A Naval Officer and Composer - The Sea and the Music - Scheherazade - Sadko....

The Composer in 1893

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Music is a part of my life and many magnificent nights has been spent at the opera houses during the years - lovely memories of old Europe -lively discussions and many stories has been told to me - one of my very close friends was the producer of one of Europe's most famous modern ballet companies, tell me about....Nureyev, Carolyn Carlson... well...today - let us have a look into a great composers life.

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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)- He wrote over 100 Russian songs, Operas like the Snow-Maiden, Sadko and the Czar's Bride etc. - Rimsky-Korsakov a nationalist composer. He would tell the story about himself in his autobiography "The Story of my Musical Life". He was only 12 years old when his father had him enrolled in the Naval Academy in St. Petersburg (from 1856 to 1862.) He did not show much interest in his studies and less in the studies of music.

The Composer in 1898

It was not until 1861 when his music teacher took him to visit Balakirev. Balakirev was a magnificent pianist who could easily play anything from memory - this come to impress the young Rimsky-Korsakov and he got to be one of Balakirev most ardent students. Rimsky-Korsakov taught, conducted, composed and ended up as one of the best Russian music theorists of his era.

Scheherazade - Russian Orientalism......

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Jean Cocteau (1889 - 1963) ...

Jean Cocteau - French Poet, Artist,Filmmaker,Novelist, and Designer.  His friends - Picasso, Marcel Proust, Andre Gide,A. Modigliani, Diaghilev - Among his friends were some of the most famous people within the artistic circles of his time.

A multi-talented artist, avant-garde filmmaker, eccentric, born into wealth in 1889. He created his own myth - represented as well in his first movie "The Blood of a Poet."

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Jean Cocteau with ceramic plate...

Drawing by Jean Cocteau - 1961

"Art is a marriage of the conscious and the unconscious." - Jean Cocteau

Jean Cocteau by Amedeo Modigliani

Cocteau - A member of the prestigious Academie Francaise 

(in 1955)...

Dora Maar (1907 – 1997).......Painter, Photographer and Poet...

Dora Maar,(1907-1997) French - Painter, Poet and Photographer...

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Dora Maar - Portrait of Picasso - 1936

She was a Painter in her own right.

Pablo Picasso - Dora and the Minotaur - Composition - 1936

also known for her love affair with Pablo Picasso for 7 years - He was 54 and she was 29 when they first met in 1936, she was introduced by French poet Paul Eluard.

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Pablo Picasso - Dora Maar with a Crown of Flowers - 1937

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A very private person - after her life with Picasso - she lived in solitary. Her painting and writing poetry would continue during her life time.

Pablo Picasso - Portrait of Dora Maar - 1937

She studied painting with André L'hote before meeting Henri Cartier-Bresson, who advised her to take up photography. Not to forget that she was already a known photographer when she met Picasso. Further, she was part of intellectuals against fascism in 1935 along with André Breton, Georges Bataille.

Scorpion fish ??????? and a.........

(Scorpion Fish)

...taste of Ocean delight….even if you are not in Cap d’Antibes………

.…If you have some Scorpion fish from the Mediterranean deep waters or maybe some other little fish from the Scorpaenidae family around the kitchen, olive oil, saffron, fennel, leeks, garlic, Pernod, dry Muscadet,and some more fish – red snapper, blue mouth, grouper, sea bass, mahi-mahi, conger eel and shark…..well, you also need……..a lot of time (approximately 4 hours) because we are talking about

Bouillabaisse…..from the Coastal Regions of Provence, France

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We have heard since childhood that you should experience your Bouillabaisse in Marseilles and if the fish is not fresh from the Mediterranean – do not attempt it – well, it comes to those days when you are to tired to fly around the world (for a week or so) why not try it wherever you are…..it is proven that some places are just as excellent as well….. what about your own kitchen? …take your time and pay attention to detail - pick your fish with care………the uniqueness is your own spices from your spice garden………

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A Travellers (variation) Bouillabaisse...

