Author Archives: Scott Foglesong

A short while back I enjoyed a fine evening at an old-time San Francisco restaurant, Alfred's Steakhouse, tucked away on a side alley across the street from Portsmouth Square. Everything about Alfred's says yesteryear in Baghdad-By-The-Bay, from its Dashiell Hammett … Continue reading →

Not long ago I came up against a standard French textbook on figured harmony. The book is typically French in that it is thorough, exhaustive, and probably just a wee bit anal-retentive. It's a good text insofar as it goes. … Continue reading →

The fine old Victorian house that I call home has two bedrooms, or maybe three if I count the sunroom that I use as my home office. The sunroom was originally the house’s back porch, but at some point during … Continue reading →

A boutique maker of high-end headphones has just brought out a new model. Audez'e offers the LCD-2 for about a grand; it's a popular headphone amongst afficionados. I haven't tried the LCD-2 so I can't say anything about it; I … Continue reading →

This afternoon I indulged in my hobby of restoring old 78 RPM albums; I find it relaxing and rewarding and just kinda fun all around. On today's menu: a rare but not particularly valuable 4-disc set from 1935, of Eugene … Continue reading →

Columbia Masterworks MM-850 is a Broadway legend. 1949's original cast album of South Pacific is one of the best-selling albums of all time, has never been out of print, and continues to be available in a remastered digital release. In … Continue reading →

I guess it’s a slow news day. Our hyper-abundant media conglomerates with their armies of pundits and hosts of commentators don’t have enough to do. Hordes of reporters mill about aimlessly, confused and disoriented with nothing to report. So they … Continue reading →

Take a good look at the picture below. I'll admit that it doesn't look all that prepossessing. To a person in the know about San Francisco Symphony recordings (we few, we valiant few) this is opulent treasure indeed. For this … Continue reading →

Some years ago I wrote an article for SF Classical Music Examiner in which I bewailed and lamented the inaccessibility of Alfred Hertz’s recordings with the San Francisco Symphony. There are 24 pieces altogether, immortalized on shellac over a period … Continue reading →

In my last post I spoke of my dilemma concerning a set of four factory-sealed albums from the 1940s: they're mine now, but do I open them? Two are from 1945; one from 1949; the last from 1950. They have … Continue reading →