tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314379182012-01-12T09:43:38.728-06:00Sparkly, with a Dash of Quinine.MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.comBlogger1391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-38097075922583398592011-02-18T22:59:00.002-06:002011-02-21T17:31:51.873-06:00

Hi there. I'm still around. Baby stuff has kept me from updating this site in a long while. I did indeed manage to go to a few concerts, though, so in brief: Extended Boulez Stint Pierre Boulez's CSO residencies have become the highlights of the past few concert season. This season, having arrived in town early for eye surgery, Boulez happily agreed to fill in for an ailing Muti last October,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-32067408770066336092010-10-13T16:23:00.000-05:002010-10-13T16:23:59.441-05:00

I'm a little late to the game, so by now you will have read in all the usual places that Riccardo Muti arrived, saw, conquered, and departed prematurely with "extreme gastric distress". In the meantime, we have of course found out more details about the matter and Muti seems well on his way towards full recovery and a return to the CSO podium in February. This all makes the speculation indulged

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-13230979499025194652010-05-05T20:40:00.003-05:002010-05-05T20:41:53.167-05:00

Hi readers (all five of you?), I'm still around. Sorry I haven't blogged much. I meant to cover the monthlong CSO-Boulez 85th birthday bash, all of which I of course attended, as well as a few more CSO concerts, but never got around to it. I have a brand new beautiful baby boy, who is naturally far more interesting to me than blogging at the moment. So please forgive if I go on a hiatus now. I'm

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-50847973382086642622010-03-01T22:54:00.001-06:002010-03-01T22:56:15.468-06:00

So the CSO finally announced the first season to be led by its new music director, Riccardo Muti. And programming-wise the next season looks... very much like many preceding seasons. Muti never was one for experimentation in programming and he's not about to start with that here in Chicago. Most programs for the season follow the time-honored formula of: 1. overture/short work, 2. concerto-ish

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-61000353355194584392010-01-30T08:55:00.004-06:002010-01-30T09:04:12.357-06:00

The full CSO program for next season has not yet been released. But Carnegie Hall, in announcing its own next season, reveals three CSO programs which will be the capstone of Muti's first season as music director and which he and the orchestra will take on tour to New York (and possibly elsewhere). Opera-in-Concert fans will be looking forward to hearing Muti and the CSO in a full concert

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-83340919328350832152009-12-18T13:47:00.000-06:002009-12-18T13:47:29.174-06:00

Events conspired against me and thwarted my plans to hear Jansons conduct Mahler in Amsterdam and Skrowaczewski conduct Bruckner in Munich. As a consolation prize I got to hear Paavo Järvi do Martinu, Ravel and Nielsen in Frankfurt. A conductor-orchestra relationship really is like a marriage. Unless the two are on the same page regarding their musical philosophies and are also otherwise

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-42228738523958350172009-11-25T09:51:00.002-06:002009-12-02T16:20:35.211-06:00

Just as I backhandedly fault the CSO for something, they do their darndest to prove me wrong. Last Thursday night's concert with Christoph von Dohnanyi and Paul Lewis was characterized by one thing: superb sectional balancing, in particular a brass section that gently supported the woodwinds instead of sticking out or even covering them up. No small feat in Schumann's treacherous 2nd Symphony (

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-52804297196965065442009-11-18T16:04:00.005-06:002009-11-18T16:13:54.323-06:00

So, three days before Monday evening's concert I finally managed to get a decent ticket to the Berlin Philharmonic's single Chicago appearance on this North American tour. (Note to those hunting for tickets for "sold out" performances on the CSO website: just hit "best available" even if it says "sold out". You might just get lucky.) Berlin Phil principal flute Emmanuel Pahud sitting down a few

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-2935527455153319662009-11-16T23:38:00.000-06:002009-11-17T02:21:06.989-06:00

Despite Bernard Haitink's faithfulness to his own basic interpretive concepts, over time one notices a certain development in his approach to his favorite core repertoire pieces: a certain search for more, a quest to make even more details meaningful within the context of the whole. The Bruckner 9th is one such Haitink staple that seems to have benefited from continuous reflection. Having heard

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-52773076138186849622009-11-08T20:31:00.001-06:002009-11-08T20:31:29.453-06:00

Here's a gem I found a while ago: Giovanni Antonini performing the Vivaldi Concerto RV 443 on sopranino recorder with his Giardino Armonico.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-17876608470169468992009-11-05T22:35:00.011-06:002009-11-05T23:36:01.148-06:00

In less than two weeks, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic will be upon us for their first visit to Chicago in six years with one (already sold out) appearance at Symphony Center on November 16. With Grammophone Magazine serving as an extension of Sir Simon's personal PR office, and the Hurwitzer over at classicstoday having made a second career out of reflexively bashing nearly every

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-65546181452919790042009-11-01T21:03:00.000-06:002009-11-01T21:03:14.945-06:00

Shostakovich 10 with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela from the BBC Proms two years ago:

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-148356817545488112009-10-28T21:58:00.000-05:002009-10-28T21:58:10.533-05:00

