Felis pushkini

Mighty Ollie

2012-01-26T08:55:00.001-05:00

This photo is from a few years ago, but I can still see the mighty jungle cat in Ollie today.

Carry On, Little Ollie!

2012-01-26T08:23:00.004-05:00

He still wants to go outside and check out the white stuff when he sees it. Last Saturday's snow was a little frustrating for him with its crust of ice. (I'm always on the enclosed patio area with him and stay right by his side.)

Tuesday there was more bleeding than I've seen so far, so I rushed him to the vet. An x-ray showed that the cancer has spread all over the intestinal tract. The bleeding also may have been caused by a new food to prevent diabetes, so we made another adjustment in diet (we still have to keep his chronic sensitive bowel condition in mind) and we've added anti-inflammatory Tylan powder to the regimen of Miralax and prednisolone. The vet could not offer any more hope but was impressed at how good Ollie looks at present and glad about his lusty appetite. At home, some things have become worse and there's a little bit of cleaning up to do now and then, but I have not seen any blood since Tuesday night.

For all the horrors going on now, there are thousands of memories of funny and touching moments, and we're still having such moments. I am on guard for signs of suffering.

Double String Quartet Concert at Candlelight, January 28

2012-01-22T08:12:00.002-05:00

The American and Ariel Quartets' program at Candlelight Concerts here in Columbia offers something new and something old:

American Quartet: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quartet No. 17 in B-flat Major, K. 458 "Hunt
American Quartet: Joan Tower: Quartet No. 1, "Night Fields"
American & Ariel Quartets together for: Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

Pianist Brian Ganz to Give Free Mini-Recital in Columbia, February 5

2012-01-22T07:52:00.003-05:00

Copied from Sundays At Three series e-mail:

Greetings dear friends of Sundays At Three! Happy New Year to all of you. May 2012 bring you much love, laughter and music!

Sundays At Three and Christ Episcopal Church have kindly offered me the opportunity to give a preview mini-recital of my February 11 all-Chopin recital at the Strathmore Music Center in North Bethesda. I would like to invite you all warmly to this mini-recital preview, to be held at 3 p.m. at Christ Church on February 5. At the preview I will play and discuss a few pieces from the February 11 program, take a few Chopin requests, answer questions and share details about my Chopin project at Strathmore, and pass out promotional materials. The preview will last a little over an hour without intermission and is free of admission charge, but we will take up a free-will collection to support the church's ministry and programs. If you cannot make it to the preview but would like to buy tickets to the recital at Strathmore, you may visit http://www.nationalphilharmonic.org/ and scroll down a bit until you see the February 11 event. Or call (301) 581-5100.

Please feel free to share this invitation with any music-loving friends and family.

I hope to see you at Christ Church on February 5 and Strathmore on February 11.

With warm wishes,

Brian Ganz

Where
Christ Episcopal Church
6800 Oakland Mills Road
Columbia, MD 21045

Upcoming Concerts and Operas ~ Lanting and Glass at the BSO Again!

2012-01-18T19:37:00.005-05:00

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's January calendar shows a return of a stunning musical and photographic display they did a few years ago, soon after Alsop took up the baton on a regular basis for the orchestra. It's a giant moving slide presentation of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting's work set to music by Philip Glass. I think I might be there to enjoy it again near the end of this month. Also on the program and fitting the theme is Beethoven's 6th, the Pastoral Symphony.

Also of interest at the BSO is this week's program of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra". Among recitals at An die Musik: Pianist Irina Nuzova this Saturday at 2pm. Nuzova's program includes Rachmaninov's Corelli variations.

Looking a bit ahead, wondering what my next opera ticket will be: Peabody Opera sets out to do Dominick Argento's "Postcard from Morocco" later in February for their annual chamber opera production at Theatre Project, and I'm looking at options for "Le Nozze di Figaro" and "Faust" at Lyric Opera Baltimore this spring.

I have not been to any staged opera since last August, when I saw Richard Strauss' "Die Liebe der Danae" at Bard Summerscape in the Hudson Valley. A card from Bard says they're doing Emanuel Chabrier's "Le Roi malgre lui" (The King in spite of himself) at Summerscape 2012.

~~~~~~~
#1 Opera Cat continues to do quite well, all things considered, as I take care of him during his dreadful illness. There was even a successful stay at his boarding place while I went on a short visit to family this past weekend.

not stellar photography but lunar...

2012-01-10T19:32:00.001-05:00

the full moon trapped in fog, trees and my tiny PowerShot early this morning

Russian Ballet Spanish Fiesta (on DVD)

2012-01-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

The Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev and reflections of same in later iterations of the company and movies by Powell and Pressburger have fascinated me for some time now. A nice surprise popped up in the special features of a Bette Davis movie on DVD last night: The Warner Night at the Movies short features for "In This Our Life" in Volume 3 of the Bette Davis Collection has "Spanish Fiesta" (1942) by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Starring dancers Leonid Massine and Tamara Toumanova, it's a Technicolor extravaganza in a garish palette danced to Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol and much fun to watch.

Massine showed up later with Moira Shearer and Robert Helpmann in Powell and Pressburger's magnificent "The Red Shoes" and English-language opera-ballet film version of "The Tales of Hoffmann".

(Of course, the main feature on the DVD was great, too.)

Another classical music blog in the local blogosphere...

2012-01-07T08:12:00.002-05:00

If it ain't Baroque.... I'll link it in my blog roll when I can get to my "other computer". Blogger Jenn is a musician and was on the administrative staff for Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for a while. She now works for the Humane Society and plays piano for events -- helping opera cats everywhere!

Howard County-based Gemini Piano Trio

2012-01-05T18:48:00.004-05:00

...will perform at the Sundays at Three recital series in Columbia this Sunday, January 8. The posted program includes Schumann's Fantasiestucke, Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 1, Arensky's Piano Trio No. 1 and Piazzolla's Libertango.

Sundays at Three season schedule

Gemini Piano Trio

Addendum: There is a good article by Mike Giuliano about the Gemini Trio and the Sundays at Three series in the January 5 Columbia Flier. It's probably on line, though I can't find it in searches. (columbiaflier.com? explorehoward.com?)

Daedalus has Teatro Lirico and Britten and Pears

2012-01-04T18:21:00.001-05:00

and other ECM albums. I've mentioned the Stephen Stubbs and Teatro Lirico disc here before -- one of my favorites, some "modern early music" with new variations on the ancient Folia ground that attracted the attention of Corelli and other Baroque composers and later Rachmaninov. The program includes other pieces from 17th century Italy and Slovakia played on violin, viola, "Spanish and Italian harps", viola da gamba, lirone, Baroque guitar and chitarrone. It's a wonderful album to play for atmosphere, whether you want to sit and pay attention to it or have it playing in the background. One review I saw when it first came out mentioned how ideal it would be for something like a wine-tasting party.

The lirone is a cello-like instrument in the lyre family. American Opera Theater had one in the pit once when they were in residence at Georgetown. The chitarrone is a sort of giant lute, but you tell me whether it's the same thing as a theorbo or something different.

Daedalus Books here in Columbia seems to get these shipments of a specific CD label now and then, and now it's ECM. There are other discs from that label at Daedalus, and I'm listening to the Hilliard Ensemble in Gombert and an interesting concept album of Bach and Webern this evening.

Also spotted at Daedalus and not resisted: Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears performing Schubert's Winterreise and songs by Britten in vintage film on a Decca DVD.

P.S. Daedalus continues to get new titles in the series of old Metropolitan Opera broadcasts being released by Sony Classical. I would prefer to read a review before purchasing some of them, but I'll mention that I just heard the great "Le Nozze di Figaro" from January 28, 1961. (Just a couple of months before my first birthday. I would not have been able to attend.) Cesare Siepi is the Figaro, Roberta Peters is the Susanna, Kim Borg the Count, Lucine Amara the Countess... I really liked Ezio Flagello's noble turn as Don Bartolo.

playlist ~ Previn's opera, "Brief Encounter"

2011-12-31T07:09:00.001-05:00

Recent musical encounters at home, some new and old CD's in my collection:

~~ The Music Lover's Grainger: Music of Percy Grainger performed by "The President's Own" United States Marine Band and the Choral Arts Society of Washington. Thanks very much to a friend at the Percy Grainger House in White Plains, New York, for sending this marvellous CD to me.

~~ "Brief Encounter", a new opera by Andre Previn with libretto by John Caird; based on the Noel Coward play and movie (which you can find in a fine Criterion Collection DVD release). Elizabeth Futral and Nathan Gunn; Houston Grand Opera Orchestra conducted by Patrick Summers. Deutche Grammophon, 2011. Recorded at the world premiere in Houston, May 2009. (Audience noise is minimal, and sound engineering artfully includes some of the audience's laughter at appropriate moments and applause at the end of each act.) This is another new American opera that would be great to see in performance at an opera house near us.

~~ Georgy L'vovich Catoire (1861-1926): a piano trio, elegy for violin and piano and piano quartet played by Room-Music on Hyperion, recorded in 2004. If you respond well to Chausson or Hahn, I think you would like Catoire. Room-Music also released a CD of chamber music by Hahn on Hyperion.

~~ piano pieces by Carl Nielsen played by Leif Ove Andsnes. Virgin Classic, 1996.

~~ Harald Saeverud (Norwegian, 1897-1992): "Fanfare og Hymne", Piano Concerto, Symphony No. 9 (fourth movement is called "Klokker i fjellet" -- Bells in the Mountains). Alexander Dmitriev conducts the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra with Noriko Ogawa in the concerto. Bis, 1998.

~~ Sibelius: The Complete Tone Poems. Sir Alexander Gibson conducts the Scottish National Orchestra. Listening to several of these works together is quite a musical odyssey. Listening to just one of them is also a musical odyssey. Phyllis Bryn-Julson is the soprano in "Luonnotar". Chandos, 1977/1985.

"What does it mean to love an animal,...

2011-12-31T06:45:00.000-05:00

a pet, in my case a cat, in the fierce, entire and unambivalent way that some of us do?" --opening line of "The Islands", a short story by Alice Adams.

I found it in "Cat Stories", the latest in the Everyman's Pocket Classics series of anthologies. For a similar summation of a cat's life and celebration of the cat-human relationship, see Rebecca West's essay, "Why My Mother Was Frightened of Cats", in "The Essential Rebecca West" published by Pearhouse Press, 2010.

The Big List of Classical Music Blogs

2011-12-28T19:12:00.000-05:00

Here it is. I'm on it, and so are some of your favorite bloggers and some new ones. The list includes professionals and amateurs, newspaper critics, scholars, performers, etc. When I'm on my "other computer" again, I'll link to the list in my blog's margin.

Thanks to Colin Eatock, critic, composer, musician and blogger based in Toronto.

bridging post ~ no more photos?

2011-12-26T08:15:00.000-05:00

Ollie waits for my return -- taken through the front door sidelight when I got home from Baltimore last Sunday evening. The house is a labyrinth of catwalks, ledges, windows, stairs and cat-sized nooks and passages, so he's quite happy here.

For benefit of friends who might be visiting the blog: Click on labels at the bottom of this post to see photos of those subjects. Also, scroll down for my lucky night-time shot of Baltimore's Washington Monument in holiday lights (pleased with the result from my little Canon Powershot).

In spite of this post's title and any previous text you might have seen here, it looks like I can still get a photo onto the blog with a little fiddling around. My jalopy computer at home already had a shaky interface with Blogger, and now I'm getting used to Blogger's new editing template.

Great Christmas Music From WBJC 91.5 FM!

2011-12-25T08:05:00.001-05:00

I have a stack of my own holiday music CDs waiting to be played, but WBJC in Baltimore apparently has an endless supply of Christmas music that's been holding my interest during the season. Some pieces are familiar from previous years -- Addinsell's score for the old Alastair Sim version of "A Christmas Carol" and excerpts from classic Christmas oratorios, for instance. Occasional selections from a recording by Ormandy and Philadelphia forces have special sentimental significance for me, but I'll withhold details and share with you in conversation, if you're interested. This year, one that caught my ear which I hadn't heard before was Henry Doktorski's Suite on Four Polish Carols for accordion and strings, very engaging and ingenious.

For a break in holiday music, the occasional non-holiday classical work is also a feature in the station's programming at this time of year.

Season's Greetings to all, and all the best to the WBJC announcers who are spinning the CDs at the station during the holiday!

WBJC 91.5 FM's web site is here. They also broadcast on the web. I tried it on a computer in North Carolina once, and it really works.

Another Baltimore Opera Blog: The Sybaritic Singer

2011-12-25T07:55:00.000-05:00

I do regular Google blog searches to see who else is active in the local blogosphere, and some how this one eluded me: The Sybaritic Singer. The blogger is Megan Ihnen, mezzo-soprano, and I recognize her name as the author of an earlier online calendar of Baltimore music events (Zilberstern?).

When I can get to my "other computer", I'll make an addition to my blog roll.

The Russian "Kontrtenor"

2011-12-24T09:18:00.001-05:00

Who knew on this side of the world? Opera lovers generally think of Russia as the source of some of the opera world's most stunning basses, and let's not forget that Russia has produced great voices in the other registers, too. Now it seems that there is a thriving countertenor community in the land of Chaliapin, Hvorostovsky, Arkhipova and Netrebko:

countertenors.ru, link to the home page in Russian with link to English version

the site's roster of countertenors from Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Chechen Republic... in English

Deck the Monument

2011-12-20T05:07:00.000-05:00

Baltimore's Washington Monument in holiday finery. I strolled by the Monument on Sunday night on the way back to my car, after an afternoon of brunch at City Cafe, wandering around the Walters Art Museum and attending OperaBelle's wonderful recital at An die Musik.

It's been a long break from attending events while taking care of Ollie at home. Wondering what my last event was, I realized that it was at An die Musik, too -- Baltimore Lieder Weekend back in October.

Cha Ya Cafe Expanding; Royal Taj

2011-12-18T08:33:00.001-05:00

Cha Ya Cafe in the restaurant park on McGaw Road in Columbia is expanding into the space of the former Orinoco Coffee next door. I had dinner there last night, and the dividing wall is gone already as remodeling work progresses.

Also notice the pair of Siamese fighting fish bowls on the sushi counter. Fortunately, the bowls are on different levels so that the fierce little fish don't see each other all the time and can take a break from sparring.

Cha Ya is Japanese and Thai cuisine. On the other side of them is Royal Taj, Indian cuisine. Both restaurants have been great dining destinations, and I find myself heading to McGaw Road and parking while still trying to decide which one to visit.

hocofood@@@

Ollie is quite well...

2011-12-18T08:22:00.001-05:00

I know that Ollie, my cat, has cancer, but he doesn't know that he has cancer. It's hard to believe that about a month ago it looked like he would be gone very soon and that right now daily doses of steroid and laxative are keeping him going. Lots of love and extra spoiling also help. Oh, and if we could have some sunny days now and then -- lounging in sunlight seems to have a therapeutic effect, but I should add that this cat likes watching snow, too.

He sleeps or snoozes more than he used to. On the other hand, he'll surprise me by suddenly clambering around atop the fridge and kitchen cabinets. Yesterday afternoon, I caught him tossing and bopping one of his toy mice around in a way I had not seen for a very long time, even long before the recent diagnosis.

I have let several musical events slip by while dealing with my own anxiety over leaving Ollie alone too much. This afternoon, I'm going to try a foray into Baltimore, brunch at City Cafe and a vocal recital at An die Musik. Or I might just stay home with him. I've learned that it's just as important to spend time with him on his good days as well as his bad days.

Castles, Both the Walking and Flying Kind

2011-12-18T07:18:00.002-05:00

I get into "movie projects" in which I explore a little more fully the screen work of this or that actor or director. In the middle of my current focuses on John Wayne (along with directors John Ford and Howard Hawks), Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Vincent Price...I've been introduced to the anime world of Hayao Miyazaki. Somebody lent me a stack of Japanese anime movies while he is borrowing a couple of movies from me. I don't think I'm going to watch all of the stack, but so far I've watched "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky". The artwork of these fantasy or alternate reality stories is unquestionably astounding. English language releases feature voices of luminaries such as Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall and Cloris Leachman, Mandy Patinkin and Mark Hamill. (James Van Der Beek's voice for the male protagonist in Laputa sounded so familiar, but I can't place him.)

Sometimes the stories seem a little overwrought to me, especially as the climax develops and things drag on, but these movies could grow on me. (I enjoy opera, so I should be able to handle overwrought stories.) The drawn-out business towards the ends of the two movies mentioned above reminded me of "Alien" and "Aliens". Animation style of Laputa in particular brought back memories of Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion -- however, the artwork in the movies is very sophisticated, with mountain- and cloudscapes looking almost real in some scenes.

Composer Joe Hisaishi's score for Laputa must be mentioned here for reference. That would be another feature of the movie which would have me watching it again later.

This is not my first experience with feature-length anime movies. Thanks to Roger Ebert's Great Movies books, I had seen "Grave of the Fireflies" already.

(The image shows the two young protagonists of "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" on a flying contraption borrowed from sky pirates. Image found at wallpaperpimper.com.)

Opera Belle at An die Musik this Sunday, Dec. 18

2011-12-13T17:50:00.000-05:00

Opera Belle's varied program will include some holiday numbers, arias and art songs, plus more Russian repertoire for those of us who don't get enough of it at the Peabody's Russian art song recital (see preceding post).

Russian Art Songs at Peabody, Thursday, Dec. 15

2011-12-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

The Singing in Russian class at Peabody Conservatory will give a free recital of Russian art songs this Thursday evening, 7pm, in the Griswold Recital Hall.

At the Opera in...Perth, Australia

2011-12-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

West Australian Opera will perform Richard Strauss' "Elektra" in February 2012. Danish soprano Eva Johansson sings the title role. Note that tenor Joseph Calleja was to sing Pinkerton in WA Opera's Butterfly, but he had to cancel.

I was in Perth back in 1996 or 97, but I missed the opera season. The travel books' description of Perth as the world's most isolated capital city intrigued me, but don't let that description fool you. I bought a Hugo Boss sports coat in the downtown shopping district (my favorite sports coat ever, it turned out, though it no longer fits me). I found not one, but two well-stocked classical music CD shops where I bought some rare Russian opera recordings. There are botanical gardens and museums, too. South of Perth is a corner of Australia cut off from other regions by desert so that you get some endemic species of kangaroo, gum trees and other wildlife not seen elsewhere on the continent, plus plenty of laughing kookaburras. (Trees included the karri, the Eucalyptus' answer to the giant redwood.)

