I feel a blog coming on....

I  was so right about Terry Riley`s music being nothing for minimalists: "The Sands" has to be practised very carefully and well to make the piece effective. But it`s going to be a lot of fun. The Kronos Quartet has been great to work with - friendly and competent gentlemen with collegial attititudes and a handshake for those at the back of the orchestra, not just those at the front. Thanks  guys,  for not forgetting the grassroots.

Another fellow who didn`t forget the grassroots was Leonard Bernstein, known to all American musicians of my generation (the Baby Boomers) simply as "Lenny". Sadly I missed out on meeting him during my student years in Boston. But of my colleagues who knew him, everybody loved him. Nothing but good was ever said about Lenny, his kindness, wit and generosity. He wrote so much energy into his music that one can`t help reproducing it while playing. It makes me very nostalgic for the country and the times in which I grew up- times that were slower and more naive. But there was a belief there that the world is a good place- I think that Lenny`s music reflects that faith.

The Third Half: you`re going to see the Basel Symphony Orchestra like you`ve never seen it before (and possibly never again). Putting together Riley`s "In C" has been a major

high. It`s like asking everybody to exchange instruments and play something completely new, except that any exchanges here have been completely voluntary. This is why you`ll see a whole new selection of instruments on the stage on Thursday evening, including a Celtic harp, an accordion, a viola d `amore,a "Naturhorn", a guitar, a kazoo, etc. It´s really a blast  and as always with DRD, easy as pie. I think he must have sold Obama the motto, "Yes, we can", because ever since we`ve been working with him that`s always what we`ve experienced. We`re a happy bunch of musicians when he`s around, and you hear it.

I can`t wait for Thursday!

Nothing for minimalists

I`ve started to get really excited (even freaked out) about next week`s AMG concerts; we`ve never done anything like this before. I`m always for trying something new, but this program with music by two living composers is "boldly going where no Basel Symphony Orchestra has gone before". So let me calm down and get coherent: our next program features works by Thomas Newman,  "It Got Dark" and Terry Riley, "The Sands" and features the Kronos Quartet as soloists. Why am I so excited? All three (respectively six) of the aforenamed artists are very much alive today and enjoy something like cult status in the musical world. Callifornia meets Basel? Why not?

Thomas Newman comes from a  musical family (father, uncle, cousin - all successful composers) and is best known for the more than eighty film scores he has written (American Beauty, Scent of a Woman, Finding Nemo, Fried Green Tomatoes, etc). He`s also a friend of David Harrington, first violinist  of the Kronos Quartet, for whom he wrote "It Got Dark". This piece he compares to  "picture postcards"-  ephemera- taken from his memories and is written in movements. I`m very curious about the pictures he`ll evoke.

The second piece on the program, "The Sands" was written by Terry Riley for the Kronos Quartet. Riley`s productivity seems nearly inexhaustible- the list of his compositions goes on and on. Known as a founder of the "Minimal Music" movement, he has become, to my way of thinking, a larger than life figure. I `ve been looking through the web for examples of his music and other writings and what I`ve found shows me a man of extraordinary intelligence, warmth and  spirituality. It`s going to be a real pleasure and stimulus to have him here while we work on "The Sands" and "In C". "In C" is a fascinating, hypnotic work which is a great introduction to Terry Riley. I just loved the comments I read while listening to "In C" on Youtube. They show which audiences listen to and love Riley- take a look and listen . I think you`ll have fun.

On the whole, Riley`s  music is so much more than meets the eye/ear that the term "minimal" is not completely accurate. Come and hear for yourself. I`ll be looking for you on Wednesday and Thursday for our concerts and on Thursday for the "Third Half" and afterward at the Casino Lounge. It`ll be fun to rub elbows with the stars.

This week - we are going big!

This weeks`s  Coop/BKG concert with the Sinfonieorchester Basel is one that is, for two reasons, a definite must. It`s not often that I`ll tell you this, so heed my words: go and support your local band, broaden your horizons and have a great experience at the same time.

