I am freelancing again! I am just back to Switzerland after a stimulating year as a Lecturer in Performance and in Musicology  in Ireland, waiting for answers from job applications, and travelling around Europe to showcase my artistic research project and my musicological work.

You cannot always be ALL that you’re used to be, and moving from a country to the other, as exciting as it might sound, always entails a good deal of starting from scratch, especially if you’re a free lance artist/researcher.

I believe that the only way to keep high in spirit when starting from A, actually, let’s say B(asel) in this case, is to consider each step functional to the next one. Your contingent achievement is not a point of arrival, but the intermediate stage between you and what makes you a better person and a better artist. Elitza and I undertook this first step playing my ‘Pardon My English’ at Sonny’s, a landmark for live music in Basel, and we got back on our feet as a duo after a year spent apart.

Pardon My English, Poster, 20 March 2015

Despite the fact that playing background music is not always the dream of a professional musician, Elitza and I thoroughfully enjoyed the experience. We found an extremely friendly staff, and felt welcomed as old friends; the girls running the place took care of our make up and presentation, and they spoiled us like old acquaintances. Sonny himself greeted us as VIPs and cooked us the meal you all want to eat after a two-hour-and-a-half gig. Well, it was not Wigmore Hall, but family and friends were there and their smiles made the night special.

Elitza and I used the preparation for the event to discuss musical and non musical topics, to make and select music together, to study the limits and logistics of our partnership,to  overcome occasional hinderances, to find the courage and solutions to deal with unexpected problems: in other words, we made our journey smoother and more familiar for future and more challenging engagements.

And by the way, exciting news are already in the calendar!

 

Getting de-lovely!

 Programme

Begin the Beguine
Feeling Sentimental (from Show Girl)
It’s de-lovely
In the still of the night (from Rosalie)
But not for me (from Girl Crazy)
Fly me to the Moon
The Man I Love
So in Love (from Kiss me, Kate)
Night and Day
I’ve got you under my skin
I’m a stranger here myself (from One Touch of Venus)
I get a kick out of you
Je ne t’aime pas
Moon River
Blue Moon
Summertime
I love Paris
It’s all right with me
You do something to me
Let’s call the whole thing off (from Shall we Dance)