because I know it’s a beautiful city, and if you can get the same treatment done for less money here then I think it’s definitely worth it.”
The opinion of Jerzy is to get western Europeans to come to Kraków, take in the atmosphere and relax while the specialists do their thing. Leave yourself in the hands of the professionals, while not paying through the nose for it. For information check the website at www.jorgegroup.pl

Coffee Culture in Kraków

My latest installment for Around Poland, Polish Radio's travel magazine, is about the savouring of coffee in Kraków. Not just that though: much like other towns in this part of Mitteleuropa, or more precisely, the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, coffeehouses are an intricate part of life. Vienna, Bratislava, Kraków, L'viv and all that. Come to Kraków and check out some of my regular haunts.

Broadcast on 12.3.2007 (link to follow...)

MP3 can be downloaded here. (ca. 7,1MB)

Text continued below...

Time for a coffee. The rumble of the Italian espresso machine is music to my ears, much as the silence that comes after it. Sit with me a while in a coffeehouse in the southern city of Kraków, home to some of the best coffee, not least one of the best places to drink it in.

The history of the European coffeehouse goes back to the legend of Kulczycki, a Polish-Ukrainian soldier who fought at the Battle of Vienna of 1683, when King Jan Sobieski drove back the Ottomans. It is said that this soldier found large sacks of coffee beans in an abandoned camp and with them decided to open the first coffeehouse in the city itself.

How romantic, you might say. And you wouldn’t be far off. Kraków has had its love affair with the black gold for a few centuries itself, and in that time the city has become filled with some extraordinary establishments on almost every street corner. One of the oldest coffeehouses still in business in Kraków is Jama Michalika, which is on Floriańska street. It was originally opened in 1895, and was the artistic hub of the city’s cultural crème-de-la-crème. The famous ‘Green Balloon’ cabaret was also formed there a few years later. This was just the beginning of the coffeehouse trend, though…

Times have changed since Jama Michalika opened, and the modern Kraków boasts coffeehouses to suit everyone’s taste. Décor can vary wildly: for instance, the Propaganda café on Miodowa street in the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz; a time warp to Poland’s previous era of Communism with a touch of retro on the dark side. This coffeehouse is a world away from, for example, Botanica, a café on Bracka street which has the air of an orangery, or a large glasshouse.

So I have mentioned but a few places for coffee. But why do people go these places? What is the need? Is it just caffeine? Tomek, an actor and barman in one of Kraków’s coffeehouses, explains the rituals behind the espresso…

… so you come in on a 5 minute break off work, drink an espresso, and then you leave. But you can also make it into a ritual. Throw some magic into the whole procedure. You could get a macchiato instead of an espresso, and when you meet with friends to find out what’s going on, coffee just makes that much more sense. It’s not just about the coffee or its taste, it’s about feeling as if in a far off place for those five minutes.

… from my observations, there are three stages. You can come in the morning, or at least before noon; you get a sandwich, drink some coffee with it,  or juice, or whatever. Then you have the afternoon, when you have what I’ve talking about all along: you come to meet someone, and the most natural way of doing it is over a coffee, without any pretexts. Then comes the evening, when people come to drink, to dance, or do any other multitude of activities…

There is much more to the Cracovian coffeehouse than meets the eye. Each ‘local’, from the Polish lokal, roughly meaning ‘establishment’, is its own very ecosystem. The coffee’s not always important when there’s much more going on around. I spoke to two coffee drinkers about what they thought about the coffeehouse atmosphere. Aeddan, my regular spokesman on such life matters and also currently a university lecturer, and Karolina, a Pole from Canada who is currently studying in Kraków.

Well I think it’s a chance to meet with other people, but it’s also a chance to get lost within a comfortable surrounding, you don’t necessarily have to go to a place where you everyone’s name, but just the fact that of going into the comfort zone of the Old Town, or the centre of the city, where you can sit down and be alone, but not be lonely…

Exactly. There is a difference. There are places where you can sit in Kraków, and you’ll be sat there for five minutes, and you’ll see everyone you know walk past. Think of Bracka or Stolarska. And you know you can go and sit in a café, you’ll meet someone that you know. You can’t just have a coffee somewhere without somebody dropping in…

Well, no…. But sure you can, right? You can go onto Bracka, you can go onto Stolarska, and you know when everyone has their office hours at certain cafés, but you can also go into the secret nooks, where perhaps you’ll see a familiar face, but not necessarily, there are a lot of places to hide within this very confined space…

So it’s kind of intimate and sociable at the same time, which I don’t think very many cities have to offer.

If you want to be seen sipping a smooth espresso on the fashionable Plac Nowy in Kazimerz, why not go to Alchemia. This is one of the most prominent coffeehouses in Kraków, and also doubles up as an art gallery and is a whole institution in its own right. Winter nights are welcoming, and lazy summer afternoons can also be whiled away all too easily. Back to Bracka street in the centre and to Prowincja, where you get an ambient old-time rustic feel, or perhaps conceal yourself in a cupboard at Café Szafé on Felicjanek street?

Whichever coffeehouse you decide to go to, you will always find, especially after a few days of musing over a blend of Colombian roast, that the same people will return. The city is a web of coffeehouses that intertwines with each other, each passing over information and local gossip. Newspapers are read in this city, but the word on the grapevine tends to move that much faster, making the printed press redundant. All coffeehouses are centres of talk. Two great places to go for a chat over an espresso are Manekin on Tomasza street, and also Pierwszy Lokal, the first local on Stolarska street, where much of this program was recorded…

There is no one philosophy behind the coffeehouses in Kraków. Maybe you’ll find a place to define yourself and your thoughts in this amazing city. Maybe you won’t. But it’ll happen over a cup of coffee. That’s for sure.