I've created a second blog, de Pennatibus, specifically for all my birding excursions and photography. All bird posts previously residing on the Tonic Blotter have been moved there, along with all links to birding websites and blogs. This should help disentangle some of my varied interests and make the Tonic Blotter more music/culture focused.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-69641474957735433372009-10-18T21:15:00.007-05:002009-10-23T15:09:04.599-05:00

Riccardo Muti is to be commended. While Gustavo Dudamel and Alan Gilbert opened their respective orchestra's seasons with at least one big, red meat blockbuster on the program, Muti (who doesn't really start his job here until next season) chose Bruckner's rarely performed Second Symphony as the keystone of this week's series of concerts. OK, so this wasn't the official season opener for the CSO-

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-92053518565340239062009-10-14T23:01:00.003-05:002009-10-14T23:06:52.621-05:00

With his award-winning eponymous book a complete success, Alex Ross has decided to move on, leaving his old blog, The Rest is Noise, mainly as a repository for his book-related 20th century audio samples. The New Yorker has created a new space for him at Unquiet Thoughts where Ross will continue to post on music. Check it out.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-45254705912127786922009-10-09T18:30:00.007-05:002009-10-21T12:25:18.683-05:00

I know, I know. I have been a bad blogger. Not updating for months. Anyway, time to resume reviews...Tortelier subs for AbbadoThe second week of the new CSO season brought us another round of the eternal conductor-substitution-crapshoot. This one turned out not so bad, after all. Roberto Abbado, Claudio's nephew, had to bow out due to a post-operation infection and was replaced on short notice by

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-27775634777154820182009-08-06T17:20:00.001-05:002009-08-06T18:40:27.060-05:00

August 5: Three Concertos - Three PianistsOutside of competitions, egos and programming budgets usually prevent audiences from hearing multiple concertos with multiple soloists in one concert. Yesterday's Ravinia program provided a notable exception. The evening combined a presentation of three early piano concertos by three Russian masters with the opportunity to hear three up-and-coming young

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-27906021034198066882009-07-25T17:25:00.001-05:002009-07-25T17:26:54.442-05:00

Despite the alleged death of the music recording industry and back catalogues of such dimensions that one would need several lifetimes to actually listen to a representative survey, Beethoven cycles continue to be produced. In part, the revisits of these canonical works have been justified by the publication of new Urtext editions of the scores and a few decades of time that has allowed for

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-47651944316558447142009-07-19T17:36:00.006-05:002009-07-19T21:19:35.834-05:00

Education Fail!Man, I can't stand the dickweeds who become fanatic proselytizers of preposterous conspiracy theories. What a wanker!h/t to bwv 1080 for the clip.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-45088926212587724112009-07-10T23:45:00.000-05:002009-07-10T23:47:02.969-05:00

Once again, very behind on concert reviews...July 7, Ravinia Kicks OffI don't know about you, but I am for the most part not too fond of conductors who talk too much before a performance. It is particularly annoying when the conductor in question engages in precisely the kind of stupid genius worship that better arts organizations should work to eliminate in their audiences. Yes, Mendelssohn's

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-39812334499130581332009-07-08T14:14:00.005-05:002009-07-10T23:49:30.432-05:00

This Friday, July 10, WFMT will air last December's CSO program with Fabio Luisi's phenomenal Symphonie fantastique on it's weekly BP CSO Radio Broadcast. I reviewed that concert here. It will be available for streaming on the CSO website for some time after that. Also, Barenboim's amazing Schubert 9 from a few seasons ago can be currently streamed as well.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-76399238392075391812009-07-04T09:04:00.003-05:002009-07-04T09:50:28.484-05:00

File this under WTF?! I am not sure what happened with concert planning in Chicago this summer. But comparing the programming for the Ravinia and Grant Park festivals one could think that they were spawned by the same uninspired planners. It's not just that they have the same smattering of sure-to-sell symphonic blockbuster hits interspersed with small bore Kurorchester-style lite summer fare.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-13676093183983196752009-07-01T22:37:00.001-05:002009-07-01T22:41:17.401-05:00

Sorry. Have been traveling all over the place. Updates soon. I promise.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-91148384672153462922009-05-16T19:40:00.007-05:002009-05-16T22:03:49.078-05:00

I love Google Earth. I can spend unlimited amounts of time just exploring odd regions of the earth I've never visited or familiar places from unfamiliar perspectives. The aerial imagery makes me feel like a spy investigating the machinations of some foreign power. Inspired by this article in the Spiegel today (there is a far less informative English version with a different set of photos here), I

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-58482306991563020302009-05-12T22:19:00.000-05:002009-05-12T22:19:55.639-05:00

I know, I know. I've been a bad blogger. No updates in ages and in the meanwhile I keep going to concerts without telling my faithful readers (how many are there? like, five?) about what I've seen and heard. So, herewith a few abridged notes on my last few months of concertgoing, in reverse chronological order. May 7, April 21 & 28; Shostakovich, Brahms and Bruckner with Haitink Bernard Haitink

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-88321762419722199692009-04-02T22:10:00.003-05:002009-04-20T15:36:17.189-05:00

