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Meta
Tag Archives: Franz Liszt
Baudelaire Bicentennial
I must be brief. How does one speak of the bicentennial of a poet such as Charles Baudelaire, born two hundred years ago on April 9th in 1821? how to find the right words,…? Some know him for his poetry, … Continue reading
Wohin: where do we go from here? now what?
As we come to the end of 2020, we may wonder. Where do we go from here? Now what? It’s in that spirit that I invoke a Schubert song, “Wohin” from his cycle Die Schöne Müllerin. First there was a … Continue reading
Beethoven 250: 2020 vision
It’s an oxymoron of a year, this 2020 that is a little over two weeks from its conclusion. Social butterflies (those of us who self-identify as extroverts & are therefore energized by other people) have no choice but to go … Continue reading
Leaning into the Unknowable @nationalballet
As I consider renewing my Canadian Opera Company subscription, it was worth having a look at the other company occupying the Four Seasons Centre. Watching the new program at the National Ballet of Canada was a great way to spend … Continue reading
The Lost Karaoke Tapes
I’m impressed. Nicole Lizée has more reason to be pompous & full of herself than any composer or performer I know. But she seems to be totally unpretentious. Exhibit “A”: the piece we saw & heard tonight is called “Karappo … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception, Reviews
Tagged Alanis Morissette, Corey Hart, David Foster, Franz Liszt, George Gershwin, Georgie Darvidis, Grease, John Travolta, Loverboy, Maurice Denis, Mr Dressup, Nicole Lizee, Rob Lowe, Robert Wilson, Scott Walker, Turn me loose
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Lisztomania CD
Lisztomania? It was a Ken Russell film. And the name described an actual phenomenon, crazed admirers of the great pianist Franz Liszt aka Liszt Ferenc back in the 19th Century. And there’s a CD from Mikolaj Warszynski, capturing a live … Continue reading
Not quite forgotten: Liszt’s Valses oubliées
The composer centennials & bicentennials may be artificial stimuli to research, but the effect is real. Knowing that everyone is suddenly focusing upon a particular period seems to inspire all sorts of interesting studies, conferences where people share their research … Continue reading
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique & the fork in the recreational road
I’m responding as much to the serendipity of timing as anything else. Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Ontario next month. The Toronto Symphony are about to begin their 2018-19 season with Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Is there a connection? I think … Continue reading
Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception
Tagged ankylosing spondylitis, CBD, Dr Charles Bull, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Jane Austen, Kubla Khan, marijuana, Mike Jay, Northanger Abbey, NSAIDs, recreation, recreational use, Samuel Tayloy Coleridge, Symphonie Fantastique, THC
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Liszt’s Winterreise
After experiencing the 24 man deconstructed Winterreise from Tongue in Cheek Productions, I’ve had all that Schubert rattling around in my head the past couple of days. Given that I had to return a couple of books anyway, to the … Continue reading
Exploring: Liszt and the Symphonic Poem
Serendipity leads me in my choices at the library. Sometimes I get lucky. There is so much more to Liszt than his abilities as a pianist, or his virtuoso compositions for piano such as the Hungarian Rhapsodies. Did you first … Continue reading
