Monthly Archives: November 2012

All About the Music

I’m nonplussed by the thought, but there it is: shortly I will tie a ribbon around my twenty-third year teaching an introductory course in Western music to freshmen at UC Berkeley. Year 24 is already in the chute and will … Continue reading

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Ring of Sound

It was irresistible catnip and I showed all the retail resistance of a frenzied bargain-hunter at a Walmart Black Friday sale. The minute I knew it was coming I had my credit card out and my pre-order in the queue. … Continue reading

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The Value

In brief: the average classical LP sold for $5.00 during most of my time in high school. Budget-label affairs tended to run $2.50 or less. In 2012, most new-release classical albums run $9.99 as iTunes downloads, or $15.99 full retail … Continue reading

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Under a Bushel

Serendipity is a cool thing. Yesterday two items wafted my way: the first, a newspaper article decrying the situation of bright school kids who go to lengths to mask their intelligence from their fellow students; the second, my Mensa renewal … Continue reading

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My Gripe with the GOP

The dust settles. Paul Ryan blames it all on unexpectedly high numbers of “urban” (read: poor, non-white, minority) voters turning out to vote. Mitt Romney blames it all on a fantasy that Obama put on a modern-day bread & circuses … Continue reading

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Hope After All

In April of this year I posted a despairing screed about the bleak future that lay in store for piano literature and the folks who play the instrument. While I remain skeptical about the instrument’s literature, I have encountered at … Continue reading

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