No, I have not fallen of the edge of the earth. Just buried under a pile of the most poorly drafted German legal documents known to mankind. Some music reviews soon. I promise. In the meantime, here's a Red-Tailed Hawk.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-19037505941584069232009-02-26T18:29:00.011-06:002009-02-27T08:13:38.389-06:00

No, this blog isn't quite dead yet... Sorry for the hiatus. More music updates soon. Fresh from a triumphant East Asian tour that took the CSO and Bernard Haitink to Tokyo, Yokohama, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing for some serious Mahlering and Brucknering (Andrew Patner's and Matt Destefano's reports here; photos here; Michael Hovnanian's account here), the CSO announced its programming for the

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-81276779286895994822009-02-09T16:09:00.005-06:002009-02-09T16:33:20.297-06:00

...the first Boeing 747 took to the skies. I can say without exaggeration that my life would not have been the same without this aircraft.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-79188878258841842772009-02-03T20:23:00.008-06:002009-02-09T16:32:58.393-06:00

Thanks to mass layoffs at Microsoft which were announced on January 22, almost the entire team that was responsible for the development of Microsoft's Flight Simulator is now without a job. It is the end of a long line of flight sims, that have brought together aviation nuts from all continents on sites like avsim and flightsim for a peaceful exchange of ideas, tweaks, tips, and files, regardless

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-65895966316571605862009-01-22T19:46:00.005-06:002009-01-22T21:20:55.641-06:00

Any presidency that kicks off with a chamber quartet featuring a diverse collection of some of the finest and most inspiring classical musicians working today is off to a good start, as far as I am concerned (even if it's music by John Wiliams and even if it wasn't exactly 100% live). While two of the musicians are household names, the two others are less known outside informed musical circles.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-48281356495558292412009-01-14T20:34:00.001-06:002009-01-14T20:42:28.927-06:00

A little behind on my blogging, I know...Last week saw the highly anticipated return of Gustavo Dudamel to the CSO podium. Dudamel brought with him what looked on paper like a very conventional program: Barber Adagio for Strings, Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 (with Stephen Hough), and Brahms Symphony No.2. But with Dudamel at the helm, it became an evening of exploration. Easily my favorite was,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-31229971092793342792009-01-02T15:56:00.003-06:002009-01-22T09:54:01.905-06:00

Valkyrie's Facile HeroicsThis movie season has brought a sudden bonanza of films dealing in one way or another with Nazi Germany. Some of these threaten to finally relegate this difficult period to a mere pastiche backdrop for feel-good movies with morally uncomplicated stories of heroism. Bryan Singer's Valkyrie is perhaps the most egregious of the recent batch. In trying to create a vehicle to

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-5416706418906380042008-12-31T12:43:00.005-06:002008-12-31T16:05:42.379-06:00

Can I come out now?2008 has been an exceptionally crappy year in so many ways, global and personal. From the total meltdown of financial markets to staggeringly blatant political corruption in Illinois, to ongoing misery in Darfur, violence in Kenya, violent xenophobia in South Africa, Mugabe refusing to leave office, the earthquake in Sichuan, Afghanistan slipping into disarray, a completely

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-72083879470218260832008-12-27T15:52:00.010-06:002008-12-28T15:07:12.824-06:00

Websites like medici.tv and monteverdi.tv have already introduced classical music fans to the glories of high definition streaming videos of classical concerts. The Berlin Philharmonic now takes the idea to its next logical step: LIVE streaming high definition video directly from the concerts. That's right. Don't worry about figuring out what tie to wear or booking that flight to Berlin. Soon you

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-1008454780449763612008-12-21T19:12:00.001-06:002008-12-22T15:59:25.498-06:00

Fabio fantasticoAfter hearing Fabio Luisi live for the second time in less than two months, I wholeheartedly second Opera Chic's selection of Luisi as Conductor of the Year. Having brought his own Staatskapelle Dresden to Chicago last month for a glorious performance of Strauss and Brahms, Luisi returned to Orchestra Hall last week to lead the CSO in a program of Weber, Nielsen and Berlioz,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-58523175160685852472008-11-26T21:03:00.001-06:002008-11-26T21:12:34.755-06:00

Sometimes a concert is so good that you're glad that the CSO performs each program three or four times and you can go again another night to hear it one more time. Bernard Haitink conducting Mahler's 2nd Symphony, the "Resurrection", at the CSO last week was one such occasion. I went to both the Saturday and the Tuesday performance.Coincidentally, the first time I ever heard Mahler's 2nd live was

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-18953456788175886822008-11-21T17:58:00.008-06:002008-11-22T08:23:04.287-06:00

There is a fair amount of not entirely undeserved backpatting and hometown patriotism going around as a result of the news that the UK-based Gramophone magazine has named the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as one of the world's top five orchestras, No.5, to be precise, making it No.1 in the US. Now, on the one hand, this isn't entirely surprising, but nice to see people acknowledging it. On the other

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-82214096057032968382008-11-17T21:31:00.001-06:002008-11-17T21:40:48.368-06:00

