Mysteries Abysmal

Tom the writer

My unscientific sampling of movies from the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema now appears on the Time Out website.  And please welcome Tom Mullaney to the classical pages of the magazine for his preview of the Guarneri Quartet's farewell show at UofC.  I've had 36 consecutive weeks in the mag and it's nice to be getting a little help every now and then.  Next week, Mr. Mullaney will have a full-length feature on the St. Louis and Jerusalem Symphonies in light of their Harris Theatre performances.  Finally, Gavriel the Israeli cellist comes to Ravinia on Nov. 7.  He does not think an Obama presidency would mean the destruction of his home land.

EC²

Elliott Carter turns 100 in December and Frank J. Oteri has written an intimate retrospective on the composer in this month's issue of Symphony.  I can't find the article online, so I'll write out a quote that nicely illustrates this age-battered, almost tone deaf man who is, quite frankly, a lot younger in spirit than most of us. 

"I started music from what might be called the wrong end.  It was only years later that I could find Beethoven bearable. But even today I feel that a very good contemporary work interests me more than almost any piece of old music.  Pieces like Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta give me more sense of existence than almost any older music, which all seems like a beautiful picture of a path where there are no automobiles.  We're living in the present and we don't get that from the music we hear in most concerts."

Hard to argue with that, but hope is on the way. 83 year old Pierre Boulez conducts Carter's Reflexions w/ the CSO in February, which should be a highlight of 2009.  And I urge you to purchase the Ursula Oppens disc of his complete piano music just released on Chicago's very own Cedille label.  Lastly, did you know that Carter is older than Benjamin Britten?

Ice Ice Beethoven

Alex Ross shows us the unforeseen parallels between Queen's "We Will Rock You" and Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.  Not bad.  I have a connection too:  the bass-line in Queen's "Under Pressure" /Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" and the beat established by Beethoven in the first few bars of the Hammerklavier Sonata.   These similarities are evident within seconds of starting each video. 

8 minutes

Roger Ebert has created a stir in the film community after writing a review of a movie he only saw 8 minutes of.  He says,

I began viewing the movie on a DVD and taking notes. At what turned out to be the eight-minute mark, I paused the disc, looked at my notes so far, and thought, "There's my review right there." The movie had left me not wanting to see more.

His editor, Laura Emerick, (and also mine at the Sun-Times) gently called him out on it which has spawned some serious feedback on his blog to the tune of about 500 comments.  As always, Ebert takes everything in stride.  Honestly, in a career that includes some 10,000 odd film reviews, I'm surprised it's taken him these forty years to finally admit he couldn't brave another shitty film.  Bravo!  And if you take into consideration some recently bizzarre creationism posts on his blog not to mention a few humorous swipes at Sarah Palin and Jay Mariotti, it's safe to say Mr. Ebert is getting better with age.  Oh, and I almost forgot, his new book on Martin Scorsese was favorably reviewed by Time Out's film critic Hank Sartin.  

Water's Edge

If you've ever headed north on Lake Shore Drive approaching the Hollywood exit, you've certainly been distracted by a sprawling pink mass that rises off to your left. It's as if you've been transported to old Fort Lauderdale on spring break or something. You're in fact seeing the Edgewater Beach Apartments building that were once part of a larger vacation complex that was thee place to be seen back in the 1930s. When Lake Shore Drive was built in 1957, the resort's beachfront disappeared and so went with it all of its touristy and commercial appeal.  No longer would this area ever attract the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Gandhi, FDR,  or Frank Sinatra again. (Who in fact all stayed there.) Today it's one of my favorite buildings in Chicago and if you're patient enough for a distracted doorman, you can sneak in and snoop around its historical lobby.
(Not that we need more proof that its heyday has long passed, but penthouses were recently going for around $99,000. ) 

Chamber morsels

One Morse Town, Time Out Chicago, Oct 16 - 22

Quick reminder classical music kicks off this Sunday at the new Morse Theatre in Rogers Park. I broke in the theater last Friday for its opening weekend set (Taj Mahal blues trio) and the acoustics are smooth daddy.  I'm still curious how unplugged instruments will fare, but I'm encouraged. (Owner Andy McGhee generously let me test out Martha My Dear on their new Steinway.) And what a great vibe: I've been to almost every classical music space in Chicago and this one's the most inviting.  But maybe that's because you can't walk 3 feet without bumping into a fully-stocked bar. Lastly, a new career has launched: check out the article's photo credit. 

Hitchens comes around

"I used to call myself a single-issue voter on the essential question of defending civilization against its terrorist enemies and their totalitarian protectors, and on that "issue" I hope I can continue to expose and oppose any ambiguity. Obama is greatly overrated in my opinion, but the Obama-Biden ticket is not a capitulationist one, even if it does accept the support of the surrender faction, and it does show some signs of being able and willing to profit from experience. With McCain, the "experience" is subject to sharply diminishing returns, as is the rest of him, and with Palin the very word itself is a sick joke."

RTWTH

Pollini in threes

(Sunday, Oct 12, Symphony Center w/ pianist Maurizio Pollini)

Beethoven "Tempest" Sonata - Meditative, Perambulatory, Funky
Beethoven "Appassionata" Sonata - Portly, Pit-bulls, Breathtaking
Schumann "Fantasy," Op.17 - Numb, Perverse, Icicles
Chopin Mazurkas, Op.33 - Ghostly, Alive, Fresh
Chopin Scherzo #2 - Oopsy, Bored, Caffeinated

Pearl Fishers/Fireproof

Last night was Lyric's opening of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers and I wrote a short, skim-off-the-top review of it for the Time Out Blog.  I concentrate more than I should have on its fairly weak story, but luckily other stronger forces prevailed in the production.  In fact, this got me wondering about what kinds of stories have shown to connect with the American public over time. One that's certainly as old as the hills is the one about the fireman with an internet porn addiction who finds God to save his Christian marriage. That beloved fable was recently given an update for the big screen, with a climax that includes a steaming bag of Chick-fil-A and some Sudafed. Read more here.

Coming soon

I'll have the story on the new Morse Theatre out in a few weeks, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek from my extensive tour today with venue manager Andy McGhee. In addition to blues and jazz, the Morse will offer chamber music on Sundays to be broadcasted by WFMT.

Head on

Neighboring hipster alley.

Right off the Red Line

The front restaurant as you walk in.  The entire theatre/recreation space feels 10 times the size of this.

The stage and theatre epicenter, poorly captured here and much more impressive in person. It all begins Oct 9.