THE FOUR SEASONS OF VIVALDI

Still in Napa, actually, Vacaville, golfing.  I'll at some point post a summary of our adventure here.

Recently, I revealed that a third of a century ago when I worked in the U.S. Senate I promised myself I'd spend my Friday lunches on the beach when I returned to Hawaii.  Around that time, there were two films, both starring Alan Alda:

• In 1978, Same Time, Next Year was panned by Rotten Tomatoes reviewers with a 40% rating, although 85% of the audience liked it.  The first scene occurred in 1951 in a Mendocino County inn where a 24-year old housewife from Oakland happens to meet a 27-year old accountant from New Jersey.  They have an affair and agree to meet once a year at the same time, and did so for next 26 years.  The movie went on to gain four Academy Award nominations, including as Best Actress for Ellen Burstyn and Best Song for The Last Time I Felt Like This.  Alda did get a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.  For some reason, I had long thought the Four Seasons concertos served as the background music

• It was in 1981 that a second Alda movie, Four Seasons, was released, where three couples took vacations together during the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.  Rotten Tomatoes gave it 75%/75% ratings.  Vivaldi's Four Seasons accompanied the seasons.

During my DC stint, I began to appreciate baroque music, which began around 1580, but the popular stuff came in the final third from 1680, including Pachelbel's Canon in D, which he might have written in 1694 for Johann Sebastian Bach's older brother's wedding, and extending into Vivaldi, Bach and Handel, with Bach's Mass in b Minor composed in 1748 and Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks coming in 1749, the year before the end of the Baroque Period.

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, was born in Venice in 1628, almost four centuries ago.  He was a violinist, teacher and cleric, ordained as a Catholic priest in 1704.  In the period just after 1720 he wrote The Four Seasons, violin concertos dedicated to Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

To quote:

The inspiration for the concertos was probably the countryside around Mantua. They were a revolution in musical conception: in them Vivaldi represented flowing creeks, singing birds (of different species, each specifically characterized), barking dogs, buzzing mosquitoes, crying shepherds, storms, drunken dancers, silent nights, hunting parties from both the hunters' and the prey's point of view, frozen landscapes, ice-skating children, and warming winter fires. 

Each concerto is associated with a sonnet, possibly by Vivaldi, describing the scenes depicted in the music. They were published as the first four concertos in a collection of twelve, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Opus 8, published in Amsterdam by Michel-Charles Le Cène in 1725.

How does one distinguish one season from another?  Each is around ten minutes long with three parts (total time of around 42 minutes with 12 parts):

• All start and end joyfully (Allegro), with Summer having a particularly fast tempo (Presto) at the end.
• Spring and Winter have a slower pace (Largo) in the middle.
• Summer and Autumn have a slightly faster pace (Adagio), but slower than the beginning and end.

Regarding the seasons:

• Spring
• Starts with birds and thunderstorms,
• Conjure meadow, rustling leaves, falling asleep.
• Festive sounds of nymphs dancing in the Spring, with bagpipes.

• Summer
• Heat, followed by soft breezes, birds again and the approaching north wind.
• Fear of lightning and thunder, gnats.
• Heavens thunder and roar.

• Autumn
• Drinking, singing and dancing after a bountiful  harvest.
• Into sweet slumber, very slow.
• Hunters, dogs, guns, beast flees and dies.

• Winter

• Trembling from the icy cold, teeth chattering.
• Back home to the warmth of the fire while the outside storms.
• Careful, slippery...comes the cold north wind.

Click on that link, spend some time on it, and you'll be able tell one Vivaldi season from another.  If you need additional instruction, try this tutorial by Pinckus Zukerman.

Two compilations include  The Ultimate Vivaldi:  The Essential Masterpiece, a boxed set with five CDs and 81 performances.  and Vivaldi's Greatest Hit:  The Ultimate Four Seasons featured 23 artist.  Sinfini Music provides their selection of the best, which is saying something, because there are perhaps a thousand recordings of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.  Here is a link to 8 hours of Four Seasons.

Vivaldi's output was prodigious, with 40 operas to his credit, involvement in 50 others and 500 concertos.  There are more than 100 complete recordings of The Four Seasons and thousands of excerpts (bunch of movies, such as Pretty Woman, Tin Cup, etc.)   Nigel Kennedy and the English Chamber Orchestra CD of The Four Seasons is the best-selling classical recording of all time.

Vivaldi deeply influenced Johann Sebastian Bach, who was seven years younger.  At the height of Vivaldi's career he received commissions from royalty and nobility, but was long said to be of poor health, dying in poverty at the age of 63.  Johann Sebastian Bach died at 65 and George Handel at 74.  However, the life expectancy in Europe in the 1700s was around 40.  To close, that is a SisTeMu (graphic notation system) of Vivaldi's Spring by Laia Clos.   