The few, but very select, visits by major international orchestras to Symphony Center are an invaluable service to the Chicago arts community. Not only do they expose the Chicago audience to a wide variety of orchestral cultures. The competition from these great ensembles also helps keep our own orchestra at the top of its game. A wonderful contrast to the CSO's style of playing was provided on

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-86272334085263894022008-11-17T13:51:00.004-06:002008-11-17T13:59:56.433-06:00

And in today's news of the bizarre intersections of classical music and animals, the Guardian reports that the Belfast Zoo has discovered that playing Mozart, Elgar, Beethoven and Handel to elephants may reduce abnormal behavior resulting from captivity:"We tend to see in some situations that elephants don't cope well with captivity just because they have this inherent instinct to roam vast

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-55784168781912990152008-11-16T12:27:00.004-06:002008-11-16T13:47:39.196-06:00

I have been extremely impressed with the work of Ludovic Morlot so far, including especially an outstanding Rosenkavalier Suite he conducted with the CSO last season, in which he found just the right dose of Viennese lilt without getting schmaltzy. One wonders, though, whether the CSO can cope for one more season without the guidance and discipline of a permanent music director. When even a

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-57677371907631830632008-11-05T22:27:00.003-06:002008-11-06T09:21:36.719-06:00

Last night, exhausted from being awake since 3am Chicago time and spending over 13 hours at a central Indiana voting precinct for the Obama campaign, as I was driving home along I-65, fishing for a faint NPR signal on my car radio among a sea of Christian wingnut and commercial radio stations, it was starting to finally hit me that this was really happening. That this country was finally on the

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-50083998049256029862008-11-04T13:49:00.002-06:002008-11-04T13:52:03.145-06:00

Or else Mr. Miyagi will get you!

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-36829462332793747782008-11-02T21:43:00.003-06:002008-11-02T21:45:33.153-06:00

From the musical avantgarde to wall-mounted soap dispensers. The name of this particular model suggests that Leopold Stokowski may have been involved in the design as well.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-29692210277792811622008-10-20T09:20:00.002-05:002008-10-20T09:22:28.240-05:00

A few pointers for the still undecided:Also, read this.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-7112866826013375312008-10-19T11:05:00.002-05:002008-10-19T11:11:11.452-05:00

One where you are not considered "unamerican" if you're Muslim or not from a small town. That's why Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-57522415797855307582008-10-18T20:47:00.001-05:002008-10-19T10:07:16.717-05:00

Yep, it's safe to say John Sidney McCain III crashed this plane, too. The former naval aviator with a penchant for stalling out his aircraft has now stalled his campaign. The one candidate who entered the Republican primaries with the most centrist appeal, with an aura of independent-mindedness, managed to make himself all but unelectable to the center. McCain, thanks in no small part to his

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-55205298425422926042008-10-12T23:50:00.004-05:002009-08-06T18:42:06.336-05:00

Catching up on some music here in reverse chronological order...Jaap!Last minute substitutions are a crapshoot, and all too often turn out to be a waste of time and money. When it was announced that Riccardo Chailly had to pull out of his highly anticipated two week CSO residency for medical reasons, I was on the verge of exchanging my tickets for some other concerts. I'm glad I didn't, for Jaap

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-1710618882055959662008-10-07T08:52:00.004-05:002008-10-07T11:35:26.805-05:00

OK, so I am over a year behind the curve here, but the Vancouver Opera, apparently, is (or was?) trying a new approach in reaching out to younger Asian audiences. Instead of the boring plot synopses usually printed in program booklets - which you never have time to read because they turn out the lights - Vancouver Opera is instead posting on its webiste pdfs of manga comics summarizing the plots

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-28948145862808010012008-10-02T21:36:00.005-05:002008-10-06T15:48:41.168-05:00

Thank you, Gwen Ifill, for asking this crucial question at this historic juncture in our history. You've single-handedly raised American journalistic standards by leagues tonight with this one question. Nota bene the vast difference in the responses here:IFILL: Governor, you mentioned a moment ago the constitution might give the vice president more power than it has in the past. Do you believe as

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-57601237296349434902008-09-29T15:38:00.005-05:002008-09-29T16:53:20.669-05:00

OK, I can understand the sentiment that we should not bail out those who got us into this mess, thereby encouraging further irresponsible behavior down the road. But the fact that the arsonist is among the people trapped inside the burning house is no reason not to put out the fire. Much more is at stake here than the mere survival of a few banks who made a few boneheaded bets. Because real

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-80138547928912082662008-09-28T17:39:00.004-05:002008-09-28T18:53:27.684-05:00

Current Philadelphia Chief Conductor, Charles Dutoit, just wrapped up a two-week stint with the CSO before heading off to Philly to open his orchestra's new season (ex-Philly MD Christoph Eschenbach, meanwhile, has just been named new music director of the National Symphony Orchestra). I missed opening night, as well as today's Beyond the Score, but caught Dutoit's Thursday evening performance of

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-50073102014249309032008-09-26T09:57:00.004-05:002008-09-28T18:56:21.038-05:00

