I never tire of these tiny, gemlike pieces.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), 24 Preludes (1835-1839); Sergio Fiorentino (1927-1998), piano, 1959
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lagniappe
reading table
Awake at night—
the sound of the water jar
cracking in the cold.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
never enough
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; Johnny Gandelsman, live, East Lansing, Michigan, 2015
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Dance?
Sing?
Why not both?
More from the composer we heard Monday.
Georg Friedrich Haas (1953-), I Can’t Breathe (In Memoriam Eric Garner) (2014); Marco Blaauw (trumpet), live, Germany (Cologne), 2015
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), Two Towers (New York), 1907 (Alfred Stieglitz and the 19th Century, through 3/27/16)
Sounds for a strange, scary, sad world.
Georg Friedrich Haas (1953-), String Quartet No. 8 (2014); JACK Quartet
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Preludes, Book 1, Nos. 1-7, 9-11; Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), piano, live
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I am not a complete idiot, but whether from weakness or laziness have no talent for thinking. I know only how to reflect: I am a mirror . . . Logic does not exist for me. I float on the waves of art and life and never really know how to distinguish what belongs to the one or the other or what is common to both. Life unfolds for me like a theatre presenting a sequence of somewhat unreal sentiments; while the things of art are real to me and go straight to my heart.
never enough
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Twelve Little Preludes
Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993), piano
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Lurie Garden)
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Preludes, Book 1, No. 2 (“Voiles”); Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995), piano, live (studio performance)
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
When he plays something it sounds like he’ll never play it again.
—Miles Davis, speaking of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
(I’m taking a break—back in a while.)
3n
Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006), Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano (1982); Tomas Major (violin), Zora Sloka (horn), Denes Varjon (piano), 2009
#1
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#2
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lagniappe
reading table
This World is not conclusion.
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #373 (Franklin)
tonight in Chicago
These folks will be playing at Curtiss Hall.
Christopher Fisher-Lochhead (1984-), Dig Absolutely (2010); Spektral Quartet, live, Evanston, Ill., 2011
music clip of the day 