Eccentric Club Dinner 17th. February, 2010



Table setting at the Arts Club Dover Street London W1 for the Eccentric Club Dinner on Wednesday 17th February, 2010 in the presence of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT


A sublime moment of political incorrectness. Gentlemen from the left: HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Christian Furr, at 28 the youngest artist ever to have painted the Queen, Ian Clarke, one of the finest Chancery barristers, the author Michael Moran laughing in his usual immoderate manner, Jean Francois Dor, a tireless socialite and Chairman or Vice-Chairman of a number of distinguished London Clubs.

As you know I was recently elected as a full member to the resuscitated Eccentric Club originally established in 1781 to promote 'The feast of reason and the flow of soul' in an atmosphere of good fellowship. Any discussion of religion, politics or business is frowned upon. What an excellent idea!

A small group of us had dinner with HRH Prince Philip (the club's patron) on February 17th at the Arts Club in Dover Street, London W1. The guests were a fascinating bunch - some illustrious and wildly successful but genuinely and democratically clubbable. It was great fun as I am no advocate of political correctness - it has neatly removed all the poetry, charm and humour that made life worth living. In the photograph I am enjoying something terribly non-pc said by Prince Philip. He is very charming and softly spoken - quite at variance with his gritty media image. The Royal Family are finer featured than their appearance on television would indicate.

I had imagined Imants von Wenden, the initiator of the revival of the club, to be a glamorous blonde East-Central European female. Shows how my mind works! He turned out to be a handsome, rather burly publisher, photographer and artist with a pony tail married to Svetlana, a Russian businesswoman. He is to be congratulated on this venture. The simple yet excellent dinner, the glamorous Russian concert pianist playing Chopin (Veronika Ilinskaya) and elegant table setting at the Arts Club in Dover Street made for a superb occasion. I met after a long absence one of my favourite bestselling literary travel authors and good friend Tahir Shah (The Caliph's House) who proposed me for membership. He lives in a palace in Casablanca. And I made some new friends.

Today though we are a long way indeed from the early days of the club when witty and iconoclastic 'staring and despising' took place at the 11.00 am dances in the eighteenth century pleasure gardens of Vauxhall and Ranelagh 'Picking off cherries and God knows what else' to paraphrase Pepys.

You might be amused to read if you have a few loose moments http://www.eccentricclub.co.uk/.

Popular posts from this blog

Elisey Mysin recital - XVII International Piano Forum - Bieszczady Without Borders - Sanok, Poland

Image
Astounding musical experiences a lways happen i n Poland! Has been happening to me for as I long as I began visiting the country to work in 1992. The astonishing recital by the child prodigy  Elisey Mysin   I watched online last night prompted me to write this review immediately. It was broadcast from the International Piano Forum, a Polish musical event now in its seventeenth year. The Forum (lectures and concerts) is held in the town of Sanok (the 'capital' of the remote Bieszczady Region). I knew or know nothing about this remarkable Forum until last night.  The concert was  'In Memoriam Tatiana Shebanova',  that magnificent Russian pianist who died so tragically of leukemia in 2011 whilst at her pianistic peak. The concert was organized by her husband, the Chairman of the Piano Forum Council, Prof.  Jaros ław  Drzewiecki.    Tatiana Shebanova was one of the first pianists I heard play works by Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) in concert in Poland in 1992. It was an over
Read more

73rd. International Chopin Piano Festival 3-11 August 2018, Duszniki Zdroj, Poland

Image
The Chopin Bench in Havana, Cuba The  Dworek Chopina  where the piano recitals take place Full English details of the programmes, biographies of Artists and Professors as well as Masterclasses are available using this link: http://festival.pl/wp-content/uploads/73-MFCh_2018_EN.pdf From the Reviewer's Notebook  SATURDAY, AUGUST 11 CHOPIN'S MANOR 8.00 PM Piano Recital SERGEI BABAYAN This distinguished musician and pianist requires little introduction. He has appeared at the most famous international music festivals with all the great orchestras of the world under the most renowned conductors, at the finest music venues as well as having been awarded most of the glittering prizes. For me his most outstanding claim to fame is his close relationship with the composer and pianist Daniil Trifonov as teacher, guide, philosopher and friend. I was unfortunately unable to attend this recital and recordings of it are unavailable. SATURD
Read more

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) and his Ferraris - not only an immortal Chopinist

Image
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995)   There is little need for me to introduce Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, one of the greatest pianists and musicians of all time.  I have been listening to a remarkable live recording of a concert he gave in Warsaw in 1955. His Bach/Busoni Chaconne from the Partita in D minor No.2 BWV 1004 is surely one of the greatest ever recorded.   Michelangeli's    knowledge and command of the piano as an instrument was unequaled, permitting his soul and ours to take unhindered flight. His total identification with the music, his majestic 'Olympian' and 'Apollonian' playing has often been described as 'unearthly' even to the point of bordering on the cold classicism of a perfect Athenian statue. I once heard him play Debussy and Beethoven many years ago  in the Royal Festival Hall in London, performing  on two distinct Steinway concert grand pianos, one for each composer, individually tuned and prepared by himself. His hearing w
Read more