My listening post this evening is in my recliner in front of the TV, with the classic movie The Dirty Dozen playing in the background. In the foreground is French conductor Pierre Monteux (1875-1964), the Boston Symphony, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, I can assure you. In my … [Read more…]
This morning, I find myself listening to conductor George Szell (1897-1970), The Cleveland Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major. I first encountered Maestro Szell in my Beethoven project on… Day 16. Rating: “Meh!” Day 34. Rating: “Meh!” Day 52. Rating: “Huzzah!” What will today bring? I’ll soon find out. Beethoven wrote … [Read more…]
This morning, under mostly cloudy skies and a temperature of just 56 degrees F., I’m glad to be inside, in another of my Happy Places: a Chick-fil-A restaurnt. But I’m not alone. I have my ninja to keep me company. I like to think he’s a friend. But he’s a ninja. So, like our cat, … [Read more…]
This morning, as I wait to meet up with my mom and brother for breakfast, I find myself sitting in a Tim Horton’s restaurant sipping coffee and eating a Boston Creme donut. Both are delicious. Just what I needed to start my morning. Well, that and conductor Herbert Blomstedt (1927- ), my wife, Staatskapelle Dresden, … [Read more…]
I have a love/hate relationship with Fall. On the love side, I dig the cooler temperatures, the lower humidity, and the snap in the air. As Fall progresses (at least, here in Michigan) I enjoy the changing colors on the trees. October is my favorite month, partly because of Ray Bradbury’s incomparable book Something Wicked … [Read more…]
My office this morning while I blog is New Beginnings restaurant. My breakfast is a Mexican chicken all white meat omelette with jalapenos inside and enough Frank’s RedHot and Tabasco sauce on top to make my eyes water. Yummy. I first encountered Pierre Monteux (1875-1964) – and I do mean the first; I didn’t run … [Read more…]
A couple of years ago (April 15, 2014 – July 9, 2014, to be exact), I listened to everything Beethoven composed as part of a (failed) three-year exploration of great works that I called 1095 Days With The Masters And Me. (You can read about why my three-year project failed on the My Year-Long Project … [Read more…]