Seven years ago - coincidentally, just the week before the attacks of September 11 - I happened to be on vacation in Istanbul. As I strolled the old cobblestone streets of this fascinating melange of cultural influences, I wondered what it must have been like living in this metropolis at the height of the Byzantine empire, just before the invasion of Mehmet the Conqueror's troops. I wondered what

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-43750689712165489932008-09-15T14:57:00.004-05:002008-09-15T14:59:31.236-05:00

Gustavo Dudamel hasn't started his tenure at the helm of the LA Phil yet, but his rise through the Venezuelan music education system has already inspired a similar project in LA. Joanna Lin from the LA Times has the story.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-18812374305879374462008-09-05T21:38:00.002-05:002008-09-07T14:57:11.023-05:00

Well, the Republican National Convention is over, and even on the right some agree that this was one of John McCain's worst speeches. It was stiff, formulaic, without substance or concrete policy proposals, lacking passion and waxed excessively on his POW experience - although the same McCain four years earlier advised Kerry not to milk his own Vietnam experience too much for political purpose.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-76855657685831642402008-09-04T19:33:00.005-05:002008-09-05T21:44:08.168-05:00

We certainly live in interesting times. I guess John McCain was not happy about having pulled virtually even with Barack Obama in the polls. So now the woman who only a week earlier admitted having no clue what the Vice-President actually does has been nominated as McCain's running mate in order to remedy that problem. Never mind the questions about the inadequate vetting Sarah Palin received

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-21036899418796306742008-08-29T12:11:00.005-05:002008-09-05T21:44:27.131-05:00

Finally a candidate who understands the plight of ordinary lumberjacks.On a more serious note, if there ever was a patently transparent pander to a voting block, this is it:Ms. Palin praised the achievement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who lost a long and bitter primary race against Senator Obama, saying that she had left “18 million cracks” in the highest glass ceiling in the land. Then,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-72597257182870782802008-08-22T10:29:00.019-05:002009-08-17T19:37:09.680-05:00

Sometimes I wonder whether a combination of mild climate and beautiful mountains necessarily begets mindless ethnic warfare. From the Balkans, to the Caucasus, to the Hindukush, to Jammu and Kashmir, stunning mountain landscapes seem to be unusually fertile grounds for particularly vicious warfare among peoples who should have more commonalities than differences. Of course, it is true that in

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-27140696501795572392008-08-13T18:50:00.004-05:002008-08-13T19:01:29.755-05:00

Somehow, through some odd alignment of the stars, Alan Kozinn's random and rambling piece in today's NYT about the dangers of playing the French horn ended up third most emailed article, right after Maureen Dowd's and Thomas Friedman's columns, and ahead of an article on the death of an immigrant in a detention center. And it's not like we aren't in an election year, the Caucasus isn't on fire

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-38318610544237692952008-07-24T09:32:00.012-05:002008-07-24T21:16:42.061-05:00

The most amazing thing about the apprehension of long-time fugitive Bosnian-Serb war criminal Radovan Karadžić, in Belgrade earlier this week, seems to have been the complete and perfect metamorphosis of a genocidal animal into a seemingly benign pseudo-hippie "healer". No transformation of ex-Nazi into South American gaucho was ever nearly as perfect. Karadžić's new facade seemed so at odds with

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-39370981783114806472008-07-15T12:46:00.004-05:002008-07-15T14:48:58.423-05:00

The Tonic Blotter was in Southern California last week and rented a Toyota Prius to get around. I put the car through its paces quite a bit - six days of highways, city traffic, stop-and-go, country roads and one mountain climb up to 5,500 feet ASL and back down - so I feel somewhat qualified to give an assessment of the Prius's roadworthiness. (Side note: I find it somewhat hilarious that due to

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-51029995807240717432008-07-02T09:23:00.005-05:002008-07-02T09:41:50.122-05:00

What better to get you through the summer than some free streaming video from the Aix-en-Provence and UBS Verbier Festivals? Medici.tv has it for free.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-89252322541006546582008-06-10T19:05:00.006-05:002008-06-10T19:46:54.375-05:00

I have previously observed that whoever gets elected this fall will find himself in a very complex domestic and international scenario. Or, as I put it then, "whoever wins, he or she could easily become the next Carter - an intelligent, well-intentioned president hopelessly overtaken by events that leave no politically palatable way out." Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer of the

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-4023405432509646652008-06-06T18:13:00.003-05:002008-06-06T18:20:38.131-05:00

Olivier Bellamy of Radio Classique managed to get a rare opportunity to chat with the elusive Martha Argerich in a private setting for nearly two hours. The interview was cut, mixed with some musical excerpts and broadcast a few days ago on Radio Classique on the air and via the web. It is now available for listening on Bellamy's blog for all French-speaking pianophiles, Argerich-fans and

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-83337057429787118222008-06-04T10:00:00.005-05:002008-06-04T13:37:17.198-05:00

We have previously speculated about Hilary's motivations in dragging out the primary process. But after Barack Obama finally captured the nomination last night, one really has to wonder what the point of not conceding now could possibly be. Ever since shortly after Super Tuesday, Obama had built up a lead in pledged delegates that Hillary Clinton was extremely unlikely to overcome by any fair

