Day 153: Symphony No. 9 in D minor (Jochum)

My listening post this evening is with another kombucha to my right, John Suchet’s book Beethoven: The Man Revealed to my left, and in the background is Season 1, Episode 3 (“Sally and the Lab Technician”) of the fantastic Dick Van Dyke Show – for my money, the best-written, best acted TV series of all … [Read more…]

Day 135: Symphony No. 8 in F major (Jochum)

My listening post this morning is with the classic 1954 holiday movie White Christmas (the first movie filmed in VistaVision) in the background, this year’s Christmas tree (as yet undecorated) on my right, a fresh sliced avocado on the table beside me on my right, a cup of fresh-brewed coffee on my left, and German … [Read more…]

Day 117: Symphony No. 7 in A major (Jochum)

My listening post this morning is in a tiny house in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. If you look really closely at Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night, just to the right of the steeple, you can see me. I’m wearing a red beret. Just kidding. Actually, my listening post this morning is inside a steamer trunk. It’s … [Read more…]

Day 27: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Jochum)

My “office” this morning is a D&W grocery store with a Starbucks inside. I’m in the dining area. A Coke machine taunts me, albeit in vain, from the opposite wall. I don’t drink soda (or pop as we call it) all that often. When I do, it doesn’t come from a machine in a grocery … [Read more…]

Day 9: Symphony No. 1 in C Major (Jochum)

If I recall my conductors correctly, German Eugen Jochum (1902-1987) was one of the best of the best when it came to Anton Bruckner’s symphonies. I know because I listened to Jochum 18 times as he conducted Bruckner’s nine symphonies from two different box sets. (See 144 Days With Bruckner And Me.) I think I … [Read more…]