Why is this evening so special in my book? The first reason is that we`re playing Mahler. Mahler`s music is for me something like an elemental force. Although many researchers have written volumes about his music, nothing can prepare you for the gut-level impact it has when you hear it played live. I`ve been searching for the reasons why  I love playing Mahler. I can only explain them in simple terms. Mahler`s music takes you through every fundamental experience you have had, now have and will have during your time on earth. It is deep joy and sorrow, exhaltation and deprivation, reverence, awe, playfulness, fury, hope, grieving and consolation.  I think you`ll find the complete gamut of human aspiration in his music. It`s also a lot of fun to play, because he knew  the limits of orchestral capacity and wrote music that is a very sensuous experience for the players. I guess I`d call it musicians`music. It touches my heart and stimulates my spirit.

Besides a fascinating and complex composer, we have a conductor who is, although in every way a larger-than-life figure, a quiet spoken and gentle man, one who enables us. 

When Dennis Russel Davies conducts us there is nothing we cannot do along with the very best. Figured it out? He is the second reason why these concerts will be extraordinary, because the work he does with us has nothing to do with the mere average. He listens and lets us discover what it is we have to do to make the piece work. There is no lording it over his subjects: he may be a benevolent dictator, but I still haven`t seen or felt the dictator part. Working with Dennis Russell Davies is the perfect partnership- he brings out the best in us, and we enable him to make music. 

We have every reason to be proud that Dennis Russell Davies has found his way to us in Basel: the fact that he was recently elected a member of  the American Academy of Arts and Sciences shows that it is not only my opinion that he is a man of unusual charisma and competence. Like Mahler`s music, he touches our hearts as musicians and human beings and helps us find the confidance we need to express the unspeakable and wonderful language of the soul, music. 

So you see, you`re getting a great package this week- it`s not just two for one, Mahler and DRD. It`s the dedication and enthusiasm of many, an absolute will to create that will make this a memorable evening for all participants. And besides- if you don`t go, I`ll never speak to you again.

Malodor - no "Maldoror"!

I'm having some slight difficulty with the latest work in our  

repertory, an opera by Philipp Maintz, to be premiered in Theater  

Basel next Thursday: it has nothing to do with the complexity of it's  

musical texts or the abhorrent tale of the ultimate devil in human  

form. Nope, it's got nothing to do with any of this. It's purely my  

legasthenic side, which tells me to pronounce "Malodor" when I'm  

reading "Maldoror": I promise you, I'm not doing it on purpose. On the  

contrary, I feel I have been quite privileged to have had a deeper  

look into the preparations being made for this coming premiere, having  

been present at some scenic and musical rehearsals prior to its going  

on stage- something new for me. The reason for this is that my eleven- 

year-old son is one of the two boys playing and singing the role of  

the child in this production. 

They needed a bilingual French-German  

speaking boy who could sing and bingo- he was in. It was quite  

touching to watch professional musicians grouped around a piano with  

these two kids, all learning their parts together. I enjoyed the quiet  

intensity with which Joachim Rathke, the regisseur, explained the  

boys' role to them, how he coaxed and corrected them, never using any  

tone of voice but the most collegial. Although he often bent over to  

speak to the kids at their face level, he never talked down to them.  

I'm more than grateful to have experienced the professionalism of our  

singers, who had to learn musical texts that would have driven many to  

desperation. It was almost humbling to experience the way they  

mastered this seemingly impossible task with charm and calmness. Why  

humbling? Because I found my viola part challenging, even though I  

have my music in front of me at every moment. They learned their parts  

- much more complex than mine- all by heart.

How does my son see the opera? He's very impressed with the scenery, a  

huge metal grid shaped in the form of a wave. He came home from  

rehearsals happy, saying how nice Michael - "he's the bad guy, Mama",  

is and laughing at learning how a faked slap in the face from his  

stage "Dad" works. But what he finds absolutely  coolest about  

"Maldoror", the scene that all the kids want to rehearse the most?  