~~~~~~~
I'm experimenting with a new series of posts here: random exploration of what's in opera houses in places exotic, out of the way or off the beaten track. I'll have a look at some places in the US, too, both major and minor houses. Perhaps, I'll buy a ticket at some of them in the future.

At the Opera -- in Dagestan!

2011-12-09T17:33:00.002-05:00

Searching for operatic activities near and far, I came across the season-opener at the Opera and Ballet Theater in Makhachkala, Dagestan:

Article in English, historical Dagestani opera, "Hochbar".

The original Russian article has more details. Khochbar, apparently a national hero, is captured during conflict with the Khunzakh tribe. The Khunzakh khan sentences Khochbar to burning at the stake. Just before he is consumed by the flames, Khochbar breaks free, grabs the khan's two small children -- and jumps back into the flames with them. The end. (Don't be too horrified. We have plenty of lurid stuff like this in western operas.)

I see the names of two librettists (and conductor and choreographer) in the article, but no composer is identified.

Welcome, Books-A-Million at Columbia Crossing!

2011-12-05T17:43:00.000-05:00

Missing a late evening place to browse and buy, I've been checking out the Books-A-Million store that occupied the former Borders location in the Columbia Crossing shopping center. They're still getting established but they have been serving customers for quite a few weeks now. (Will there be a classical section in the CD department?) I've spotted a few former Borders employees, too. Customer traffic isn't very high so far, and I was amazed at how few there were last Saturday night.

I will resist buying a membership account for further discount on purchases. I don't want to put up with the extra e-mail from yet another store, and I've been getting mysterious e-mail from Barnes & Noble since Borders closed. (Stores: Just keep your prices down for everybody, and we'll come back!) BAM's prices seem to be a little lower than Borders' any way, though not as low as Daedalus.

I picked up "Aliens" in the DVD section for about $12. So far, the DVD department seems smaller than Borders', but I'm still very impressed by the selection of Criterion Collection titles. (Did they acquire a lot of Borders' stock?) BAM's Criterion prices are a little bit below Borders', not quite as low as what you can get on Amazon. Still, they have the recent release of "Island of Lost Souls", a promising sign for future browsing.

///What is going on with the parking lot lights in the section adjacent to BAM? They're all out, and they were like that when Borders was still there. There is some ambient light coming from other sections of the lot.///

hocoblogs@@@

On the Lake: Drainage Ditch Turned Garden Spot

2011-12-04T07:44:00.000-05:00

Over the past few weeks, a landscaping crew has been turning this formerly brush-choked drainage ditch into a new garden spot on the path around Lake Kittamaqundi. This is the ditch that runs from the side of the Columbia Sheraton into the Lake. (All of the slabs of rock along the sides and top of the ditch are new.) Work is still in progress, and more small trees are being planted nearby, but this project certainly adds to Columbia's garden city look.

hocoblogs@@@

Update on Ollie, #1 Opera Cat

2011-12-04T07:10:00.001-05:00

I make these posts about Ollie, because they help me and they might help someone else whose beloved pet has cancer. I'm not saying that what we're doing for Ollie will work for every cat -- you must consult with your vet -- but I'm saying it's possible to keep your companion quite comfortable and happy for a while if you try things suggested by your vet.

About a month ago, after he had been displaying horrible symptoms, the vets found a lymphoma tumor in Ollie's colon. Prognosis was awful. It seemed that he would be gone very soon. After agonizing over potential chemotherapy in Annapolis, I took a less stressful, simpler route with heavy consultations with Ollie's regular vet. Prednisalone (a steroid sometimes called poor man's chemo by the vets), laxative (Miralax from a regular drug store in this case) and prescription i/d canned food have kept the disease under control for the time being after a couple of mishaps and one emergency vet visit. Hypoallergenic pill pockets and safe treats (pellets of the dry version of the i/d, though Ollie needs mostly the canned food to help his bowels) also help, and lots of love and spoiling. Lots of lap time.

Vets are reluctant to update his vaccines, because the cancer and/or current medicine compromises his immune system. Although his new boarding place can handle medical problems, I decided not to board him at the busy holiday time of year and canceled a trip to see family. We might try later, if his present state of wellness continues.

Ollie always had inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, which predisposed him to some kind of gastrointestinal cancer. I had hoped that the Science Diet Sensitive Stomach bought off the shelf at the pet store would protect him. It certainly was better than regular cat food, but we still had to switch to prescription food bought at the vet this fall. Fortunately, he loves the new canned food, something he could not have before. Lately I find that an empty pill pocket or a few pellets of the dry food pushed into the top of the wet food mound might be needed to encourage him to eat it. That was a remedy when his appetite was down a week or two ago, but now I think he expects the tasty garnish on top.

A month later, Ollie seems to be more like a happy old cat with an inconvenient disease. In some ways, he's even healthier than he was before the cancer was found. I don't know if this will go on for just a few weeks or months or if I can hope that he will live longer. We're just having one big party while he feels well and watching for signs of trouble.

(The "Ollie is your host" label will take you to photos recent and older.)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T14:20:00.002-05:00

I hope you're having a good holiday. Here are some happy moments in Ollie's day today -- and I'm very thankful for them.

playlist ~ movie log

2011-11-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

An eerie but blissful spell of normalcy has set in around this house as my beloved cat's illness appears to be under control for now. I haven't been able to settle down for any serious reading, but we continue to listen and watch...

On the CD player lately: The Baltimore-based Monument Piano Trio's debut CD on Analog Arts; trios by Brahms and Shostakovich; Cafe Music by Paul Schoenfield. .... Charles Stanford's Irish Rhapsodies; Handley conducting the Ulster Orchestra on Chandos. .... Conga-Line in Hell by Miguel del Aguila of Uruguay and other modern classics from Latin America played by the Camerata de las Americas on Dorian.

On the DVD player: "The Searchers"; John Wayne; director John Ford. Score by Max Steiner. I think there's an opera in there somewhere. .... "El Dorado"; John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. .... "Dragonwyck"; Grace Tierney and Vincent Price. Score by Alfred Newman. Here's a Hudson River estate I missed during visits to the valley, and I think there's an opera somewhere in this one, too. .... "Laura"; Tierney and Price again. (Also see them in "Leave Her to Heaven".) .... "Roman Holiday"; Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. .... "Night Flight"; Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Helen Hayes. .... "Aliens".

Ollie Outdoors

2011-11-23T15:15:00.002-05:00

Just inside the patio slider is an extra comfort station dubbed Ollie's campsite.

These photos were taken over the last two weekends, and him with his lowered appetite, too. Today he's almost inhaling his food again. These closely supervised sessions have been something regular in the past, but I'm spoiling him more now.

status

2011-11-20T06:52:00.001-05:00

Ollie is lounging in my lap right now. Something that's been happening more often lately.

I'm reluctant to go to performances or go very far afield for the time being as I spend time with Ollie and monitor his health. Rather than feeling like I'm missing something, I'm enjoying the time with my feline companion of nine years (adopted when he was two), or I should say enjoying the time when nothing bad is happening. There was a late night trip up to the emergency vet in Ellicott City last Tuesday when a particularly bad episode of blockage happened, accompanied by some weird low moaning I'd never heard before. On the gory side, these episodes of straining in the pan with little or no result sometimes trigger a vomiting reflex, and that happened this time, too. All we have to do is get things around the lymphoma tumor in his colon, and he's just fine. Thought he was dying on the way to the emergency vet, but after he was treated they let me see him stretched out so happy and relaxing in the post-treatment cage.

Cancelled chemo in Annapolis for him at the last minute late last week. Discussions with regular vets (no charge -- thanks!). Continuing prednisolone, two pills a day for the time being; switched from pumpkin to Miralax after the emergency vet episode; Lactulose on stand-by in case something extra is needed. (Pumpkin, plain puree, was moving things but turned out to be just another substance to get through around the tumor.) Miralax started working for the first time after about two days.

Ravenous at first about new prescription canned food -- was never allowed canned before because of his chronic IBD. Now his appetite fluctuates but he likes treats and small portions served on a spoon. If I can't get a pred pill into him because I have to crush it in his regular food, vets introduced me to Pill Pockets. Wow! A way to get a whole pill into him without any fuss. Unfortunately, he's crazy about the flavor and has been raiding the kitchen counter and maybe even less enthusiastic about the regular food.

