Since many performances are currently being postponed due to the virus pandemic I thought it was useful to once again direct attention to a few (three) videos that present some live performance and commentary.Take care. Links:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KRxC8CGLA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whOKhuzQI4E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcvrYk4ly-8
Great melodies, bold harmonies, audacious rhythms, plenty of virtuosity (Prokofiev was a piano virtuoso himself) and lots of Slavic charm and character. For the past several weeks I have been listening repeatedly to these three concertos and only finding more and more to discover and admire each time. I have been a fan of the “Third” for many years but …
The award-winning documentary about the life and career of Reynold Philipsek, A Life Well Played, now available free on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StVG2TaKqbw. A Life Well Played was screened across the U.S. and Canada during the fall 2016 Film Festival circuit, and was awarded “Best Documentary Short” honors by the Highway 61 Film Festival. Film Synopsis What would it be like …
Rembrandt von Rijn painted about 50 paintings of himself as well as 32 etchings and 7 drawings he created on the same subject. In this age of the “selfie” many may be inclined to think that this predilection is self-indulgent but I don’t think this is the case with Rembrandt. First of all, in the 17th Century such artwork was …
In my pursuits as an autodidact I find that one discovery leads to another and that this rather circuitous path never seems to end. So the more I search the more I “discover.” For instance, my intense interest in the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) led to my stumbling upon Carel Fabritius. Fabritius came slightly before Vermeer and both were …
A pretty sure sign that your having “writers block” is when you commence making lists of your favorite compositions much like I did in my last blog. I have had “blocks” before and I don’t much let them upset me like I used to. S. J. Perelman (perhaps my favorite writer) explained them as being the natural consequence of having …