Tuesday, August 2nd
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Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor; Martha Argerich, live, 1966
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lagniappe
It is like what we imagine knowledge to be . . .
—Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979), from “At the Fishhouses”
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Tag: Frederic Chopin
2016
2016
Monday, March 14th
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
2015
Tuesday, December 8th
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne in E flat (Op. 55, No. 2); Ignaz Friedman (1882-1948), piano, 1936
The Friedman performance of Chopin’s E flat Nocturne (Op. 55, No. 2) is considered by many to be the greatest single recorded performance of any Chopin nocturne.
2015
Monday, November 23rd
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
2015
Tuesday, October 6th
Sometimes it’s enough—more than enough—to be beautiful.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne in B-flat minor (Op. 9, No. 1); Artur Rubinstein (1887-1982), piano
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lagniappe
road to the World Series
Don’t ever let the pressure exceed the pleasure.
2015
Wednesday, August 5th
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Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne in B-flat minor (Op. 9, No. 1); Ivan Moravec (1930-2015), piano
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lagniappe
random sights
last night
Columbus Park, Chicago
2015
Tuesday, August 4th
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I don’t care what you had planned: it can’t compare to this.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), 24 Preludes; Ivan Moravec (1930-2015), piano
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lagniappe
reading table
Why did I / shrink into a story?
—Alice Notley, “Are Loyal” (Poetry, 7-8/15)
2015
Monday, August 3rd
passings
Ivan Moravec, pianist, November 9, 1930-July 27, 2015
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Ballade No. 1 in G minor
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lagniappe
random thoughts
Ever grow weary of the 21st century?
Me, too.
2015
Monday, January 12th
from my desert-island list
No matter how many times I hear it, this recording, made over 80 years ago, never fails to sweep me away.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Preludes, Op. 28
Alfred Cortot (1877-1962), piano, 1933
2014
Monday, November 10th
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Ballade No. 1 in G minor (1831); Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995), piano, live
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
[N]ow Miles [Davis] was relaxed and pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was sending him into several shades of ecstasy.
“Listen to those trills!” Miles ordered.
—1961 interview (Marc Crawford, The Miles Davis Reader)
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art beat: more from Friday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Interior at Nice, c. 1919
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