Bargemusic is a real gem of a venue, and its title says it all.  A retired and restored coffee barge, it sits docked in the East River at Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn, just below the Brooklyn Bridge.  This “floating concert hall” has been hosting chamber music programs year-round since 1977, and many of my instrumentalist colleagues have often played there over the years.  In the vocal music world, however, it seems like Bargemusic is still fairly unknown; I’ve been fortunate to perform there a few times in the last couple of years, and I hope that more and more vocal recitals will be happening there in the future.

A word to the wise, however: performing on the Barge is not for the faint of stomach!  You are literally afloat IN the East River, one of NYC’s busiest waterways.  I have yet to discover whether the river is more busy during the day or during the week, but all I can tell you is that when you see a big boat go by, you’d better hold on to something.  As a singer, especially, who is not grounded at a piano or in a chair, you really have to keep your knees bent and your poise intact, and remember that the piano is your best friend, for the occasional lean or grab.  The small stage has windows at its back, giving the audience a terrific view of the river and the lower Manhattan skyline, but this means that while you’re performing, you’ll be facing the other way, and will have no warning when a large wake approaches!

Last night, pianist Martin Katz and I performed Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin on the Barge, and, as I expected, such distractions were not absent from the experience.  Of course, at the center of this song cycle is The Brook (read: East River), a central character that sees The Miller all throughout his journey, and many of the songs took on additional meaning in last night’s performance.  In fact, some of the most pronounced rolling occurred during the final song, where The Brook is cradling The Miller in its waves, and several audience members commented on the visceral poignancy of the moment!  Even going to sleep last night, I definitely felt like I was still rocking in gentle waves, but I suspect that was only because I spent over three hours there.  I would guess that most audience members get their land legs back pretty quickly.

Tomorrow night we return to the Barge for more Schubert, this time with Winterreise.  Unless the forecast changes dramatically, the East River will not be appropriately iced over and covered in snow.  We can only hope that this time any disturbances of balance will only serve to enhance the increasingly fractured mental state of our protagonist…we’ll see how this goes.  But if you’re looking for something to do in NYC tomorrow night, come join us for some great music and a friendly float!

Southbank Centre, London

So, I’m just about done with a three-week stay in London, and I’ve barely ventured north of the Thames.  Full disclosure: I’m here to perform at the Southbank Centre and am staying in a hotel near Waterloo.  But still, it appears that London’s South Bank is the place to be these days.  The Southbank Centre itself boasts the Queen Elizabeth and Royal Festival Halls, the Hayward Gallery, and at least ten mostly affordable restaurants.  On any given evening there are hundreds of people gathered at the terrace bar outside Festival Hall, in a sort of unofficial happy hour for the masses.  Many seem not to be there in connection to any cultural event, but merely to meet friends and enjoy the view.  If you face the river and turn left, you’ll hit the tourist favorite London Eye; turning right will take you to the British Film Institute and the National Theatre, all without crossing a single street.  Just a bit further is the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe, but you never have to leave the river to get there, and you’ll also encounter many more places to eat, drink, and shop along the way.

The London Eye, on the river Thames

This American lad can’t stop wondering why we don’t have a place like this in New York City.  Lincoln Center, even with its many recent improvements, still feels somewhat isolated.  And when was the last time you saw hundreds of people gathered outside by the fountain, drinks in hand?  Oh right, that privilege is restricted to ticket holders – never mind…  Furthermore, who can really afford to eat at Lincoln Center area restaurants?  Certainly not the throngs of young people I’ve been seeing outside Festival Hall.

OK, time out:  I know what you’re thinking.  There is all sorts of government funding here that we don’t have back in the States.  I will not even try to argue this point, because it is absolutely and sadly true.  But we seem to have it backwards in New York – we try to lure people to extremely expensive cultural events and then hope that they’ll patronize the similarly expensive restaurants and shops in the vicinity.  Why not bring the cultural attractions to places people already want to (and can afford to) be?

Time out #2: The second batch of naysayers will undoubtedly argue that NYC just wasn’t built this way – there is simply no room to spread out, and the city doesn’t have a central riverfront like Paris or London.  Well I think Brooklyn and Queens residents would beg to differ…and everyone knows they’re the ones with the best views of the city!

I do think we’re making slow progress.  DUMBO and Fort Greene are already great cultural destinations, as is Long Island City.  And the ongoing restoration of Governor’s Island looks very promising, not to mention the increasing popularity of our water taxi system.  Maybe there’s someone out there willing to take a giant risk and dream up a new cultural mecca for NYC.  My guess is they’d be substantially rewarded, both in profits and by history.  Are you listening, Mayor Bloomberg???