Author Archives: Scott Foglesong

Dmitri Shostakovich’s posthumous star has been steadily brightening during the past 35 years. I’ve been able to observe that process up close, given that for me Shostakovich is very much a living composer. I was within shouting distance of my … Continue reading →

The upside to being an early adopter of new technology is that you get to play with new toys before just about everybody else. The downside is that you wind up replacing stuff that has grown outmoded. Or maybe that … Continue reading →

In a recent article I thrilled readers with an electrifying account of purging my house of unwanted doodads, gizmos, and stuff. Now that you’ve had a chance to catch your breath a bit, allow me to continue with a bit … Continue reading →

Of late I’ve entered Purge Mode. Having re-arranged my living/dining area to accomodate my glorious new B&W 803D speakers, I began casting a beady eye at the piles of orphaned items that have been accumulating over time. I am an … Continue reading →

I’ve experienced an epiphany of late concerning, of all things, the humdrum business of roasting a chicken. For many years I have sworn by the Julia Child technique, as laid out in careful detail in “Mastering the Art of French … Continue reading →

Recently I’ve come across an intriguing article, by Samuel Arbesman in the Boston Globe, that introduces the notion of the “mesofact”—i.e., the fact that changes slowly, somewhere between (meso-) the two more common kinds of facts: the long-term and relatively … Continue reading →

Paul Anton Esterházy, one of the toniest aristocrats of the Hapsburg territories, needed a new kapellmeister. Old age was taking its inevitable toll on Gregor Joseph Werner, nor had the old-school Esterházy kapellmeister kept up with the musical tsunami that … Continue reading →

A few more items from my fevered pen/wordprocessor have reached the Internet. They are: A program note on Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6, to be performed this coming week with that fine musician Herbert Blomstedt at the helm of the SFS. … Continue reading →

At this point I’ve crossed the Rubicon that separates the hi-fi enthusiast from the audiophile, having added a pair of B&W 803D speakers to my living room. There they stand, Fasolt and Fafner, four feet each of cherrywood majesty, capped … Continue reading →

Although for some folks the word “research” conjures up images of musty graybeards poring endlessly over yellowing volumes in mouldering libraries, research can be a lively and downright delectable activity. Of late I’ve been indulging my penchant for the art, … Continue reading →