We are slowly entering autumn – the days are getting shorter, jackets and boots are showing up again, beach bars get deserted and closed… Everything evokes a somewhat nostalgic feeling – for the summer, for the bright sun, for a long beautiful sunset. It is also about the longing for that warm feeling of coziness, turning on the evening lights in our garden, lounging on the terrace with a good book, going to concerts, making or listening to music at home.

And a lot is possible again. Having a QR code at hand makes almost everything attainable: devising cautious plans, traveling within Europe, reconnecting in real life, enjoying music and audio experiences together.

In September, we attended for our first time the Audio Video Kino show in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Sure enough, it had a modest number of participants. The event was nicely organized, the music filled up the hotel corridors again – how we missed it!

A week later, we were happy to be present at yet another event in Krakow – a beautiful and culture-breathing city in Poland. Music, art, and history together during three beautiful days – listen and discuss, enjoy and recharge.

Late October, the Take 5 event in Stockholm, Sweden. A busy Sunday ahead. On to meet our Swedish friends, after almost two years of exclusive digital presence.

The Premium Audio Show in Veldhoven comes next at the end of October. Hopefully, it will be well-attended.

And so, slowly, more and more is possible. From the beginning of November, we will be welcome again in the US and Canada. From mid-December, also in Australia. Asia will undoubtedly follow in the process of creating our “new normal”.

It is truly exciting and oh! so familiar. Hopefully, next month I will report a much longer list of events, listening moments, and concert visits.

In the meantime, we have heartily enjoyed Antonin Dvorák’s 9th Symphony, “From the New World” performed last week by the amazing Concertgebouw Orchestra. With an open heart, I will admit that I have lived through a refreshing and enlightening experience altogether.

Among us, the classic music lovers, it is known that Dvořák’s work was influenced by the style and techniques used by earlier classical composers including Beethoven and Schubert. And so, with this clear message brought straight “From the New World”, we also become able to draw inspiration from the past while envisioning a bridge to a new reality, a renewed future. After the concert, I couldn’t help but promise myself to be open to all new options and challenges our New World will bring! If anything, I’m confident that we will all rise above these times of unprecedented uncertainty in our lives.