The picture shows the three women of my life. Yvon and I have been together since high school! In this collage, the photographs were taken when Gerline (bottom) was almost 22 years old and Elske (top) was 20. Our dog Boris (Golden Retriever) is not shown but is a very good friend.
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Mostly listening to music. Hard to say what my favorite music is, because it tends to change with time. But Mahler's 8th and 9th Symphonies are stably at the top of the list, with the last movements being the absolute peaks in both. The last movement "Alles Vergängliche" in the 8th is heavenly and the 9th symphony's Adagio beats everything. Contrary to most music critics (and experts probably), I really prefer the DECCA recording with the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly: unbelievingly moving! The Mahler 9 recording by the same orchestra has the added value of being an SACD, which provides significantly more detail and resolution compared to the ordinary CD. On the other side of the spectrum, Madonna's American Life is also great fun. In between, classical singer Anne-Sofie Von Otter meets Elvis Costello in beautifully melancholic music For the stars.
I should admit that I am a bit of an audio freak: the music mentioned above is so much more enjoyable on a high quality sound system. "Real high end" is not affordable for me, but with a pair of B&W Nautilus 803 speakers, powered by a Unico hybrid (valve/MOSFET) amplifier (made by Unison Research) it comes close. Both are absolutely recommended! The latest upgrade is a DENON 1500AE CD/SACD-player; just stereo because I don't really believe in multichannel for music.
