Thursday, July 30th
never enough
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), from Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major; Igor Levit (1987-, piano), live, Amsterdam, 2013
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lagniappe
random sights
a while ago, Ireland (Dingle Peninsula)
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: classical
2020
Wednesday, July 22nd
alone
What better soundtrack for the pandemic?
Erik Satie (1866-1925), Vexations (c. 1893); Igor Levit (1987-), live (performance begins at 4:50), Berlin, 5/30-31/20
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
2020
Wednesday, July 1st
never enough
Need a break from America 2020?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (K. 467); Lucerne Festival Orchestra (Herbert von Karajan, 1908-1989, cond.) with Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950, piano), live, Switzerland (Lucerne), 1950
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lagniappe
random sights
a while ago, Ireland (Dingle Peninsula)
*****
reading table
The undisguised brutality of our time is weighing heavily on us.
—Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), letter to Oskar Pfister, 1/27/20, two days after his daughter Sophie died of Spanish flu
2020
Monday, June 29th
Judging from the sounds I hear outside my door in the morning, birds don’t seem to have gotten the memo.
John Luther Adams (1953-), songbirdsongs (1974-80); Callithumpian Consort (Stephen Drury, dir.), 2012
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Monadnock Building)
2020
Wednesday, June 24th
another take
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor (K. 457); Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000, piano), live, Germany (Munich), 1991
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
My old village lies
far beyond what we can see,
but there the lark is singing—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
2020
Monday, June 22nd
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor (K. 457); Micah McLaurin (1994-, piano), live, Philadelphia, 2015
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
In seasonal rain
along a nameless river
fear too has no name—Yosa Buson (1716-1784), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
2020
Tuesday, June 16th
sounds of Paris
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), . . . explosante-fixe . . . (for solo MIDI flute, two “shadow” flutes, chamber orchestra, and electronics, 1991–93); Ensemble Intercontemporain (Matthias Pintscher, cond.), live, Paris, 2015
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2020
Saturday, June 13th
One-word review: Wow!
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-), String Quartet No. 1 (1971); Armida Quartet (Martin Funda, violin; Johanna Staemmler, violin; Teresa Schwamm, viola; Peter-Philipp Staemmler, cello) with Manaho Shimokawa (dance), live, Berlin, 2018
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
With dewdrops dripping,
I wish somehow I could wash
this perishing world—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
2020
Tuesday, June 9th
alone
This tiny piece, which calls out to us from the 18th century, I first heard yesterday. Then I listened again. And again.
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), Les Tendres Plaintes; Grigory Sokolov (1950-, piano), live, Berlin, 2013
*****
reading table
Sweet springtime showers
and no words can express
how sad it all is—Yosa Buson (1716-1784), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
2020
Monday, June 8th
wake up!
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), Notation II (1945-1980); Berlin Philharmonic (Pierre Boulez, cond.), live, Berlin, 2009
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
music clip of the day 