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-20358684205182633002008-05-12T16:00:00.002-05:002009-08-06T18:43:03.474-05:00

I'm slightly behind on updates here...Haitink's ShostakovichBernard Haitink continues his tour of his favorite symphonies with Haydn's "Clock" and Shostakovich's 4th. The CSO takes these works, as well as the previous week's programme of Ravel/Lieberson/Mahler to Carnegie on Thursday and Friday this week. The Haydn/Shostakovich can be heard one more time downtown tomorrow. Haitink's approach to

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-13451066716089654742008-05-07T19:04:00.001-05:002008-05-12T10:47:54.181-05:00

So the deal is done. Riccardo Muti will be the next music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. On paper, the Muti-CSO combination seems like an obvious ideal combination. The orchestra that considers itself the leading Orchestra in America managed to snag the most famous available international maestro. But it is also a "safe" and conventional choice at a time when many other leading

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-76577492226729068462008-05-07T11:20:00.000-05:002008-05-07T11:21:36.188-05:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of assisting the Obama campaign as a volunteer lawyer protecting voter's rights in a wonderful, close-knit predominantly African-American community in Northwest Indiana. Voting in my precinct was up by some 56% percent compared to past primary elections. The voters ranged from a 17-year old who will be 18 by the time of the general election and was therefore entitled

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-60353664264121660262008-04-30T20:40:00.003-05:002008-04-30T21:19:27.864-05:00

OK, so I'm two days late in realizing that I've been tagged. Rules:1. Pick up the nearest book.2. Open to page 123.3. Find the fifth sentence.4. Post the next three sentences.5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.Not so easy. I take it that the Guide to Cardholder Benefits for my credit card does not qualify as a "book" (it doesn't have the requisite number of pages in any case,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-17012729283051399632008-04-29T19:28:00.003-05:002008-04-29T19:57:30.874-05:00

Priceless story from the BBC News: Everything is Made in China, including "Free Tibet" flags - for export of course.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-62322543504111464112008-04-26T23:31:00.008-05:002008-04-27T11:57:36.242-05:00

An autopilot is a complex piece of equipment. The general term "autopilot" on most modern aircraft actually encompasses a set of systems that work together. Typically it includes one or more flight management computers, an autothrottle, a GPS and an inertial navigation system that all interact with two or more redundant autopilots, which are the systems that actually issue commands to the flight

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-33125427081089636942008-04-03T21:13:00.003-05:002008-04-04T14:19:24.331-05:00

CSO programming in the post-Barenboim era so far, and into the next season, seems to be organized around various visiting conductors' "greatest hits". Haitink keeps revisiting his favorite Bruckner, Mahler and Shostakovich symphonies; Muti gave us some trademark Scriabin and Tchaikovsky; Chung conducted music of Ravel and Messiaen; Boulez mixes up his standard 20th century repertoire of

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-49401170803947654342008-03-11T20:43:00.004-05:002008-03-11T21:30:32.749-05:00

Remember how we were told that Hillary needed to win decisive victories in Ohio and Texas in order to stay in the running? Well, somehow, once Junior Tuesday came around that was modified into an OK victory in Ohio and a nonexistent victory in Texas. Both the Clinton campaign and the American press seem not to have really understood the Texas two-step: two thirds of the Texas delegates are

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-47828265474716377222008-03-11T19:48:00.003-05:002008-03-11T19:50:12.520-05:00

As a courtesy to the Tonic Blotter's growing readership, I have added labels to all posts. You can now look at related posts with a single click, whether you're looking for reviews of a particular musicians, posts on the Democratic Primaries, or pictures of a particular bird.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-49022563491897474732008-02-27T18:21:00.009-06:002008-03-11T16:57:52.185-05:00

The Serbs are born movie directors. In 1999, they managed to herd Kosovar Albanians onto trains with a cinematographic skill befitting Steven Spielberg. The subsequent bombing of Serbia - at the hands of Europeans and Americans raised on decades of movies memorializing the Holocaust - should have been a surprise to no one. Last Thursday, a group of a few hundred Serbian thugs sought to remind

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-84455171938031108752008-02-26T15:01:00.007-06:002008-03-11T16:59:22.834-05:00

As the Hillary Clinton campaign rapidly approaches its potential Waterloo, the nation is being treated to a final act of operatic melodrama befitting a tragic character unwilling to accept the inevitability of her fate. Faced with the inescapable reality that even if Hillary wins the next few contests, the nomination will have to be decided by superdelegates, some of her surrogates are giving

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-43848212365489801512008-02-26T10:47:00.004-06:002008-03-11T16:59:52.671-05:00

I've been wondering how long it will take concert venues to adjust ticket pricing for piano recitals based on whether or not the keyboard is visible from a given seat. A heavily left-leaning audience heard Jean-Yves Thibaudet play Debussy and Brahms on Sunday afternoon at Symphony Center. Thibaudet can be a tad antiseptic on recordings, so it was a delight to see him play with relative

