A load of Bull

These Twitter buddies of mine post things about music and just today BBC Music wrote: "Norwegian Airlines have pictures of Grieg, soprano Kirsten Flagstad and violinist Ole Bull on their tail fins."

That is a name I love, Ole Bull! It is far and away my favorite name in music! That is Ole Bull pictured above. And might I add that it will be a cold day in hell when American planes put any kind of cultural portraits on their tail fins. Ahahahahahaaaa.

I began reading up on Ole Bull. The Wikipedia entry on him is hilariously badly written but here is something I did not know. Ole Bull began a Norwegian colony in Pennsylvania. He began building a castle there called Nordjenskald.

Who knew?

Ole Bull's stomping grounds are memorialized as Ole Bull State Park. I Mapquested it and it is a three-hour, 32-minute drive from my house!

Here is a photo of Ole Bull State Park where there is a cabin available for rental year-round.


Ole Bull State Park has a wonderful address. It is 31 Valhalla Lane. He named part of his compound Valhalla and part of it Oleana, after his mother. It would be fun to stay at Ole Bull State Park and wait for inspiration to strike.

Here is a detail from Wikipedia I loved: "A testament to Ole Bull's fame was his funeral procession, perhaps the most spectacular in Norway's history. The ship transporting his body was guided by 15 steamers and a large number of smaller vessels."

I also learned that in Mammoth Cave there is an Ole Bull Concert Hall because the great violinist gave concerts there. Darn, I went to Mammoth Cave and I did not see the Ole Bull Concert Hall.

I will have to go back!