Maintaining about 15 pounds. (17 pounds before, which was overweight.) Fur has not grown back where they shaved his tummy weeks ago to do ultrasounding before the cancer was diagnosed. A taste of chemo after all? (I read that cats don't lose fur during chemo but it can grow back slowly or not at all if shaved for any procedures.)

He still likes to go out on the patio for supervised outdoor time. I'm watching a lot of movies or listening to music, often with Ollie in my lap or on the ottoman -- something that had stopped for a while, so it's good to see that again.

Addendum, Mon., Nov. 21: Made a couple of corrections above. The emergency trip happened one night earlier than I recalled. Today, Miralax worked very well, and Ollie's appetite seems to be back up this evening. I gave him his second pill in a pill pocket any way -- we need to celebrate! (Oh, and they have to be the hypoallergenic Pill Pockets for him.)

His Porch

2011-11-12T14:02:00.000-05:00

taken just a few minutes ago

deleted

2011-11-11T06:34:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry, but between edits, Blogger has lost most of this post.

This has been happening recently.

Ollie's Kingdom

2011-11-07T18:03:00.001-05:00

I just snapped this shot a few minutes ago. After noticing that he sleeps more than before and doesn't climb around as much, I was happy to find him on an old favorite perch: the back of the sofa, then a shorter CD case help him get to the top of the CD tower. I have not seen him up there for ages.

I made improvements on his "porch" -- the wrap-around corner window in our little sun room -- that allow him to lounge at full length and watch the world outside in more comfort. He's been loving that. If you've seen the shots of him through the window screen on the "Ollie is your host" label, that's his porch. Those pictures were taken the day after Irene blew through. He was already quite ill then, but I didn't know how ill.

More pictures of Ollie might appear here later, but I want to avoid documenting any decline in his health here. I'd rather share more with friends in private forums, and I have some tough decisions coming up, and I don't know how much longer I can share life with Ollie in his present better-than-expected state.

I'm still getting out a little bit, and I hope to go to a concert nearby next weekend, so my notices of music and art might continue. I wish I could bring Ollie with me. He'd love to meet you.

Ollie

2011-11-05T12:28:00.004-04:00

Ollie's biopsy results indicate lymphoma, and there's some debate over whether spots further up his tract are cancerous or just more inflammation. Steroid pills I'm giving him already might help with the cancer, and I'm considering options for further treatment.

We had a comforting and productive chat with the vet at Columbia Animal Hospital this morning, and Ollie was pleased with a visit that was less eventful than recent visits. If you saw him right now, you wouldn't think anything was wrong.

No new pictures on this post, but for convenience of some friends of Ollie who might visit the blog, just click on the "Ollie is your host" label at the bottom of this post. It will pull up more posts with Ollie's photos. (They are thumbnails that you can click on for a larger view.) I might post more photos later, but for now I must take care of him and spend more time with him.

Many thanks to the vets and staff members at Hickory Ridge Columbia Animal Hospital who have taken such wonderful care of Ollie over the years.

Pastel Landscapes at Artists' Gallery, Columbia

2011-11-04T05:47:00.000-04:00

The monthly reception is this evening at the Artists' Gallery near Columbia Town Center's Lakefront. Featured works this month are pastel landscapes (many local scenes) by Barbara Steinacker and Deborah Maklowski.

Note that the Gallery has extended its Saturday hours, closing at 3:30pm instead of 12:30.

Maklowski also will be represented in an exhibit along with other artists at Bethesda's Ratner Museum, December 1 - 26.
See ratnermuseum.com for details. (The card I picked up says that Ratner admission is free.)

My little man...

2011-11-01T09:28:00.000-04:00

as they started calling him at Columbia Animal Hospital, is at home after spending most of Monday undergoing procedures and tests. Now we wait for the results, but meanwhile Ollie has been extremely playful and affectionate since coming home yesterday evening.

Movie Cake from Touche Touchet Bakery

2011-11-01T08:33:00.000-04:00

My movie night didn't happen, but the cake did. It was ordered and bought already, and I was eager to see what Touche Touchet Bakery had achieved with my few suggestions for a theme, so I picked it up at the bakery on Saturday afternoon. I've seen their work before and I was amazed again.

The cake was shared with friends, but I finally had to assume the responsibility of cutting the first slice. Nobody wanted to spoil it. It tasted as good as it looked, and I noticed that it wasn't overwhelmed with sugar.

hocofood@@@ -- I understand that this string will reflect this post in the food section of Hocoblogs. I'm using my restaurants label for now to cover anything to do with food and drink. This bakery does have a cozy area of tables and chairs for dining on coffee and treats, too.

Nature Mix ~ Cat Stories ~ What is the Law?

2011-10-30T07:14:00.002-04:00

~ Yesterday: My potted white geraniums still blooming; fall colors still on the trees; and snow falling. All on the same day. It was beautiful, but I'm glad we didn't get the heavier snow that caused problems further north.

~ I've been collecting the Everyman's Pocket Classics series of themed anthologies and was anticipating the release of "Cat Stories" this month. It's at Daedalus Books and Music here in Columbia, on the new arrivals shelves. About $9.00 (compared to regular $15 for this series from other sources) and in new, unmarked condition. In the "New York Stories" volume, John Cheever's "O City of Broken Dreams" has me picturing James Stewart playing the main role in an imagined film version.

~ Studying law: Try watching or reading "I, Robot" and then "The Island of Doctor Moreau" or its early film version, "Island of Lost Souls". Well, maybe the overlap between the laws for robots and Moreau's laws for his beast people is no surprise. The legendary 1933 film version of "Island" was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection this month. A surprise: Charles Laughton's portrayal of the mad scientist was more restrained than expected. He was noted for deliberately hamming up just enough to add spice to a screen role, and I had read that he had done the same here. Maybe there are only glimpses of his playfulness, but the results are still great Laughton. (Discussion in the special features on the DVD also remarks on this restrained act.) Pre-Code shocker. Certainly not as graphic as today's movies, but there are disturbing scenes and suggestions. The make-up for the beast people is amazing, as are the physical portrayals by the people underneath the make-up. Discussion also revealed that Wells' original novel was intended to be an anti-vivisectionist work (though Wells hated this film version).

So far, I have not seen any attribution for the composer of the atmospheric music heard during the opening and part of the closing credits of "Island". Suggestive of jungle atmosphere or something primordial, it could have come from the pen of someone like Villa-Lobos. Criterion makes good use of it with spooky graphics in the menu selection mode of the DVD. Perhaps typical of the time of this movie's making, the end credits switch to a disconcerting jaunty theme. Also typical: No score at all during the action.

~~~~~~~
I had to cancel a movie night planned for last night, because of developments with Ollie, my cat. However, someone who had been very hesitant about coming over (he was recovering from a medical emergency) actually showed up at the scheduled time. I had just put "Island of Lost Souls" on, so we watched that. I am happy to report to friends that Ollie was his usual self, eager to meet and interact with a visitor, even sitting on his lap a couple of times. I was very glad for the company myself, and we had a good movie night after all.

Update on Ollie

2011-10-28T16:10:00.001-04:00

The vet found a "mass" in the side of Ollie's colon while treating him today. They couldn't determine the extent of it nor whether it was just an irritated spot or something more sinister. He goes back on Monday for tests and a sample for biopsy. Right now, he's back at home behaving normally and enjoying what will be a diet of only the canned version of the new prescription food. (Yes, he will love that.) The problem manifests itself more when he's in the litter pan, and we'll wait and see how that goes.

Apologies to friends who are seeing double notices about Ollie, if they read here and on Facebook, where I have also posted. As things progress with Ollie, I might not share everything, but it is a situation in which we hope for the best and still must be ready for the worst. If I slow down or stop posting for a while, I'm taking care of my #1 Opera Cat.

The blog will stay in place for its collection of links to other blogs, music and art.

music notes and I don't know what's going on with this cat

2011-10-28T08:29:00.003-04:00

For the record, I made it to a couple of events in the Lieder Weekend at An die Musik last week: the Saturday afternoon lecture on Goethe and nature and that evening's recital of Schubert and Kreutzer songs. All very wonderful. I came away with some lessons from the lecture, including a yearning to walk the trails of Austria's mountains and forests, but that lecture had enough material in it for a whole class, which I would gladly attend. Professor Deen Larsen gave the lecture. Baritone Ryan de Ryke and pianist Daniel Schlosberg gave the recital.

On the local chamber music circuit, I'm looking forward to some concerts at Columbia's Candlelight Concerts. Classical guitar lovers should note that we have Jason Vieux in concert with the Escher Quartet at Candlelight in November. (See the Candlelight link in the blog margin.)

Various factors are making my personal opera season look shaky. I don't know what performance I'll attend for a first opera event in Baltimore's season yet. I've had notice that one company in trouble will have a "yard sale" at its former performance space in November. (I might post the details later, but I'm afraid I will be too upset to attend this.) Note that I have made an addition to the Baltimore company roster in the margin links.

~~~~~~~
Excuse the cat care note, but we do have some Ollie fans here. Maybe I'm overreacting to an adjustment period, but there have been some alarming developments in the recent flare-up of his "intestinal bowel problems". I have to administer a steroid in pill form -- that's working by way of crushing it and mixing it with his new special canned food.* I also have to give another medicine when necessary, and it became necessary this week, however a second dose had something other than the desired effect. We're on our way to the vet again today.

Amazingly, Ollie still has his appetite and is walking and running around. He's sitting nearby right now, waiting for me to get off this thing. If he were human, I think he'd be bed-ridden or even dead by now.

Vet bills. Well, Da Vinci said that the cat is a living work of art, so in a way I'm still supporting or buying art. Not to mention caring for someone very special in my life, I hasten to add.

*Crushing into powder is not something safe to do with just any pill. Some pills depend on a delayed release of the medicine to work properly. Ask your vet first. I'm just lucky that I don't have to get a whole steroid pill down Ollie's throat, no matter how easy the vets made it look.

All the Best to Opera Vivente

2011-10-25T05:15:00.001-04:00

We wish well to the company as they assess their situation and recover, in whatever form a recovery might take.

I've been watching and contributing to discussion on Clef Notes. I'm interested in connecting with any other Opera Vivente supporters. You can comment here or contact me at farlaf2000@earthlink.net . (I don't have any great ideas -- just interest in getting in touch and being ready to support the company.)

"The Tempest" Gone Mad

2011-10-22T08:24:00.003-04:00

"Island of Lost Souls", a 1933 horror film out of print for a few years, is finally reappearing in a new release from the Criterion Collection this month. I've only seen a tantalizing excerpt before, but reports of Charles Laughton's Dr. Moreau and Bela Lugosi's leader of the Beast People mixed with other elements of the movie, have had me longing for a complete viewing. Just wait long enough for treasures like this, and Criterion might come through with a release.

Criterion's page .... I pre-ordered on Amazon.

I wonder if H. G. Wells' original novel, "The Island of Doctor Moreau", is Shakespeare's "The Tempest" gone completely mad. The magician Prospero becomes the deluded mad doctor, accompanied by not one but a mob of Calibans.

(The best film version of "The Tempest", as I understand it, isn't one of the movies that use the same title. It's the 1956 science fiction classic, "Forbidden Planet". Most of the parallels between characters of the play and the movie are easy to spot, but which one is Ariel? If it's the Monster from the Id, that would be Ariel on steroids and a few other drugs.)

~~~~~~~
When I logged onto Amazon this morning, last weekend's lost shopping cart was there intact, so the new recording of the recently discussed opera, "Brief Encounter", is on the way, too. I've been listening to opera based on The Tempest, though I have yet to see a performance of the original play.

~~~~~~~
Baltimore Lieder Weekend at An die Musik is in progress, and I hope to make it to at least one recital and perhaps this afternoon's lecture on Goethe and nature.

One You Might Have Missed: Works by Hummel

2011-10-20T05:49:00.000-04:00

The loss of Borders has forced me to browse my own collection, where I'm finding rarities bought at Borders. The Trumpet Concerto would be the more familiar work here. The Freudenfest Overture and Mandolin Concerto made for some pleasant, late evening, post work day listening last night.

The cover art is a digital montage by Sean Coleman.

A Great Countertenor Recital and Award Ceremony at Peabody

2011-10-16T12:04:00.001-04:00

...last night in Peabody Conservatory's Griswold Hall. Alumnus Peter Lee gave a free recital with the Peabody Consort and Charm City Baroque. The hall was packed, with some people standing along the sides and back. At the end of the recital, Peabody presented Lee with the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Knowledge for the World Award. Lee's parents, many friends and teachers and representatives from the Taiwanese Consulate in Washington, DC, were present.

The first half of the program consisted of Renaissance repertoire accompanied by the Peabody Consort and included works by Marco Cara, Bartolomeo Tromboncino and Giovanni Gastoldi and three spirited, exotic Sephardic songs. Lee continues to perform in both his tenor and countertenor registers, and he sang Cara's Zefiro spira il bel tempo in tenor voice last night. Exceptionally beautiful in the Renaissance program were Tromboncino's setting of the Ave Maria and the Sephardic Tu madre cuando te pario. I recall hearing Lee's performances of the latter emotionally moving number on programs while he was studying at Peabody.

The Baroque half of the program, accompanied by the Peabody's Charm City Baroque, included works by Schmelzer (instrumental), Handel, Buxtehude, Vivaldi and Porpora. I'd like to make special note of the aria by Nicola Porpora, which closed the program. It was Alto Giove (Great Jove) from "Polifemo" (an opera, oratorio, cantata...?) -- quite imposing as sung here by Peter Lee with fine ensemble support, including a propulsive ostinato on strings.

