Author Archives: Scott Foglesong

The opening scene of the 1950 backstage movie All About Eve sports one of the most deliciously snide and snooty voice-overs in film history. George Saunders curls his metaphorical lip, raises his metaphorical pinky, and goes at it with supercilious … Continue reading →

At one point I tried it and dumped it forthwith, almost as though it had hurt me or was threatening to infect me with some nameless and dread disease. Windows 8: the operating system that people love to hate, a … Continue reading →

Having acquired a posh, brand-new car (see my post of a few days ago) I have been exploring the Bay Area freeways with cheerful gusto. After all, I need to give the Camry a proper shakedown, and I need to … Continue reading →

Surface phenomena don’t count. Liberal, musician, college professor, Buddhist: the image is of wasp-slim herb-tea-swilling natural-fiber-clad chap with silver gray hair in a Prius (or maybe on a bicycle.) Well, that’s not me. My liberal, musical, professorial, and Buddhist self … Continue reading →

No professor in his right mind would put much faith in student course evaluations. Those scribbled comments are mostly about the students and are only marginally about the course or the professor. Nonetheless, trends can be discerned, and agreement from … Continue reading →

We’ll never know for sure if Beethoven really took some of those wacky metronome markings in his later symphonies. My guess is probably not, but a guess is all I have to offer. I have no evidence, just a gut … Continue reading →

Ah, poor Free Composition. Ignored for a month or more, no postings, attempts at postings, or even thoughts of postings. Nevertheless, I refuse to feel sorry for my blog, an inanimate thing that is incapable of receiving sympathy. Free Composition … Continue reading →

There’s a critical scene in the well-loved movie Dead Poets Society in which the schoolmaster of Chelton Academy, played by veteran character actor Norman Lloyd, counsels the young English Lit professor John Keating (the irrepressible Robin Williams.) It seems that … Continue reading →

We working folks retire at some point. For somebody with a career in the arts, retirement is unlikely to take the shape it takes for those in business or many of the professions. Artists don’t really retire, after all. Yet … Continue reading →

Given the nature of my work, especially in my role as lecturer and commentator on music to general-interest audiences, I spend a lot of time ferreting out, editing, and extracting digital audio for use in my presentations. To that end, … Continue reading →