So bleak, so beautiful—like life.
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998), Viola Concerto (1985), live, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Valery Gergiev, cond.), Yuri Bashmet (viola)
#1
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#2
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#3
*****
lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), Palisades, N.J., 1958
Something to wash over you.
John Luther Adams (1953-), The Light Within (2007); New Music Detroit, live, Detroit, 2014
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lagniappe
reading table
spring rain—
the uneaten ducks
are quacking—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
In a hurry?
Better go somewhere else.
Want to step outside of time?
You’ve come to the right place.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Piano Sonata No. 18 (G major, D. 894); Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), live
Tried listening to this last night while working on a criminal appeal. Couldn’t. Work waited.
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
otherworldly
Iancu Dumitrescu (1944-), Infinity for bass clarinet and ensemble, Hyperion Ensemble (feat. Tim Hodgkinson, clarinets), live, Bucharest, 2009
#1
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#2
I love watching this guy conduct.
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Vincent van Gogh, Parisian Novels, 1887 (Van Gogh’s Bedrooms, through May 10th)
More cello.
Marcos Balter (1974-), Memoria (2007); Katinka Kleijn, live, Brazil (Manaus), 2014
lagniappe
reading table
. . . and the mystery itself is the gateway to perception.
—Lao Tzu (c. 5th cent. B.C.), Tao Te Ching, translated from Chinese by Sam Hamill
More cello.
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977-), Transitions (2014); Michael Nicolas, live, Chicago, 2015
lagniappe
reading table
Let Emily sing for you because she cannot pray . . .
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), letter to cousins Louis and Frances Norcross (on the death of their father), 1863
I can’t think of a finer way to begin the week.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Cello Suite No. 6, excerpt (Allemande); Natalia Gutman (1942-), live, Moscow, 1987
sounds of Iceland
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977-), In the Light of Air, first movt. (“Luminance”); International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), live, Iceland (Reykjavik), 2014
riveting
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Sonata No. 32; Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), live, Moscow, 1975
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lagniappe
reading table
Everyone’s journey
through this world is the same,
so I won’t complain.
Here on the plains of Nasu,
I place my trust in the dew.—Sōgi (1421-1502), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
sounds of 1926
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Prelude No. 15 (“Raindrop”); Ignaz Friedman (1882-1948), piano, 1926
*****
Bessie Smith (1894-1937), “Young Woman’s Blues,” 1926
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lagniappe
reading table
Whatever it is,
I cannot understand it,
although gratitude
stubbornly overcomes me
until I’m reduced to tears.—Saigyō (1118-1190), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
music clip of the day 