TRIBUTE TO FREEDOM, CASTLE DEVIN, BRATISLAVA

Saturday, 15^th August, 2009

featuring Jon Anderson & Peter Machajdik 

Though attending the concert was my main reason for going, I then planned to meet up for a long weekend and chill out with friends Markus from Vienna and Zoltan from Budapest at the lakeside campsite at Zlaté Piesky from the Friday to the Monday, getting in some cycling and bathing, weather permitting. The man-made lake is located only a few minutes from Bratislava airport, so Markus was able to fetch me. The UK rail strike had been called off Friday to enable me to reach the airport on time, yet flights out of Stansted had been delayed for up to an hour. Zoltan joined us later Friday evening after driving up from Budapest after work. Tribute To Freedom had been advertised as a free concert on Jon Anderson's website but a few days before I stumbled upon the fact that tickets were required via the Ticket Portal website, so in haste bordering on virtual panic I registered on their website using the Zlaté Piesky campsite's address and bought three tickets, to be collected at one of their outlets in Bratislava, which we did at Aupark shopping complex, after cycling in to Bratislava town centre Saturday morning, the day of the concert. Although tickets were also being sold at the venue entrance at Devin Castle, as we learnt later, I wasn't taking a chance.  There was no way on earth I was going to miss out on seeing Jon Anderson! A large screen was used to project concert footage mixed in with other imagery, including some black & white film footage depicting the harsh reality of the communist era. A speech by Václav Havel, writer and first president of Czechoslovakia after the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989, was relayed to the audience. The concert was also being filmed, I assume for National Television.

Jon Anderson at Devin Castle

Jon Anderson was given a tumultuous welcome by the crowd of several thousand crammed within the walls of the area of the castle where the stage had been set up.  He first played a few songs on solo guitar and sang before the rest of the ensemble joined him on stage. A new song dedicated to the people of Bratislava and obviously written for the occasion warmed him to the audience, of that there was no doubt. The friendship that has developed between Jon and Peter Machajdík was apparent and so too was the mutual respect. The show included songs such as Your Move, Nous Sommes Du Soleil (from Ritual), And You And I and Soon, performed along with several recorded with Vangelis, culminating in Close To The Edge as the finale, ambitious in the extreme. Yet they pulled it off. I can understand the musical connection between Jon and Peter Machajdík. Peter is described a minimalist composer and listening to some of his music on his MySpace page, it is not dissimilar to some of Jon's arrangements on Change We Must (the piano pieces) and the Angels Embrace.

Jon performed for about an hour and a half and seemed to be having fun, smiling and relaxed almost constantly and gaining in confidence in the process. It is inevitable that the health setbacks he has suffered in recent years would have taken its toll to degree - he has lost a lot of weight. But Jon Anderson is both courageous and determined. There was a single moment when he reached down for the asthma pump but I suspect it was a precautionary measure. There were no flaws in his outstanding vocal performance and it was a joy to see him sing and perform again with passion and energy. Is his voice as strong as it was 10 years ago? Probably not. Is he ready to rejoin and perform with Yes?  I do believe so, but whether he is able to stand up to the rigours of a lengthy sort of tour similar to what Yes did for the 35th anniversary world tour, is obviously still open to question. After all, it was at the screening of Yes Live At Montreux at Shepperton Studious on the Thames last year that Rick Wakeman spoke of his deep concern for Jon's health and echoed similar sentiments. Personally, my wish is that Jon Anderson will wait until he feels he is 100% fit and ready to return, where he rightfully belongs, to record a new album with Yes in 2010.  The fact is, they cannot possibly be the same band without him and I think this opinion is shared by every fan of Yes. Lang may yer lum reek, Jon!

  Jon Anderson performing at Casrtle Devin for Tribute To Freedom.

  Jon Anderson performing at Casrtle Devin for Tribute To Freedom.

A Slavic castle, founded in the 8th century, played a crucial role during frequent wars between Great Moravia and the Franks. After the fall of the Great Moravian Empire, the castle served again as a boundary fortress under the reign of the Hungarians and in the 13th century, a stone castle was built to protect the western frontier of the Hungarian Kingdom.  A palace was added in the 15th century. Fortification was reinforced during wars against the Ottoman Empire. The castle was destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1809. Archeological research began in the 30s of the 20th century. The first written reference to the castle and its ancient name – Dowina, though still under debate  based both on linguistic arguments and the absence of convincing archaeologic evidence, comes from 864. The Castle was never taken, but after the Hungarian Kingdom joined the Hapsburg Monarchy and the Ottomans were finally defeated, it ceased to be an important border fortress and was no longer used by the military. The identification of Dowina (from the Slavic/Slovak word deva for girl) with Devín Castle, mentioned for the first time in written resources in 864, has been debated, based both on linguistic arguments and the absence of convincing archaeologic evidence.

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