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-81792089483333677922008-02-21T14:44:00.004-06:002009-08-06T18:43:28.680-05:00

The CSO yesterday announced its programming for the 2008-2009 season and my first reaction was "HOLY SHIT"! There is so much good stuff, many heavy hitters and a number of relatively young up-and-comers. On the downside, a large proportion of the programming is very conventional. A lot of warhorses and the last few weeks are a festival of wall-to-wall Dvořák. But even so, the next season is an

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-32411236666199797442008-02-12T14:33:00.002-06:002008-03-11T17:04:04.752-05:00

Radu Lupu enjoys a strong following in Chicago, and a substantial crowd of devotees thronged to Orchestra Hall last Saturday to hear the Romanian pianist despite subzero temperatures and significant windchill. The program was a mix of Lupu's strengths and an exploration of repertoire not normally associated with this pianist. Though an unfamiliar piece not frequently found on recital programs,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-71491735042849685872008-02-09T22:34:00.003-06:002008-03-11T17:06:28.178-05:00

1. She lends $5M to her campaign and her staffers go without pay. 2. She starts begging superdelegates to "exercise independent judgment" and not be swayed by the popular vote. 3. She's looking for ways to get the 366 delegates from Florida and Michigan to count after all, contrary to party rules. 4. OBAMA SWEEPS THREE STATES!and...5. Pravda... err... sorry... I mean, the New York Times runs a

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-49039929249384759782008-02-07T10:40:00.002-06:002008-03-11T17:09:07.399-05:00

Somebody at the NYT still has his head screwed on properly. Timothy Egan gets it exactly right. Maybe he reads the Tonic Blotter. EDIT: Also a worthy contribution on the subject from Nicholas Kristof. It's catching on.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-77308089642743563422008-02-06T21:18:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:07:46.215-05:00

I was going to resist writing this post because arguments about the supposed "electability" of candidates are anathema to me. One should always vote one's convictions and not try to divine how the rest of this fickle country will react to one or the other candidate. But looking at the demographics of yesterday's vote, I couldn't resist. If you look at the demographics, Hillary and McCain

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-81992412206511870392008-02-04T17:16:00.002-06:002008-03-11T17:08:42.631-05:00

Another example of a difference in quality of judgment between Obama and Hillary on the issue of Cluster Bombs, via my friend Octopus Grigori.

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-76183561216660181322008-02-04T14:16:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:10:19.492-05:00

Praising Pierre Boulez for his fine touch in Stravinsky is - to use a wonderful German expression - like carrying owls to Athens. But as expected as such mastery is from Boulez and the CSO, as amazing it is anyway to hear it in person, as it was last Saturday. Boulez claims to not revise his interpretations over time. But listening to this concert it would be hard to believe that this conductor (

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-36245698013488737642008-01-30T22:23:00.002-06:002008-03-11T21:02:07.620-05:00

The Tonic Blotter endorses Barack Obama for president (not that you have to pretend to be surprised). But let us explain why.Taking the Democratic candidates' platforms at their word, Edwards certainly was the most appealing candidate to any progressive voter, if one was willing to ignore some of the more patently unrealistic populist points. One would have wanted to vote for him, if only to get

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-32540993028545987732008-01-29T20:52:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:14:01.294-05:00

If last Saturday's eighth blackbird performance nearly turned the Harris Cavern into a dance club, the opening of Monday's MusicNOW program could have been confused for a European government-funded new music workshop of circa thirty-five years ago, the bleakness of Harris underscoring the obligatory all-black dresscode of Wallin and Salonen. Wallin and Endresen's LautLeben (sound life or loud

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-74531567609532530862008-01-29T20:45:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:15:15.932-05:00

How can an ornithologically inclined music lover resist a group with a name like "eighth blackbird"? Hot on the heels of their triple Grammy nomination, Chicago's resident travelling new music ensemble presented a program at the Harris Theater last Saturday centered around three works from the album that earned them those nominations, strange imaginary animals. For this concert, they combined

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-19313468342045082372008-01-28T10:29:00.002-06:002008-03-11T19:51:12.498-05:00

Just a year and a half old, we (along with thirteen ways, Wellsung and Brian Dickie) get a mention (yay, we're famous!) in TimeOut Chicago as one of "a handful of Chicago bloggers [who] raise our city’s scene to national prominence", thanks to dear old Mr. Geelhoed. I think this means we have to say something intelligent and musically relevant again soon... Time for a traffic counter as well,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-81091228443457332742008-01-23T18:02:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:22:50.879-05:00

A big round of applause, everyone, for Burt Rutan and Richard Branson: two daydreamers whose imaginations are firmly stuck in a glorified past of daring aviator heroes and space explorers reaching for new frontiers. The dynamic duo have just publicly unveiled the design for their new spacecraft SpaceShipTwo and its carrier airplane, WhiteKnightTwo (note the oh-so-cool elimination of spaces and

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-67675417311420907542008-01-23T10:15:00.003-06:002009-08-06T18:43:45.530-05:00