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Tropical Storm Noul, still only at 50 MPH, will definitely strengthen into a typhoon, and, at this time, appears headed for the northern portion of the Philippines:

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MOUNTS ST. HELENS AND FUJI

Well, the above photo has nothing to do with golfing in Napa.  I will return to my current trip tomorrow.  For now, let me begin by saying that it was nearly 35 years ago that the country experienced the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in our history:  Mount St. Helens (MSH), the Fuji-san of America, erupted on 18 May 1980, killing 57 people,  causing  a billion dollars  in damages, now with a current value of $3 billion.  MSH is located 50 miles from Mount Ranier (MSH in foreground, MR in background), 96 miles from Seattle, 50 miles from Portland and 60 miles from Mount Hood.  Before and after photos:

While there have been at least two minor eruptions since 1980, the dormancy period for MSH between major explosions is in the range of 120-150 years.

Harry Olson, who was the Spark Matsunaga Fellow in Geothermal Energy at the University, sent me a link showing how well the area devastated by the 1980 eruption has recovered.  It was to the good fortune of Seattle and Portland that the fallout occurred in the other direction.  To the left above is a photo of a stylish, but ominous-looking, ash cloud over Ephrata, Washington, 145 miles downwind.

Regarding Mount Fuji, Masaaki Kimura,  now a retired professor from Ryukyu University, five years ago predicted that Fuji-san will erupt in 2011, and surely by 2015.  Surely enough, Mr. Fuji's magma chamber pressure has risen to a worrisome 1.6 megapascal, estimated to be higher than when it last erupted in 1707.

Quoting the article (you can purchase this painting  of Fuji erupting by Yuzo for $6):

Prof Kimura also mentions the rise of the water level at Lake Sai which is located to the northeast of Mt Fuji. At the time of the Tohoku earthquake, the lake’s water-level rose by one meter. Kimura believes that this was caused by the permafrost near Fuji’s summit melted by rising magma.

Prof Kimura also claims that there have been a large number of phreatic eruptions – explosions of steam caused by heating of ground water from rising magma – around the mountain. No lava is released during these explosions, only water and rock.

However, some say that phreatic eruptions are precursors to major volcanic eruptions. Prior to the 1980 eruption of Mt Saint Helens in the US, there were numerous reports of phreatic eruptions.

However, before you cancel your next trip to Japan, it should be noted that Kimura last year published as a co-author Fujisan No Funka Wa Hajimatteiru!  The English translation is "The Eruption of Mt Fuji Has Begun."  To the left is a woodblock print by Hokusai.

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It's now only a tropical depression, but there is a budding ocean storm destined to become a powerful typhoon and strike either the Philippines or Taiwan in a few days:

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BEST RESTAURANT IN AMERICA: CHEZ PANISSE?

Well, in 2001 Gourmet magazine named Chez Panisse as the best restaurant in America.  Then in 2007, it dropped to #2, to Alinea of Chicago.  Today, The Daily Meal's top 101 has Chez Panisse as #5, with Alinea now #6.  #1 = Le Bernardin (New York), #2 = Eleven Madison Park (New York), #3 = The French Laundry (Yountville) and #4 Per Se (New York).  However, as there were 630,964 restaurants in the USA a few months ago, #5 is not bad at all.  Internationally, Pellagrino lists Eleven Madison Park at #4, Alinea #9 and French Laundry #44, with Noma of Copenhagen at #1 (left, with Chef Rene and his crew).

I left my hotel room at noon for a 1:30 reservation.  I have a number of recommendations for BART.  For one, color the trains to match the line.  I had to catch a Yellow, and transfer to a Gold or Red.   They're all BLUE. Inside there is no sign of which one you're in nor where you are or where you're going.  When the train is moving, you can't hear the announcements, for there is a strident screechy sound.  The windows are shaded so you can only barely see, and usually can't, the name of the station when you get there.

It was anguishing, for there were constant delays, but I finally got to the Downtown Berkeley BART Station at 1:40.  There are other options.  Roundtrip:  BART ($18), Uber ($70) and taxi ($140).  While BART took me one hour and 40 minutes, Uber and taxi modes are in the range of half an hour, depending on the traffic, and in San Francisco, this could be formidable.  There is no tipping for BART, while there is no need to tip on Uber.  Can you see the writing on the wall for traditional taxis?

The walk uphill for 9.5 blocks took another 15 minutes.  And I got the wrong information so had to backtrack twice. I shouldn't have worried, as Chez Panisse Cafe serves until 3:30PM on Fridays.  To my surprise, waiting for me was Jim Seger, my freshman roommate, who lives here.  He said he first came to this restaurant when it opened 41 years ago because a close friend of his lived next door.  The restaurant was once a home.  He could only stay for a drink, and drove on to Oregon.  I neglected to take a photo, but here is Jim with Kathy Ray during our Stanford days.  Kathy now lives in Napa Valley.

