(E) “It was during the film of the Alfred Hitchcok thriller To catch a Thief in 19955 that Prince Rainier III of Monaco met Grace Kelly. The prince, under intense pressure to choose a wife, was smitten by the dazzling 25-year old move star who had won the Oscar for Best Actress the previous year for her role in The Country Girl. The House of Grimaldi, established in 1297, was the longest-ruling monarchical family in Europe, and under the terms of his nation’s treaty with France, if the prince were to dies without begetting an heir, Monaco would cease to be an independent principality and would become part of France. Once the couple married on April 18th 1956, the 31-year old monarch wasted no time performing his princeley duties. Nine months and five days after their storybook wedding, Princess Grace gave birth to their first child, Caroline, two more children, Albert and Stephanie, followed in due course.

But tragedy stuck on 13 September 1982, when Princess Grace, returning from France along mountain roads approaching Monaco, lost control of her car on a hairpin curve. The vehicle crashed down a 45-foot embankment, landing on its roof. Her 17-year-old daughter Stephanie survived the accident, but Princess Grace died the following day without regaining consciousness.

Composer-novelist Anthony Burgess wrote In Memoriaum Princess Grace shortly after her death…

Burgess had become acquainted with the Monesgasque monarchs shortly after he moved to Monaco in 1976, and was soon a regular guest at palace parties. In his autobiography You’ve Had Your Time, he expressed his admiration of Princess Grace: “She played the role of princess superbly, seduced the French into keeping their paws off the territory, secured the Grimaldi succession, and presided over Monaco with a glamour that was no mere factitious emanation of her cinematic métier. The beauty could be observed at close hand, the dignity was genuine, the kindness was no act.”

Music Director and Conductor Paul Philips‘ Program Notes

I could not miss the last concert of Music Director and Conductor Paul Philips with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, which was a preview concert, that the orchestra will be playing in its upcoming Tour de France and Monaco from June 16th to June 30th. Mr. Philips will be traveling and performing with his orchestra in Versailles, Lyon, Annonay, Fourques, Nice, and Monte Carlo.

And as it is the case with every concert from Mr. Philips, this concert was an excellent treat about music, literature, and history. The program included:

• “Overture to Candide” – Leonard Bernstein    
• “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” – John Williams
• “Three Spirituals” – Adolphus Hailstork
• “Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33” – Camille Saint-Saëns
  – Christopher Costanza, cello
• “Hungarian March” from The Damnation of Faust – Hector Berlioz
• “West Side Story” – Selection for Orchestra – Leonard Bernstein
• “In Memoriam of Princess Grace” – Anthony Burgess
• “An American in Paris” – George Gershwin

Note that this program showcased a delightful mixture of French and American music, and included besides “In Memoriam of Princess Grace” from Anthony Burgess, two interesting pieces “Three Spirituals” from Adolphus Hailstork, and surprise surprise, “Olympic Fanfare and Theme“ from John Williams to put us in the spirit for the Paris Olympics thirty years after those of Los Angeles.

You can watch online the full concert livestream here.

Note: The picture above is a scene from the movie on the hills of Monaco.

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