After the Polianichko debacle of the previous week, it was nice to be reminded by Antonio Pappano how good the CSO can sound in Russian repertoire (even without some of those absentee fair-weather woodwind principals). Pappano brought fine detail to Liadov's rarely heard "The Enchanted Lake" and a lush, warm string sound and majestic sweep to Rachmaninov's Second Symphony. Admittedly, climaxes

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-18748006054009792932008-01-21T17:27:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:25:25.908-05:00

I happened to catch a fascinating interview yesterday with Calvin DeWitt on "Speaking of Faith" on NPR. I urge you all to listen to it online and look at the related video. Calvin DeWitt discusses achievements in Wisconsin (and elsewhere) in merging evangelical Christianity with a commitment to healthy living and environmental conservation ("creation care"). It will come as no great news to

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-33401740121949958132008-01-18T14:11:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:26:11.430-05:00

The last sunny day before a prognosticated drastic drop in temperatures was too nice not to use the opportunity to go see Chicago's most famous visiting migrant birds, allowing me to add a very rare lifer to my list. Of the originally reported parliament of seven, only three birds remain as of noon today. The others may have spread around the Chicago area, accounting for some of the other

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-83391702872786009212008-01-15T14:22:00.002-06:002008-03-11T17:27:11.948-05:00

The sad thing when a mediocre conductor steps before an orchestra as accomplished as the CSO to conduct a standard repertoire piece is that, if the piece ends with a bang, the audience will inevitably rise to its feet and applaud anyway. Lest Alexander Polianichko think that his conducting last Thursday in any way merited these ovations, let us quickly disabuse him of that misperception. The CSO

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-19123347544393040982007-12-28T12:52:00.002-06:002008-03-11T17:31:36.306-05:00

I have previously observed how in our capitalistic age material possessions often seem to be treated with greater care then human lives when wars break out. In the aftermath of the mayhem in Pakistan the Captivate screen in my office elevator yesterday went to the next level of materialist obsession by antropomorphizing financial intangibles with the following headline:"Stocks Hurt by Pakistan

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-78604879910859410492007-12-26T11:36:00.002-06:002008-03-11T17:32:38.662-05:00

Before you forget all about 2007, on the second to last day of the still current year, the weekly BP Chicago Symphony Orchestra radio broadcast will feature what IMHO was one of Daniel Barenboim's greatest musical achievements during his tenure as the CSO's music director: his take on Schubert's "Great" C major symphony (No.9, D944). A quick browse through the online catalogue of the CSO's

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-80186620720079439522007-12-19T22:45:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:34:33.238-05:00

Breaking my pattern this year of attending only final performances of a given opera's run, I went to see the premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic at the Lyric Opera last Friday. While the Lyric is the third opera house to host this production directed by Peter Sellars (after the San Francisco Opera and the De Nederlandse Opera), it is the first to present the new and improved version in the US,

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-26151830168044627762007-12-05T09:16:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:37:52.816-05:00

Since va tacito has been stuck quite persistently on continuous loop inside my head for the past four days, I should probably mention that I managed to snag two tickets to the Lyric's sold-out final performance of Händel's Giulio Cesare last Saturday. The season's first ice storm must have kept some patrons away, resulting in a fair number of returns and empty seats.David Daniels' singing of the

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-85896684133074058362007-12-03T10:38:00.002-06:002009-08-06T18:44:04.865-05:00

You can't fool them all of the time. As the Russians rubberstamped a continuation of Vladimir Putin's neo-Tsarist/Stalinist rule, Venezuelans bravely told Hugo Chávez "¡No Más!", rejecting with a 51% majority his attempt to change the constitution to allow him to stay in office beyond constitutional term limits (among other amendments designed to entrench "Bolivarian Socialism"). The Russian

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-22611953175663034282007-11-28T13:55:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:41:54.374-05:00

A fortuitous change in my Thanksgiving weekend plans meant that I had the opportunity to attend the final performance of this season's run of Julie Taymor's staging of die Zauberflöte at the Met, which also was Diana Damrau's final performance as Queen of the Night, a role she is retiring. (Opera Chic has a note on the subject, as well as a link to a video of a prior performance of the Queen by

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-75640872766933665152007-11-15T09:50:00.001-06:002008-03-11T17:42:40.960-05:00

In the ongoing haggling over the arbitrary cancellation of Lufthansa Cargo's overflight rights through Russian airspace (the Tonic Blotter reported), things have taken an interesting twist. According to the Russian Transport Minstry, the German government has rolled over and accepted a future move of Lufthansa's Asian cargo hub from Astana to Krasnoyarsk as a concession for the Russians reopening

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31437918.post-52619404031459026632007-11-14T10:41:00.002-06:002008-03-11T17:45:14.710-05:00

The good news first: yesterday's performance of Prokofiev and Berlioz by Martha Argerich and the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra under the direction of Charles Dutoit was spectacular. More on that below. But first I need to whine and complain at length about a major irritation.[rant]How can it be that a performance by Martha Agerich, one of today's most adored and inspiring performers, could

MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457596451870591993noreply@blogger.com0