What a shame: Von heute auf morgen (via Boulezian) reports that Thomas Quasthoff, one of my favorite singers, has abruptly announced his retirement from the concert stage, cancelling all forthcoming appearances. The baritone cited health reasons for the decision; thankfully, he will continue to teach. And Quasthoff threw in this zinger when he confirmed the story to news.at: “Moreover, in my view the classical music industry has become superficial. One gets the impression that there is no one left except David Garrett.” Ouch
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Bravo, Maestro Gilbert!
“Thousand dollar fine”? In this very rare case, I’d support the death sentence, but, failing that, I’ll settle for the proposal Tim Smith floats in the last three paragraphs of his coverage.
UPDATE: Amanda Kell has more details and perspective.
Video of the Day — Boulez Conducts Janácek
The finale from Janácek’s Sinfonietta with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, performed at Royal Albert Hall during the 2008 Proms.
Video of the Day — Baroque.me
Alexander Chen’s “baroque.me”, an uncannily cool realization of the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite in G Major, BWV1007 (which may, in fact, have been composed by Anna Magdalena Bach).
Check it out at Vimeo
You can see a Flash implementation of the above video at baroque.me.
Video of the Day — Traces to Nowhere
The opening segment of Eric Schulz’s brilliant and deeply moving documentary about conductor Carlos Kleiber.
Video of the Day — Anna Shkolnikova: Perpetuum Mobile
A recent, retro-Soviet-style string piece reminiscent of Shostakovich and Khachaturian (and Bernard Herrmann?) — enjoy!
Holiday Cheer
Something a little different for this year (that also kinda hints at my age), courtesy of Walt Kelly and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Hat tip: “DerDingle” on YouTube.
Before there was Doonesbury or Bloom County, there was Walt Kelly’s Pogo. Their mutated lyrics to “Deck Us All with Boston Charlie” (and a little analysis and speculation in true Walt Kelly fashion) can be found here.
Happy holidays!
Anthony Amato, 1920-2011
While I was taking a break from typing up my review of Tuesday’s superb Messiah at Avery Fisher Hall, I learned that Anthony Amato — founder of the little tiny New York City opera company that could, the Amato Opera — died yesterday at the age of 91.
UPDATE: WQXR has published an obituary.
UPDATE 2: Here’s the NY Times “The Local” obituary.
Busy Busy Busy
Apologies for the dearth of posting. Here’s one thing I’ve been working on recently; if you like vintage electronica, virtuoso drumming, or Joan LaBarbara, you are especially urged to click on the linky goodness. And if you like Piazzolla or tangos in general, check this out.
Turkey Overdose Recovery Music: Speakers Matter
About a month ago, a pair of enormous shipping crates arrived at the New York apartment. Mrs. Synaphaï nearly freaked out.
Continue reading Turkey Overdose Recovery Music: Speakers Matter