Monthly Archives: March 2011

Circular Straw Men and Their Biased Premises

I finally took an opportunity to listen to a famous or—depending on your point of view—infamous recording: the Bach two-violin concerto BWV 1043, performed by Jascha Heifetz on violin with Franz Waxman conducting an RCA Victor studio orchestra, committed to … Continue reading

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Disarming a Prose Assassin

Just as historians in their quest to understand the construction and transmission of meaning, musicologists are turning to new inquiries into cultural representations and their social dynamics, while remaining aware of music’s distinctive “register” of representation as an abstract language … Continue reading

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Career Morph

I would like each of you to answer the following question, said our Dean during a recent meeting of department chairs. The question: what is one thing you wish you had learned in college, and didn’t? I was sitting on … Continue reading

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Millennials and Ys, Oh My

Two Google searches, one for "teaching millennials" and the other "teaching gen y" produced quite the bevy of hits. As a teaching veteran, still deeply engaged and successful with his students, I was intrigued to read about strategies for dealing … Continue reading

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The Zune: Final Remarks

In September 2008 I added an article to San Francisco Classical Music Examiner (I don’t write that column anymore) in which I compared Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace software to Apple’s iTune Store. The idea was to find out how well Zune … Continue reading

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Modern Gregorians

Stand facing the Panthéon, across from the imposing buildings of the Sorbonne as the traffic whizzes along behind you. Now turn to your left, walk to the corner, and let your eye follow along the Place du Panthéon as it … Continue reading

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The Long Grind

Recently at a meeting an administrator posited the hope that perhaps someday soon a neurologist would study people’s brains while they were practicing, and be able to come up with enhanced technique for using one’s practice time more efficiently. It … Continue reading

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We All Need a Reminder Sometimes

My professional teaching career stretches back to 1977, when I served as a graduate teaching assistant for the SF Conservatory’s keyboard skills classes. Actually I had begun teaching well before then, having been a French tutor in the ninth grade. … Continue reading

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Short and Sweet and Sour

When I heard the news that Eugene Fodor had died at the quite tender age of 60, I flashed on the full-color cover for an album of violin trivialities played by a fetchingly attractive young man who wore a pair … Continue reading

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