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Extended cultural and musical weekend in Scotland (2nd part)
The cultural and historical sites as well as the musical offerings of the Scottish tourist pearl regularly attract a large number of locals as well as tourists from all over the world.
In the beautiful Scottish city of Glasgow, we were greeted with better weather than we expected. According to friends who stayed in the north of the United Kingdom a year ago and in the summertime temperatures could drop quite a bit, but fortunately this did not happen this time. Although the forecasts heralded rainy hours, there were hardly any. By Saturday afternoon. And it wasn’t even worth the umbrella opening. On the other hand, they were spitting, to put it bluntly, the offerings of music and other cultural and historical events, some of which were worth accepting. For some, however, this was not possible because the ticket jag was expected to be large.
Chronologically speaking, the King’s Theater and the musical “On Your Feet”, which first played five years ago in Chicago and Broadway, were first on the list, and the story is based on the life and mega career of Emilia and Gloria Estefan, who won the Grammy 26 times, sold millions of sound carriers worldwide, and promoted Cuban music and Miami at the highest pop art level. Whether in English or Spanish, their songs entertained and danced their countrymen as well as members of “cooler” or more restrained nations around the globe. “Get On Your Feet”, “Conga”, “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”, “Dr Beat”, “Don’t Wanna Loose You” and many others rose to our feet and a great Scottish audience and us newcomers we readily accepted invitation to dance. A nice “warm human” story that leaves no one indifferent.
The day after, Thursday, was reserved for a concert by Elvis Costello and his Imposters in Armadillo, but by then we had managed to tour some of Glasgow’s landmarks. First and foremost The Kelvingrove Art Galery and Museum. The monumental building (though temporary; the pavilion-predecessor was even four times larger) offers a cross section of Scottish history, artifacts of various orientations, from those of usable value to Chinese porcelain of inestimable value, and, finally, works by painters such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali, Rembrandt, Monet, or the Glasgow Boys, and Mackintosh style copies, so well known and popular in applied art and design. Morna, our guide (otherwise an Oxford student) on an exclusive tour, has instructed us on many things that greatly override the prejudices of Scottish people as “stingy” and “depressed”. Exactly the opposite. With their donations and awareness of identity and universal artistic and other values, they have contributed to the appearance (and wealth) of not only this but other institutions in Glasgow and cities across the country. The crown on all this came in the shape of an organ recital performed by Gordon Cree in the same space, and we could hear a diverse repertoire, from a piece(s) from “My Fair Lady” to Shostakovich’s romance. Short and effective. Otherwise, the organ is one of the most famous in the world and was built in 1901 in London.
Prior to Costello’s appearance, we also visited the Riverside Museum, the Museum of Transport and Travel, which deservedly won the Museum of the Year European Award in 2013. As Elvis entertained a somewhat grown-up audience in Armadillo, a few hundred meters away in Hydro, a Scottish youth burst into a sold-out Lewis Capaldi concert. a home-grown boyfriend who started his breakthrough, musically and financially, in 2018. He is doing well for now. The girls are waiting in line to see him, and Thursday’s concert was not the only one in Hydro. The latter was also sold out. The day after Capaldi, his slightly older American counterpart Halsey performed in the same venue, but don’t forget that except the young ones a few older performers are scheduled to play in the coming weeks and months. And this is just some of them: The Who (the have a new album), Simple Minds, Santana, etc.
Friday brought one great musical farewell. At the end of their careers, we decided to hear Clannad, the Irish (Celtic) band that had followed us since the early 1970s. We remembered Enya, but also the ingenious songs (and in English) at the full Royal Concert Hall, a beautiful downtown hall. For more than two hours with our eyes closed, we could enjoy the cheerful and sad sides of the lives of noble and less noble characters about whom their polyphony, harp, guitar, keyboards and percussion chant. My personal favorite album is “Magic Ring” (1983), which will remind me of their performance from now on.
For some things (music, music, stage, sports …), as I write, it’s difficult to get tickets. I would like to point out the special Dark Side of the Moon, at the Planetarium, a science and music event that speaks spectacularly (in words, pictures and music) about Pink Floyd’s legendary 1973 album. And in such events the younger population also enjoys it.
There is much more I can talk about and what we have seen and visited. Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis, St Mungos Museum of Religious Life and Art or City Chambers. But there is something left for you and your future visit.
The Scots, as I said, are not at all miserable when it comes to (giving) things that “all the senses enjoy.” Thank you Scotland! I greet you (and them) with a greeting that is also the motto of the beautiful city we have been enjoying – let Glasgow flourish!
Photo: Tatjana Prvulovic Mirkovic’s private album
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Produljeni kulturno-glazbeni vikend u Škotskoj (2. dio)
Kulturne i povijesne znamenitosti, kao i glazbena ponuda škotskoga turističkog bisera redovito privlači velik broj domaćega stanovništva, kao i turista iz cijeloga svijeta.
U predivnom škotskom gradu Glasgowu dočekalo nas je vrijeme bolje nego što smo očekivali. Prema kazivanju prijatelja koji su na sjeveru Ujedinjenoga Kraljevstva boravili prije koju godinu i u ljetnim danima temperatura se znala poprilično spustiti, no na sreću to se ovaj put nije dogodilo. Iako su prognoze najavljivale kišne sate, gotovo da ih nije bilo. Do subote poslijepodne. A ni to nije bilo vrijedno otvaranja kišobrana. S druge strane pljuštale su, da se tako izrazim, ponude glazbenih i inih kulturno-povijesnih ponuda od kojih je neke valjalo objeručke prihvatiti. Za neke, pak, to nije bilo moguće jer je jagma za ulaznice očekivano velika.
