• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

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Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Category Archives: Paris

Périgueux & A Most Beautiful Farmers Market in France

25 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Food, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Music, Paris, Perigueux, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Cezanne, Chasen's Restaurant, Dalton Trumbo, Dordgogne, Food, French Food, Gregory Peck, Hector Berlioz, Humphrey Bogart, In Search of Lost Time, L'Essentiel Restaurant, Lauren Bacall, Marlon Brando, Perigueux, Proust, Travel, Truffles

2017-05-27 10.18.45

The delicious red strawberries at the Saturday Farmers Market of Périgueux.

With an apple I will astonish Paris. Paul Cézanne

The impressions of the sights and smells of cuisine, of tea, of sweet and warm baked madeleines, of savory asparagus, permeate the towering pages of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. The still life paintings of Paul Cézanne helped shift perception in the visual arts to a new way of geometric seeing, the French translation of still life, nature morte, a telling Gallic metaphor for a symbolic death. The musical fruits of Erik Satie would astonish a dismissive public when he wrote Trois morceaux en forme de poire.

Cuisine, with all its timeworn clichés, still defines France.

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A Few Berlin Stories & A New Hall for Pierre Boulez

13 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Arnold Schoenberg, Christopher Isherwood, Composers, Contemporary Music, Diplomacy, Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kent Nagano, Music, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vienna, Vietnam

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Arnold Schoenberg, Berlin, Caspar David Frierich, Checkpoint Charlie, Christopher Isherwood, Daniel Barenboim, Daniel Liebeskind, Edward Said, Frank Gehry, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Holocuast Memorial Berlin, Kent Nagano, Pierre Boulez, Pierre Boulez Saal, Reichstag, Silke Hilger, Travel, Universal Music, West-Divan Orchestra, Yasuhisa Toyota

2017-06-07 16.49.00

Enjoying Caspar David Friedrich in Berlin

Berliners love to talk – with a blunt directness which is both rude and friendly – and even in their grumbling there is a note of pleasure. Christopher Isherwood

I’ve benefited from a good dose of internal California breathing space after visiting Berlin last month. The city was long overdue for me to experience and this was my first chance. And my lasting impression is not of monuments, museums, concerts or one of the best bus systems on the planet. No, my memory remains fixed on one thing.

Charming, grumbling, and usually laughing Berliners!

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Who Knew? Chez Janou and 80 Types of Pastis in Paris

16 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Japan, Kim Ngoc Tran, Kyoto, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Minh Dam Quang, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Asia, Buddhism, Chez Janou, Dam Quang MInh, Food, French Food, Gilbert Nouno, Guangxi Arts Festival, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, India, IRCAM, Munich Biennale, Paris, Pastis, Pierre Boulez, Travel, Vietnam

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Jan at Chez Janou.

Invariably, when one searches the internet for restaurant reviews of places to go in Paris, the general observation includes a few “rude service” comments. Personally, I’ve never experienced what they’re talking about, but that might be because I have a decent amount of French. I’ve always found Parisians pretty easy going if you just say “Bonjour” when you walk into a restaurant or a shop. You aren’t the first tourist they’ve ever seen. Smiles always help you.

Jan and I are in Europe for planning meetings for next steps for our Hà Nội New Music Ensemble in Việt Nam. Things are moving forward, for while we’re in Europe, my Vietnamese colleagues have concerts in Hà Nội with the directors of the Münchner Biennale and then tour to the Guangxi Festival in Nanning, China. By dividing our resources we’re getting ready for an ambitious future.

Allow me to share with you where a Parisian friend recommended we meet for dinner? And the staff is friendly and fantastic. Feel free to make your own reservation!

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Nine Chapters of the Rain at the Manzi Center with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble, Friday May 5

01 Monday May 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Diplomacy, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, Music, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Asia, Bela Bartók, CBS News, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, James Nash, Joan Huang, Manzi Art Space, Ngo Tra My, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nguyen Truong Bang, Paris, Peet's Coffee, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vu Nhat Tan

2015-10-29 20.13.35

The Hà Nội New Music Ensemble will be at the Manzi Art Center on Friday, May 5.

2017 is the Year of the Fire Rooster. Which means that, if you appreciate the worldview of Asian lunar astrology, it’s a time used best for ambitious planning and strategy. Political events will demonstrate obnoxious “Cock-a-Doodle-Doo’s!”, from missile tests launched by Pyongyang, protest marches in the United States, Brexit negotiations between London and the EU, or another divisive election, this time in France. Add the element of FIRE to your alarm clock and you’ll at least understand the shared global anxiety about coming events.

However focusing, perhaps nervously, on these incendiary realities misses the best opportunity provided by the Year of the Fire Rooster. There is no need to panic.

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A Circle of Trust: the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble Season Begins Sunday October 23

19 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Diplomacy, Education, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Asia, Didier Latroupe, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Igor Stravinsky, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Ton That Tiet, Vietnam War, Vu Nhat Tan

Working on every detail with Vu Khanh Linh and Giang Dương.

Working on every detail with Vũ Khánh Linh and Giang Dương.

Being creative is like riding a bicycle: either you keep going forward or you fall off. – Pierre Boulez

Sunday night at 8 PM the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble begins its second season at L’espace, sponsored by the l’Institut français du Việt Nam-Hà Nội. A group whose time is long overdue, I’m honored to be to help these hard working Vietnamese musicians as their artistic advisor and conductor.

