Monthly Archives: June 2011

Knowing When to Stop

A sweet and abiding relationship is about to come to an end — my sixteen years with my great little kitty April. Tomorrow morning I take her to her vet to have her put down. It hasn’t been an easy … Continue reading

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Reanimating Old Audio

Of late my projects have required me to revive some old records, both the vinyl LP and shellac 78 RPM variety. Funny how I thought I was through with all that as each medium died out—open-reel tapes first, then vinyl … Continue reading

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Soundalikes

I have a penchant for exploring composers previously unknown to me. Not absolutely all of them, I should hasten to add. For some odd reason I invariably give a pass to some guy with a doctorate from Columbia who focuses … Continue reading

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Once a Nerd

A recent article by Michael Lavorgna on the Stereophile web site caught my eye. Reflections on the Audiophile Image opens by wondering whatever happened to the idea of high-end audio as cool, just the thing for one’s bachelor pad, the … Continue reading

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They Weren’t Beethoven

Western music has seen some momentous occurrences. The gradual development of polyphony. Secular music first acquiring parity with the sacred variety, then going on to outdistance it by a significant margin. Instrumental music’s evolution from the bandstand into a full-fledged … Continue reading

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Doris in the Morning

I have come to accept that my muse Doris is a morning girl. She does her thing very well when the sun’s in the East, but once we hit the afternoon she’s ready to pack it in for the day. … Continue reading

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On Making Music

This morning I woke early and, having no particular pressing need to get out and about, enjoyed a bit of wool-gathering and dream-waking. For whatever reason I started presenting an analysis of a Mozart piano sonata to a room filled … Continue reading

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The Price of Discernment

We’re living in a tough world. I read the morning news and sometimes feel a little sick inside, appalled at our bottomless capacity for harming each other. But I’m usually reading the news on a iPad, a device that has … Continue reading

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