30 Years of Great Music
To all Amigos/as
From Helga Hampton
Dear Amigos, September 27, 2020
We did it !!!!We restarted live music at Os Agostos
And we did it in style and with great success
And I thank you all for your solidarity
The two recital evenings with Alexander Schimpf on September 15th and 17th were sensational on various levels in these turbulent times. Individually and all together we stuck to the hygiene and safety rules set by the DGS and we can thank our hosts Maria and Antonio Farrajota for making this experiment with and for us. Musically we could not have had a better interpreter of a very astutelyselected programme of piano music than this young German pianist. Come again, Alexander !
**************
This Newsletter will deal with our October 2020 activities, in the hope and provided that government restrictions will not interfere with our plans.
- The Amigo Extra Event at Teatro Lethes on Sunday, October 18th 2020 at 19:00 is going ahead !!! All details below.
- The October Amigos concerts are taking place on Tuesday, October 20th and Thursday, October 22nd, 2020 at Os Agostos. All details below.
Reservations for all events are absolutely necessary – please send your emails to:
giving names of all people attending and in the case of the Teatro Lethes event also telephone numbers, including those of your guests.
Our venues have a limited capacity, requiring social distancing and mandatory use of masks following all hygiene and safety rules of the DSG (Governmental Safety Regulations).
***********************
With the Amigo Extra Event we are giving our protegé, Tiago Rosario, the opportunity to show us the progress he has made in his piano studies in Germany. He is now in the third year studying with Prof. Heribert Koch in Münster and we, in our “Young Portuguese Musicians Sponsorship” scheme, have been supporting him financially and by giving him the opportunity for public performing.
He will be playing for us at the Teatro Lethes this year the following programme:
L.van Beethoven – Sonata op. 26 and F. Chopin – 12 Etudes op. 2
The Teatro Lethes in Faro, to adhere to the DGS rules and restrictions set for cultural events, is offering their beautiful space for audiences at a maximum of 100 music lovers, including us.
This recital evening is a gratis event for all active members. You can bring a limited number of guests, also gratis, provided you make explicit reservation for each and every one by name and with telephone number. At the Teatro the door opens at 18:00, masks are worn all the time, you will be stepping over a carpet to disinfect your shoes, your temperature will be taken and you will be required to keep a 2 m distance in all corridors and spaces. Seats in the stalls are adequately spaced – family groups are allowed to sit together. The Boxes allow only 2 – 3 people. We shall make no seat reservations for you – come in time and observe the rules when selecting your seats. There will be no interval and no social gathering is planned for after the concert as the Lethes does not allow drinks or food.
Teatro Lethes – visit the website of this historic bijou in the Centre of Faro, and on an early Sunday evening there should be no parking problems. There are a number of restaurants in the vicinity where you can make your own reservations. Please come early enough – we would like to start punctually at 19:00.
***********
Our October concerts: Unfortunately, Lucy Parham and Dame Harriet Walter had to cancel their trip to the Algarve – neither of these two sought-after British artists can run the risk of returning to the UK after coming here and facing 2 weeks of quarantine! They both promise to come and bring the lovely programme “I, Clara!” to us as soon as possible.
So, I started looking for a replacement of artists for our October dates on Tuesday, October 20th and Thursday, October 22nd, 2020. This is short notice, indeed, and given the uncertain international travel conditions, I turned to the local musical scene and I am very happy to announce that I was lucky to find that Mikhail Shumov, the principal cellist of the Orquestra Classica do Sul, is free for our dates !
Yipppeee !
Our hosts at Os Agostos are offering to us once more the Marquee for the October concerts, which, I am sure will please you all very much. However, we shall not be able to have a piano in this venue. A concert grand piano needs an even and reliable temperature and absence of humidity, conditions not guaranteed in this tent during autumn weather. Consequently, we cannot invite Mikhail with his pianist wife, Joanna, but he will be coming with the violinist Zachary Spontak. Zachary is the new Concertmaster of the Orquestra Classica do Sul and is about to begin his career in the Algarve. Performing for the Amigos de Musica will, in fact, be his entrée into the Algarve music scene.
These two string players are suggesting to play the following music fare for us:
Bach, Paganini, Beethoven and Gliere on Tuesday, and Bach, Piatti and Ravel on Thursday. (Complete programmes with be mailed to you for print-out in time before the concerts.)
Reservations are absolutely necessary for both the Amigo Extra Event at Teatro Lethes as well as the two October concerts. Please, as usual, send an email to:
RESERVATION and CANCELLATIONS:
If you are bringing family or friends to the Teatro Lethes event, they will be our guests and no payment is necessary, but please give Cristina all their names AND their telephone numbers – this is a Teatro Lethes requirement.
Reservations for the October concerts in Os Agostos also require names so that the table order can be made. You have a chance to request with whom you could like to sit. For guests, prepayment of €25.00 p.p. will be required and Cristina will inform of bank details when reservations are made.
PLEASE NOTE: cancel your reservation as soon as you see that you will not be able to attend. We are usually fully booked and have a waiting list. Only cancellations made 3 days in advance will receive repayment of fees.
For hygiene and safety, please consult the attached leaflet – an important instruction and also a requirement and prerequisite for all cultural performances
Our hosts urge you to consult our “Safety Modifications” PLEASE heed all advice! Only with your individual collaboration and combined help can we stay safe – each one of us is responsible. Stay at home if you are not feeling totally well. Imagine if our gatherings resulted in a corona virus cluster in the Algarve !!!!
Finally, I would like say a few words of thanks to the many collaborators without whom none of these musical events would have come about:
- Our hosts: Maria and Antonio Farrajota for their generosity and for the help of their Team
- Your Executive Committee: Michael Savage, our treasurer, Margaret Jackson, Vice-President and Secretary, Marie Huber, special adviser, John Pereira, PR manager, Renate Greineder and Martina Kaiser, hospitality assistants.
- Our sponsors: Loes and Henk Voijs, for providing accommodation for Alexander Schimpf
- Our sponsors: Alison and Kerstin Buechner of QP for their forever generous financial support.
- Sr. Vitorino Santos, our faithful, resourceful and always punctual piano tuner.
- Last, but never least: Cristina Palma, the most conscientious, most reliable and kindest receptionist we could ever dream of having.
And, forgive me, here one personal matter important to me: PLEASE change my email address to:
helga.hampton@gmail.com. You will have to manually erase the old one from your online address list
for it to disappear completely – it seems that I have been hacked again on it. Sorry for the trouble.
Stay safe, stay in touch.
Best regards,
Helga Hampton
President
ASSOCIAҪÃO DE AMIGOS DE MUSICA at Os Agostos
E-mail: helga.hampton@gmail.com
www: http://www.amigos-de-musica.org