A concert at the chateau.

Poitou Charentes, France

July 25th, 2026

Dear Reader,

Here in the Poitou the sky is covered in a haze of smoke and the air smells of it. It’s been so hot and dry that fires broke out in the fields and forests. Scorched trees and barren ground line the roads.

But the first part of the week was lovely. Temperatures had lowered and the hottest it got was 90 degrees. Adrien, and I and my nephew went for a dip in the cool river, and my brother’s children paddled around in a large plastic pool my mother bought for them.

On Wednesday night, a concert took place in front of the chateau. Three musicians had traveled from Kazakstan for the event, organized by a couple who have been putting together concerts in historical homes in this region for 13 years. The two are musicians themselves, and have their own duo of cello and piano.

The Kazak trio consisted of a violinist, a cellist, and a pianist, and the repertoire was a selection of pieces from the Russian Romantic movement. Think Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.

During the day a stage was set up, a piano was delivered, and chairs and benches were placed in rows. Food trucks arrived to provide refreshment to the attendees, and a portapotty was set up.

In the afternoon the pianist, Timur Urmancheev, sat at the piano warming up his fingers. I took a photo from the library above.

Over breakfast that day I told the trio that I lived in Argentina so, as an encore they played a composition by Astor Piazzolla.

Maksat Dzhussupov on cello, Murat Narbekov on violin, and Timur Urmancheev on piano.

The evening was balmy, and the guests wore or carried shawls, sweaters, or jackets for later in the night when it would get cooler. After the show, we, the musicians, and a small group of invited guests retired to the verandah for champagne and hors d’oeuvres.

The evening wound down around 11pm as our guests took their leave. Then, we were left to a repast of bread, cheese, and cured meats.

The next day the musicians were picked up and taken to the local train station. They were headed south for the final concert of their tour before returning to Kazakhstan.

Au revoir!

More to come.

Abrazos,

Mariah