Classical Music on Holland America

[Richard in Panama]

I'm curious . . . how many folks out there would prefer more classical music on Holland America? Yes, we have the Rosario strings or similar playing in the Explorer Lounge. But what about main stage performers who are more traditional classical performers. Holland America has a few, occassionally. Celebrity, on the other hand, seems to have a major classical performance on the big stage on every cruise, and usually an afternoon concert on a sea day.

And who picks the music on deck? Is this just some crew member, or is it really attuned to the demographic of the guests? I'm always amazed at the educational level onboard. There are more PhDs, educators and professors, and people who've been everywhere in the world and have fascinating careers and backgrounds, on Holland America that even Celebrity. It seems these folks might have a broader range of musical tastes.

What about having classical or easy listening around the covered pool area and more contemporary music on the back deck? I couldn't believe one time when I was having breakfast on the back deck and someone had put on a rap CD!

And how about a decent classical TV/music channel?

The most incredible saila away experience ever was on MILLENIUM this summer sailing out of Venice at sunset with a glass of wine and opera pouring out of the fantastic sound system on deck! Even the cruise director was all choked up by the experience.

So what does the Cruise Critic community think? Would you like more classical music on Holland America? [Someone must follow this board in Seattle]

[spirit rev]

I have yet to cruise on HAL but would welcome all the classical music they are willing to have performed. I LOVE classical music. Hope they have lots of it on the Zaandam when we sail her in Alaska come September.

[Cruising-along]

I would love it!

One of my favorite memories is the classical music playing as we walked past the fountains of Versailles on a Sunday afternoon. And the musicians playing classical music in the metro in Paris. :)

I think it would be wonderful -- especially as you suggest, if there's also contemporary music available too. (but please no rap :eek: )

[Sundagger]

While I would certainly enjoy a classical main attraction, I'm not sure that it would be well-attended. There was an outstanding string quartet on the Oosterdam last month and I attended quite a few of their Explorer's Lounge sessions. One night I was thinking that they certainly were drawing crowds - then I counted. Thirty people "jamming" the Lounge. There were almost as many partiers having a grand time among themselves and taking pictures of each other in the adjacent hallway.

[O2B@C]

Great suggestion! I don't know if it would be a draw in the main theater, but perhaps a chamber symphony in a larger venue than the Explorer's Lounge might work - say, the Crow's Nest?

FYI, there is a classical music GROUP cruise on HAL in Europe this fall, if anyone is interested in joining them. Zuiderdam, Western Med, Oct. 11-23. Details at:

http://www.geekcruises.com/top_b/cl01_top.html

(I can't go - I only know about it because it was advertised by my local classical station.)

[dakrewser]

I like a good mix of music, but wwe did thoroughly enjoy Elliot Finkel's recital on the Infinity a couple of years ago. I'm not sure I'm ready for a "symphony cruise," but a chamber music, or baroque themed cruise (on a smaller ship) would be fine!

Of course, we're also signed up for the "Blues Cruise" on the Eurodam next January....

:)

[obriendan]

An outstanding idea! I would particularly like to see at least one show devoted to classical music in the main show lounge and not the ship's cast in a bas---dized version of opera tunes that I once went to and left early! I do remember a version of the Three Tenors once on a HAL cruise that was excellent.

[Juanita462]

we have attended many classical concerts on HAL cruises and they
have always been well attended. Would love to hear more classical
and easy listening music onboard. the music in the pool area on the
Lido is so jarring that we usually go elsewhere.
We had the three Australian tenors on one cruise and they were
magnificent - the show lounge was packed both times they sang.

what I would like is to have them stop playing canned music in the Explorer's lounge during the day. It is irritating and intrusive when
all you want is a quiet place to read a book.

I hope HAL is reading this!!!!

[boccismom]

I would love it, but my DH would definitely NOT. And the opera senario...that would be my all time favorite. Again, the other half..NO. Everyone has different tastes and it seems as though those of us who love the classics have to adapt to the rest of the world.

[innlady1]

We would love it! If we're lucky, someone from HAL will read this thread! ;)

[Host Walt]

While I am an aficionado of classical music, I would find the acoustics and the ambient noise to be a major distraction to the players as well as the audience. We've attended classical concerts aboard the Queen Mary (the ship that is permanently docked in Long Beach, California) and it's a good venue for chamber music (we heard two of Bach's Brandenberg Concertos there, for example) and the acoustics in the Queens Lounge were OK, so it worked...except when the horn sounded from a Carnival ship that was sailing from the adjacent dock. (The orchestra stopped for a few minutes in case it repeated.)

We bring a few CD's with us to play in our stateroom when we're relaxing and changing for dinner.

We're also looking for classical concerts ashore wnd have found some great stuff that way. For example there was a 6:00pm concert in Naples that we were able to attend with a 10:00pm sailing time. The concert hall was a short walk from the pier.

[Rhea58]

Moi aussi!

We enjoyed Eliot Finkel on one of Hal's ships some years back
& he gave an extra performance in the afternoon one day.
Both were performed in one of the smaller venues aboard.

So if HAL were to do entertain this idea again, it might draw
from the cruiser who eschews rock-climbing activities et al.

[Richard in Panama]

Elliot Finkel is exactly the kind of performer I had in mind! He got standing ovations every performance on Celebrity and even his afternoon concert was packed. He is a classical pianist, great pianist, not really a showman.