During the award ceremony, Lee stopped the proceedings and brought members of the Peabody Consort back on stage. They performed a short Taiwanese song, apparently a specialty during a recent tour of Taiwan and very charming with Lee's countertenor and John Armato in particular drawing some Oriental sounds from his lute.

Peter Wen-Chih Lee's site currently displays a poster of him with the Peabody Consort.

a special new cat bed

2011-10-15T16:34:00.001-04:00

He's over the pancreatitis and back to complaining about emptybowlitis. Thanks to the great people at Columbia Animal Hospital! He has really taken to an extra bed which I fashioned from an old quilt and towel when he was really sick, so we'll keep it in operation in a favorite spot overlooking the back garden.

And why not let him have that Ralph Lauren designer towel you weren't using any more? It looks much better on him!

shopping ~ "Help me!" ~ playlist

2011-10-15T06:20:00.004-04:00

With Borders out of the picture, will I be spending more Friday nights shopping and browsing on Amazon? I ran into a glitch on Amazon last night, so my order for the new DG recording of Andre Previn's "Brief Encounter" will be delayed. Other browsing spots here in Howard County: Barnes & Noble is great for the books, but our branch doesn't sell CDs and DVDs. Best Buy at the new Gateway center has been good for selection of recent and popular movies, and I recently found a special package of the original 1958 "The Fly" with not-so-special sequels and a very special documentary on the life and career of Vincent Price. Best Buy has CDs, but the classical section is barely a section. Daedalus Books and Music's outlet in Columbia is fabulous for its selection of discounted remainders in books, CDs and DVDs, and I've come across some interesting items in the classical CD section. Daedulus, however, is not available for late evening browsing so far, if you're looking for that. It closes at 7pm, and a little earlier on Sundays.

I never saw the remake, but the original "The Fly" still has the power to thrill and shock. Seeing it for my first time on a small black and white TV many years ago left me with memories of a very good B sci-fi movie, but having it in the original colorful Cinemascope reveals a higher level of film-making. Besides special effects, some very fine acting was invested in this movie. Extreme creepy moments for me which I think could disturb some viewers today: losing the cat and hearing its disembodied cries; the rightly famous and horrible "Help me!" scene on the spider web. However, listening to the dialog and watching the interaction between the doomed scientist and his wife, it's easy to see why someone saw operatic possibilities in the story (although the opera by Howard Shore that was staged a few years ago was based on the more graphic remake).

~~~~~~~
A few discs from my old collection and from new purchases that have been on my player lately:

~ Stephen Stubbs and Teatro Lirico in sonatas and dances from 17th century Italy and Slovakia and new improvisations on the Folia bass. ECM, 2006.
~ Stephen Bishop Kovacevich, Colin Davis and the BBC SO in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2. Philips, 1975, in 1989 reissue.
~ Martyn Brabbins and the Norrkoping SO in John Pickard's "The Flight of Icarus". BIS, 2008.
~ Hachig Kazarian and his ensemble in "Armenia, Armenia". Traditional songs and dances with some amazing clarinet and oud, other instruments and voice. An old Monitor album reissued on CD. Date unknown, but I knew this collection on vinyl back in the 1970s or 80s.

~ Jiri Belohlavek and the Prague Philharmonia in Mozart's Haffner and Linz symphonies. Harmonia Mundi, 2005.*
~ Mezzo-soprano Brigitte Balleys and soprano Mireille Delunsch with Philippe Herreweghe and Orchestre des Champs-Elysees in Berlioz's "Nuits d'ete" and "Herminie". Harmonia Mundi, 1995/2009.*
~ Soprano Dawn Upshaw with David Zinman and the Orchestra of St. Luke's in songs and opera excerpts by Barber, Menotti, Harbison and Stravinsky. "Winner of the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Classical Voice Soloist." Nonesuch, 1989/2011.*

*All found at Daedulus in the last couple of weeks. Upshaw and St. Luke's album was a staff pick when I was there last weekend.

~~~~~~~
Never lost my movie-watching mojo, but I am getting my recently discussed reading mojo back, too! Read most recently: Eudora Welty's rather long short story, "Moon Lake". It oddly evoked memories of Peter Weir's film, "Picnic at Hanging Rock", and my own summer camp experiences around a magical lake, albeit with Boy Scouts.

~~~~~~~
I just added links to my preceding hurried calendar post.

whirlwind calendar ~ Previn's opera

2011-10-12T17:34:00.002-04:00

[Edited. A couple of links have been added.]

A quick post without links, but these organizations are in the blog's margin:

~~ Countertenor Peter Lee returns to the Peabody Conservatory for a free recital with friends this Saturday evening. I was fortunate to hear Lee while he was studying at Peabody and look forward to hearing him again.

~~ The Peabody Wind Ensemble has another interesting program slated for this Friday evening.

~~ Don't forget Baltimore Lieder Weekend at An die Musik, October 21 to 23, with recitals, lectures and a masterclass. Free with suggested donation.

~~~~~~~
The new DG recording of Andre Previn's "Brief Encounter" made Critic's Choice in the October issue of Opera News. Soprano Elizabeth Futral and baritone Nathan Gunn sing the roles of the lovers in the brief affair. Patrick Summers conducts the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. Futral will appear in Lyric Opera Baltimore's "La Traviata" in November.

In Columbia: Bird Club Event and a New Garden

2011-10-12T04:48:00.003-04:00

(and some Howard County history)

Two events in Columbia coming up, both free:

The Howard County Bird Club will have its first meeting and presentation at its new meeting place in the Robinson Nature Center this Thursday evening, October 13. The presentation will focus on Cape May, New Jersey. (Bird club members have sighted and photographed the Cape May warbler in Howard County -- see the site's photo gallery.) Social time begins at 7:30pm with meeting and presentation following at 8pm. I'm told that the Nature Center will lock its doors at 8:15pm, so late comers will miss the presentation. See the events page on the site for details.

Over the summer, a new garden has been developing at Kittamaqundi Community Church on Vantage Point Road. New plantings are getting established, but the Sacred Garden already looks quite picturesque nestled against a knoll in the field beside the church. I've been including it in my strolls around the neighborhood -- another nearby garden spot in addition to the grounds of Oakland Manor across the road. The Church is eager to share the garden with the community and will hold an open garden afternoon with refreshments and music on Sunday, October 16, 12 noon to 2pm.

We're surrounded by artifacts of history in our suburban community of condominiums and townhouses! Many neighbors are aware that Kittamaqundi Church occupies what was the carriage house or stable for Oakland. At the manor's recent 200th birthday celebration, more "secrets" of the manor were revealed in presentations and tours. Among them, I learned that the strip of asphalt running up the slope between the Church's new garden and one side of Waterbury Condominium, stopping just short of the sidewalk on Vantage Point Road, is the remnant of a path which connected what is now Route 29 to the estate house. Today, walkers make use of this remnant as a shortcut between sections of the neighborhood.

hocoblogs@@@

Opera Vivente -- distressing news but with hope for a return

2011-10-10T06:26:00.004-04:00

Opera Vivente -- "living opera" -- the Baltimore-based company that performs in English with what I like to call a grand chamber opera style has been forced to cancel its 2011-12 season. The Baltimore Sun's Clef Notes has the news.

The company is looking for a new performance location after lease negotiations at what was to be its new home failed. I was confused, too, but it's my understanding that the move was all set until the proprietor of the new place tried to renegotiate the lease. There are rumblings about other arts organizations having similar experiences with this proprietor.

Here is a related post on the Maryland Morning blog.

From Opera Vivente's production of Handel's "Rinaldo" in the 2010-11 season.

Orchids at the Arboretum ~ Bonsai ~ Maple Walnut Cake

2011-10-09T08:10:00.006-04:00

An unplanned trip to the National Arboretum yesterday led me to the National Capital Orchid Society's annual show happening this weekend in the Arboretum's Bonsai and Penjing Museum. Multiple gorgeous specimens in artful settings fill the museum's International Pavilion, which luckily is well-designed to allow visitors to walk along and view exhibits like this one. Some visitors were training serious photographic equipment on the flowers, but will their photographs capture the singular odor of orchids that filled the pavilion's air? Not a connoisseur myself, I was stunned nevertheless by the many varieties and noticed Cattleyas in colors I haven't seen before. (In art galleries and books, you might come across Hudson School painter Martin Johnson Heade's series of wild Cattleyas with humingbirds in South America.) A favorite of mine in the present exhibit is a "Coos Bay" variety of a Brassia species: I couldn't help thinking that this flower, so gorgeous and bizarre at the same time, might have been the inspiration for the aliens in Roland Emmerich's movie, "Independence Day".

~~~~~~~

Yesterday was one of those "make lemonade when life gives you lemons" kind of days for me. When I set out from home, I was headed for the National Mall in DC. No particular exhibit in the art galleries was in mind -- just a general exploration of a favorite place I have not seen for a while. Well, I was stymied again by Metro's progress. I'd checked the DC Metro site before leaving home, but the full significance of delays and detours on my intended route didn't sink in until I saw the signs posted on fare card machines at the Greenbelt station. (We understand that the track work is necessary after some serious problems in recent years.) Not in the mood for a longer trip and potential hassles, I decided to head for the National Arboretum, which was also due for a visit from me. The weather is so nice this weekend, after our long spell of rain and overcast skies, that whether I was wandering around the Mall or the Arboretum didn't really matter. It turned out that the Arboretum's roads near the main center are undergoing some progress, too, but signs and friendly guides on the optional roads made for easy navigation.

Once I park near the main center -- that is, the area of the Visitor's Center, the bonsai complex and the Capital Columns overlooking the huge central meadow -- I can cover a lot of Arboretum territory on foot before having to return to the car to tour other garden areas. I took in the orchid exhibit described above, as well as the permanent bonsai and penjing exhibit, and noticed developments around the Columns and nearby Fern Valley. We have a huge bonsai and penjing collection here, and it rewards repeated visits. Besides the Japanese and Chinese sections, there is a North American section and a greenhouse with tropical specimens. (Oh, my! There's a large white pine bonsai donated by the Japanese Imperial Family that was begun in the late 18th century.)

