pilgrimacy to Verviers, Belgium for Henri Vieuxtemps

March 29, 2007 at 08:30 PM · It looks as though you enjoyed yourself. What a fascinating experience.

March 29, 2007 at 10:29 PM · After you gave Henri a beer, if you'd put some dirt from his grave in your beer you could have told everybody you were Injun brothers.

March 30, 2007 at 12:59 AM · Is Vieuxtemps beer any good? I favor Little Kings Pale Ale myself.

March 30, 2007 at 06:29 AM · Vieux Temps-beer is sweet and good beer. I and my parents even like it more than the Dutch beer Heineken. Some people consider the music of Henri Vieuxtemps also sweet and sugery.

March 30, 2007 at 06:40 AM · Your photos are great. I love the story they tell.

March 30, 2007 at 01:53 PM · Bram, that was very classy to bring along a couple of glasses to drink out of, instead of just drinking out of the bottle.

Did you drink the whole case of beer at the grave site?

Also, this brings to mind the legend of a few Boston Symphony players having a yearly "visit" to Koussevitsky's grave. The players weren't very nice though, or so the story goes...

Also, I don't think Vieuxtemps' music is sweet or sugary. I think it is passionate, and dramatic. And hard.

March 30, 2007 at 06:57 PM · We did not drink near his grave, but we drink 2 bottles of beer near his monument somewhere else in the city Verviers (we put those bottles on the monument-later I will show that photo). I copied that day the 6th violinconcerto of Vieuxtemps in Liege/Luik, a city near Verviers. Now I have the sheetmusic and the cd's of all his 7 violinconcerto's. I also have the sheetmusic of pieces for violin and orchestra of Fantasia Appassionata op.35 and Greeting to America, where Vieuxtemps has been in his life. And I have the sheetmusic of pieces for violin and piano op.22 and op.53. I am a very big fan of this composer. I think he is the best composer for violin and perhaps even bigger than Paganini, although not so well known.