My listening post this morning, Christmas morning, is in front of the tree (now laden with presents to be unwrapped later today), with our cat sitting, ludicrously, in the middle of the floor, and the 1947 holiday movie The Bishop’s Wife on in the background. The Bishop’s Wife is a classic through and through. It … [Read more…]
My listening post this morning is my happy place – the second floor of our local library. Very little pleases me more than gazing out on open spaces, while surrounded by books, in solitude, with music in my hears. If there is a heaven, that is what it will be to me. Anyway, as I … [Read more…]
My listening post this morning is in front of the TV with The Andy Griffith Show in the background, next to the lights of the Christmas tree, and quite near a cup of fresh-brewed coffee. The episode is “Ellie Saves a Female,” and it first aired on 17 April 1961 – which is two days … [Read more…]
My listening post this morning is way early – somewhere around 5am – with an episode of The Andy Griffith Show as background. The Andy G. episode is called “Andy and the New Mayor,” and it first aired on October 15, 1962. For my money, there’s no finer character ever written for TV than Barney … [Read more…]
My listening post this morning is the Restaurant-Chain-That-Must-Not-Be-Named where I am partaking of their signature Light Roast coffee, an Asiago bagel (toasted twice) with cream cheese…and a side of Hungarian conductor George Szell (1897-1970), the Cleveland Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major. The latter was BYO, by the way. They don’t actually … [Read more…]
My listening post this evening is with the TV series Grimm in the background, a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to my left, and a fresh page of a note pad to my right. (If you’ve never seen Grimm, you owe it to yourself. It’s a great cop show set in Portland, Oregon. It’s like a … [Read more…]
My listening post this evening/early morning is with the Irish TV series Ballykissangel in the background. In this scene (late in Season Three), Fr. Peter Clifford and local barkeep Assumpta Fitzgerald have a heart to heart chat while out on a walk. My wife hates Ballykissangel. She says it moves too slowly. Maybe it does. … [Read more…]
Just for something different, I decided to start my blog this evening with Andria Hoy, archivist for the Cleveland Orchestra, telling us about George Szell. I have no idea why. But it’s likely because I love complete box sets of a conductor’s or composer’s works. Plus, Andria recommended two Beethoven performances with Leon Fleisher that … [Read more…]
My listening post today is the same as it was yesterday. Same lake view. Same gray skies. Same cat tower, only – this time – sans chat. There’s one major difference: The conductor and the orchestra. Today, I find myself listening to French-American conductor Pierre Monteux (1875-1964), the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. … [Read more…]
My “office” this morning is the Restaurant-Chain-That-Must-Not-Be-Named for coffee and a bagel. And, of course, a helping of Hungarian-born American conductor and composer George Szell (1897-1970), the Cleveland Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor. Hot dog! Do I have a couple of hours lined up for myself, or what? I have to … [Read more…]