That's simple: he likes playing dead.

AIDA on TV

All around the Mittlere Brücke in Basel there`s a bustle and commotion, a kind of energetic and expectant motion taking place. Left and right of the Rhine, large trucks carrying the names of national and international television stations are parked in close proximity the the river and to hotel "Drei Könige". It`s not even Fasnacht, but there`s something in the air: that something is Swiss television`s production of "Aida on the Rhine", which will be broadcast live. Tomorrow night, television sets all over Switzerland will be tuned in to Verdi`s opera in its Swiss setting. And guess who`s right in the middle of it? YOUR Basel Symphony Orchestra, playing from the ballroom of hotel Drei Könige, weeping along with Aida, triumphing with Radames, accompanying a cast- not of thousands- but of hundreds, in this epochal production.Try to imagine: camera and audio, costume and makeup teams, a full symphony orchestra, a backstage orchestra, a chorus reinforced with its extra members, one conductor and three subconductors, a chorus director, two regisseurs, the many soloists of the opera, extras, and the technical backup to support and enable a production which is taking place in several different settings at once. It is- I promise you- absolutely amazing and a feat of technical mastery whose equal we will not see again for a long time to come.

Besides the sheer mass of it, there are two other, for me, interesting aspects of this production: the first is that we musicians, although providing the musical framework upon which the drama is being unrolled, are completely removed from basically all the scenes where the singing is taking place. Every tone that is sung or played is being transmitted from one place to the other by microphone or loudspeaker. When Radames sings his aria "celeste Aida" from a boat crossing the Rhine, he only has audio contact with Gabriel Feltz, our wonderful conductor. Maestro Feltz has a monitor in front of him where he can follow the action, but I don`t think that either of them have visual contact with each other. And, in spite of "flying blind" as it were- it works. Not only does it work, but the quality is highly satisfying. This is not just a spectacle for the masses- it is what musical professionalism is about.

The second aspect that I find fascinating is that, during the whole production, while hundreds of people are working in the hotel to produce this very special "Aida", the hotel is continuing with its day-to-day activities. The personnel of the Drei Könige" continues to welcome guests, mix drinks, serve tea and cakes, make up rooms and all the while to be relaxed, charming and hospitable. In spite of a TV team rehearsing in the foyer, bar, on the terrace and in a suite, their show must also and does go on. This, too, is professionalism on its highest level and deserves to be mentioned and praised.

Tonight is the dress rehearsal in preparation for the Big Night- will the orchestra be tuned and ready at eight o`clock on the dot? Will we be able to keep the tempi attuned to the soloists and be synchronised in every scene? Will the weather hold? Although there are provisions made for an "Aida" in the rain, a starry sky and a clear view of the river would be ideal. Looking out from the windows of the ballroom onto the Rhine, illuminated by floodlights, I still couldn`t grasp the whole magnitude of the situation. Tomorrow night we will see the whole story in its context. Well, at least you will, if you have a TV. I`ll be sitting in the ballroom  with my colleagues playing for you. You can recognise me easily-I play the viola and will be wearing black.

I`ve been asked in the last weeks why I haven`t continued writing for this blog: it`s nice that you missed me, thanks.  I can tell you quite simply what`s been going on- exhaustion!  In China it was always easy to find an hour or more (bus rides, plane rides) for writing. Back in normal life, however, there are other things to do with the hours and never enough hours to do them in.

