The Architecture of Happiness

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”

-Samuel Johnson

It would be fair to say London held some trepidation as a traveler after the disturbances in the city recently. London continues to evolve as a city and offers so much. Sitting in the Chelsea eyrie among the detritus of a week in London we are left to reflect on the myriad of surprises that passed our way. Where to begin is the hardest. There has been classical music recitals, philharmonic orchestras, architecture, ballet, art in abundance, cinema, gardens, food, fashion, coffee and wine.

Alain de Bouton argues in his book, The Architecture of Happiness, “belief in the significance of architecture is premised on the notion that we are, for better and for worse, different people in different places – and on the conviction that it is architecture’s task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be “. He asks the question “ what is a beautiful building?”

The first of our many forays into the London artscape was to visit Panorama-a retrospective of Gerhard Richter at the Tate Modern. On the way we were surprised to find an Almshouse-still operating-although on borrowed time it appears. The Almshouse, next to the Tate Modern, is a medieval establishment for the poor and very similar to the Hofes in Berlin and Hofjes in Amsterdam. Among the towering new buildings of steel, glass and unusual shapes stood a square of beautiful stone cottages surrounding a garden.

The Tate Modern is a forbidding building. Previously a PowerStation it has been transformed into the most extraordinary modern art space imaginable. As you walk down the enormous concrete ramp into the stygian darkness you are surrounded by the enormous physical presence of the original structure and the conversion of the interior into multiple levels of galleries. The painter Gerhard Richter is a modern enigma and has created a brilliant and diverse range of work. There are 13 rooms of paintings-each addressing a certain stage of his career. The work is all to do with how we see and Richter poses questions about the correlation between perception and understanding. There are paintings using photography as a reference, and then figurative work using Titian, Vermeer, and Caspar David Friedrich as a reference and then others moving into utopian abstraction. It is an immense body of work and one that is completely captivating. He has made painting relevant in a modern world where painting has been to a large part compromised. His art practice delves into the questions-what are the limits of painting? What is the relationship between painting and photography? What are the limits of vision? Inspirational.

The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square is home to many of the world’s great paintings. It is indescribable to talk of the collection here that dates from the 13^th to the 20^th Century. Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velázquez, Claude, Rembrandt, Cuyp, Vermeer, Leonardo, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Holbein, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian, Veronese, Duccio, Uccello, van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli, Dürer, Memling, Bellini, Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Ingres, Degas, Cézanne, Monet, Van Gogh, John Singer Sargeant are among the collection. The gallery holds over 2300 paintings. Richter referenced Titian and made a copy of one of his paintings. His comment about the painter and his style after trying to emulate it was the era of the master painter could never be visited again. After seeing a room of Titian’s and the sheer virtuosity of his painting you can very well believe this.

St Martins in the Field is a church by Trafalgar Square. It has been a church since the 12^th Centruy and in its present form since 1721. A Roman burial site was discovered here dating to the 3^rd Century. The church has been hosting musicians since the 17^th century and we were lucky to see two performances in this most beautiful building. The building has undergone a 36 million pound renovation and it shows. The gleaming plasterwork, the wonderful space and the gilded Corinthian columns. Underneath is a crypt with grave markers dating to the time the church was actually in the fields. The two performances were magical in this setting-the church is quite small and we were very near the front. The first was Warren Mailey Smith on Piano. He was charming and a virtuoso. He played Mozart-Sonata in F major, Chopin-Berceuse, Chopin-Ballade No 1, Chopin-Scherzo No 3, Beethoven-Moonlight Sonata, Liszt-Rigoletto and Gershwin-Rhapsody in Blue. He received a standing ovation.

The second performance was The Festive Orchestra of London, with Violins, Violas, Cello, Bass and Harpsichord. They played JS Bach-Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, W A Mozart-Salzburg Divertimento No 3 in F, J Pachelebl-Canon and Gigue in  D, Vivaldi-Concerto for Four Violins in B minor and then the complete Four Seasons by Vivaldi. Inspirational and haunting. Another standing ovation. The orchestra were all young and obviously enjoying playing in this majestic location and with such as appreciative audience.

The Royal Opera House is in Covent Garden. We queued early to buy our tickets to the performances of The Royal Ballet. The queue of course was orderly but only 5 people in front of us and we were able to get stall tickets overlooking the stage and the orchestra pit. The Opera House is a wonderful place to visit and even better to enjoy a performance of Ballet. The performance was an eclectic mix of three discreet ballets-Limen, Marguerite and Armand and Requiem. Two contemporary and one traditional ballets. The performers were sublime, athletically and aesthetically and watching the orchestra and choir perform in time with the dancers truly magical. Being so close gave an insight into the physical capabilities required to perform at this level. The dancers make impossible actions look graceful and elegant. There were two intervals and this allowed time for champagne and a look at the atrium where the major bar is located. Alex James from Blur was having a drink there. The third piece Requiem has been performed comparatively few times in England as it was thought to be an inappropriate use of music. It was an incredibly moving ballet, beautifully performed with a haunting choir.

To complete our tour of special locations to be an audience in we secured tickets to see the Royal Philharmonic orchestra perform at the the Cadogan Hall in Chelsea-right around the corner from our flat. The hall was built in 1908 on a Byzantine style, for the Church of Christ Scientist and has been completely remodeled and is now owned by the Cadogan family-the largest land owning family in Chelsea. As you can imagine the building is divine and has been sympathetically updated as a venue. The orchestra performed En Saga by Sibelius, Violin Concerto No 1 by Bruch and Symphony No 4 by Brahms. Breathtaking and spectacular come to mind as the monumental finale washes over you.

Luckily we waited for a sunny day to visit Richmond and Kew. After coffee at the wonderful la Botega in Chelsea we headed off on the district line to Richmond. Richmond is an historic part of London and with its position on the Thames strikingly beautiful. There are numerous great trees of England here-vast canopies and immense girths. Henry VII, VIII and Elizabeth I all kept a residence here. It is so close to London yet has the feeling of being completely in the country. After exploring and eating a hearty and cheap meal at Portofino in Richmond we walked along the Thames to Kew Gardens. Kew Gardens are overwhelming. One in eight of the world’s plants are here. On a cloudless sunny day there are few if any places in the world you would rather spend a day. Sir Joseph Banks so familiar to Australians as he was on board James Cook’s ship the Endeavour changed the nature of the gardens and put in place the framework for it to become a world heritage site. Temperance House and Palm House are quite wonderful glasshouses. Temperance House began in 1859 and finished in 1899 is 17 metres high and houses a 170-year-old Chilean palm that has reached the apex of the building. The Palm house is considered the most important Victorian iron and glass structure left in the world.

After visiting Jermyn Street and Saville Row to see what the best dressed are wearing we caught up with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy at the Curzon Chelsea. This film version after the book and TV series is set in London with references to Berlin. Film is always a great travelogue.

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”

-Robert Louis Stevenson