I started with a Kir Royale, and did not take any notes because I was planning to steal a menu with all the details.  I did, but must have dropped it on my way back to the airport.  Anyway, I also had a fine rose with the salad/soup and a Pinot Noir with the clams.  The dessert was an ice cream, dark chocolate and caramel concoction:

The whole meal cost around $150 and was a worthy experience.  Can't say I loved the cuisine, but the adventure was rewarding.  I then took my walk on the Cal-Berkeley Campus.  A lot of purple flowers and a squirrel:

I just had to walk up to the Campanile, which is taller than a football field.  But it was all uphill:

You can hardly see them, but two students are up near the top in the tree to the left.

I might add that, according to Forbes, Stanford is the #2 university in the nation, next to Williams, while Cal-Berkeley is #37.  However, U.S. News and World Report indicates that Princeton is #1 and Stanford is #4, while Berkeley is #20.  Interesting that this same USNaWR, in world rankings, has Harvard as #1, with Cal-Berkeley at #3 and Stanford at #4.  Oxford and Cambridge are at #5 and #6.

On the way to the Berkeley BART Station, I noticed a liquor shop that made subway sandwiches, so I ordered an Italian, and added a Petaluma beer and chips, ate them in my room last night:

Today, on to Napa and Vacaville for one week of golf and other vices.  However, there is an unfortunate postscript.  Walking down the outside stairs of Chez Panisse, the wooden railing left two slivers in my middle left finger, at the exact spot where I grip a golf club.  I was able to remove a splinter, but the area around the other, I noticed this morning, looks inflamed and is sore to the touch.

If you couldn't see those two people in the tree, you won't be able to distinguish this black fragment.  How will I golf for five days in a row?  I hesitate using a needle, for the pain.  I read where you can go to a doctor for $500, or spend a few bucks on epsom salts, chemically known as Magnesium Sulfate.  I'm might try that.

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HUGE SPORTS WEEKEND

First, there were several surprises on my United flight, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in First Class, from Honolulu to San Francisco:

• There are no screens, no listenable music, no entertainment.
• I was looking forward to watching the NFL draft on DirecTV, which costs an additional $3-$8 depending on length of trip.
• You need to install a United app unto your iPad or computer before you board to access them all.
• However, United has not gotten around to installing this system yet on their B787 even if you got the app.
• It was warmer inside the airport than outside.  At 10PM it was 73 F at SFO.

Second, today I BART to Berkeley to walk the University of California campus, then lunch at Chez Panisse.  Return tomorrow for the details.

But about those sporting events:

• Just a few miles from my SFO airport hotel is the World Golf Championships-Cadillace Match at TPC Harding Park.
• NBA and NHL playoffs continue.  NBA finals begin from June 4.  The season began in October!
• Saturday:  Kentucky Derby (they say the best way to have a Mint Julep is to mix the sugared water and mint, throw them away, and pour the bourbon over ice)--at the Derby, only Old Forester is used, and 120,000 Mint Juleps will be sold on this day and the Kentucky Oaks on Friday.  1000 pounds of mint.  Post time:  6:24 PM EDT.

• Saturday:  Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs Manny "Pac Man" Pacquaio, around 11:30 PM EDT.
• Mayweather is 38 years old, but has a 47-0 record.
• Paquiao is 36, with a 57-5-2 record (two draws).
• Twitter followers favor Pac Man by 54% to 46% for Money.

• And the winner is....Las Vegas.  
• 150,000 rooms are at capacity
• cheapest seats in stands were initially $1500, but now are close to $4,000

• 11,500 paid $10 just to watch the weigh-in today, but for tomorrow:

• cheapest on floor was $26,000, with a ringside seat on sale for $351,005
• there will be bomb sniffing dogs throughout the arena
• closed circuit tickets are $1000 (only a limited number of venues in town--in other words, nearly everyone who came into Vegas for the fight WON'T be able to watch it)
• will be bigger than the Super Bowl or New Year's Eve
• last week, MGM standard rooms were $250, on Saturday...$1550.
• Showtime and HBO pay-per-view will generate $300 million

Betting odds depend on which sports and country.  In the U.S.

• Mayweather is at -225 which means if you bet $225, you return $225+$100=$325
• -225 is equivalent to 2.25/1, thus, bet $2.25 and win $1, or return $3.25
• Pacquiao is at +175, which means if you bet $100, you return $175+$100=$275   
• Fight goes into 12 round   -310, bet $310, return $410
• Fight ends by 10th round +240, bet $100, return $340
• Mayweather to win in round 1, odds of 33/1, which means if you bet $1, you get $34
• Betters expect the fight to be determined by decision after 12 full rounds (once was 15)
• Going the distance:  -300, bet $300, return $400
• Not going distance: +230, bet $100, return $330
• In case you did not get a good view above, here are the Tecate girls (they show the round number):  Vanessa, Janira, Dessie and Alana:

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