The Russian Navy's landing ship Minsk 127 in Øresund

Russian landing ship Minsk 127 in Øresund on July 9, 2013.

Yesterday afternoon the Russian Navy's Ropucha class landing ship Minsk 127 was going northward in Øresund. The 112.5 m x 15 m Minsk is a Ro-Ro design with a tank deck stretching the entire length of the hull. The Ropucha class ships were built for the Soviet Navy by the Northern Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. The ship has a crew of 95, of which seven are officers. 

Two unforgettable Janine Jansen "family" concerts in Sweden

Janine Jansen, Daniel Blendulf and the "Barrere" Stradivarius after the baroque recital on Monday evening.

Family members playing and singing together has for centuries been one of the most enjoyable ways of making music. Sometimes, a wider audience is given a chance to share the joy on such occasions.

That happened last weekend, when the the amazing Dutch violin virtuoso Janine Jansen performed in two concerts at the Kullabygden Music Festival in Scania together with her Swedish husband, conductor Daniel Blendulf and her father, the renowned organist/harpsichordist Jan Jansen. 

In the first of the concerts, on Saturday evening, Jansen played the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, with Maestro Blendulf conducting the excellent Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in the beautiful setting of the Krapperup castle. I have heard several top violinists perform the concerto, but nobody has done it with such expressiveness and delicacy as Jansen. No wonder, she got a standing ovation. 

Father and daugher Jansen at the Brunnby church baroque recital.

The second concert, on Monday evening, was an intimate recital of baroque music, in which Janine Jansen played together with her father Jan. The beautiful small church of Brunnby was an ideal setting for the concert, which included works by Heinrich Biber, Jacques Duphly and Johann Sebastian Bach. 

Organist/harpsichordist Jan Jansen after the concert.

The father/daughter duo created an unforgettable evening of heavenly music. Janine Jansen's interpretation of the famous Chaconne from Bach's Partita No.2 in D minor for solo violin was a revelation. Hopefully there will be more Jansen/Blendulf "family concerts" in the future!

PS (July 11)
I added a close up picture of Janine Jansen and Daniel Blendulf and images of the concert venues:

The Brunnby church.

The building at the Krapperup castle which has been converted to a concert hall.

Niccolo Machiavelli and Malene Ostervold northward bound

The cutter suction dredger Niccolo Machiavelli (138.5 m  x  26 m) and research/survey vessel Malene Ostervold (69 m x 15 m) were today going northward in Øresund: 

Dredger Niccolo Machiavelli (Luxemburg registry) is on its way to Murmansk.

Research/survey vessel Malene Ostervold  (Bahamas flag) is going to Torangsvåg, Norway.

The brig Tre Kronor af Stockholm on its way to the Tall Ships Races in Aarhus

The 35 m x 8.25 m Tre Kronor af Stockholm in Øresund.

Tonight, at about half past nine, the beautiful Swedish brig Tre Kronor af Stockholm was going northward in the Sound. The relatively newly built (2005) ship's destination is Aarhus and the Tall Ships Races. Estimated arrival is tomorrow at 11 AM. 

Two tall ships sailing in the Sound

During the last few it has been a great pleasure two watch tall ships actually sailing in the Sound. These two were going southward today. However, because they did not use AIS, their identity remains a mystery to me. I'd be grateful for any information about them. 

This beautiful three masted schooner seemed to display a small Dutch - or is it German?- flag high up on the third mast, but its identity remains unknown to me. 

This is obviously a nice Danish boat, but I was not able to find out which one. 

Car carrier Toledo heading for Bremerhaven

The vehicle carrier Toledo entered service in February 2005.

Few would characterize the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics car carrier Toledo - here in the Sound on its way to Bremerhaven yesterday evening - as a beauty, but the 200 m x 32 m ship is probably doing what is supposed to do very efficiently. The Toledo has a capacity of 6,350 car units.

The Seabourn Pride in the Sound

The 134 m x 18 m Seabourn Pride has a guest capacity of 208 and a crew of 164. The ship, which made its maiden voyage in 1988, was christened by Shirley Temple Black.

Seabourn has for several consecutive years been voted "Best Small Ship Cruise Line" by the readers of both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler magazines. Last night the Seabourn Pride, the cruise line's first ship, passed by in the Sound on its way from Copenhagen to Stavanger.