Telematique, water and fire.

Classical Music's Doping Scandal

This just in... too funny.

Newsflash at think denk

(Washington, DC) Former Senator George J. Mitchell released a blistering report Thursday that tied 89 performers of so-called “Classical Music,” including Mitsuko Uchida, to the use of illegal, non-musical cultural performance-enhancers. The report used informant testimony and supporting documents to provide a richly detailed portrait of what Mr. Mitchell described as “classical music’s thinking era.

The Mitchell report ran about 400 pages and was based on interviews with more than 700 people, including 60 former “classical” musicians, and 115,000 pages of documents. ...

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Coltrane and Hartman

Blasting through Google Reader at a pretty good clip, I saw this title in Tim Bray's ongoing, and came to a screeching halt.

I wasn't aware that Tim had started his "five star" series, and I have to commend him for it. (He even started it out with one of my favorite Bach cantatas.) I'd like to follow his lead on this, and nominate a few of my own all-time greats. I hope that he'll consider use of the 5✭♫ designation as a complement.

But, back to Coltrane and Hartman. As a kid in Albuquerque, I discovered stumbled upon Coltrane in 1963. Toward the end of that summer, I'd read about, but not heard the album. (Remember Downbeat ?) I asked for it at record stores, and found it in a tiny shop that served the UNM college crowd. I played that album non-stop for four days, pausing only for sleep. I can't hear any rendition of "My One and Only Love" without thinking of their version and taking a deep breath.

ongoing · 5✭♫: Coltrane and Hartman

That’s short for John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, recorded in one session—most songs in one take—on March 7, 1963. It sold a zillion copies back then, and was infamously nominated as the Greatest Recording Of All Time by some rock&roll-hating snob in a glossy mag in I think the early Eighties; but that was then, and I’m betting that a lot of people who’d really like it have never heard of it.

Technorati Tags: Coltrane, Hartman

Technorati Tags: Coltrane, Hartman

American Masters . Leonard Bernstein

This evening I took a break to watch an episode of American Masters on the local PBS affiliate. The program is one of the best I've seen, and does a spectacularly good job of presenting and recalling Leonard Bernstein. It is in no way a puff piece nor is it an exposé. I can only describe it as a well-done portrait of a mythic protagonist, in the way Greek myths and sagas portray the hero as simultaneously remarkable and flawed.

Technorati Tags: memoir

Rodrigo and Rimsky-Korsakov in Grant Park

On Friday evening, we wandered across the Loop in Chicago to go to one of the most enjoyable concerts I can remember. The program -- Stravinsky Fireworks, Rodrigo Concerto de Aranjuez, and Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade -- are all standards from the Romantic moving into the Modern. But... the performance and the venue were perfect!! Sharon Isbin's guitar work was superb. The Grant Park Orchestra, and particularly their new concert master, absolutely radiated Scheherazade. I continue to marvel at the acoustics and sound system in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park. The Frank Gehry designed music pavilion is incredible. It was all too perfect sitting in the grass, with a light rain coming down, and the two of us under an umbrella with a bottle of champagne.

Technorati Tags: Chicago

The Roadhouse Podcast

My life over the past year and a half has included a much larger portion of time on airplanes (commuting between Palo Alto and Chicago), and on trains (my contribution to the environment).   Thus, podcasts have become a part of my life.  But it wasn't until Doc mentioned Tony Steidler-Dennison's The Roadhouse that I realized the amount of indie music that's now being delivered this way.  I'm a happier commuter.  Thanks, Doc.

David Byrne launches internet radio station

David Byrne is one of the most interesting artists I've encountered over the years (and I use the term "artist" sparingly).  Being able to listen to music that derives from his taste is an intriguing idea.  Check it out on iTunes.

Boing Boing: David Byrne launches internet radio station.

Musician and artist David Byrne, known most widely as co-founder of the Talking Heads, has just launched an internet radio station that streams the music he digs. I spoke with Mr. Byrne earlier today about the project for NPR's "Day to Day." Part of the interview will be included in a segment airing on the show tomorrow about filesharing and cultural change -- but here's more.