Classical Music, Poetry and stuff

[Stavros]

Originally Posted by Prospero This is fun
http://flavorwire.com/188138/the-30-...lts-in-history

13. Gore Vidal on Truman Capote
“He’s a full-fledged housewife from Kansas with all the prejudices.”


Excellent link Prospero! Vidal on Capote: the word 'bitch' comes to mind...but also how unreasonable some comments are -Jane Austen wrote with an uncommon fluency; I doubt Lawrence understood much of Joyce;but his remarks about Melville are astonishing -the execution of Billy Budd is to my mind one of the finest examples of writing in English; Melville, along with Emerson and Thoreau is part of the Holy Trinity of American letters.


Meanwhile, rather than acid remarks, Edmund Wilson in Classics & Commercials, a Literary Chronicle of the Forties, offers something rare: 'A Dissenting Opinion on Franz Kafka', pointing out how poorly organised his papers were but dismissing him for being dishonest and lacking in purpose. In The Bit Between My Teeth, A Literary Chronicle of 1950-1965', Wilson lays into Tolkien with a dimissive piece 'Oh, those awful orcs', believing the Lord of the Rings to be repetitive, lacking characters with depth, and to be more suitable for 9 year olds than adults.

[Stavros]

Jericho most of these films about politicians, queens and other leaders are usually bland especially if they are still alive -they dont want to end up in court. The BBC is about to broadcast a three-party 'biopgraphy' of Muhammad, by Rageh Omar who has been to 'the region' and along with the 'facts' about the 'Messenger' there will be the usual 'Here I am in Mecca', 'Here I am in Medina', 'Here I am in Jerusalem' and probably the biting question to some Imam 'What does Islam mean to us today'? And so on. I daresay this will generate more comment when it is broadcast.

[Prospero]

I have no doubt whatsoever that Rageh Omar's film will be a very well executed and utterly respectful film which will be scrupulous in not offending any Muslim sensibilities. The BBC cannot afford to ruffle any feathers in the region or the wider Muslim world. No question whatsoever could be asked in this context of the veracity of the archangel Gibreel's revelations or the nature of the Qur'an. There will surely be no interrogation of the perversion of islam implicit in the entire Wahabist vision - which holds the fountainhead of the faith in its grip and exports its poison globally.

[Prospero]

Bump.....

[Paige]

Stavros-It's strange that you mention Mitsuko doing Schubert's sonatas-i've been hoping to get the set for about a year. i have a 2-cd set by Pete Klein, which is good, but really want to hear Mitsuko. Schubert is my great love, along with Mozart. Also looking for a complete set of Beethoven sonatas, if i can afford it. I had six years of piano, didn't do much good, but i love the piano repertoire.

[Stavros]

Some of Uchida's Schubert recordings have divided the critics more than any other performer I can think of in recent times. When she released her disc with the Sonata in D D850 and the Sonata in A D784 Gramophone magazine published two reviews, one in favour, one against. Her tempi in D784 are extreme, at one point in the mystical andante, one of the most astonishing things Schubert wrote, it sounds like Messiaen rather than Schubert, but it works for me. I also have the complete set by Wilhelm Kempff and once spent a week playing each sonata by each performer back to back -they are both outstanding musicians, but for me Uchida digs deeper into the sub-surface of Schubert's musical world to bring forth treasures I dont hear in Kempff. Another contrast would be to listen to Andras Schiff, whose ability to transform dynamic and exciting music into something bland and lifeless is truly depressing; Murray Perahia is another pianist who kills music every time he plays it. There are a few complete Beethoven sets around, my guess is they all have something to offer -with the obvious exceptions (Parahia and Schiff specifically, Maurizio Pollini is another pianist whose musicianship does nothing for me), and with the Summer sales on there are bargains to be had; Brendel would be a possible target, or Asheknazy. Unfortunately in the UK for real shopping the main HMV store on Oxford St in London remains the best in the UK, otherwise one has to search on Amazon for bargains. I stopped playing the piano when I was I think 9 or 10, big mistake!

[Prospero]

Highly recommended in London - Kevin Spacey as Richard III at the Old Vic. He totally commands the stage making a darkness palpable. Directed by Sam Mendes.

[Paige]

Stavros & Prospero-You guys in London make me jealous- I am up in the Blue Ridge Mountains here-one of the most complex & beautiful nature preserves in the world, but you are much more likely to get a good discussion on dealing with bears than on Schubert/Shakespeare & so forth. The plus side is, there are some excellent Music centers and drama festivals in the summer-heard Frederika von Stade singing Mahler during a June rain-shower two years ago-sort of like hearing music in your sleep. Still, I'd love to wander around London for a few days. If there's room for one more American.

[Stavros]

Paige -I don't live in London, where there is plenty of room for intelligent, sensitive Americans...and I have no doubt Prospero will be willing to show you around the capital...whereas the Blue Ridge Mountains and Frederica von Stade sound more appealing to me that Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon, but I had no idea there were bears in North Carolina...I thought they migrated to Canada to get away from the Carolinas Golf Courses...

[Stavros]

Highly recommended in London - Kevin Spacey as Richard III

I guess its a step forward from Keyser Soze...