Prague Journal

Monday, September 13, 2004.

Today started out with a trip downtown to the Alitalia office, to confirm that the tickets I had ordered from cheaptickets.com were for paper tickets – that allegedly had been sent to my US address – and that we could not board the plane without them. I was advised to have someone from the US send them to me here via FedEx. Fortunately, the time difference between Prague and the US worked in my favor, since it was still early in the morning in the US, well before anyone would be awake. I sent a distress email to our dear friends Jim and Vivien – who have bailed us out so many times before, testing our friendship well beyond reasonable limits – and they called our renters to confirm that our tickets had been delivered there and to make arrangements for them to be sent via FedEx to our Prague address.
Rick’s morning, on the other hand, consisted of a trip to Charles University to test his remote e-mail access, which appeared to be successful. We’re hoping that we’ll both be able to access e-mail when we travel. Rick says we should get a fancy mobile phone that also does e-mail. He’s been looking at newfangled gadgets on the t-mobile website.
Rick and I headed to the Fulbright reception shortly after 4 p.m. where we met the other Fulbright grantees and directors of the Fulbright board, including Hana Rambouskova, with whom I had exchanged countless e-mails dating back to March concerning my Fulbright award and Czech visa application. We walked down the street to the home of the American Ambassador, William Cabaniss, for a reception. We were treated to a concert of the Hawthorne String Quartet, who (to quote from the program) “have distinguished themselves internationally for championing the works of composers persecuted during the Nazi regime with an emphasis on the Czech composers incarcerated in the Theresienstadt concentration camp (Terezin)… The Terezin Chamber Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to assuring the permanence of the music written by composers who perished in the Holocaust. As the music and history of these artists are powerful tools in the ongoing struggle against racism and intolerance, the Foundation is committed to ensuring their appreciation by people of all beliefs and experiences. As a memorial to the artists and their creative spirit, which flourished despite the inhuman conditions of the Theresienstadt concentration camp, the Foundation devotes itself to interfaith concerts, lectures, recordings, children’s programs and research.” The program highlighted Gideon Klein (who died at the age of 26), Sigmund Schul (who died in Terezin), Karel Svenk (who died in Auschwitz), and David Post (the only composer still alive, who was present at the concert this evening). The quartet, with clarinetist Thomas Martin, also played a quintet by Mozart and an encore by Gershwin. A wonderful way to start the new year!

posted by JWinn @ 7:42 PM