Childhood memories are powerful triggers. Two nights ago, I found myself telling the grandkids an inconsequential, long-ago story. Yet, as the details of the memory hit me, they stopped me cold. My grandson had sweetly suggested that grandpa should put in an elevator so grandma … Read more
Hummel, Trumpet Concerto Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) was recognized early as a child prodigy. At the age of 8, he was taken by his father (a violinist) to Vienna and began studying piano with Mozart and even lived under Mozart’s roof (a practice not uncommon … Read more
The 1927 musical Showboat is very much on my mind. On January 23rd, Showboat will be our initial opera in this spring’s lineup for the series “A Night at the Opera.” Not the first Broadway musical we’ve offered in the nearly three-years of this series, … Read more
Veracini, Overture No. 6 in G minor Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768) was born into a musical family in Florence, Italy. He forged a successful performing career as a violinist in Venice. From there he secured a position in Dresden from 1716 to 1723. Returning to … Read more
A favorite podcast of mine happens to be Classical Et. Cetera, a production of Memoria Press. In the interests of full disclosure, I adore the people who regularly populate its episodes: Paul Schaeffer, Martin Cothran, Tanya Charlton, and, until recently, Sean Saxon. Other folks move … Read more
Viet Cuong, Re(new)al It is traditional to ring in the New Year with a toast, accompanied hopefully by a sense of optimism. So we can start a new year of our Friday Performance Picks the same way. Viet Cuong begins his composition Re(new)al with a … Read more
Seeing The Great Books of the Western World spread crisply across the upper shelves of the library at CiRCE Institute’s new headquarters triggered powerful memories for me. Indeed, it was precisely this set of books that, long ago, signaled the existence of a world beyond … Read more
Praetorius, Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming Christmas is not over yet. We are in the midst of the Christmas Season—the twelve days of Christmas—although this post probably won’t hit the weekly digest until the season is almost over. The source of the text of … Read more
Kent, I’ll Be Home for Christmas First recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” expressed the desire of U.S. Soldiers in World War II to be back home. The song’s enormous popularity soon took it well beyond that original context, and … Read more
Whenever possible, we wait to put up our tree on the morning of Christmas Eve. This year, December 24th falls on the fourth Sunday of Advent, entailing morning services and two Christmas Eve masses for those singing in the choir. Clearly, that won’t be the … Read more
