Mysteries Abysmal

James Joyce program (update)

Dear Mr. Manning,

I write to inform you that you have been awarded a scholarship to attend the
ninth annual Trieste Joyce School. etc...

This could be an experience.

Aschenbach lebt!

Restaurateur, Cape-Codder, and fellow Iowan-at-heart Mr. Tobin Wirt recently returned to the States after drifting around Europe for a few months. I had requested he pick me up a copy of Death in Venice in its original German. And honestly, after a few days, I had completely forgotten I'd asked him. So imagine my joy to see it wedged in the mailbox today. Thanks Tobin!

Excerpt:

Und noch desselben Tages empfing eien respektvoll erschütterte Welt die Nachricht von seinem Tode.

uh oh...did I just give away the ending?

A chum's blog

While I'm out for a few days finishing up a paper, be sure to scour Dave Eagle's reviews of some recent records that have come out to his liking.  Entertaining writing as usual. 

Also Dave, I think Tolstoy's slam on Rachmaninoff was probably  more of a result of his heightened spirituality at the time.  I doubt he criticized Rachmaninoff for being maudlin; given that Tolstoy adored Tchaikovsky. Poor Rach though; especially after coming off that dreadful debut of his 1st symphony.  One wonders what kept his motor running. 

Industry

This mile long factory was the original setting for David Lynch's Eraserhead*. It is also the scene of my hometown; Lansing, Michigan. This building once housed General Motors, but will soon be leveled (I believe it's now overrun with rats and vagrants). My dad, the visionary, snapped some shots for preservation. To think this Lansing relic, this monstrocity of industrial heritage garbed in a hideous Fenway-esque green, will inevitably be razed to make way for an Old Country Buffet and Cabella's Bait & Tackle Superstore. Where's the pride, man?

(photos courtesy of Ab Manning)

*Not really

Gone writin'

Work on the 22 pages of midterm essays I need to assemble by April 27th has gone much slower than imagined. It's crunch time until then.

Probably no updates for a few days. However, I might post a quick photo if the opportunity arises.

Nielsen/Mompou

Alex Ross and Kyle Gann from Post Classic both agree that Carl Nielsen is the most underrated composer of the 20th century. I personally think Nielsen has earned the notoriety he deserves, and is in fact much more of a familiar name than say his 19th century predecessor and fellow countryman Neils W. Gade. But I will certainly not pass judgment until I've heard more of him. And where's the love for the 3rd symphony; the one that starts exactly the way Sibelius's 5th ends. The Spanish and exotic tinge of the andante, or the whole work for that matter sounds surprisingly authentic for a Dane. A breakthrough work for him, indeed.

But moving on, one of my votes goes to a real Spaniard in Federico Mompou, whose music is morosely remniscient of Satie; yet contains something a little more. His 12 Variations sur un théme de Chopin are his most creative pieces; the first variation being a personal fav. And how can I not mention his signature Impressions íntimes, the very pieces that introduced me to him; and thanks to Hunter for that.

But I suppose, like most composers who concentrated solely on keyboard music, that he'll have a hard time drawing serious listeners; unlike the symphonists. Even that superhuman and sublime Chopin did.

A new humor in Plato

If you've ever read Plato's dialogues you will recall that the discourse (if you can call it that) between Socrates and his numbskull punching bags tend to be very formulaic and staged; insofar that our philosopher does all of the discoursing. Socrates will rant for paragraphs on end to which his inferior will almost always reply "Yes, indeed!" or "I would certainly like to think so!" and even sometimes an elated "Oh Boy!"

So with that in mind, imagine how oddly funny this was when Plato finally decided to deviate from the common track:
Socrates: And the more beautiful a thing is, the more lovable it is?
Glaucon: Naturally
Socrates: Therefore, the more people are of this type, the more a cultured person will love them. If they're discordant, however, he will not love them.
Glaucon: No, he won't, if they have a mental defect; but if their flaw is physical, he'll put up with it and not refuse his affection.
Socrates: I appreciate what you're saying and I know you are or were in love with someone like that, so I concede the point.

Where o where in the hell did that come from?

"But not for me"

I had an interview with the CSO today.

Or so I thought. I was called yesterday to interview for the promotions sector of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Free tickets? Oh yeah. And I was even more interested since the hours accomodated my school schedule and that it was also a foot-in-the-door at one of this country's oldest music institutions. So I get there and she takes me up to the second floor. Turns out it's a completely separate company that works for the CSO. How very sly of them to not mention this in the want ad. And to make matters worse, the job itself boils down to a glorified telemarketing gig. The more season packages/subscriptions you sell, the more cash bonuses you get. Now you wanna hear the best part? When you make a sale, there's a big bell you have to ring so your co-workers can applaud you and party down.

Anybody who knows me would say "that is so you, Bryant." ;)

Amway'd again.

Chumps.

My folks and Crispin Glover.

Below is my mom and one of my favorite actors of all time, Crispin Hellion Glover. My dad is behind the camera. Father wanted to discuss Glover's new movie, What is it? and some of his other past projects, but after waiting in line for 3 1/2 hours and the hour itself approaching 3 a.m., he kept it short out of respect for the tired.

(click on photo to enlarge)

Satisfied

While most of my time is spoken for with reading and writing for class, my few idle moments have been dedicated to perfecting this impromptu in G-flat from Schubert on piano. This morning, after a few years of lazy unfocused readings, I finally cut to the crap and played it to my liking; soft, delicate and fluid. For such a deceptively simple sounding piece, its key signature, abundant in flats, presents obvious difficulties and the slow, constant rhythmic pace of your fingers must never blink in hesitation. Bringing out the subtle dynamics and executing the perfectly sequenced trills in the bass are also problematic.

The measures above are my favorite, particularly the top right and middle two pictured. So innocent sounding these bars are you barely recognize the same sequence occurs only 14 measures later in a totally different key; E-flat. I cannot find a recording of this music without some choppiness ala a Gould performed prelude or invention. I'm holding out hope for Andras Schiff though. I see he's recorded them on Decca.

And if you haven't seen this movie yet, the impromptu gloriously resonates in of its most memorable scenes.