~~~~~~~

Continuing with the lemons-to-lemonade theme: My aborted Mall visit necessitated finding something to eat before I proceeded to the Arboretum. That led to fast food on US 1 in Beltsville, but while there I spotted Raulin's Bakery in a plaza just north of the Beltway. F. puskini appreciates the art of baking as much as any other art. Here in Howard County, for example, we have Touche Touchet in Columbia and Bonaparte at Savage Mill. I remembered buying from Raulin's some years ago and decided to visit while in the neighborhood. Among other items, I came away with a lovely maple walnut cake, Bundt-type. I'd had this item before and was happy to see it still available. There's still plenty of it today. Come on over, or I'll have to take it to the office!

~~~~~~~

Another reality of touring our nation's capital: I missed it, fortunately, but there was an incident at the Air and Space Museum yesterday afternoon.

Colored Pencil Exhibit in Rockville

2011-10-08T07:45:00.002-04:00

The Colored Pencil Society of America has an exhibit at the Glenview Mansion's art gallery in Rockville this month.* Deborah Maklowski of Columbia's Artists' Gallery has a few of her own works in the exhibit. Fascinated by the detail and intricacy possible in this medium, I had to buy a small sample by Maklowski last year.

Maklowski's page at the Artists' Gallery

(Maklowski works in other mediums, too, and her plein air pastel blog is in my blog roll. Her blog has also been a good source for tips on places to visit in the area.)

*Note the Glenview gallery's hours in the link. No weekend hours?

At Columbia Artists' Gallery: Horses, Horses, Horses, and a Few Sunflowers

2011-10-06T17:59:00.004-04:00

One of Rana Geralis' paintings of equine subjects hangs in my home now. I was pleasantly surprised at the range of styles in which she paints mostly horses and ponies when I visited the Artists' Gallery near the Lakefront in Columbia Town Center today. Geralis is the featured artist this month, and the monthly reception is tomorrow evening (Friday, October 7). There are some stunning works of all kinds of horses and some sunflower subjects. Look for "The Hunters"! Even if you don't care for the sport, its surreal, almost abstract look with the red highlights of the riders' jackets has been getting some attention in the gallery.

Pictured here is "The Horse Race", part of this month's exhibit. My purchase, made two or three years ago, is a row of ponies done in the style of George Stubbs' thoroughbreds -- frieze-like against a solid buff background.

Artists' Gallery .... Rana Geralis' page

a note for Ollie's fans

2011-10-06T17:41:00.000-04:00

I think Ollie, my cat and #1 Opera Cat, has some fans here, so I'd like to pass on that he seems to be getting better very quickly. I've come home from work before to find that he has had a bad day, but Monday was the scariest. (The rugs had a bad day, too. I threw away two small woven grass rugs. Nylon floor coverings fared much better.) We're not through this yet, and more tests and scans will be done at the vet next week, but he's eating again without getting sick and meeting me at the door when I come home, so things are looking brighter. I've even opted to stop giving him the painkiller to avoid certain side effects.

Cat lovers will understand the fuss I make here. This little guy follows me around the house when I'm home, and he is a constant companion and playful stalker. On the practical side, he has proven that he keeps the rodents at bay, if you must have the practical side. He's also great at parties! He turns 11 at the end of this month, and I've had him for 9 of his 11 years.

(Briefly, from previous post: Bowel disease and sensitivity to regular cat food has always been a problem. It's been worse lately, but we have him on even more special food now. This week, pancreatitis threw a wrench into the works.)

Looking after Ollie

2011-10-03T19:35:00.001-04:00

He has had a reversal in his illness, and I'm taking him to the vet in the morning. Things were really looking better since the vet treated him last week, so I hope this is just a temporary setback.

///Update, afternoon of October 4: The treatments for Ollie's chronic bowel problem are doing their job. Meanwhile, today's vet visit indicates that he has developed pancreatitis. He's on some powerful painkiller until the ailment passes. He has had a little bit of food today without getting sick, and he's mainly resting but has moved around and talked to me a little.///

Spanish Rainbows ~ Violas ~ Beethoven ~ blog roll and links

2011-10-02T05:26:00.011-04:00

Moroccan singer Amina Alaoui's new Iberian fusion album, "Arco Iris", is a staff pick at Daedalus Books here in Columbia....Amazon's page....ECM's page....Daedalus Books in Columbia.

The October Gramophone has an article by Charlotte Smith on the rise of the viola, "the Cinderella of string instruments...no longer playing second fiddle to the violin..." I recall reading years ago that violists were distressed by their violinist colleagues who would take up the viola from time to time but play it like a "country bumpkin cousin" of the violin. (Before I muddy the waters, Smith's article indicates that not all violinists treat the viola that way.)

The viola article is not on line yet, but while searching for it in Gramophone's features section I found Philip Clark's musings on Beethoven. This entry augments Clark's print edition interview with conductor Riccardo Chailly about the impact of Beethoven's symphonies.

The viola as played properly by Lawrence Power will be featured on a new release by Hyperion in November: Vaughan Williams' Suite for Viola and Small Orchestra and McEwen's Viola Concerto. Power and conductor Brabbins also collaborated in an earlier Hyperion album of viola concertos by York Bowen and Cecil Forsyth.

New in the blog roll: Read All Day. Back in the blog roll: Opera Vivente (after some trouble with the blog feed). Deleted from the blog roll: the apparently inactive second blog of a famous music critic, but his active and much more famous blog is still there.

Getting Back My Reading Mojo

2011-09-30T14:09:00.003-04:00

I grew up reading avidly, both fiction and non-, and continued to read a lot as an adult. I especially loved and still love collections of short stories. Reading a series of short stories was better than watching TV, and there were no commercials! Then I was introduced to the Internet. The Internet is at once an avenue to all things cultural and literary today and a destroyer of good reading habits. Before I bash too much, even without the Internet, I wonder if some of us lose our reading habits any way as we get older. I won't put all the blame on the web.

I've managed to read books off and on since my Internet reading and blogging began, but recently something happened that unexpectedly increased time spent reading off line (or "real reading", as I'd like to call it). A little corner of my house serves as a small sun room, and I've been doing it up to feel like a sort of patio or veranda. A ceiling fan and another picture not shown in my photo here, and two or three vases of cat-safe artificial plants add to a fantasy tropical island atmosphere. I also call it my Key Largo Room, frankly named after a favorite movie rather than a book. It seems to be one of Ollie's favorite places in the house, too, which I take as a good sign. (The wrap-around corner window that admits so much light to this room has a wide sill, and this is Ollie's porch which I've mentioned elsewhere with photos taken of him through the screen.)

Getting to my point: The Key Largo Room has become almost unintenionally a reading sanctum. The computer, stereo, and the TV and DVD player are all located in other rooms away from this part of the house. I gravitate to this room with my books or magazines and sit for a spell to read without distraction. Lately, I finished reading "Livvia" in The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. I planned to post a passage from this beautiful story, as I have done here in the past. It would have been a slice of a larger story that felt so much like walking through a painting: Welty's description of the magical yard leading up to Solomon's little house from the Natchez Trace. This would have left out all the personal drama that makes the story, however. Besides the main action with Livvia and Solomon, later in the story come scenes involving an almost fairy-like but not exactly benign precursor to the Avon Lady selling cosmetics for both "white and colored people" and a dapper figure who reminds me a little of Sportin' Life in "Porgy and Bess".

Maybe a book club that meets in person would be another avenue for social interaction; however, the idea of agreeing to read the same book that I might not otherwise read so that it could be discussed at the meeting puts me off for some reason. I've heard of some clubs that let you talk about whatever you're reading, regardless of whether other people in the group are reading the same thing, and that's more appealing.

Looking for blogs with a literary bent, I searched on Welty's name and found Read All Day. I'm posting the link here for reference and for something else to read on the Internet. I might include it in my blog roll when I can get to my other, more capable computer.

Addendum:
The picture that is visible in my photo is "Tradewinds" by Diane Dunn of the Artists' Gallery in Columbia Town Center. It's an infrared photograph handpainted with pastels. Although taken in Hawaii, the windblown palm trees certainly remind me of imagery in the movie, "Key Largo".

sick opera cats and a new cd player

2011-09-29T13:23:00.003-04:00

perhaps of interest to some of my music friends...

~~ I'm down with a cold and have postponed a routine car maintenance appointment for tomorrow already. I'm afraid this will dash concert-going and other plans this weekend also. (I've been sharing program details for chamber recitals in Columbia this weekend with friends.)

~~ Ollie, #1 Opera Cat on this blog, has been to the vet a couple of times recently. Inflammatory Bowel Disease which he has probably had all his life is getting worse. On the first visit, he had stopped eating by the time I took him in. This last time, he was acting fine but there were trouble signs in the litter pans, so I took him back before things got worse. An anti-inflammatory steroid shot reverses the IBD symptoms sharply for a while at least. Pills of the same medicine given at home might be necessary later. You just grab his head from behind, hold his lower jaw down with a finger, drop the pill down the V-shaped groove at the back of his tongue, blow lightly down his nostrils (not kidding!) and release him. Just like the vet does with him in the clinic. Easy. The nostril-blowing maneuver apparently discourages him from ejecting the pill. For now, we are gradually switching his food from the sensitive stomach formula I've been buying off the shelf to a prescription food from the vet clinic. It's supposed to be a gradual switch, but he seems to be relishing the pellets of the new food before he eats his old stuff. Except for that spell of not eating, which was an extra worry during the recent hurricane, the little rascal and love bug has been carrying on with his usual playing and antics. You wouldn't think anything was wrong with him until you saw his pitiful efforts in the pans.

~~ If I'm housebound this weekend, I can indulge in my new Bose Acoustic Wave Music System. My main CD player, also an upscale portable unit, a very beautiful one from a certain Danish company, began skipping recently. The radio still gets WBJC just fine, but it was time to find a new player. (In my experience, skipping CD players are difficult to get repaired properly.) The Bose, bought from the dealer in the Columbia Mall, has a very low profile but puts out excellent sound. I won't pretend that it's as good as some of the better speakers in component systems, but it's at least as good as my old B&O portable. If it can handle di Stefano's "Celeste Aida", then I'm sure it will give me much pleasure with other opera recordings later.

A small minus, not one to make me take the Bose unit back: The remote does not allow selection of tracks by number, though it does have buttons for skipping to adjacent tracks. I went back to the store in hopes that the larger remotes sold separately had the track selection function, but they are only larger versions of the tiny remote that comes with the unit. This will only be a problem when I want to pick out favorite tracks in opera recital albums. Otherwise, most of the time, I won't miss this function. There is a shuffle mode -- not something my old unit had -- but I wonder if something like that increases wear on the moving parts. I skipped getting the extra multiple disc changer. Didn't have it with the old unit. Getting up to change discs gives me some exercise.

A Quartet and a Trio in Columbia This Weekend

2011-09-27T16:30:00.004-04:00

Check out the Ying Quartet's adventurous program for Candlelight Concerts this Saturday night at Howard Community College's Horowitz Performing Arts Center:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 428
Paul Moravec: Anniversary Dances** (new commission)
John Novacek: Three Rags for String Quartet
Bedřich Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in E minor, "From My Life"

The next afternoon at Christ Episcopal over in east Columbia, the Mendelssohn Piano Trio will perform trios by Haydn, Brahms and Schubert for Sundays at Three.

playlist: in an opera cat's lair

2011-09-26T06:00:00.001-04:00

Sunday was one of my go-nowhere-in-the-car, take-a-break-from-traffic days. A playlist developed that might have been inspired by discussion on line and on the air:

~~ Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky singing "forgotten castrato arias" by Antonio Caldara on Jaroussky's recent Virgin Classics release. An amazing voice, and somebody was right about his coloratura. (One critic I read maintains that Jaroussky is really a male soprano.)

~~ I passed over some new albums waiting to be played and pulled out a classic Decca set of Verdi's "Un Ballo in maschera": Solti conducts the National Philharmonic Orchestra. The proverbial luxury cast: Pavarotti as Riccardo; Christa Ludwig as Ulrica; Renato Bruson as Renato; Margaret Price as Amelia; Kathleen Battle as Oscar. This set is said to be one of the few opportunities to hear soprano Price in recording.

~~ Recorded 2002 interview with tenor Giuseppe di Stefano (on one of the CD's that used to come with Gramophone) led to hearing a few tracks from a Decca album of di Stefano in famous and not-so-famous arias. This set from "The Singers" series includes some selections of a di Stefano specialty: traditional Sicilian songs. They sound like something quite apart from mainland Italian songs both in the music and the language. (I must hear "Cantu a timuni" again.)

Anticipating Opera: A Busy November in Baltimore

2011-09-24T07:01:00.002-04:00

I'm missing BCO's season opener this weekend, Butterfly, unfortunately, but it is one I've heard several times before in recording and performance.

Looking at the company links in my blog margin, I'm making a note of a few dates, all concentrated in November:

Grand-stage opera returns to the Lyric Opera House with the new Lyric Opera Baltimore's production of Verdi's "La Traviata". Conductor Steven White and soprano Elizabeth Futral will be familiar to some of us who attended Baltimore Opera Company performances. Baritone Jason Stearns is a voice I've been wanting to hear after reading reviews. November 4 and 6.

Peabody Opera Theater appears at the Lyric in November, too. Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress", November 18 and 20. Look for more seldom heard fairly recent operas later in Peabody's season at the main conservatory building and Baltimore Theater Project. Note the new outreach feature: an operatic condensed version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest".

Opera Vivente, performing in English, is remaining in its space not far from the Peabody and the Lyric (see preceding post). The OV season opens with Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and a favorite baritone singer-actor in the title role -- John Dooley. November 11, 13, 17 and 19.

///Opera friends are welcome to join us at my close-to-Halloween movie night, discussed a couple of posts before this. It's not opera, but it will be a nice diversion.///

Opera Vivente's Frustration; a Silver Lining (?)

2011-09-24T06:00:00.006-04:00

[Edited again.]

I just read the news on Opera Vivente's site. Thanks to Opera Vivente for giving us the details, and we feel your pain but probably can't feel the full extent of the frustration you must be experiencing. OV was slated to move into a new home this season after spending its first 13 years in the church hall at Emmanuel Episcopal in Baltimore's Mount Vernon district. The new home at the Maryland State Boychoir's performance space in north Baltimore promised a larger stage with a better support area and a larger hall with raked seating. OV cancelled its second annual summer academy for young singers this year in order to make the move. Some details about what reversed the move after so much planning and effort and how OV is accommodating ticket buyers are available on OV's site. Briefly, lease negotiations with the MSB went sour, and OV will move back to the space at Emmanuel for this season.

There is a silver lining, at least from my viewpoint. I completely understand that the people at OV might not see it, but here it is: Opera Vivente has been one of the gems in the Mount Vernon Cultural District, where several opera companies and other ensembles are located. I enjoy heading for the same general area and knowing the parking situation, being able to leave the car in one place and dine at City Cafe (or another of the neighborhood's famous restaurants) before or after a performance or a visit to a museum. Depending on timing, sometimes you can even wander the galleries in the Walters Art Museum while waiting to attend a performance nearby. So, while I was looking forward to seeing Opera Vivente in its new theater, in some ways the extended stay in Mount Vernon will be nice, at least for some of us.

///See my next post for the opera scene in Baltimore as the 2011-2012 season opens.///

movie night date shifted -- "The Old Dark House"

2011-09-23T18:43:00.001-04:00

This is mainly a note for friends for a movie night that I'm coordinating mainly through Facebook, but there are some loose threads and I'm working with limited access to Facebook. The event was first posted for October 28, but I've moved it to October 29. I think the Saturday evening will work better for most of us. I made the change on Facebook, but I need to circulate that information again.

James Whale's 1932 "The Old Dark House" will be the focus of this movie night. Viewers who are tired of all the recent rain and storms in this area should be forewarned. There will be plenty more of it on the screen that night, but I love the way Whale and his crew gradually introduce us to the Femm family and show us around the house of the title. Boris Karloff, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, Raymond Massey and Ernest Thesiger are some names in the cast of actors that still resonate today. Whale involved some other wonderful actors of the day who he knew from the English stage -- Eva Moore, Brember Wills and "John" Dudgeon -- to play the denizens of the strange house along with Thesiger and Karloff.

A little spoiler I won't share on FB: Brember Wills, who I have not seen in other movies, represents a climax in the story. A gripping actor, he might have some of my guests going home to make sure they don't have anyone locked away upstairs.

A short bonus that night will be a live-action film, "The Wizard's Apprentice" or "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", made by William Cameron Menzies. It uses Dukas' music for its score, and it might have been a model for the Disney animated version.

(No score for Dark House! Just some atmospheric music, uncredited, during the credits, but perhaps the storm raging outside provides a score of sorts.)

Addendum: Friends can expect this party to be very casual. The films on the roster are a lot of fun as well as very interesting. Food and drink will not be quite dinner but will be plenty, and I'm thinking of getting a theme cake from Touche Touchet Bakery in Columbia. (Their cakes went over very well at a big party I had last year.) Of course, my rather sociable cat will watch with us and visit with everyone.

Howard County Bird Club and Robinson Nature Center

2011-09-21T05:27:00.001-04:00

The Bird Club has been holding its regular meetings and presentations open to the public at various locations in Howard County for many years. It's taking up residence at the county's new Robinson Nature Center and will have it's first public presentation in the evening on October 13 -- slides and a talk focusing on Cape May by a speaker and birdwatching friend who will be very interesting to hear.

howardbirds.org has the details about this and other ornithological events.

If you have not seen the Robinson Nature Center, please visit! This will be one of the county's gems in the years to come -- a wild beauty spot, and the building itself is a fine piece of architecture even with its low profile on the site. A forest canopy and understorey exhibit with a handicapped-friendly walk wrapping around it from top to bottom looks like a kids-of-all-ages pleaser. There is a small admission fee, or you can get an annual membership. I'll have to return for the trail down to the Middle Patuxent River when this rain lets up. (I made a gallant attempt but had to turn back.)

We're very, very fortunate that the founders and organizers created this facility and preserved the surrounding slice of wilderness.

Robinson Nature Center

hocoblogs@@@

Wonderful Modern Music on Harp and Flute Program

2011-09-18T06:55:00.002-04:00

Harpist Jacqueline Pollauf and flutist Rachel Choe played magnificently in a terrific program last night at the UUCC Chalice Concert Series here in Columbia, Maryland. We like to use words like "beautiful" and "glittering" to describe harp music, but today's performers and composers for the instrument seem to be on a mission to show that the harp is not just another pretty instrument. This is not to suggest that last night's works were ultramodern and posed too much of a challenge for listeners not trained in music. Even Jolivet's blend of twelve-tonal technique with Debussy and Ravel (as described before the concert by Pollauf -- shades of composer Frank Martin?) was interesting and marvellous to hear.

For the record and to add to the Internet buzz for the less familiar composers, I'd like to share the program, entitled "Framed Pairs", here. Except where indicated, the pieces are for solo harp and originally written for that instrument:

Variations on a Chant -- Juan Orrego-Salas (b. 1919, Chile)

Sonata (for flute and harp) -- Carmen Petra-Basacopol (b. 1926, Romania)
- Allegro appassionato
- Andante espressivo, rubato
- Allegro vivo
(This was my favorite work on the program.)

Prelude -- Andre Jolivet (1905-1974)

Sarabanda e Toccata -- Nino Rota (1911-1979)
(Or maybe this was my favorite work!)

Oriental Dance and Toccata (transcription from - piano?) -- Aram Khachaturian (of Sabre Dance fame, 1903 - 1978, Armenia)

Prelude No. 2 from Three Preludes (transcription from piano by Y. Kondonassis) -- George Gershwin (1898-1937)

Sonata (for flute and harp) -- Nino Rota
- Allegro molto moderato
- Andante sostenuto
- Allegro festoso

Fantasie sur un Theme de Haydn -- Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975)

link to UUCC Chalice Concerts

a little ramble: Columbia concerts, Japanese spring in DC museums, more movie infatuation, etc.

2011-09-17T07:10:00.008-04:00

~~ Festivities for Oakland Manor's 200th birthday just down the street from me start at 11:00 this morning....Harp recital with some flute is at 8:00 this evening at the UU Chalice series. (See preceding posts for details.)....On WBJC, I heard about another musical event at Howard Community College's Smith Theater tonight. I'm heading for the harp recital, but what's happening at Smith might be in my link for the Horowitz Performing Arts Center in the blog margin. I am just delighted by the concert choices available without leaving Columbia (but we still need an opera house or suitable theater and resident opera company!).

~~ Note that I'm posting notices of local upcoming performances -- a few are submitted to me by e-mail with requests to post -- but I'm getting away from trying to review performances afterwards. So if you don't see a review here, it doesn't mean I didn't like the performance! I also admit that sometimes I just don't make it to a performance that I've mentioned here. That said, sometimes I come home from an opera so impressed by something, I must post. Also, if it's early enough in the production run, I may want to pass on that it would be a good idea to go.

