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June 2010

[click "Play" to hear Maria Bachmann's conversation with Susan]

TMF2010 final:highres Blame it on the the Russians. Telluride Musicfest's Maria Bachmann came to the States when her parents were forced to flee their homeland in 1956 after the revolution in her home country, Hungary, failed and the Red Menace tightened its grip. Eva and Tibor Bachmann's grit and self-sacrifice in their adopted country paid off. Son Peter became a dean of math and science at a college outside Philadelphia. And Maria grew up to be a world-renowned violinist, hailed recently (May 25) by The Philadelphia Inquirer for her:


"...near boundless expressive freedom...violinist Maria Bachmann projected the music's emotionalism, and dazzlingly attenuated the final movement in a mounting cauldron of rhythm."
22 June, 2010 /
[click "Play" to listen to Chef Omar speak about food and his career]

ILC_0104 Moving on. With the Telluride Bluegrass Festival over, thoughts around town turn from KOTO beer to fine wine. This coming weekend is the 29th annual Telluride Wine Festival, June 24 – June 27.

It's common knowledge among the "Sideways" crowd: There are two fundamental considerations when matching food and wine: find a good match based on similar taste or a match based on contrasts. A look at Chef Omar Collazo's menu for his Telluride Wine Festival dinner suggests he goes on instinct.

Located in the Mountain Village, 9545 at the Inn at Lost Creek is hosting one of a number of special dinners held throughout the long Telluride Wine Festival weekend.

22 June, 2010 /
[Click "Play" to hear Steve Swenson speaking to Susan about Telluride Wine Festival]

IMGP0454 Telluride Wine Festival: Yes, like looks, names can be deceiving, especially the names of entries on Telluride's summer cultural calendar. Festival names are clues as to what might be going on, but they definitely do not describe the whole ball of wax. For example, Mountainfilm in Telluride is not just about mountain living and adventure or films. The event leans heavily towards environmental and socio-political issues. The line-up for 2010 Telluride Bluegrass included the Drepung Monks, Leftover Salmon and Edward Sharpe. And for the past two years, the Telluride Wine Festival, June 24 – June 27, has beer, spirits, and music on its agenda.

21 June, 2010 /
[click "Play", James Vilona speaks about how he came to his art]

IMG_6131 Who'd a-thunk it? Telluride Inside... and Out and Donald Trump have something in common: we both own work by sculptor James Vilona. Only we don't own as much as The Donald, a major collector. (Two of Vilona's metal tables are on display in Trump Towers in New York and Chicago.)

James Vilona is in town over the Telluride Wine Festival weekend, June 24 – June 27, where he is the featured artist at Dolce Jewels, 226 West Colorado.
21 June, 2010 /

Telluride Bluegrass Festival may be over, but the beat goes on at Telluride's five-star Wilkinson Public Library. Monday, June 21, 6 p.m. Back for an encore performance, Raina Rose. This young vivacious songwriter from Austin will be performing original songs that speak to life, love and the human condition. 

Tuesday, June 22, 6 p.m.,The Telluride Music Lover’s Film Festival brings a feature and a short. Rachel Liebling, a student of Ken Burns, created a classic of Americana: “High Lonesome”  the Story of Bluegrass  (95 minutes). The music is perfectly synced with its images as in Bill Monroe's seamless walk from concert stage to his old front porch. Ralph Stanley singing "Man of Constant Sorrow". A young Alison Krauss at about the time she won the national fiddling contest. The film is not a complete compendium, a chronological survey, or a definitive look at Bill Monroe, or any of the individual artists, but it is an impassioned portrait of a true American musical art form.

21 June, 2010 /
June 17 to 24 , 2010
Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury through the 21st, and Jupiter 
Evening: Venus, Mars and Saturn

Hot town, summer in the city…

TrideAlpenRiver It’s Bluegrass in Telluride and that means summer. I can remember the first fledgling festivals, Fred Shellman and the old stage. I had a boutique on Colorado Avenue back then, called the Ritzy Gypsy, and my partner, Ginette Petrie, and I designed and hand-screened T-shirts in our garage to capitalize on the summer’s biggest event. It was just as wild and crazy back then as it is today, just a lot smaller and a lot less people. The days were just as hot, the music just as awesome and the food just as tasty.

We have a very special place here in the San Juans, its magic and mystique will never die, no matter what goes on in the world outside. The oil gushing in the Gulf is daunting, but, then, so is the water gushing over Bridal Veil and Ingram Falls. I am always blown away by the stunning magnificence of the Telluride Valley and Box Canyon at Bluegrass. The Mother Earth pours forth her summer season with a power and grace that erases memory, changes the channel and tunes us in to the very, upfront here and now of nature’s dazzling beauty and endless bounty. The verdant, swaying aspen, the crystalline blue skies and the rosy glow of sunset followed by turquoise twilight make these days days of blessing and peace. May you walk in the beauty and swim in the bounty. And don’t forget to celebrate Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year - on Monday, June 21st – when the Sun crosses the zero point of Cancer and the sizzling season of summer officially begins. In the meantime, may Merlin and the Witches - high up above in the couloirs of Bear Creek - watch over you. Happy summer!
18 June, 2010 /