It has become a tradition in our house to watch the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra’s New Year’s Day concert. It’s a lovely peaceful way of starting the day, even if you aren’t nursing a hangover. There’s always a lovely mixture of music and dance and they show you bits of Vienna too, it’s somewhere I’ve never been but it looks gorgeous.
This year the dance literally revolved around Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss. I love his artworks, whether they’re landscapes or portraits. He was so great at getting the feeling of textures into his work which I suppose is why so many of his designs have been used for tapestry and embroidery kits.
The Kiss dance is around about 39 minutes into this video if you’re interested in looking at it.
I know people always slag off artists whose work is used for things like calendars, it’s daft really because it just proves that it’s beautiful and easy on the eye, after all you don’t want to look at ugly works of art for the whole year.
I have this one above the fireplace in my living-room and I always fancied visiting the place, until I saw it on TV smothered by tourists and that put me right off. Now I’m quite happy just to have it on my wall.
What a fabulous video, and I love the Klimt Kiss ballet! To be honest I think the Kiss is the only work of Klimt that I recognise. I must look at some more!
Evee,
I thought of linking to Klimt images but I think there might have been copyright problems so thought better of it!
I thoroughly enjoyed that concert – and happened upon it quite by accident. A very pleasant change from all football all the time (which is my lot between Christmas and the Super Bowl) – thank heavens for multiple TVs (and an iPad!!)
I especially enjoy seeing places that I have been in person. It’s such a kick! I just wish that there had been live performances scheduled during our Vienna visit. We always try to attend, if there is something going on whilst we’re traveling.
We consider ourselves travelers rather than tourists when we are on holiday. As they say:
Tourists don’t know where they’ve been.
Travelers don’t know where they’re going…next.
(Who are “they”?)
Pearl,
I know how you feel, there’s so much football/soccer on TV here, in fact Jack’s watching it now.
I’m not at all well travelled compared with you but I also love seeing places on TV that I’ve been to, even if they’re in Britain. We went on the Walter Scott boat which is on Loch Katrine, I think you might know it. A large party of German tourists was also on it and none of them lifted their eyes to look at the scenery or even the helicopter which buzzed us, they just stared at the deck, very strange. They might as well have been on their bus.
Which artwork by Klimt is that one? I’m really only familiar with The Kiss and some of the garden works, which I love. I’ll have to see if I can figure this one out!
And by the crush of tourists, did you mean at the museum where the painting is displayed, or the actual place depicted in the picture?
Karen,
I believe it’s called The Church in Cassone, at Lake Garda in Italy, and it’s the lakes which are heaving with tourists, just as they are in the Lake District in the north of England. The area is so packed with ramblers sometimes that you can’t actually see the lakes at all as there are so many people walking around them, it feels like you’re in a city rather than out in the countryside. I suppose the best thing to do is avoid going anywhere scenic when it’s holiday time! I love his tree and garden paintings too.