June 2008
Listen up! [part 2.0]
Since I began recommending obscure contemporary and classic recordings with my 'Headphones' widget at the left I've been experimenting with other web 2.0 methods for sharing my musical tastes. I recently estabished a profile at last.fm and am using the service to feed a new page on this site with an automatically updating list of what I am currently hearing on my Grados. The listing refreshes regularly, and individual track details at last.fm include artist information, streaming music, recommendations and links to iTunes and/or amazon.com.
Czech this
115 years ago Antonín Dvořák conducted his Eighth Symphony at Bohemian Day of the Chicago World's Fair. The orchestra numbered over 100, and the enthusiastic audience several thousand. The following summer the composer spent a summer in Spillville here in northeast Iowa. This past spring the WCFSO revisited Dvořák's time in the American midwest through several performances [including a program for elementary school students] of the music he performed in our region.
Dvořák – Symphony no. 8, Adagio, opening
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, April 5, 2008
LO on air
This summer WUOL will broadcast the Louisville Orchestra's 2007/8 classical season. If you’re not in the Louisville area get the mp3 stream here. [All broadcasts are at 7pm EST.]
Fanfara: Rachmaninoff Third with Howard Shelley – July 6
Balanchine program with Lee Luvisi – July 13
Shostakovich Fourth – July 20
Beethoven Fourth and Pascal Rogé – July 27
Harmonica Highlights with Robert Bonfiglio – August 3
Romeo & Juliet – August 10
Music for Spring with Howard Shelley – August 17
Concerto for Bandoneon with Daniel Binelli – August 24
Season Finale with Philippe Quint – August 31
Man-made mess?
More on the recent flooding in eastern Iowa. This morning Iowa Public Radio's Pat Blank reports that New Hartford, a town near where I live and through which I regularly ride my bike, is nearing the point of no return after a tornado and flooding this past month. Daniel Schorr responds, citing Cedar Falls city council member Kamyar Enshayan's comments in the Washington Post about human interventions in the Iowa landscape.
I've known Kamyar for several years and deeply respect the work he has undertaken in our area. Read some of his past musings on the environment and community activism at the Des Moines Register blogs.
So I've heard
So I've heard that Alan Rich, one of this country's most essential music critics, has a new spot on the web. [Link is also updated on the blogroll.]
The answer is 'no'
And the question asked by Colin Holter is whether conservatories and schools of music are offering curricula appropriate to the ultimate career activities of their graduates.
For years I've been telling anyone who will listen that – based on my experiences as a student, performer and occasional university educator – the conservatory system in this country is essentially broken and is progressively marginalizing itself and the industry which it serves. Nor did the session Colin attended at the League of American Orchestras conference seem to offer anything new on this topic; the troubles at American music schools should be painfully obvious to anyone who has ever frequented their classrooms.
Chairmen of the board
Two recent articles by Andrew Adler of the Courier-Journal profile the outgoing and incoming board presidents of the Louisville Orchestra. Joe Pusateri took an unconventional approach to his three-year term leading the orchestra's directors and achieved some notable results, including pulling back the organization's once-sizable debt. His successor Tom Noland brings a different style to the job but shares Pusateri's passion for the overall health of the ensemble and its continued relevance in the community.
Solomon, WCFSO on air [rebroadcast]
Broadcast – My April 5, 2008 concert with the WCFSO featuring pianist Alex Solomon will be rebroadcast on Iowa Public Radio's Symphonies of Iowa series Monday, June 16 at 8:00 pm and Saturday morning, June 21 at 10:00 am. [As always, time given is local.]
Water everywhere
Cedar Falls and Waterloo have been in the national news this week due to record flooding along the Cedar River, which runs through both cities' downtowns. Several local highways are covered and many residents in lower-lying areas [including our WCFSO administrative assistant] have been evacuated.
Hundreds of volunteers helped sandbag levees in Cedar Falls on Tuesday and Wednesday in an effort to keep water away from historic Main Street. The first image of the slideshow above is the intersection of 1st and Franklin streets in downtown Cedar Falls, about 1 mile from where I live.
The eeriest aspect of this natural disaster – after a winter and spring dominated by dangerous weather – is that it has unfolded for the most part under the calmest, clearest skies of the year in Iowa. [Photo slideshows are from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier webcasts site.]
Solomon, WCFSO on air
Broadcast – My April 5, 2008 concert with the WCFSO featuring pianist Alex Solomon will air on Iowa Public Radio's Symphonies of Iowa series tonight at 8:00 pm and Saturday morning, June 7 at 9:55 am. [As always, time given is local.]
Eames to please
The American designer Charles Eames was born 101 years ago this month – June's links focus on the celebrated body of work he created with his wife Ray.
Eames Office The primary web resource
Powers of 10 An influential concept film
Case Study House no. 8 [pdf] The Eames House, near where I grew up
MoMA & Library of Congress Eames in collection
Herman Miller & Vitra Licensed producers of Eames designs
eamescollector.com Resource for vintage collecting
Eames Demetrios Extending the legacy of Charles and Ray