 I don`t  suppose that many of you out there realise how varied and  full the agenda of a musician in Basel`s Symphony Orchestra really is. To my knowledge-  and because of the very special structures involved in administrating this orchestra- we play up to six different productions every week. Concert programmes, opera, ballet, children`s concerts, CD recordings, TV productions- you name it- it could very well be on my schedule this week or next. And, as I said quite truthfully, they can at times coincide to produce weeks "made in Hell". Not that I`m complaining- our job is about as interesting and varied as could be and we certainly master every given situation with bravado. But let  me give you an example: on August 22, I left my house at 09.00 for my first rehearsal of the day. On that Sunday, I played  four outdoor concerts and two rehearsals (temperature 31 degrees) and got back home at 22.00. The following Friday, after spending the week completing a recording of Brückner`s fourth symphony and no break in between,  I left again at 13.00 for a bus ride to Bern where we played outdoors (temperature 12 degrees) getting home again at 02.00. You won`t find many (any?) orchestras whose schedule equals ours. It`s a great profession , but there are some sacrifices involved.  And  it irks me when people talk (and write) about what we cost  when they don`t look at the relation to the value they receive. How many of them would give service the way I do and gladly,  out of idealism?

So you see, if I get tired sometimes  it`s not from doing my job the way I  like to. I get tired  because I feel that the understanding of what- and how much-  we do is often limited. So please, those of you who click on "like this": come to our concerts, tell your friends about us. There are some really cool and exciting things going on. Thea last concert`s "Third Half" was a real treat and kept my eyes and ears open way beyond my normal bedtime. And, the "Casino Lounge" which was so beautifully conceived and carried out, would have been worth staying to the very end. If only I hadn`t been soo tired.

http://www.sinfonieorchesterbasel.ch 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sinfonieorchester-Basel/121662264513833?ref=ts

AU CASINO / Dritte Hälfte

Friends

Nächste Woche startet die Saison des Sinfonieorchester Basel gleich mit einem Höhepunkt. AU CASINO VOL. 1 steht in den Startlöchern. Zu später Stunde dirigiert Chefdirigent Dennis Russell Davies die Dritte Hälfte mit den Folksongs von Luciano Berio zusammen mit sieben Musikerinnen und Musiker des Sinfonieorchesters. Solistin des Abends ist die Schweizer Mezzosopranistin Christiane Bösiger.

In Zusammenarbeit mit dem renommierten Veranstalter Flamingofarm und den Dekorateuren von Disturban wird das Stadtcasino zur gemütlichen Lounge und lädt bei Musik zu einem späten After-Concert-Drink ein ein.

A Last Word

After this last week with its various impressions, I'd like to thank  

everyone involved in this tour- on and behind the stage. It took  

everyone's efforts to make these days, in every way, a success. A lot  

of things weren't perfect, it's true: not having something to eat  

before a concert can be detrimental, but never detracted from the  

professionalism of our work. Illnesses kept some of us in bed or near  

a bathroom for a time, but Dr. Schäublin was always there when we  

needed him. Jetlag and exhaustion  which- since our schedule was very  

tightly packed- sometimes caused moments of irritation, were put aside  

as soon as we walked onto the stage.

It was great to be with a bunch of people who were willing to help  

each other through a challenging time. Even the unknown person who  

dissected and translated some of these blogs to send to the Basel  

newspaper (without my knowledge) did so, I hope, in an effort to  

promote the orchestra.

The last evening in Peking was spent with Herr Wu of Wu Promotions at  

an unforgettably beautiful farewell dinner in a lovely "hutong" house  

where we dined under a starry sky. These memories and more will keep  

us singing "Jasmin Flower" for a long time to come.

So now, over the clouds somewhere near Omsk, I sign off. There's no  

place like home.

The Final Chord (14.08.2010)

The final chord of the last concert of this tour of China has faded  

from my ears but is still echoing inside me. The emotions are strong.  

Unfortunately, my delivery of these impressions has been delayed by my  

inability to access internet services on my I-phone: could this be a  

fluke when other colleagues experienced the same? We were, after all,  

in modern China.