I get requests to post notices for other music genres. Please understand that I have to stay in a certain range here and don't have time for everything. Be it known, too, that if someone wanted to start a blog about indie pop or C&W or other genres on Hocoblogs, there would be an interest in it.

~~ I'm anticipating a Japanese spring in DC's art museums next spring. The back page of the Post's Style section last Friday (Sept. 9) had an article about some exhibits that will draw me back to the city in spite of misgivings about the metro system. (The Mall, by the way, is one of my favorite places, and I would miss it.) The National Gallery of Art will exhibit scroll paintings by Ito Jakuchu in conjunction with the centennial of Japan's gift of the Tidal Basin cherry trees. Across the Mall, the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery will be showing the famous "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" by Hokusai and Kano Kazunobu's series of paintings of Buddha's disciples.

NGA's page for the upcoming Jakuchu exhibition.

Take note that up in Baltimore, the Asian collection in the Walters' Hackermann House has some splendid Japanese ceramic vases. I'm sure I saw some of them in a temporary exhibit at either the Sackler or adjacent (Ripley?) center some years ago.

~~ DC Metro's Green Line gives me a straight shot to the Mall area from north of DC, without any need to change lines on the way. Archives/Navy Memorial Station on the Green Line is a short walk from the National Gallery and the Mall. I was ranting about problems with Metro in a recent post. Any opportunity to get to a destination in DC without changing lines is golden to me.

Here is a blog for DC Metro riders!

~~ Movie suggestions: "A Little Romance" (1979). It had slipped from memory until I spotted the DVD at Daedalus Books last week, and it made a charming and moving evening of viewing last night. This must be one of the last films to feature Olivier, so beguiling along with teenage actors playing lovers, Diane Lane and Thelonius Bernard. Also starring locations in Paris, Verona and Venice and a Vivaldi-influenced score by Georges Delerue.

A few other movies of note that came my way at Daedalus in Columbia (a great source, if you like to collect and keep DVDs): Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" (interesting contrast to "A Little Romance"?)....Richard Lester's "Petulia" with George C. Scott, Julie Christie and Richard Chamberlain. A time capsule from the 1960's....the more recent "Me and Orson Welles". Some how, they revived or found Welles alive and well to play himself. I don't believe that's really an actor named Christian McKay....Welles' own movie, "The Lady From Shanghai". I remembered seeing the weird hall of mirrors scene before but not all the details. When actor Everett Sloane stalked into the proceedings with his canes......

Note from the special features for "The Lady From Shanghai": It is a shame that the movie was cut up so much that it didn't really resemble what Welles had intended. Further, he hated the Disneyish score with its obvious musical gestures. At one point, he actually had a contribution from George Antheil in hand as a start for a score, but producers had other ideas. Nevertheless, it's a compelling story with fine acting and impressive imagery and Errol Flynn's yacht.

200th Birthday of Oakland Manor Celebrated, Saturday, Sept. 17

2011-09-16T05:50:00.006-04:00

Walking tour part of Historic Oakland’s 200th birthday celebration

Columbia Archives and Howard County Historical Society partner to lead tour Barbara Kellner, director of the Columbia Archives, and Lauren McCormack, executive director of the Howard County Historical Society, will lead a walking tour of Historic Oakland and its environs as part of the Town Center Celebration of Historic Oakland’s 200th Birthday on Saturday, September 17. The free event, which begins with the tour at 11 a.m. and continues to 3 p.m., will also include a concert by the U.S. Army Field Band; a talk about Oakland by Ken Short, architectural historian of Howard County; period dance demonstrations; hands-on games and toys that harken back to the 19th century; and light refreshments.Historic Oakland was built in 1811 by Charles Sterrett Ridgely. It was one of the most elegant homes in the area when it was built. Today it is a unique and elegant building in the middle of Columbia that has a rich history that includes ownership by prominent Maryland families in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and an equally interesting history as a community resource since being purchased by The Rouse Company for the development of Columbia.Kellner and McCormack will share the stage to bring alive the pre-Columbian and Columbian history as they lead a walk from Historic Oakland on Vantage Point Road to the historic structures on Hyla Brook Road that were all once part of the Oakland estate.Tour reservations are encouraged but not necessary. For more information about the celebration, please contact Pat Loeber of the Town Center Community Association at 410-730-4744. For information about the tour, please contact Barbara Kellner at Columbia.Archives@ColumbiaAssociation.com or 410-715-3103.

Historic Oakland 200th Birthday Celebration
Saturday, September 17, 2011

Schedule of Events

11:00–11:30 a.m.              Tree Planting                     Rear Lawn

11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.      Walking Tour of Estate      Front Steps

11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.        Indoor Games                   Sterrett Room

11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.        Historic Displays              Foyer

11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.        Time Capsule         Foyer

11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.        Oakland History Video      Ridgely Room

12:00–2:00 p.m.                Light Refreshments          Verandah

1:00–1:30 p.m.                  U.S. Army Field Band        Ballroom

1:00–3:00 p.m.                  Outdoor Games                Front Lawn

1:30–2:00 p.m.                  Architectural Presentation Library

2:00–2:30 p.m.                  Dances From the 1800’s     Ballroom

Historic Oakland Manor
5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia, MD 21044
410-730-4744

Patricia B. Laidig
Village Manager
5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia, MD 21044
410-730-4744
towncenter@columbiavillages.org

(Notice and graphics copied from Columbia Town Center e-mail.)

hocoblogs@@@

link: Martin's "Der Sturm" reviewed

2011-09-15T19:42:00.000-04:00

in the September issue of Opera News

playlist

2011-09-14T17:01:00.002-04:00

Some recordings I've heard at home recently:

~~ Frank Martin's "Der Sturm". Thierry Fischer conducts soloists and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. First complete recording of the opera from Hyperion, recorded in 2008. I wish to add my vote to any online advocacy for bringing this fabulous masterpiece to the stage again.

~~ various orchestral works by Martin, mainly the ballades for solo instruments and orchestra (Bamert, LPO on Chandos) and the violin concerto (violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan in a vintage recording). I must revisit other orchestral and choral works in my collection. Penguin Guide praises the cello concerto in a Bis recording which I'd like to find.

~~ Verdi's "Il Corsaro" (The Pirate). Carreras, Caballe, Norman. Lamberto Gardelli conducts the New Philharmonia Orchestra. Philips Classic Opera reissues, 1976/2005. Well worth investigating. If you want to stage it, apparently there's only one cannon shot you have to worry about doing. There is a high body count at the end, a situation that could be either comedy or tragedy. I'm imagining Edward Gorey illustrations for the program.

~~ Orlando Gibbons' Consorts for Viols. Phantasm. Avie, 2004. Serene and sublime. Phantasm has a new recording of music by William Byrd, too.

~~ Jean Sibelius, Piano pieces. Ashkenazy. Triton, 2008.

~~ various works by Rimsky-Korsakov in conductor Kees Bakels and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra's set on Bis, 2003-2006/2007. This is a great set, but also consider Neeme Jarvi and the Scottish National Orchestra in some of this repertoire on Chandos. Their take on the Christmas Eve Suite and the Hymn to Nature from "The Invisible City of Kitezh" in particular cause goose bumps and throat lumps in me. The Bis set has the composer's Piano Concerto among other works not duplicated on Chandos.

~~ York Bowen, Symphonies 1 and 2. Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC Philharmonic. Chandos, 2011. (Have not listened to this yet! It arrived with the Martin opera last week.)

Harp Recital in Columbia this Saturday Evening

2011-09-12T05:57:00.003-04:00

Harpist Jacqueline Pollauf has played for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Opera Vivente's ensemble among other orchestras in addition to her many solo and chamber recitals. Now we can hear her along with flutist Rachel Choe in Columbia this weekend at the UU Chalice Concert Series:

September 17, 2011 - 8:00 pm
Chalice Concert Series
Owen Brown Interfaith Center
7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD 21045
Jacqueline performs a solo recital including works by Gershwin, Khachaturian and Jolivet. Flutist Rachel Choe will join Jacqueline for two pieces. Pre-concert talk begins at 7:15. Tickets are $15, $12 for students in advance or $20, $15 for students at the door.

jpharp.com

New Nature Center; Gardening

2011-09-10T07:57:00.002-04:00

Joe Pye weed and black-eyed Susan beds along Lake Kittamaqundi. Butterflies' delight! (Taken a few summers ago -- this area is currently closed to the public and butterflies during the dredging and infrastructure work.)

The Robinson Nature Center has its grand opening today. I'm adding it to my list of Garden Spots.

This afternoon, I'll be at the previously mentioned Bay-Wise garden tour in Ellicott City organized by the Howard County Master Gardeners. (Reservations by e-mail were required.)

Another huge concert at the Post Pavilion takes place today. Town Center advisory warned us about the event traffic / traffic event. I've mapped my way out of Town Center to get to the Ellicott City area for the garden event.

hocoblogs@@@

A White Wine Perfect for Opera Cats

2011-09-09T20:19:00.002-04:00

An Australian friend many years ago introduced me to sauvignon blancs from New Zealand's Marlborough wine region, and I've been a fan ever since. I like the crisp, slightly grassy flavor and pale greenish hue, though some descriptions mention fruit flavors. One I had at Clyde's here in Columbia a few weeks ago was as peachy as the menu description said and perhaps too peachy for me. (If it had been sold as something other than a sauvignon blanc, I might have liked it more!)

At the time in Australia, the one we were trying was Cloudy Bay's "sauv blanc". This would have been in 1987 or '88. My friend quoted an Aussie wine reviewer whose assessment (and she was admiring the wine) went something like this: "The bouquet reminds me of the gooseberry bush in the garden on a cold, frosty morning right after the cat has pissed on it."

Well, if that doesn't entice you, I don't know what will. Fortunately, Cloudy Bay is going strong still, and I just opened a chilled bottle of their 2009 sauv blanc found at the Perfect Pour in Howard County. (It has a screw top instead of a cork! Some good wines come with screw tops now.)

link to Cloudy Bay's site (There is a quick age check gateway where you enter birth date and country of residence before you get into the site.)

Storm Stories

2011-09-06T17:37:00.001-04:00

My little storm cloud is really a ray of sunshine.

~~ I heard William Byrd's Fitzwilliam Suite for brass on WBJC on the way home in today's rainy weather. I think they've played that one before. There's a slow, stately movement that really affects me, and I must get the recording.

~~ The whole beach cottage is gone. I spent a magical summer afternoon there a couple of years ago relaxing and watching dolphins out in the water. Irene's storm surge up the estuary on North Carolina's coast obliterated the cottage along with other houses on the shore. My folks arrived from town nearby after the storm expecting to find the pier gone, and the whole house had disappeared. Pieces are strewn around the woods behind the lot, but they don't want to investigate further until "snake season" is over. The loss seems more than severe property damage...Houses on stilts were not immune to the hurricane either. A neighbor in one such house found himself swimming for his life when the surge came up through the floor. He returned to rescue his dog and spent the next twelve hours in a small boat before the waters receded...Peacocks belonging to one of the residents some how knew to go to high ground before it was too late and were alive and well after Irene passed...Voices sometimes sounded fatigued and near to cracking when I talked to family over the phone last week. I'm heading down to see them soon.

~~ "Der Sturm" by Frank Martin is on its way to me in the mail.

Falling Trees Still a Hazard after Last Week's Storm?

2011-09-05T16:23:00.001-04:00

I sent e-mail to Town Center, so they're aware of it. I heard the large tree fall and saw its top going down before I knew what was happening. This was while I was walking down Vantage Point Road in Columbia Town Center just before 4pm. It's in the strip of woods between the park on Vantage Point and Oakland Manor and the African American Museum. The tree is leaning against some smaller trees and still settling.

I'm guessing that the tree cracked near its base during the storm but didn't fall right away. This is a nice little safety hazard and further tree loss to worry about a week after Irene has passed by.

hocoblogs@@@

Howard County Scenery: Go West!

2011-09-05T07:19:00.003-04:00

[Edited.]

After celebrating upstate New York's scenery during my recent vacation, I was reminded that we have our own version of rural vistas with real rolling countryside here in Howard County. They're to be found mainly in the western part of the county -- so far, I've enjoyed them on drives down 144 west from 32, on my way to Sun Nurseries. I headed out that way twice this weekend while making a gardening decision, and I didn't mind having to do the second drive at all. (On the first drive, I also went as far as Lisbon before stopping at Sun Nurseries.) Many Hocoblog readers might already know this area, if they've been going to the Howard County Fairgrounds, the Howard County Conservancy or Sun Nurseries.

On my latest drives, I couldn't see much, if any, damage from last weekend's hurricane from the road, but there must have been some effect: Temporary signs along 144 advise local residents about place and time for picking up emergency water supplies.

Even closer to Columbia, not to be overlooked is some scenery along 108 between River Hill Garden Center in Clarksville and Lake Centennial. The Garden Center's parking lot enjoys a view of farm and woodland sloping away on the other side of the road. Further down 108, there's a patch that almost looks like an English country lane with large old trees separating the road from a sheep pasture. [Well, that stretch of 108 isn't quite as charming as I recall it, and the sheep pasture might have been switched to other purposes. It's a nice drive on the weekend, but the English country lane feeling is gone.]

Wildflower note for late July/early August: Stately stands of Joe Pye weed at peak bloom can be seen in a couple of places where 144 dips into dales where there are small streams or marshy areas. When you reach Sun Nurseries on Bushy Park Road off 144, you can buy your own Joe Pye weed!

My Joe Pye purchase will have to wait as I continue to develop the garden area where I might plant it. This weekend's garden project involved making sure that a problem area on my front patio would support a Hydrangea bush. After checking out the soil, I made the second trip to Sun to buy "Lady in Red", a Hydrangea macrophylla cultivar that will provide much foliage interest even when the plant is not in summer bloom.

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Cecil Beaton Portraits ~~ "My Fair Lady"

2011-09-04T08:38:00.001-04:00

W. H. Auden once said that if you want to understand the 19th century, you must understand Hector Berlioz. Could we say that if you want to understand the 20th century, you must understand Cecil Beaton?

I remember catching the Beaton exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in DC a few years ago. Perhaps that was related to the exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in London which was cataloged in this volume. I found copies at Daedalus Books here in Columbia yesterday, but the stack was very small when I made my purchase.

Beaton was behind the production and costume design of the movie, "My Fair Lady" (1964). Seeing the entire movie for my first time this year, I had to watch the beautifully designed and choreographed Ascot Opening Day sequence again after the movie was over. That was on DVD, but it deserves to be seen on larger cinema screens again.

(Image from isbnlib.com. Published in the US by Yale University Press; in the UK by National Portrait Gallery Publications, 2004.)

very quick calendar

2011-09-03T09:39:00.004-04:00

Some things I noticed as I began to look at season openings, my previous post on travel difficulties notwithstanding:

Guitarist Ana Vidovic plays at An die Musik this Sunday evening, Sept. 4. -- a Sunday evening on a holiday weekend, no less, and the big race in Baltimore that otherwise would make getting there impossible is on (Saturday????).

After season preview concerts and a gala concert with violinist Hilary Hahn, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will play Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, Dvorak's Cello Concerto and a new work later in September (and I think I can get to one of the performances easily enough).

[Sept. 10: Gardening event. See gardening label.]

Candlelight Concerts here in Columbia starts the season with the Ying Quartet on October 1....The Mendelssohn Piano Trio performs for Sundays at Three the next day, Oct. 2.

Kronos Quartet begins its artists in residence series at U of M's Clarice Smith Center this month....An die Musik hosts the Baltimore Lieder Weekend in October.

At the opera: Baltimore Concert Opera opens with "Madama Butterfly" on Sept. 23 and 25....The new Lyric Opera Baltimore, taking over the mantle of the Baltimore Opera Company, doesn't get rolling until Nov. 4 and 6 with "La Traviata"....Peabody Opera's collaboration with LOB in "The Rake's Progress" by Stravinsky is also in November. See Peabody's schedule for other new and rare operas this season....Opera Vivente opens with "The Marriage of Figaro", Nov. 11 to 19.

Links to these ensembles and more are in the blog's margin. Calendar label on this post will pull up other details and links, too.

See you at the opera house and concert hall. Drive safely.

Frustrations of Traveling to Performances

2011-09-03T08:11:00.003-04:00

All with the understanding that there is a balance between the quality of what's ultimately in store in a performance at the end of the trip to the concert hall or opera house and the effort of simply getting to the event...

I started looking at various calendars in my margin links to make notes on my own calendar, and I'm curious about whether anyone else who ever attended the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concerts stopped going as often after the BSO split its time between the Meyerhoff in Baltimore and the Strathmore in Montgomery County closer to DC. As a commuter from the suburbs between the two cities, I find it easier to reach the Meyerhoff for Friday, Saturday or Sunday performances. If I have to go to the Strathmore, I might as well be getting onto the DC Metro station there -- that's my usual route to the Kennedy Center (but see below for Metro problems). Of course, the BSO must strategize to make money, and I realize that whenever a performing ensemble makes a move like this, some established patrons will be inconvenienced and some new patrons will be gained.

Perhaps, I will get to some BSO concerts this season after all (none last year, though there were some programs that caught my eye), because I'm skipping subscribing to the Washington National Opera in DC. (When the BSO had a Friday night concert at the Meyerhoff but I had a WNO ticket for the following evening on Saturday, I rarely felt like going to both events.) The DC Metro should be the easiest way to get to events at the Kennedy, where the WNO performs, but the current state of Metro persuaded me to cancel going to practically all of WNO's last season. I held on to my ticket for the Gluck opera with Domingo and Racette -- the one highlight of the season I thought was worth the trouble of getting there. And then on the holiday weekend for my ticket's date, both Metro and WNO (to their credit, of course) sent out advisories about extensive work and delays on the tracks that weekend. After previous experiences with Metro when things were working normally, I really had to weigh the effort to get to the Kennedy on that particular weekend against how I would feel if I succeeded in reaching the Kennedy. I ultimately decided not to go. I wasted a lot of money, but I might have wasted it, too, if I had attempted the trip and found myself too fatigued once at my destination or even unable to get to it, as has happened before. (When to work on the tracks probably was not an easy choice for Metro, either -- they had to consider both the holiday weekend visitors to DC and commuters during the regular work week.)

Perhaps, I try to go to too many events, more than is practical for any concert or opera-goer. I won't spend money on a full subscription to the WNO again, but I am considering my options if I want to go to a particular WNO performance during the season. Or maybe I will say good-bye to DC and the Metro and focus on the multiple choices in Baltimore and even in my immediate neighborhood of Columbia here in the suburbs. Or maybe I'll drive to opera in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Or maybe I'll stay home and listen to the operas and pieces I want to hear on the stereo. (If live performance recordings ever start picking up cellphone intrusions from the audience...)

On a related note, I've been limiting myself to attending performances scheduled from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon (sometimes evening). I used to head into Baltimore for mid-week evening performances after work, but the heavy evening traffic and concerns about the next morning's commute stopped that.

Perhaps, I'm just getting crankier as I get older. Happy Labor Day Weekend.

a walk after the storm

2011-08-28T15:08:00.001-04:00

To Ollie's delight, windows are open on a very nice day.

I had other pictures, but I'm having technical problems. I think I got the most important picture posted. Being a monochromatic sort of cat, Ollie is easy to upload. Any way, it's a beautiful day in spite of a ton of tree debris on the path to the Lake, and the lakefront restaurants are open.

Sadko Plays for the Sea King

2011-08-28T09:30:00.005-04:00

The power never went out at least in my part of Columbia Town Center, though the lights flickered a couple of times last night. Wind and rain were intense, but certainly not as intense as in other areas overwhelmed by Irene. I was ready to stop up my patio slider with towels after hearing how water was getting in under doors for some people, but the back garden didn't flood like it did in last weekend's downpour. So Ollie was denied one of his favorite entertainments, but he was thrilled about me staying at home and spending more time with him.

Our underground power lines are a big help in these circumstances, but that's not a guarantee that the power won't go out. Family in eastern North Carolina, not very far from the coast, enjoy underground lines, too, but they lost power yesterday morning. Over the phone, I heard stories of wind blowing roof shingles off and starting leaks indoors, the water coming under the front door and more. A nephew is in the local fire department, so we also had reports of numerous trees coming down and forcing people out of their damaged houses. The firemen even watched trees swaying and cracking menacingly near a house across the street from their station and went to warn the residents. Displaced people were heading for the shelter at the local community college, where some of the buildings had lost roofs to the wind, too. Flooding in that area apparently wasn't as bad as with Hurricane Floyd in 1999, but it was so many downed trees that marked this weekend's storm.

I'll be calling them today to see how things are and let them know I'm fine. Here in my neighborhood, rain has stopped and wind has diminished but it's still whipping the trees just enough to remind us of last night's excitement. ///I called family in NC after making this post: They're still without power. The sky is sunny and cloudless; the ground "looks like a war zone."///

