Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor-Hilary Hahn

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor-Hilary Hahn

Time for some violin music

I first heard of this violin piece in 1952 when I was in first year college at the University of the Philippines, Iloilo College. One of my dorm mates was a violinist. He informed me he had been playing the violin since he was 10 years old. He hailed from Bacolod City. On Saturdays, he would play his violin with his door closed not disturbing his fellow dorm mates. But the sound of his violin reverberated on the thin walls separating our room. One day I heard the Mendelssohn concerto and I was forced to knock on his door asking him if I could stay in his room to listen while he was playing the piece. This was the first time I really enjoyed listening to a classical violin music. Here's more information on Felix Mendelssohn.

http://www.library.yale.edu/musiclib/exhibits/mendelssohn/mendelssohn.htm

Here's Hilary Hahn with her violin! Enjoy!
Hilary Hahn is an American violinist and was born on November 27, 1979. In her active international career she has performed throughout the world both as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and as a recitalist. She also has built a reputation for championing contemporary music. Several composers have written works especially for her, including concerti by Edgar Meyer and Jennifer Higdon and partitas by Antón García Abril.

Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.