[Jsipes]

I , for one, would support more classical art performances...We took a 30 Day Veendam Cruise and had wonderful Opera singers, a Harpist, a Broadway Review, Musicals, and many other fantastic, high-class performers in the Entertainment Theater. I was surprised to hear a Medley of Andrew Lloyd Weber, Chopin, etc. So.....yes I would like to see more.....and I think thee is a more high-brow entertainment schedule on the longer cruises.....:) Jer the Bear

[teltrainer]

We would love to hear Classical music concerts and opera (a few arias) would be wonderful. If HAL is listening, please bring some classically trained singers/musicians to perform on a few Caribbean sailings in addition to the talented string players. We bring CDs with us to enjoy in our suite but having more live Classical performances would be fabulous. The last cruise we were on, we talked about our upcoming HAL cruise and discussed this very thing :)

[Copper10-8]

13 cents: I think taking a peak at the amount of folks inside the Explorer's Lounge when the Strings are performing there before or after dinner will give you some idea how popular classical music is onboard the dam ships.

I like classical music, especially the concerts Andre Rieu performs, but am not a fan of a chamber orchestra like the Strings, certainly not after dinner because they tend to put me in la la land forthwith with extreme prejudice. Some of the guest performers on HAL have been very good in the classical field. Didn't know Finkel was still performing on HAL. I saw him "perform" at the Front Office on Nieuw Amsterdam inbound to Tampa once - wasn't pretty!

[Copper10-8]

Duplicate, sorry!

[Pete Jackson]

On the Maasdam in 2005, they had a great pianist who did one of the evening perfromances in the show lounge. It was very good, but just the usual mixture of broadway and other short pieces.

But then, the CD and he put on a rare afternoon completely classical performance; the show lounge was packed, the performance was great and the applause enthusiastic. A grand piano fills the Queen's lounge with sound very well!

Mind you, it would be probably be wise to avoid pieces with lots of pianissimo because of the ambient backgrount noise of the ship.

[hogwildcruzers]

I thought HAL was trying to appeal to a more younger cruiser than what is believed by all to be a older generation cruise line....we are not in the younger generation but we do like alittle more up-tempo in our music.....but each to his own.

[dakrewser]

I thought HAL was trying to appeal to a more younger cruiser than what is believed by all to be a older generation cruise line....we are not in the younger generation but we do like alittle more up-tempo in our music.....but each to his own.

Whether or not you like classical music has little to do with your age. I mean it's not as if I knew Beethoven personally ;)!

[Copper10-8]

Whether or not you like classical music has little to do with your age. I mean it's not as if I knew Beethoven personally ;)!

Yeah true, but rumor has it you went clubbing with Wagner;)

[R&CCruisers]

We were just on the Veendam and enjoyed the Viva Strings--they were also on the Volendam last year. Great music the Explorers Lounge. Always seemed to have a good crowd there to listen.

[tomc]

Richard in Panama -- And how about a decent classical TV/music channel? Channel 43, I think, is the classical music channel; it's the stern camera channel. I'm sure there is a classical audio channel on the behind-the-bed set; I did not use it this time because I had a roommate, but have on other occasions.

Copper l0-8 -- Didn't know Finkel was still performing on HAL. I saw him "perform" at the Front Office on Nieuw Amsterdam inbound to Tampa once - wasn't pretty! I'm acquainted with Elliott from some years back, as a fellow entertainer, (as was my mother) and always found him a pretty nice guy. Did he lose it?

[Copper10-8]

..........I'm acquainted with Elliott from some years back, as a fellow entertainer, (as was my mother) and always found him a pretty nice guy. Did he lose it?

Oh yeah! Nieuw Amsterdam was late returning to her berth in Tampa due to thick fog. Mr. Finkel was at the Front Office. One of the girls tried to explain the situation to him. He wouldn't hear of it and got pretty nasty to the point where the FA, no doubt knowing who he was and that he had been a guest performer on board, got emotional to the point of bursting out in tears. Wasn't pretty, I felt pretty bad for her and thought Mr. Finkel was a complete Adam Henry that day!

[Jsipes]

Dave....you are a GGAAaaaasss. Jer the Bear:)

[tomc]

He's a big guy, too. She was probably afraid he was going to tear her to pieces and have her for lunch. Sorry to hear that.

[dakrewser]

Yeah true, but rumor has it you went clubbing with Wagner;)

Shh! What happens in Beyreuth stays in Beyreuth...

;)

[LoyHAL]

Count us in on this one! More classical music would be great!

Sometimes just the volume of the music in the various venues drives us away...

I also hope someone from HAL is reading this!
LoyHAL:)

[dakrewser]

Just got an email today for a Mediterranean classical music cruise (http://neilbauman.cachefly.net/top_b/cl01_top.html) on Zuiderdam!

Called "Classical Latitude," the cruise goes from Barcelona to Venice next October and features:

Three Onboard Recitals with Awadagin Pratt

• Beethoven Piano Sonatas

• Variations and Fugues

• The Mystery Concert

Seven Seminars: 90-minutes to 3.5-hours

• Golden-Age Film Music

• A European Pedigree

• Mozart: Genius In Every Department

• La Mer

• Birthplace of the Baroque: Italian Music in the 17th and 18th Centuries

• The Greek Way: Concert Music of Greece and the Adriatic Countries

• Ports of Call
Two Cocktail Receptions

One Afternoon High Tea
(& Champagne) with Awadagin Pratt and our two Speakers

Interview and Q & A

Optional Land-Based Excursions Three Gala Evening Musicals:

• Barcelona

• Venice

• Messina or Monaco (TBD)

################

[tip]

...as long as the dress code police do not start demanding that we only attend in formal wear!!