Monthly Archives: August 2010

Bleak and Beautiful

You may think you know Vivaldi. After all, who doesn’t recognize that chipper tra-la-la-la-LA that opens the "Spring" movement of The Seasons? Ah, Vivaldi: he of the umpty-million concertos, for violin and bassoon and flute and just about everything except … Continue reading

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Family Room

As I research a program note on selections from Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto, I’m giving some thought to the sea-change in our perception of opera over the years. Consider a modern audience at the Met or the SF Opera … Continue reading

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1 + 0 = Piano

Ever since stringed keyboard instruments started becoming household fixtures, folks have been trying to figure out ways to make them less invasive, less space-filling, and less annoying to the neighbors. Only the few can afford, or have the room for, … Continue reading

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Big D

Vampires come and they go, but there is only one Dracula. By now, he’s such a part of the popular culture that he needs no introduction. We all know what he does, what he doesn’t do, and how he goes … Continue reading

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Hoary Old Masterpiece

I took in the latest restoration of Fritz Lang’s 1927 Metropolis last night on its short run at the Castro Theater. Here we have the most complete Metropolis yet, assembled from a combination of the 2001 restoration—which came closer than … Continue reading

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Technicolor Music

The student in my Harmony class was dismissive and condescending. That’s totally unbelievable, it’s stupid. You say that different keys bring up colors for you? Nonsense! Impossible. Is this some kind of joke? The notion of tonal synaesthesia sounded like … Continue reading

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Dirty Rotten Cheaters

The academic year looms and with it a sputter of tsk-tsk-ing amongst the commentarial classes regarding academic dishonesty. Again we in the professorial biz feel compelled to remind our charges that copy & paste is not research, that sharing papers … Continue reading

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Cattle Car

Oh, let’s go out for a nice Sunday brunch! they said. I should have shot myself first. Instead, I said, OK, why not? They knew just the right place, they said, very cool and with great food. I should have … Continue reading

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Rush to Judgment

Earlier this summer a friend came visiting and brought with him two women, a couple of his acquaintance. I did the usual host-y stuff, showed them around the house, made tea, assembled a plate of cookies, indulged in small-talk, exchanged … Continue reading

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Creativity Without Guile

My most recent post indulged itself in a paean of praise about the Powell/Pressburger Black Narcissus, a 1947 British movie of rare enchantment, technique, and courageous creativity. In the midst of ooh-ing and aah-ing over the use of color, the … Continue reading

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