The concert hall in the National Center for the Performing Arts is a  

monument to elegance.  Surrounded by an ornamental lake, the building  

floats like an inverted silver lotus blossom on its surface and  

houses, besides the concert hall, an opera house and a chamber music  

hall. The theme element of water is echoed throughout: as you enter,  

you pass underneath the lake and see the rippling water through a  

glass  ceiling. Waves and movement were visible in the decoration of  

the auditorium  itself. The hall is the embodiment of noble  

simplicity, a joy to behold and and to play in. This last concert in  

China may also have been one of the best -musicians' observations of  

their concerts generally being subjective in nature- if the exuberant  

applause was any indication. On the whole, playing in different halls  

has attuned our ears and made our playing richer and more sensitive.  

I'm looking forward to bringing this particular souvenir back to the  

audience in Basel.

It will take a while before all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes  

of China have been sorted through and put in their places. One thing I  

can tell you right now: I am very  proud of this orchestra  - the  

Sinfonieorchester Basel is a great place to be at home.

Bejing (14.08.2010)

Peking has always been an imperial city. From the moment you enter its  

confines,  the wide and tree-lined boulevards, the towering and  

majestic skyscrapers announce the intentions of power and wealth. This  

is with certainty the beaming face of China that Westerners are meant  

to see. My first explorations took me to quite another quarter, to the  

hutongs - the living quarters of the working folk. This is the  modest  

but infinitely more  human side of the medallion. Families sat at  

their tables on the sidewalk preparing their meals on a table grill,  

while further on down the street men sat on the bare sidewalk slurping  

their noodles from tin bowls. Their were no other tourists on  these  

narrow and dusty lanes and no attempt at antiseptic renovation has  

been made here. The reason for this is simple: these ancient  

neighborhoods are doomed to soon make room for more shopping malls and  

hotels. I saw hutongs which had been closed off from the street with a  

wooden wall in preparation for imminent demolition. As a child I was  

horrified at the media reports of the rampant and senseless  

destruction of the "Cultural Revolution".  Today nobody is saying a  

word.

This isn't a city which can be absorbed in the two days we'll be  

spending here-but it's worth the effort to see as much as possible,  

before and after our concert. And, the way I know my colleagues, there  

will be as many impressions as there are people made in these few  

short hours to come. One memory, however, is one that I'm sure we'll  

all take home with us: wherever we go in this city, whether in the  

hotel lobby or on the subway walls: the Basel Symphony is omnipresent  

in Peking. Pictures of the orchestra, Mario and Huang Mengla greet us  

and the city wherever the eye can see. And that's when I'm sure: I'm  

not in Basel any more.

A naked man (13.08.2010)

A concert tour in China puts things into perspective. For example, a  

two to three hour bus ride to the airport is the rule and not the  

exception. Here in Suzhou, summery 38-40 degrees keep us indoors  

whenever possible. The fact that, as a guest, you cannot sit on the  

stairs in the hotel lobby (hotel employees chase you away immediately-  

one must sit on the sofa). You cannot get into the Facebook website  

because it's not accessible in this country. I bought a dress today,  

but had to take size XXL although I wear a Swiss size 36-38 -Chinese  

women are so dainty! These are all just little examples of how things  

are different here than they are in Basel. Get the picture?

After the aforesaid bus trip to Suzhou, there remained about two hours  

between hotel check-in and leaving again for the concert. If any of  

you mistake this trip for a paid vacation  I beg to differ. I also  

have to say that I experienced the hottest welcome ever when I got to  

my hotel room, and I'm talking neither Fahrenheit nor Centigrade. The  

check-in was well organized, so I took my key and scooted up to my  

room. Aha, a corner room- good. I go into the room and think, "fine- 

nice and big. But dark- were the curtains closed to keep the room  

cooler?" As soon as I turned on the lights, I knew why: in the bed -  

MY bed- a half-naked man was wrapped in the blanket and sleeping like  

a stone. He hardly moved when the lights went on. The manager was very  

reassuring when he gave me the key to my new room, saying, "I went up  

to see- there's nobody in this bed." Frieda claims that the guy in the  

bed was a welcome gift from the hotel.

