Luzerne Art and Music

We visited a fascinating little museum in Lucerne--the Rosengart Collection--that is a loving tribute to 20th century Classic Modernism.. Siegfried Rosengart, a Swiss art collector, and his daughter, Angela, gathered what they liked pre-and post-WWII and found it hard to sell what eventually became a very valuable collection of works by Picasso, Klee, Monet, Cezanne, Miro, Chagall, and others. In fact, they came to know Picasso personally; he painted Angela several times. Couldn't resist posing by 'Woman with Straw Hat on a Floral Background.' Father and daughter are also in some of the 200 black and white photos of Picasso at home, in his studio, elsewhere. Many reflect his primal, exhibitionist tendencies. To answer the curioius, yes, P wore briefs.

A highlight of the Lucerne stay was attending one of the opening musical events of the Lucerne Fesitival. 'Made in Vienna,' on August 8, featured the Schweizer Jugend Sinfonie-Orchester (Swiss Youth), a really accomplished group, joined by a renowned pianist, Oliver Schnyder, playing Mozart's Piano Concert in C and, orchestra only, Beethoven's First Symphony. Not only was the music well done, but it was a treat to hear it in the concert hall of KKL Luzern, a huge and fairly new addition to the skyline, designed by French architect, Jean Nouvel. One last note--one of the program sponsors, Zurich Insurance Group, the country's largest we later read, promised to plant a tree for every attendee at our concert.

And another thing about Lucerne--only city we found so far that has a map to its free WCs: 'Die netten toiletten'--'the nice toilets'! In general, WCs in Switzerland were easy to find even without a directory. Mostly clean, too. Families are fortunate here!