His sound-world, full of foreboding, I return to, gratefully, in dark times.
Bela Bartok (1881-1945), String Quartet No. 4 (1928); Quatuor Ebène, live, France (Wissembourg), 2013
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
passings
Krzysztof Penderecki, composer, conductor, November 23, 1933-March 29, 2020
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Krzysztof Urbański, cond.), live, Helsinki, 2015
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), String Quartet in F major (1903); Hagen Quartet, live, Austria (Salzburg), 2000
1st movt.
***
2nd movt.
***
3rd movt.
***
4th movt.
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday, Art Institute of Chicago
Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Untitled (watercolor), c. 1915
sounds of Austin
Terry Allen, “Bottom of the World” (T. Allen), live (studio), Austin, 2013
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
what’s new
Max Richter (1966-, compositions, piano, keyboard) with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (Clarice Jensen, cello & artistic director; Ben Russell, violin; Laura Lutzke, violin; Isabel Hagen, viola; Claire Bryant, cello), “On the Nature of Daylight,” “Vladimir’s Blues,” “Infra 5,” live, Washington, D.C., 1/22/20
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
I’m very interested in the idea of a piece of music being a place to think.
—Max Richter
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random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
more
Agnes Obel, playing and talking (begins at 2:05; “Won’t You Call Me,” 3:00; “Island of Doom,” 13:55; “Broken Sleep,” 25:35), New York, 1/14/20
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
27 years later
Art Ensemble of Chicago (Roscoe Mitchell, 1940-, reeds, flute, percussion; Famadou Don Moye, 1946-, drums, percussion) and Guests (Hugh Ragin, trumpets, flugelhorn; Tomeika Reed, cello; Silvia Bolognesi, bass; Jaribu Shahid, bass; Dudu Kouate, percussion), live, Italy (Cormòns), 2018
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
Why not begin the week with something that will take you somewhere you haven’t been before?
Philippe Manoury (1952-), Melencolia (third string quartet), 2012; Arditti Quartet
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
never enough
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), String Quartet No. 13, excerpt (Mvt. V, Cavatina), 1826; Guarneri Quartet
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
During a fraught 17-day stay in the hospital because of post-surgical infections 10 years ago, Beethoven’s Cavatina furnished the only moments during which I was released from suffering.
—Susan Gubar, “When Music Is the Best Medicine,” New York Times, 9/26/19
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random sights
yesterday, Chicago
sounds of New York
Is there any greater joy, as a listener, than being swept away by sounds unlike any you’ve heard before?
Jason Kao Hwang (composer, conductor, violin) and the Spontaneous River Orchestra (Andrew Drury [drums], Ken Filiano [bass], 37 string improvisers), Symphony of Souls, live (studio), New York, 2011
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
music clip of the day 