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Category: piano

Tuesday, March 17th

passings

Charles Wuorinen, composer, June 9, 1938-March 11, 2020

Flying to Kahani (2005); Orchestra of the League of Composers (C. Wuorinen, cond.), live, New York, 2016

 

In 2011, jazz composer Carla Bley called Mr. Wuorinen ‘the greatest composer working.’ And the proudly poly-stylistic composer John Zorn, who has worked in forms ranging from klezmer to punk rock, recently called Mr. Wuorinen ‘a true artist whose intense and uncompromising vision produced work of remarkable beauty and drama.’ ‘He never wrote an insincere note in his life,’ Zorn continued. ‘He was a powerful role model and I loved him dearly.’

—Tim Page, obituaryWashington Post, 3/14/20

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lagniappe

random sights

early yesterday morning, Oak Park, Ill.

Monday, March 16th

Want to be swept away?

Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915), Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 (1894); Daniil Trifonov (1991-, piano), live, Berlin, 2019

 

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lagniappe

random sights

yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.

*****

reading table

And I Was Alive
by Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938),
translated from Russian by Christian Wiman

And I was alive in the blizzard of the blossoming pear,
Myself I stood in the storm of the bird-cherry tree,
It was all leaflike and star shower, unerring, self-shattering power,
And it was all aimed at me.

What is this dire delight flowering fleeing always earth?
What is being? What is truth?

Blossoms rupture and rapture the air,
All hover and hammer,
Time intensified and time intolerable, sweetness raveling rot.
It is now. It is not.

Tuesday, March 10th

more

John Coltrane Quartet (JC, 1926-1967, tenor saxophone; McCoy Tyner, 1938-2020, piano; Jimmy Garrison, 1934-1976, bass; Elvin Jones, 1927-2004, drums), live (“Vigil,” Naima,” “My Favorite Things”), Belgium (Comblain-la-Tour), 1965

 

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lagniappe

random sights

other day, New York

*****

radio

Today WKCR (Columbia University) celebrates the birthday of cornetist Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931)—all Bix, all day.

*****

reading table

In the dark we disappear, pure being.

—Stanley Plumly (1939-2019), from”Wight”

Monday, March 9th

passings

McCoy Tyner, pianist, December 11, 1938-March 6, 2020

John Coltrane Quartet (JC, 1926-1967, tenor saxophone; MC, piano; Jimmy Garrison, 1934-1976, bass; Elvin Jones, 1927-2004, drums), “Impressions” (J. Coltrane), live (TV show), San Francisco, 1963

 

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lagniappe

art beat: other day, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Dance (I), 1909; Jeannette, c. 1910

*****

radio

Today, Ornette Coleman’s birthday (b. 1930), it’s all Ornette all day on WKCR (Columbia University).

Thursday, March 5th

never enough

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat major; Alfred Cortot (1877-1962, piano), 1929

 

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langiappe

random sights

other day, Oak Park, Ill.

*****

reading table

Error is boundless.
Nor hope nor doubt,
Though both be groundless,
Will average out.

—J. V. Cunningham (1911-1985), from “Meditation on Statistical Method”

Thursday, February 20th

what’s new

One-word review: Wow!

Omar Sosa (piano), Yilian Cañizares (vocals, violin), “Dos Bendiciones” (Two Blessings), live (studio), New York, 2/18/20

 

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lagniappe

random sights

other day, Oak Park, Ill.

Wednesday, February 19th

sounds of New York

Herbie Nichols Trio (HN, 1919-1963, piano; Al McKibbon, bass; Art Blakey, drums), “The Third World” (H. Nichols), 1955

 

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lagniappe

random sights

other morning, Oak Park, Ill.

*****

musical thoughts

Thank you all for listening. Your open ears, open minds, and open hearts are essential to resisting the gathering darkness of our times.

—composer John Luther Adams, 2/18/20 email

Saturday, February 8th

passings

Peter Serkin, pianist, January 24, 1947-February 1, 2020

Live, Tokyo, 2003: Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), Rain Tree Sketch (1982)

 

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Live, New Jersey (Ridgewood), 2017: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Adagio in B minor, K. 540

 

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lagniappe

random sights

yesterday, Chicago, Ill.

*****

lagniappe

reading table

Even in Kyoto—
hearing the cuckoo’s cry—
I long for Kyoto.

—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass

Saturday, February 1st

If you learned you had a month to live, what would you want to listen to? This would be on my list. (Whatever you do, don’t miss the third movement.)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat (Op. 110); Solomon (AKA Solomon Cutner, 1902-1988), piano, 1950s

1st mvt.

 

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2nd mvt.

 

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3rd mvt.

 

*****

Another take.

Artur Schnabel (1882-1951), piano, 1930s

 

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lagniappe

random sights

yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.

Wednesday, January 29th

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

*****

random sights

yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.