~~~~~~~
So what's this about Sadko playing for the Sea King? Yesterday afternoon, finished with storm preparations, I decided to listen to Rimsky-Korsakov's fairy-tale pageant opera, "Sadko" -- Gergiev conducting the Kirov on Philips in 1993/94. I had forgotten some of the story and didn't know this was coming up as I continued to listen in the evening: In Tableau VI, after Sadko descends to the undersea kingdom and arrives at the Sea King's court, the Sea King bids him to sing and play his gusli for him. (The gusli is an ancient Slavic stringed instrument, and gusli-players pop up now and then in the casts of Russian operas.) Sadko begins with a slow, stately dance, and the Sea King, Queen and Princess and all the fishes and sea creatures begin to dance. Sadko's playing and the dancing gradually become faster and wilder, and the synopsis says that the Sea King's dancing generates storms and hurricanes up on the surface of the ocean. Through the transparent walls of the undersea palace, ships can be seen sinking down from above in the background.

Suddenly, the apparition of a heroic Russian warrior in the guise of a pilgrim appears and smashes Sadko's instrument. The dancing stops as this phantom admonishes the Sea King, even chiding him for dancing out of rhythm, in a noble aria -- unearthly and seeming to come from off stage in this recording, one of this opera's many beautiful moments. Calm is restored, and Sadko returns to the land for the opera's seventh and final tableau and more mythic Slavonic activities.

a walk before the storm

2011-08-27T12:24:00.000-04:00

These coneflowers appeared to be floating in the air as I viewed them in the woods on a walk to Lakeside Roastery this morning. It was darker and raining by the time I returned with my camera shortly before noon.

Everyone stay safe.

Maryland in Opera News' Year in Opera past and upcoming

2011-08-27T08:16:00.001-04:00

This link is the 2010-11 season. This is another feature of the magazine which can acquire new content not seen in the print edition. Maryland was absent in this Year in Opera in the September 2010 print edition, but Opera Vivente appears in the online listing.