Kronološki gledano prvi je na rasporedu bio King’s Theatre i mjuzikl “On Your Feet”, koji je prvi put zaigrao prije pet godina u Chicagu i na Broadwayu, a priča je utemeljena na životu i megauspješnoj karijeri Emilia i Glorije Estefan, paru koji je dvadeset i šest puta osvojio Grammy, prodao silne milijune nosača zvuka diljem svijeta i promovirao kubansku glazbu i Miami na najvišoj pop artističkoj razini. Bilo da je riječ o engleskim ili španjolskim verzijama, njihove pjesme zabavljale su i rasplesale i njihove sunarodnjake, ali i pripadnike „hladnijih“ ili suzdržanijih nacija širom planeta. “Get On Your Feet”, “Conga”, “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”, “Dr Beat”, “Don’t Wanna Loose You” i mnoge druge digle su na noge i odličnu škotsku publiku i nas došljake koji smo spremno prihvatili poziv na ples. Lijepa “topla ljudska” priča koja nikoga ne ostavlja ravnodušnim.
Dan poslije, četvrtak, bio je rezerviran za koncert Elvisa Costella i njegovih Impostersa u Armadillu, no do tada smo uspjeli obići neke od znamenitosti Glasgowa. U prvom redu The Kelvingrove Art Galery and Museum. Monumentalna zgrada (iako je ona privremena; paviljon-prethodnik bio čak četiri puta veći) nudi presjek škotske povijesti, artefakata raznih usmjerenja, od onih koji su uporabna vrijednost do kineskoga porculana neprocjenjive vrijednosti te, konačno, djela slikara poput Van Gogha, Picassa, Dalija, Rembrandta, Moneta ili pak Glasgow Boysa, te primjeraka Mackintosh stila, toliko poznatog i popularnog u primjenjenoj umjetnosti i dizajnu. Morna, naš vodič (inače oksfordski đak) u ekskluzivnom obilasku nas je uputila u mnoge stvari koje itekako ruše predrasude o škotskim ljudima kao škrtima i “stisnutima”. Upravo suprotno. Svojim donacijama i sviješću o identitetu i općeljudskim umjetničkim i drugim vrijednostima doprinijeli su izgledu (i bogatstvu) ne samo ove nego i drugih institucija u Glasgowu i gradovima diljem zemlje. Kao krun(ic)a na sve ovo došao je orguljaški recital koji je u istom prostoru izveo Gordon Cree a u njemu smo mogli čuti raznovrstan repertoar, od komad(ić)a iz My Fair Lady do Šostakovičeve romance. Kratko i efektno. Inače, orgulje su jedne od najpoznatijih na svijetu, a izgrađene su 1901. u Londonu.
Prije Costellova nastupa obišli smo i Riverside Museum, muzej prometa i putovanja koji je prestižnu europsku nagradu Muzeja godine zasluženo osvojio 2013. Dok je Elvis uveseljavao nešto odrasliju publiku u Armadillu, nekoliko stotina metara dalje u Hydru je nahrupila škotska mladost na rasprodani koncert Lewisa Capaldija, domaćega dečka koji je svoj proboj, glazbeni i financijski, počeo 2018. Za sada mu odlično ide. Curice čekaju u redovima kako bi ga vidjele, a koncert u četvrtak nije bio jedini u Hydru. I ovaj drugi bio je, također, rasprodan. Koji dan poslije Capaldija, u istom prostoru nastupila je i njegova nešto starija američka kolegica Halsey, ali da ne pomislite da nastupaju samo mladi evo i nekoliko izvođača koji bi trebali svirati sljedećih tjedana i mjeseci. The Who (imaju novi album), Simple Minds, Santana itd.
Petak je donio jedan veliki glazbeni oproštaj. Na kraj karijere odlučili su se Clannad, irski (keltski) sastav koji nas je pratio od početka sedamdesetih. Sjetili smo se Enye, ali i genijalnih pjesama (i na engleskom) u punom Royal Concert Hallu, lijepoj dvorani u središtu grada. Više od dva sata širom zatvorenih očiju mogli smo uživati u veselim i tužnim stranama života plemenitih i manje plemenitih likova o kojima zbori njihovo višeglasje, harfa, gitare, klavijature i udaraljke. Meni osobno najdraži album je “Magic Ring” (1983.) koji će me od sada podsjećati i na ovaj njihov nastup.
Za pojedine stvari (glazbene, glazbeno-scenske, sportske…), kako napisah, teško je i doći do ulaznica. Istaknuo bih specijal Dark Side of the Moon, u Planetariumu, znanstveno-glazbeni događaj u kojemu se na spektakularan način govori (rječju, slikom i muzikom) o legendarnom albumu Pinka Floyda iz 1973. Sve je garnirano odličnim izlaganjima i predavanjima astronoma i drugih stručnjaka, a u ovakvim događajima uživa i mlađa populacija.
Još je puno toga o čemu bih vam mogao govoriti i što smo vidjeli i obišli. Galery of Modern Art, Glasgow Cathedral i Necropolis, St Mungos Museum of Religious Life and Art ili City Chambers. No, treba nešto ostaviti i za vas i vaš budući posjet.
Škoti, kao što rekoh, uopće nisu škrti kad su u pitanju (davanja) stvari u kojima “sva čula uživaju”. Thank you Scotland! Pozdravljam vas (i njih) pozdravom koji je ujedno i moto predivnoga grada u čijem smo gostoprimstvu uživali – let Glasgow flourish!
Foto: Privatni album Tatjane Prvulović Mirković
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