In a world so noisy what’s more precious than sounds so quiet?
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Piano and string quartet (1985), Sed Contra Ensemble, live (performance begins at 4:11), Ukraine (Lviv), 2016
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), A Woman in the Sun, 1961
Something small, quiet, mysterious for this most unimaginable day.
Erik Satie (1866-1925), Gnossienne 1 (c. 1890); Alessio Nanni, piano
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lagniappe
reading table
The only choice we get is what to worship.
—David Foster Wallace (1962-2008), This Is Water
more
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Partita in A minor for Solo Flute; Sandra Miller (flute), live, New York, 2013
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lagniappe
radio
Bach Festival, WKCR-FM (see 12/22/16 post): Day Nine (alas, the last).
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reading table
The only response
to a child’s grave is
to lie down before it and play dead—Bill Knott (1940-2014)
more
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Cello Suite No. 6 in D major, excerpt (Sarabande); Paolo Pandolfo, viola da gamba
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lagniappe
radio
Bach Festival, WKCR-FM (see 12/22/16 post): Day Seven.
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random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
more
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Goldberg Variations (excerpt); Glenn Gould (1932-1982), piano, live (studio performance), 1981
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lagniappe
radio
Bach Festival, WKCR-FM (see 12/22/16 post): Day Six.
more
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007), cello
If I had to list a dozen recordings I couldn’t live without, surely a set of Bach’s cello suites would be among them. I first heard them in the early ’70s, when I was in college—and I’ve been living with them ever since.
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lagniappe
radio
Bach Festival, WKCR-FM (see yesterday’s post): Day One.
never enough
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D Minor, Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987), violin
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lagniappe
radio
One of the year’s truly great musical events begins Friday at 1 a.m. (EST)—the annual Bach Festival on WKCR-FM (Columbia University). All Bach, all the time, until midnight New Year’s Eve. If, after the last few months, you just can’t take any more clarity and light, you might want to skip it.
Sometimes I want to hear something that will quicken my pulse; sometimes I want something that will slow it—like this, for instance, which I heard the other night in Chicago, played by the group for whom it was written (a.pe.ri.od.ic). One sound . . . another . . . another . . .
Jürg Frey (1953-), Fragile Balance (2014), excerpt; Ensemble Grizzana (Jürg Frey, clarinet; Mira Benjamin, violin; Richard Craig, flute; Emma Richards, viola; Philip Thomas, piano; Seth Woods, cello); 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
Winter seclusion—
sitting propped against
the same worn post—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill (The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets)
Happy Thanksgiving!
What am I thankful for?
That I live in a world of sound.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Piano Sonata in B-flat major, 2nd movt.; Ivan Moravec (1930-2015), live, Princeton, N.J., 1993
never enough
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), 24 Preludes; Ivan Moravec (1930-2015), piano
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday, Art Institute of Chicago
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), The Monkey Bridge in Winter
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*Tracklist (courtesy of YouTube):
00:00 1 Agitato – C major
00:53 2 Lento – A minor
02:53 3 Vivace – G major
03:59 4 Largo – E minor
06:36 5 Molto allegro – D major
07:15 6 Lento assai – B minor
09:42 7 Andantino – A major
10:44 8 Molto agitato – F-sharp minor
12:51 9 Largo – E major
14:05 10 Molto allegro – C-sharp minor
14:42 11 Vivace – B major
15:32 12 Presto – G-sharp minor
16:47 13 Lento – F-sharp major
20:23 14 Allegro – E-flat minor
20:47 15 Sostenuto – D-flat major (“Raindrop”)
26:48 16 Presto con fuoco – B-flat minor
27:58 17 Allegretto – A-flat major
31:35 18 Molto allegro – F minor
32:28 19 Vivace – E-flat major
33:51 20 Largo – C minor
35:24 21 Cantabile – B-flat major
37:22 22 Molto agitato – G minor
38:12 23 Moderato – F major
39:10 24 Allegro appassionato – D minor
music clip of the day 