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  10 pounds of (white- fish), red snapper, monk fish, halibut, grouper
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  5 pounds of (fat/oily fish), sea bass,eel, mahi-mahi, bluefish (here add some fresh lobster.....we need that lobster)
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  5 tbs of unsalted butter
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  2 sliced medium size onions
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  2 finely chopped large onions
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  2 bouquet tied in a cheese cloth consisting of - 12 peppercorn, 6 sprigs of thyme, 1 bay leaf, 4 sprigs of fresh cilantro
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  1 cup of dry wine
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  1 1/2 cups extra virgin oil (the best you can afford)
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  8 finely chopped garlic cloves
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  Pinch of saffron threads, crumbled stepped in 1/4 cup hot water
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  3 to 4 finely chopped stalks of celery
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  3 thinly length wise sliced leeks
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  2 pounds of plum tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
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  1 strip orange zest
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  1 tbs fennel seed
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  1/2 teaspoon saffron treads in 1/4 cup dry white wine
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  sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper to your taste
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  2 tbs tomato paste
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  2 tbs Pernod
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  1/2 cup chopped cilantro
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  Serve with some thin sliced potatoes with olive oil and Rosemary and oregano (or herbs the Provence) (bake in the oven) to be served with the fish)

You need the fillets, heads, carcasses and tails - cut it all to approximately 4 x 3 - inch pieces...

Wash the fish in cold water - Melt the butter over medium heat , cook the onions about 4 to 6 minutes - just to soften them, heads, add the fish heads and bones add the cold water and 1 garni + white whine.Bring to a boil and then let simmer (on low heat) for approximately 2 hours.

The strain the fish broth and save the fish broth.

Marinate the fish in a ceramic bowl with 1/4 of the olive oil, half of the garlic, and the saffron treads - keep it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

15 minutes of stirring over medium heat - in your stockpot - 1/1/4 olive oil, celery, leeks, chopped onions then bring to boil and then let simmer for 40 minutes (low heat), the tomatoes, 1 bouquet garni, the orange zest, and fennel seeds - the fish broth - the saffron stepped in wine - sea salt and pepper.

Ready - bring the broth back to a boil, boil, boil, the oil has to emulsify. Now add the fat/oily fish and boil for 8 minutes then add the white fish an boil, boil, boil for another 6 minutes - make sure there is enough water to cover the fish...

Mix Pernod and the tomato paste....

Remove the fish from the pot and transfer it to a deep nice platter - cover it...to keep warm - garnish the platter with some fresh Rosemary

A soup terrine for the fish broth - make sure to strain it first...and finish it of with adding the Pernod/paste mixture.

Make some Sauce rouille ........

...Ready to Serve....

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The culinary experience builds culture bridges and more understanding for other cultures...it is here we sit down and talk about life, philosophy, arts, travels, music....foods....."this taste like...I remember an evening when we were in.....Southern France...let me tell you...this story"....we smile, laugh, toast, and feel good, life is beautiful.........

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Music

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more music

close your eyes for two minutes........and listen..

White Hunters of the "Dark Continent".......Harry Selby...and writer Robert Ruark...

Selby with a Greater Kudu

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Born in South Africa in 1925 - For 50 years he hunted on the African continent - At the age of 43 in 1968 - he left Kenya and moved to Botswana - this was the White Hunter, who shot his first antelope at 8, and his first elephant at 14. He become one of Africa's most recognized and respected White Hunters.

.Selby and Ruark

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Writer Robert Ruark first hunting expedition was lead by Selby.(Selby meet Ernest Hemingway briefly in East Africa in 1953.) - Selby's expedition changed Ruarks life and he come to be part of many more safaris in his life. The result of the Safari - Ruark wrote "Horn of the Hunter" one of the most famous books written about safari life - Selby retired from being a White Hunter as late as year 2000.

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Agion Oros - Mount Athos - The Holy Mountain.....

