Clippings

Perahia at Kennedy Center

In October, I won tickets to a performance by Murray Perahia.

 

Unbelievable luck! Won tickets to WPAS performance by Murray Perahia at Kennedy Center. Bach, Schumann, and more this weekend.Thu Oct 15 18:29:32 via TweetieMike Schultz
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Perahia spellbinding in first half of Bach Partita and Beerhoven op. 109. Audience response and buzz is enthusiastic.Sat Oct 17 23:01:33 via TweetieMike Schultz
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Chopin my favorite part, especially Etude and Scherzo. Playing here seemed especially free and attractive.Sat Oct 17 23:09:06 via TweetieMike Schultz
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Attention flagged during Schumann, but Kinderszenen (?) is not my cup of tea. Perahia got more out of it for me than most.Sat Oct 17 23:10:41 via TweetieMike Schultz
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Brahms Intermezzo and another Etude for generous and satisfying encore.Sat Oct 17 23:11:06 via TweetieMike Schultz
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Valid theory? Used to listening to younger performers. Feel like they call attention to selves; older artists like Perahia focus on music.Sat Oct 17 23:14:56 via TweetieMike Schultz
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Old News: Tsujii at Kennedy Center, More

That post about a Lincoln Center performance reminded me I should take advantage of the new embedded tweet feature to capture my impressions of a recent Kennedy Center performance.

Tsujii at #KenCen: good in Chopin; great in Liszt. Schumann leaves me cold. 200 years later I wish Marion Barry could tell him 2 get over itSat May 01 20:04:41 via BirdhouseMike Schultz
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Tsujii magnificent in "Pictures..." at #kencen. Seen many pianists I wished would scale back. This first I've seen who needs big pieces.Sat May 01 20:08:21 via TweetieMike Schultz
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So I started searching my Twitter stream and found some more. This from a performance by Cedric Tiberghien in September.

Kennedy Center opener. Straightforward, muscular Chopin in first half; Ravel and Debussy to look forward to.Sat Sep 26 18:51:45 via BirdhouseMike Schultz
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Chopin a miracle and mystery. Wide dynamics, wild tempos, disparate melodies. Seems like a frenzied mess, but always coheres, solid, calm.Sat Sep 26 18:52:01 via BirdhouseMike Schultz
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Pentagon Looking to Repair Damaged Brains with Implants

Pentagon research arm DARPA has handed out about $15 million to various institutions to research new implants that would replace damaged parts of the brain, allowing people to return to normal.

The implants developed by the project will likely be composed of electrodes or optical fibers, and will sit on the surface of the brain. They'll read electrical signals from neurons, and deliver appropriate light pulses to stimulate other brain regions in response. The implants would allow the brain to operate normally, by acting as substitutes for areas that were damaged or "unavailable."

via gizmodo.com

Some interesting news, and some philosophy besides...

Musical Tradition

Just watched a Lincoln Center performance by Emmanuel Ax, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma. They paused between pieces to tell a little of the tradition behind the music and to show how close we really are to composers born 200 years ago. Ax once played a Brahms piece for Rubinstein, who corrected his tempo. He explained that his tempo had been corrected by Joachim, who conducted the world premier performance with the composer at the keyboard. That ought to be a pretty definitive opinion on the tempo.
Ma borrowed a famous Stradivarius cello to play the next piece. It had once belonged to the man to whom Mendelssohn had dedicated the piece. It is entirely likely that the composer had heard that instrument played. And between owners, the cello belonged to Jacquline du Pre. Seems incredible that the line to people we think are so remote from us is really so short.