Our couple joined in the tour around the UK five years ago. When I was in a bus running around Scotland, my favorite iPod was playing the Symphony No. 3 of Mendelssohn titled "Scotland" and also "Fingal's Cave".
We are now visiting several towns and scenic spots in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro used to belong to Former Yugoslavia.
Some embarassing story here.

Needless to say, it is all owing to my personal matters that I do not know any composer as well as famous artist in these countries.
Nevertheless as one of the classical music fans, when overseas, I would like to listen to the music of the composers breathed such a country's climate. I am sorry there is no music by any composer of former Yugoslavia in my iPod of 120 giga bites, though there are many composers of the neighboring countries such as Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech, .....

Wait a minute. Tilting my head to myself for a moment, I took out a world atlas from the bookshelf.

Strange? There is no Montenegro. No Kosovo, nor Selvia. They must have belonged to Yugoslavia, when the atlas was published. In fact, it was published in 1999.
I do not have any other atlas now.

Then I open the double-page of the whole world to notice what countries my favorite composers belong to.
Each of them may be one of the countries in Europe on the left side of the atlas. This location is not so different from my expectation.
Northern Europe of Sibelius, Grieg and Nielsen. The countries of Western Europe are west of the UK, and further east are Austria, Hungary, Czech and Russia.
Roughly speaking, I do not know any composer in any country from the neck part of the Balkan Peninsula down to the south even in the same Europe as well as any country south of Russia.
The same with the other continents except the US. There happen to be two musics in my iPod by Villa-Lobos of Brazil.

It is due to my lack of knowledge for the classical music not to be widened in myself all right, but it may be related to the various situations like geographical circumstances, tribes, religions, etc.
When I mention the classical music, it means the musics by the composers in such limited areas anyway.
Then now, folk musics.
The piano concerto No. 5 of Saint-Saens is nicknamed as "The Egyptian", and many folk musics in Turkey, former Persia, India, the countries in Asia and the other continents are incorporated into the so-called classical musics.
The same with Japan. How many folk musics of Ainu people appear in the "Japanese melodies". Amami folk musics and Ryukyu, too.

Aren't there any composers of so-called classical music in other countries than in the limited areas? I have to stop such a silly question. I accept my very limited knowlwdge, and maybe they have not leaped towards the world or still have not attracted the attention in the world. I imagine the handicap hard to exceed.

What is my intention of music appreciation from now?
To be honest, I recognize my life time will be limited only to listen to Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert. Besides, Marler, Bruckner, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Shostakovich, ..... Now further way to me.
I have to accept the inconsistency between my words and my actions for the time being.

芳香に吸いよせられて蜂の群れ
Attracted by fragrance a swarm of bees

This is my haiku poem.
Honeys were lined in a stall in front of Postojina Cave, Slovenia. So various up to pine honey. The lady staff was not too positive to sell. She recommended to taste some to me and answered my English friendly. I bought the honey of linden.

The great natural scenery, the historical heritages, and the people of sincere friendship. A lot of tourists from all over the world will visit here within several years. However, it is on condition that peace will be maintained.

The traces of strife and bloodshed appear in most of the towns. They are houses and buildings collapsed, improvised or renewed, and bullet holes on the walls. Originally fresh and idyllic scenery is now weeping, saying "Life, happiness and everything were taken away."
Though I have not forgotten the Hiroshima and Nagasaki disasters 64 years ago, does the importance of peace become my blood and flesh? Haven't I taken the peace for granted?
Who received happiness from any conflict? Who won? Tribes, religions, thoughts, power, ..... Is a war inborn nature of mankind?
The religions created for peace often fight each other and tries to drive mankind to ruin.
"The incurable" is human nature. "Why did I create such a thing?", likening God lamenting it to the imperial standard, mankind is now rushing to fall down into the bottomless ravine.
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I have just remembered the movie "Chaos" and "Throne of Blood" directed by Akira Kurosawa.

The repeated conflicts terribly destroyed the climates with innumerable human lives, and also the culture and art rooted in these areas. My travel this time has reminded me of such a thing.

Noticing the various concerts on a bulletin board at Dubrovnik, I felt some happiness in the mild wind of art.

Though I have no confidence to say that culture can only be brought up by peace, I also do not think any art once destroyed can be brought back to original life.
The blue sky of Mediterranean climate looked to be with tears.

We traveled around the four countries in Eastern Europe in autumn six years ago like this time.
Berlin and Vienna aside, when stopped by at Prague and Cesky-Krumlov of Czech and Budapest of Hungary, I was blessed talking to local people in a simple local words just learned. According to my travelogue at that time, "How I wish to talk to local people in local words! This is after all an impossible dream, but the borrowing greeting words were unexpectedly helpful. "

We toured around the four countries in Balkan Peninsula for 10 days in a hurry.
This peninsula in southeastern Europe faces the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea to the west. To the north, Danube and Saba Rivers are running across.

The countries in this peninsula other than the four countries are Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey north of the Marmara Sea.
The four countries, as well as Macedonia and Serbia, belonged to former Yugoslavia before the year of 1991. They were the base of the conflict known well in the world. Even the views of each place we saw still retained horrible scenes vividly.