After that the concert was an absolute anticlimax (sorry, I couldn't  

resist). The concert hall in Suzhou is magnificent to look at,  

situated dramatically on the waterfront. The interior, too, was also  

very satisfying- another nice place to play and incentive for a good  

concert.

This was the first time that we experienced a "typical" Chinese  

audience- the kind that sits on their hands. After the Zwicker they  

gave us polite applause, as well as after Tchaikovsky. Brahms may not  

have fared much better if Mario hadn't pulled the flower trick -  

throwing his bouquet to a selected lady-and the Strauss encore out of  

his hat. The audience started warming up just as we were getting ready  

for a cold beer. When Huang Mengla, with  his violin, joined us in an  

encore of a Chinese love song, success was garanteed.

Since we have to be on the bus again in five and a half hours for a  

three hour ride to the airport, followed by a two hour flight to our  

final port of call on this tour, Beijing, it's time to put out the  

light. Time, too, is flying.

a few words (13.08.2010)

A concert tour in China puts things into perspective. For example, a  

two to three hour bus ride to the airport is the rule and not the  

exception. Here in Suzhou, summery 38-40 degrees keep us indoors  

whenever possible. The fact that, as a guest, you cannot sit on the  

stairs in the hotel lobby (hotel employees chase you away immediately-  

one must sit on the sofa). You cannot get into the Facebook website  

because it's not accesible in this country. I bought a dress today,  

but had to take size XXL (Chinese women are very dainty). These are  

all just little examples of how things are different here than they  

are in Basel. Get the picture?

After the aforesaid bus trip to Suzhou, there remained about two hours  

between hotel check-in and leaving again for the concert. If any of  

you mistake this trip for a paid vacation  I beg to differ. I also  

have to say that I experienced the hottest welcome ever when I got to  

my hotel room, and I'm talking neither Fahrenheit nor Centigrade. The  

check-in was well organized, so I took my key and scooted up to my  

room. Aha, a corner room- good. I go into the room and think, "fine- 

nice and big. But dark- were the curtains closed to keep the room  

cooler?" As soon as I turned on the lights, I knew why: in the bed -  

MY bed- a half-naked man was wrapped in the blanket and sleeping like  

a stone. He hardly moved when the lights went on. The manager was very  

reassuring when he gave me the key to my new room, saying, "I went up  

to see- there's nobody in this bed." Frieda claims that the guy in the  

bed was a welcome gift from the hotel.

After that the concert was an absolute anticlimax (sorry, I couldn't  

resist). The concert hall in Suzhou is magnificent to look at,  

situated dramatically on the waterfront. The interior, too, was also  

very satisfying- another nice place to play and incentive for a good  

concert.

This was the first time that we experienced a "typical" Chinese  

audience- the kind that sits on their hands. After the Zwicker they  

gave us polite applause, as well as after Tchaikovsky. Brahms may not  

have fared much better if Mario hadn't pulled the flower trick -  

throwing his bouquet to a selected lady-and the Strauss encore out of  

his hat. The audience started warming up just as we were getting ready  

for a cold beer. When Huang Mengla, with  his violin, joined us in an  

encore of a Chinese love song, success was garanteed.

Since we have to be on the bus again in five and a half hours for a  

three hour ride to the airport, followed by a two hour flight to our  

final port of call on this tour, Beijing, it's time to put out the  

light. Time, too, is flying.

just a impression from Suzhou Science & Cultural Arts Centre | Grand Theatre

Pictures by Jean-Francois Taillard

A Chinese Love Story (12.08.2010)

Im Foyer des Shanghai Oriental Arts Center könnte man sich glatt verlieren. Ein Riesenposter des Sinfonieorchesters Basel weist auf das Eröffnungskonzert zum offiziellen Schweizer Tag der World ESPO 2010 hin. Bundespräsidentin Leuthard lässt es sich nicht nehmen uns vor dem Konzert persönlich zu begrüssen und Erfahrungen über Anspannung vor grossen Auftritten auszutauschen. Wir sind hingerissen.

