Archive for the ‘Music & Art’ Category
An Uncommon Woman
Just a few nights back I was part of a group conversation in which, through machinations now lost to my memory, the topic of playwright Wendy Wasserstein came up. She is apparently best known for her Heidi Chronicles, but I first knew her — and think of her most fondly — in connection with her […]
In: All, Music & Art, Reflections
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
A few nights ago* we were listening to the radio. Next up was a performance of Bach's solo Cantata Ich Habe Genug, to be sung by the late Lorraine Hunt Liebersen. It was sometime last year — or was it two years ago? — that Isaac and I first came across Lorraine Hunt Liebersen, quite […]
Conceptio Immaculatis
Just in time for Xmas consideration, this entry from Bob Park's What's New: 1. IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: NATURE FINDS A WAY TO GET THE JOB DONE. In the quaint euphemism of the Authorized Version of the Bible, no male had "known" Flora, a female Komodo dragon, before she laid her clutch of 8 eggs at the […]
In: All, Music & Art, Such Language!
Beard of the Week XXI: Renaissance Polyphony
This time I'm in the mood for some Renaissance polyphony, brought to us tonight by one of its masters, Heinrich Schütz, whose rather stylish and stylized beard is featured in the two portraits at right. In fact, if it helps you get in the mood, we are listening to a recording of choral music by […]
In: All, Beard of the Week, Music & Art
'Wings' & 'Wonderland' Press
Last night was our last performance of "Scenes in Wonderland" and "Wings", the two, one-act shows that our theatre group did this fall, both of which I directed. The production came out quite well and all the performances were very good despite little variations that come with live theatre. I would have liked bigger audiences, […]
Goldberg Variations in LEGO
Thanks to a short piece at Improbable Research,* I am now aware that there exists a harpsichord, looking like a single-manual Flemish reproduction, more or less, built entirely of LEGO bricks — except for the strings that is. Made up of some 10,000 LEGO pieces, the instrument has a 61-note range, weighs 150 pounds, and […]
In: All, Curious Stuff, Music & Art
Wings & Wonderland
I propose to ignore the excitement over some current events* and get personal and gay and all that and talk about musical theatre. This explains, in part, why I've been distracted for awhile and relatively inattentive in this place. (That, and still feeling I'm catching up after returning from Rome, and giving more attention to […]
John Marin on Good Art (NPG III)
John Marin (1870-1953) rivals John Singer Sargent on my short list of favorite artists. He painted almost-but-not-quite abstract scenes in watercolor with an amazing vitality, not to mention his eye for color and line.# I have been thinking of Marin for a couple of reasons. As I mentioned before, we recently visited the Delaware Art […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Music & Art
National Portrait Gallery I
This past Saturday Isaac and I found ourselves in need of a cultural outing, so we made a spontaneous visit to the newly reopened National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. They share the same historic building, which has been closed for several years, just reopened on 1 July. We saw many things […]
In: All, Music & Art, Reflections
The Young Queen
A friend sent a link to a video of a performance by a young teenage boy of Mozart's notorious "Queen of the Night" aria. It's amazing, but not only from the dancing-bear angle. His voice is a bit young sounding compared to the expected mature-soprano voice, but his pitch is impeccable — not an easy […]
In: All, Music & Art, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
We Love You Hans Haffmans!
As I type, I hear on the radio the brass fanfare from the beginning of the final movement of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, alerting us that it's 11pm and time for our weekly broadcast of "Live! at the Concertgebouw". It's a good program with varied programs beautifully played by different ensembles. But what we really […]