In early November 2005 Elizabeth “Lisi” Bansen died a few days after being struck by an SUV as she was traveling the two blocks from the nearest store to her apartment. Lisi Bansen was disabled and using a manual wheelchair. She was in the roadway because what sidewalks existed were impassable and curb cuts non-existent. Two [...]
The New Century Chamber Orchestra is a conductorless string ensemble formed by Stuart Canin in 1992. Last year they appointed the star violin soloist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg as their concertmaster and music director, and from most accounts it's been a good mesh. (Click here for a wonderful interview with Nadja by Steven Winn at SFGate.) The first thing I noticed about the group on Saturday evening...
Btms^ for Tuesday, November 24 Drink 4cast 4 2day: Lucid Absinthe 2 toast 2 the artistry of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, born 2day in 1864. Liquor Barns will be open Thanksgiving Eve till 10 p.m., and Thanksgiving Day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. On this date in… 1784 – Zachary Taylor was born…to be the 12th U.S. President. Known as “Old [...]
Guess what came in the mail? This is my invitation to join the American Association of Retired People. Tuesday is my birthday and I'm turning 49, so, Lord willing, I have a few more years to work before I can think about retiring! I found a neat site; the dMarie Time Capsule , which lets you put in a date and it will tell you about what was happening then. Here are a few statistics for November 24,...
[ Scott Joplin's Treemonisha; Original Cast Recording; Polygram 435709 (1992)] San Francisco Classical Voice November 17, 2009 An Interview With William Bolcom By Georgia Rowe “William Bolcom has always made his own way. Throughout his career, which has produced symphonies, operas, chamber pieces, and piano and vocal works, the Seattle-born, Michigan-based composer has often rejected the prevailing...
While yesterday's article and photo gallery described the civilized side of the proceedings, alex logan has peeled back the veneer of the D.C. Tweed Ride to reveal its sordid underbelly . ( EXIF )
This afternoon at 2:00 was the third in the series of Great Music, Great Spaces, and Great Images. The first was last Sunday at Boston Avenue Methodist Church and the second was Thursday evening at the Performing Arts Center. We didn't make the second. The third was the one I really wanted to see because it was at the recently restored Mayo Hotel, at 115 West 5th Street. The Mayo was built in 1924...
Not a bad week as weeks go. By my standards, the diary was quite relaxed. The faithful Passat and I [now 186000 miles - the Passat that is although the feeling is sometimes mutual] visited Grangemouth, Glenrothes, Kirriemuir and Oban. It also needed a new tyre. And I decided that ...
[ 24/7+7 The complete preludes of Chopin Gershwin and Still ; Roy F. Eaton, piano; Summit Records 318 (2002)] AfriClassical has received news of performances this month by Roy F. Eaton , the African American pianist who has long specialized in works of Frédéric Chopin and the African American composers Scott Joplin and William Grant Still: Friday,November 13 7:30PM Carmel Valley Community...
Classical music and jazz are often perceived as two radically different art forms that cannot be merged. Historically, the idea of a so-called "third stream" that is able to combine the language of jazz and classical music into a coherent whole has proved rather difficult to translate into praxis, and yet it is undeniable that a bond, however fragile, exists between the two musics. This was...
Most people's knowledge of ragtime doesn't go past a few classic {{Scott Joplin = 8206}} compositions, and practitioners of the style today (not to mention composers) are few and far between. However, there has always been a small cadre of guitarists devoted to playing traditional and original ragtime tunes, and most of them are quite good at adapting the highly syncopated musical form to an unlikely...
I was doing some casual reading about the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and ran across an article trying to prove that the author of that work was Jack the Ripper . In doing so, I found a quotation that applies particularly to the homo sapiens population of the Republican Party in today’s world (although we progressives are not immune either) such that I thought I'd share these...
["Scott Joplin Piano Rags"; Joshua Rifkin, piano; Nonesuch 79159 (1990)] Scoredaddys.blogspot.com Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Review by Richard Ryan “I don't know what I can say about this CD that hasn't already been said, but it's so good that I'll try to add my own two cents. Although he's primarily a Baroque music scholar, Joshua Rifkin (however unintentionally) pretty much spearheaded...
merlin : The Mountain Goats - “Woke Up New” This song always breaks my heart. When I hear it, it always makes me think of how lost and sad and horrified I’d be with my life were anything to happen to Harper. My life had no purpose before I met her, and I cannot imagine how adrift and lonely I’d be without her. John Darnielle is Bob Dylan to me. No, wait. That’s not right....