On Friday morning, June 4 we went to the Rijksmuseum where we enjoyed viewing the paintings of Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Vermeer, and many others. Below is a photograph of the famous "Night Watch" painting by Rembrandt. It was named "Night Watch" before the canvas was cleaned in 1946 revealing a brilliant light. The captain and his guardsmen, however, are 18 members of a militia who do indeed guard the city at night. They hired Rembrandt to produce this portrait. Rembrandt surprised them by adding 16 extraneous figures to heighten the sense of drama. The painting is also known as "The Company of Captain F.B. Cocq."
In the afternoon we took a train trip to Haarlem where we enjoyed massages and steam baths at the Sauna Van Egmond. This was a highlight of the trip. We enjoyed it so much that we arranged to spend the entire day at the sauna the next Sunday. We barely got back to Amsterdam in time for a concert at the Concertgebouw. The famous Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of David Robertson performed the world premiere of "Times Square Dance (1996-98) for 2 identical orchestras" by Richard Rijnvos, "Concert for piano and wind orchestra (1923-24)" by Stravinsky, "Concert for percussion and orchestra (1994)" by Schwantner, and "La valse (1920)" by Ravel. The Concertgebouw grote zaal (big room) has wonderful acoustics and the performances were quite good.