(Photo by Tavarua)

.....a fragrant smoke of aromatic complexity reached my senses - incense - the chant of the monks, the hymns made me think about...

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Facsimile of a 13th century German manuscript

Carl Orff's cantata for chorus and orchestra has made it famous.

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Carl Orff

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.....Carmina Burana (Medieval Latin Poetry and texts from the 11th and 12th century)...composed by Carl Orff in 1937, I made this journey to Mount Athos - established in year 963, located in the peninsula of Halkidiki - Macedonia and the eastern of the three "legs" of Halkidiki - in the 1980's. Unfortunately, I have lost a lot of my photos during the years.....but I will here post one icon I still bring with me around the world "Under Canvas." The above icon was brought back from the Holy City of Karyes, Mount Athos. You can only access Athos from the Aegean Sea and you are required to have a special permit approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This I had (a 4 day permit), and entered into the world of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Monasteries....Athos full of mysticism and religious contemplation. ...It is far much more known today than it was in the 80s. If you could get a permit to visit it would be well worth it...(only males are permitted) The treasures from medieval times, holy relics...are invaluable...St. Panteleimon Monastery, founded in the 11th century is the largest monastery, a Russian Orthodox Monastery (there are approximately 20 monastaries). Here was a fascinating part - when I visited there were still a few monks alive in their late fall of life remembering Tsar Nikolai.....of "White" Russia

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Do not forget life it is not as long as you think it is......

What I am ...You will be.....What you are ....

I was

The Nomad....

( A few more...photos...of those travel carpets...I live with "Under Canvas"...)

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The Oriental Rug.…

I have seen generations and great cultures come and go,

I am evolution and a nomad who have traveled from far away land,

I have been part of camel caravans in the Orient, Empires, and Harems,

I lived among Arab tribes in High Atlas, Mongols, Royal Courts, in Foreign land;

I have crossed the deserts and seen arid lands, sailed the Seven Seas, trekked through Mountain passes, and frozen stiff under severe cold in Siberia,

I have been slept, prayed, meditated, sat, walked, and dined on,

It has been battles fought around me, passionate love, political discussions, secrets of significant importance has been exchanged in my presents,

I have dined with the Head of States, Royal families, fisherman, tradesmen, warriors, smugglers and pirates alike,

I have lived in tents, stately homes, palaces and simple huts,

I am surrounded by mystery of life,

People have tried to analyze my characteristics,

I am an Artist, a Poet and a Legend, a little faded but you can still see the sparkle of life in my soul,

I have stories to tell of our origins...from Shirvan, Soumak, Bokhara, Samarkand, Damascus, Turkestan, and Central Asia we came, maybe one day, one evening, in front of that old fireplace with winter so cold a story or two will be told……

I was there in the past and I will be there in the future - who am I ?

I am the Oriental Rug……

- "Tavarua"

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(All Photos in this Post by Tavarua)

...45 minutes with my Camera...Instant Moments Captured...Somewhere in Europe....

(All Photos in This Post by Tavarua)

"You don't take a photograph, you make it."

- Ansel Adams

. (All Photos in This Post by Tavarua)

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Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. - Henri Cartier-Bresson

. You have to hurry up if you want to see something, everything disappears. - Paul Cezanne

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. .Photography concentrates one’s eye on the superficial. For that reason it obscures the hidden life which glimmers through the outlines of things like a play of light and shade. One can’t catch that even with the sharpest lens. One has to grope for it by feeling. - Franz Kafka

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Of all forms of expression, photography is the only one which seizes the instant in its flight. - Henri Cartier-Bresson

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Lifestyles....

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. Sometimes we have to look into the picture - instead of - at the picture to discover the photographers message...

It's no good saying "hold it" to a moment in real life. - Lord Snowdon

. The photograph itself doesn't interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality. - Henri Cartier-Bresson .

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Photography is nothing--it's life that interests me. - Henri Cartier-Bresson

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In a portrait, I’m looking for the silence in somebody. - Henri Cartier-Bresson

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"Fish-eye"...............