Top motiviert eröffnen wir das Konzert mit Arthur Honeggers „Pacific 231“ und kommen dabei so richtig in Fahrt. Wu Promotion hat uns, verbunden mit der Bitte dies nicht persönlich zu nehmen, auf in China üblichen kurzen und lauwarmen Applaus vorbereitet. Zu Mr. Wus Erstaunen gibt es aber schon nach dem ersten Satz von Tschaikowskys Violinkonzert mit dem hervorragenden Lokalmatador Huang Mengla lang anhaltenden Applaus.

Nach der berückenden Canzonetta und dem furiosen Finale fordert das Publikum eine Zugabe. Huang Mengla bezaubert uns alle mit einem virtuos und makellos gespielten Paganini. Nach der Pause spielen wir die 1. Sinfonie von Johannes Brahms. Wir fühlen uns wohl in desem wunderbaren Saal und können unseren Klang voll entfalten. Es gibt Blumen für den Dirigenten und den Konzertmeister. Beide werfen ihre Sträusse ins Publikum. Begeisterte Bravi! Zugab e „Unter Donner und Blitz“  von Johann Strauss. Mitklatschen. Grenzenlose Begeisterung. Wie wird unsere zweite Zugabe, der Wettsteinmarsch von Herman Suter wohl ankommen? Beim Auftritt des orchestereigenen, in Larven und Fasnachtskostümen trommelden und pfeifenden „Schyssdräggzyglis“ gibt es kein Halten mehr. Nicht nur Doris Leuthard, Botschafter Blaise Godet, Grossratspräsidentin Annemarie von Bidder und Regierungsrat Hans-Peter Wessels Sind restlos begeistert! Der ganze Saal tobt. Als dritte Zugabe kündigt Mario Venzago „A Chinese Love Story“ an. Nach den ersten Klängen brandet warmer Zwischenapplaus auf. Das chinesische Publikum ist sichtlich gerührt. Huang Mengla spielt am letzten Pult mit. Eine  bescheidene Geste, aber eine grosse Liebeserklärung an das Sinfonieorchester Basel. Standing Ovations!

I do like doing business in China! (11.08.2010)

Business transactions in China are not just of a business nature, the  

social aspect plays an important role.  Let's take the souvenir shop  

in our hotel: from morning at eight until morning at one, a friendly  

salesperson stands at the door and invites you to visit the shop. Once  

inside, a wealthy display of silk and cashmere (okay, give and take a  

little polyester), pearls, coral, fans and jade are at first a bit  

overwhelming. But the very second your eyes rest upon one object the  

adorable young woman smells her

prey and moves in for the kill.  It may be, as in my case, pearl  

necklaces in many colors. "You wear, like this," she says, twisting  

two chains onto one- "very pretty. I make you good price." From my  

Chinese friend, I know that the foreigner generally pays four times  

the price that a Chinese would pay, so I try (apparently without  

success) to look disinterested. "Four necklaces, 600 yuan," I shake my  

head, I'm truly not interested. But then the bargaining itself starts  

to get interesting, the game begins. I think that many of us from the  

West find this part a bit embarassing- it's just not our culture. Here  

it's kind of like patting someone on the shoulder- first you pat me,  

then I pat you and at the end everybody's all smiles. That's how it  

was: the price of the necklaces went down to 480, then to 400. I moved  

away and started to look at dresses- a change of tactic easily seen  

through, but it didn't daunt my pursuer. And, honestly, I really  

didn't want to buy any of them. But at the end, I walked out of that  

shop as proud posessor of four pearl necklaces, destined to become  

presents for my sisters. Sales price: 300 yuan, about 45 Swiss francs-  

still too much, but both parties, seller and buyer, wore happy smiles  

at their parting.

I do like doing business in China!