A triangle of countries, France, Việt Nam and the United States, blends with a triangle of cities, Paris, Hà Nội and Los Angeles, for this second season opener. The new music world potential for my friends is vast, but much hard work has to come first. Excepting the usual suspects of classical music, you name the 20th century composer and you might be leading a Vietnamese premiere!

Looking over the horizon, I predict you will see a new music wave in the next few years cresting in Southeast Asia with the emergence of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble!

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A Pilgrimage to Chùa Dâu, the Oldest Buddhist Temple in Việt Nam

05 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Minh Dam Quang, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Music, Asia, Bắc Ninh, Buddhism, Chùa Dâu, China, Confucius, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Mahayana Buddhism, Minh Dam Quang, Nom Calligraphy, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vu Hoa, Vu Nhat Tan

Chua Dau, at 3000 years the oldest Buddhist temple in Viet Nam.

Chùa Dâu, at 3000 years the oldest Buddhist temple in Việt Nam.

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. Confucius

Rarely do I experience the guardian angels of my life coming back to Earth, encircling me with love, humility, thankfulness, generosity and, as I acknowledge the unavoidable fate of being human, life memory. As momentous as a baptism, wedding or funeral, these rare moments of spiritual contact leave a new connection, refreshing me for the next chapters of my life.

At Chùa Dâu, the oldest Buddhist temple in Việt Nam, I had one of those spiritual moments finding the guardian angel, the bodhisattva, of my work in Southeast Asia, Loi Trinh Le.

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And The River Sings of Eternity: From Huế to Paris for Tôn Thất Tiết

30 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Andre Jolivet, Anthony Bourdain, Asia, Buddhism, Dam Quang MInh, Dong Kinh Co Nhạc, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kent Nagano, Los Angeles International New Music Festival, Nguyen Thien Dao, Olivier Messiaen, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ton That Tiet, Vietnam, Vivan Diep, Vu Nhat Tan

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Sunset in Paris on the Seine from the Pont des Arts.

My friend Tôn Thất Tiết, who I would describe as a hybrid Vietnamese French composer who is fundamentally Vietnamese, writes the most patient music I’ve ever encountered. Poised from years of Buddhist thought and traditions, his command of stillness inspires me. And like the metaphor of water he often invokes, his music conceals endless energy underneath a calm surface.

Tiết was born in Huế, Việt Nam in 1933, went to Paris in 1958, studied with Messiaen’s friend André Jolivet and became a French citizen in 1971. In 1993 he founded the France-Việt Nam Music Association to promote the development of traditional music in Việt Nam.

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Permanent Residents of Paris and A Homage to Nguyễn Thiện Đạo

27 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Cafe Louise, George Bizet, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hector Berlioz, LA International New Music Festival, Le sacre du printemps, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montmartre, Montmartre Cemetery, Nguyen Thien Dao, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Romeo & Juliet, St. Germain, Theatre Des Champs Elysses, Ton That Tiet

The Theatre de Champs Elysses which hosted the riotous premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

The Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris, home to the riotous premiere of Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps.

Paris seems much larger than it really is because of the infinite number of mirrors that duplicate its true space. Carlos Fuentes Terra Nostra

Mirrors and circles come to my mind when I think of my love for Paris. Reflections of the city are found all over the world and, like the circular arrangement of its arrondissements, Paris always returns. Whoever said that all roads lead to Rome must have known that Paris wouldn’t need any help.

My position as artistic advisor to the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble gave me the opportunity to return to Paris in May. The purpose of the trip was to lay the foundation for long term French alliances for the new music wave I’m leading out of Việt Nam. As you’ll see in the next few years, the trip was a big success, and I’ll be posting more about various aspects of these meetings this summer.

But my wife Jan and I also needed to pay an important visit to an iconic Paris location that we’d never managed to find time to visit on other trips. Quarreling with fate is never productive. And when dealing with Việt Nam, Paris is never far away.

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French Connections and A Favorite Paris Restaurant of Pierre Boulez

23 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kent Nagano, Kyoto, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Ambassade d'Auvergne, Gilbert Nouno, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kent Nagano, LA International New Music Festival, Le Grand Comptoirs d'Anvers, Mari Kodama, Momo Kodama, Montmartre, Nguyen Thien Dao, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Restaurant Nansouty, Rue du Buci, Ton That Tiet, Vietnam

A glass of Lillet on Rue du Buci in St. Germain.

A glass of Lillet on Rue du Buci in St. Germain.

Paris is always a good idea. Audrey Hepburn

If there was an Academy Award for the most influential city in the world, Paris would probably win hands down. It’s certainly played a leading role in the world of music, art, literature, cuisine, fashion, history, colonialism, architecture, poetry, sculpture, science, film, romance, photography, you name it and Paris has had a starring part.

My wife Jan and I went to Paris in May to create French connections for the Hanoi New Music Ensemble and the Los Angeles International New Music Festival. It’s not coincidental but my next concert in October is hosted by the Alliance Française in Hanoi. We realized that as Americans in Paris we’d be able to build bridges for the French music community back to their former colony and formidable enemy in Southeast Asia.

I like a good story and this is one of the best!

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