September 2011 print with the new Year in Opera arrived in the mail last week. Not on line yet -- I'll try to link later. This year in the print version, Maryland offers Opera Vivente and the new Lyric Opera Baltimore/Baltimore Lyric Opera (but LOB's listing doesn't include its collaboration with Peabody Opera for "The Rake's Progress").

The Dateline tab at the top of Opera News' page is a progressive calendar that gets updated through the season, and it also can have content not seen in hard copy.

Vacation Skies; Maryland Weather blog

2011-08-26T04:39:00.002-04:00

The Catskill Mountains from Clermont in the Hudson River Valley (August 3, 2011). The Catskills were constantly in view as I roamed the east bank of the Hudson. That sky won't be so sunny as Hurricane Irene passes up the coast this weekend.

From earthquake to hurricane this week -- the Baltimore Sun's Maryland Weather blog in my blog roll has been a great source of information for both.

Bay-Wise Garden Tour, Sept. 10

2011-08-23T20:23:00.000-04:00

This came to me through the Columbia Town Center e-mail list, and I secured the organizer's permission to post here. See the e-mail address at the end of the message for directions and more information. See you there!

BAY-WISE GARDEN TOUR

presented by Howard County Master Gardeners

September 10 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM

10130 Maxine St., Ellicott City You are invited to tour a local Ellicott City garden which demonstrates Bay-Wise practices designed to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Visitors can learn how to control runoff, minimize the use of fertilizers and the size of the lawn, choose appropriate plants, and in general garden and landscape in ways that are beneficial to the environment.. This event is a free event sponsored by The Howard County Master Gardeners of The University of Maryland Extension. University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status or national origin

Native plant for sale by Chesapeake Natives Org. For more information email bev.devuono@gmail.com

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Rain Garden

2011-08-23T18:32:00.002-04:00

Ollie was highly entertained by Sunday's downpour. Whatever he made of today's little earthquake, he was over it by the time I came home.

Definitely, I could make a rain garden out of this back area. It catches a lot of run-off from a slope behind my unit. The pavers were salvaged from an old patio buried under sediment and moss after years of this kind of flooding. I'm using them to make an informal path on a thick bed of mulch. The flooding looks bad, but the water recedes quickly once the rain stops. That is, provided the rain stops soon. (A couple of minutes after I snapped this shot, the mat outside the door was completely under water.)

Planted new ostrich fern and Christmas ferns in one corner of this area on Saturday. Later, with the rain garden idea in mind: cinnamon ferns, Joe Pye weed, and some turtlehead to attract the Baltimore checkerspot?

A large slug, which normally stays out of sight, was less enthused about the downpour.

down the garden path ~~ bridging post

2011-08-20T07:02:00.000-04:00

at Montgomery Place in the Hudson River Valley

Welcome! To see only posts on specific subjects which I've covered recently, click on the appropriate label at the bottom of this post. Otherwise, please enjoy the whole blog and thanks for visiting.

THE QUEEN OF CORNWALL -- Rutland Boughton

2011-08-18T05:19:00.001-04:00

September's Gramophone came in the mail last week. Editor's Choice in this issue includes a new recording of another unheard opera by Rutland Boughton. "The Queen of Cornwall" is Boughton's telling of the Tristan and Isolde/Iseult tale. Another Boughton opera, "The Immortal Hour", a highly atmospheric Celtic fairy tale, has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and I look forward to investigating this new recording. (Look for the one existing and excellent recording of Immortal on the Hyperion label.)

link to Amazon's page

link: So much loss in London...

2011-08-16T06:16:00.000-04:00

latest post on Clef Notes, and see the preceding post on Clef Notes.

the little pet cemetery

2011-08-14T10:02:00.000-04:00

at Montgomery Place in the Hudson River Valley

Kronos Quartet at UMD Clarice Smith Center

2011-08-14T09:27:00.002-04:00

The Kronos Quartet are artists-in-residence at University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Center for the 2011-2012 season. Their first performance for the season will be on Friday, September 16, with clarinetist David Krakauer.

Baltimore Lieder Weekend, October 21-23

2011-08-13T09:01:00.002-04:00

This is a new annual event which started at An die Musik in Baltimore last year. Here is the link: Baltimore Lieder Weekend

The schedule is a PDF download. Focusing on the beginnings of Lieder (art song) this year, the programs feature Haydn, Mozart, Tomasek, Kreutzer and Schubert performed by soprano Ah Hong, baritone Ryan de Ryke and pianist Daniel Schlosberg. Professor Deen Larsen will give a masterclass and lecture. Larsen is also listed as a performer in the closing Schubert program.

(The Baltimore Free Fall logo appears on the web site, but I expect it will be necessary to contact An die Musik in advance for reservations.)

Update: Larsen will speak about the poems and poets featured in the closing concert. The event is not listed on An die Musik's site yet, but it will be and ticket reservations can be made through An die Musik at that time. Watch for clarifications and developments on the Baltimore Lieder Weekend site linked above.

Innisfree Garden

2011-08-12T19:54:00.000-04:00

Innisfree Garden

Gehry's Fisher Performing Arts Center, Bard College, NY

2011-08-10T19:48:00.001-04:00

Frank Gehry's building at Bard College viewed from the side. (At home in Columbia, Maryland, we enjoy several very early designs by Gehry around the Town Center area.) The main Sosnoff Theater inside the Fisher Center is what I would say is an average or medium-sized opera house -- ideal, considering other discussion about some modern houses being too large? The orchestra pit looks relatively spacious. Seating at least in the orchestra section is some of the most comfortable I've encountered in any opera house.

Photo from my 2008 visit shows the front and main entrance of the building.

///Blogger went down for maintenance while I was trying to load photos in this post. Scroll down or click to a couple of recent posts for other photos. I'll be posting more later.///

Peabody's Opera, Choral Season ~~ AOT's Return

2011-08-09T07:18:00.003-04:00

The Peabody Institute's events calendar now lists opera productions for the 2011-2012 season. Note that there are a couple of Monday night opera workshops, usually free, which I won't list here, but I am going to include some vocal performances of interest from other departments....

October: In the Early Music department, countertenor Peter Lee, a Peabody graduate, returns for a recital with friends.

November: Peabody's co-production with Lyric Opera Baltimore of Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress" at the Lyric Opera House. The Peabody Singers join the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff for Honegger's "Joan of Arc at the Stake".

February: This season's chamber opera production at Theatre Project is Dominick Argento's "Postcard from Morocco". Also note the listing for American Opera Theater's collaboration with the Early Music department in Vivaldi's "Griselda" at Theatre Project.

March: Back to Friedberg Hall at the Conservatory for Robert Ward's "The Crucible".

American Opera Theater has an announcement on its home page.

Tivoli Diary, August 2011

2011-08-08T11:00:00.013-04:00

Tivoli is a village on the east bank of the Hudson River in New York. This is the Middle Hudson Valley, as the tour guides generally refer to the area where Tivoli is located. For the second time it was my base for roughly a week's stay with nearby Bard Summerscape as main objective. (I last visited in 2008.) I will post an overview of my latest visit here, and maybe we can plan a little group event next time!

I found Tivoli and its Madalin Hotel on the Internet in 2008 when I was looking for lodgings that would be super-convenient to Bard Summerscape. Bard and the village of Annadale-on-the-Hudson are just a few minutes' drive south on Route 9G from Tivoli. There are larger tourist hubs with more hotels and restaurants at nearby Red Hook and Rhinebeck. Beyond this Internet find, my main guides to the area have been Fodor's New York State and Tim Mulligan's excellent, personable "The Traveler's Guide to the Hudson River Valley". (Latest edition is 2007, but the book indicates a web site, which I'll seek out and link later.)

Madalin Hotel

Anyway, Monday, August 1: I drop Ollie off at his boarding place and head up I-83 and I-81 through Pennsylvania, as I did in 2008. I'm avoiding the congested corridor of I-95 and other more eastward roads, but there are still some road work back-ups and detours in the middle of Pennsylvania. By late afternoon, I'm on I-88 East in New York State approaching Oneonta and Glimmerglass Opera country around Cooperstown. I decide to stop in Oneonta for the night and discover that it's not a good idea to travel like this in upstate NY during the summer without booking lodgings in advance, even if you only need a place for one night. Hampton Inn refers me to the Clarion Hotel, which has a few rooms left, and this turns out to be the better deal for convenience. The Clarion is right on Oneonta's main street, and I'm able to leave my car in the lot and walk up and down this classic American small city street with my pick of restaurants for dinner. I finally choose the little Greek place right next to the hotel (Athens?). Typical of many places where I eat on this trip, the windows are all open, ceiling fans are turning, there's optional outdoor dining, and it's still comfortable inside in spite of summer heat. Very nice.

Tuesday, August 2: One of the reasons for my Oneonta detour on my way to Tivoli is the chance to visit Beekman 1802 at Sharon Springs in the Mohawk Valley. After a huge fruit platter for breakfast at the Oneonta Clarion (I really need it after yesterday's road trip food), I drive up one of the country highways north from Oneonta and come to scenic Highway (Route?) 20. All through the whole vacation, I'm thinking that I'm seeing small towns and houses that I thought were inhabited only by movie or literature characters. And shouldn't they be either in black and white or Technicolor? I reach tiny Sharon Springs well before noon, and the town clerk and the mayor (speaking Oz-like from behind an office partition) at the community center tell me how to spot the Beekman 1802 mercantile store on the village's main street down in its hidden dale. Neighbors have put me on to Beekman's, and I want to investigate and make purchases from their selection of goat milk products. (Presents!) One of the owners or staff members helps me select goat milk soap and jars of various sauces based on goat milk. There are also locally made craft items. The farm where the goat milk items are made is not open to visitors, but apparently this is quite an enterprise and orders can be made on the Internet.

The Beekman store shares a sprawling old white-painted timber building with the Roseboro Hotel, which is being renovated. I also need to check out the American Hotel up the street, and there's a Paradise Inn with rainbow flag behind the Roseboro. While still in Sharon Springs, I had a nice sandwich and carrot cake at the Black Cat Cafe, also on the main street.

I head down 145 and into the Catskills area and soon I'm on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and looking up at Olana high on the slopes on the other side of the Hudson. Only a dollar toll to use the bridge (and they didn't charge toll coming back across). I'm checking into the Madalin before 3pm (and later realize this is before the official check-in time of 4pm). I decide to drive down to Bard, where I discover the new sculpture-installation, the Parliament of Reality, by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, near the Gehry-designed Fisher Center where the opera is taking place.

My first dinner in Tivoli on this trip is at the new Panzur down Broadway, the village's main street. The Madalin's owner suggests it and expresses an interest in keeping this newest place in Tivoli in business. It turns out to be a novel dining experience for me -- besides tapas, a prominent feature of the menu is several varieties of gourmet ham and an Iberian pork that is 100 percent acorn-fed. I go for the "jamon serrano" and a side dish of very nicely done mustard greens that have some other ingredients in them. Dessert is homemade blueberry cobbler and homemade lemon and (thyme?) ice cream. And my choice of wine is a lovely Spanish Ambar Torrentes. Don't ask how much it all cost, but I do hope Panzur is still there on my next visit to Tivoli.

Panzur

Wednesday, August 3: Anticipating Richard Strauss' "Die Liebe der Danae" at Bard this afternoon. I meet other Madalin Hotel guests over the continental breakfast. If I name one of them, I'd be dropping names. I think he would be well-known in some circles, and I don't want to intrude on his privacy. We chat a lot during the next couple of days, and I don't reveal that I write a blog. What I will share is that this wonderful gentleman attended the "official" premiere of this opera in Salzburg in 1952, and he is a curator and archivist at the Percy Grainger House in New York.

Another guest is/was a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, and she tells me about the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center further down Broadway in Tivoli. Some prominent dance companies have been at the Madalin recently or have staged events at Kaatsbaan, and there is much talk during this breakfast about the secret lives of dancers. They are amazing people. (I don't discuss them lightly. Please see my blog labels for ballet and The Red Shoes.)

Kaatsbaan International Dance Center

Where did I go this morning before the opera? Ah, Clermont, which I didn't see on my last visit. It's very close, north on 9G. This is the oldest surviving estate on the Hudson and home of one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. (Sorry about my sketchy history notes, but I might get something wrong.) Clermont is beautiful, a relatively modest all-white mansion, and the park with lots of picnic tables offers a close-up view of the River. The formal walled garden seems a little drab, perhaps because of late summer, as did other gardens of this type that I saw, but the butterflies, hummingbird moths and real hummingbirds are not fussy about that.

By the way, on a budget note, all the estates and gardens have either free or very low-priced parking and admission if you just want to see the grounds. I didn't do any guided house tours on this trip. I sometimes switch into serious garden exploration mode, and guided indoor tours sometimes seem TMI to me, though some are on my list for future visits.

The opera that afternoon is superb. I might write a separate post about it, but for now I'll say that the updated setting worked well, the singing and playing were wonderful and the stagecraft and effects also wonderful. Jupiter's Golden Rain and the scene in which Danae turns into gold, both supported by Strauss's glorious score, are most memorable moments.

I'm back at the Madalin after 6pm after the 3-hour opera. First dinner this trip at the famous restaurant, Madalin's Table. No tables are available, or it seems so, so I eat at the bar. Note, by the way, the wonderful outdoor dining on the wrap-around porch -- I want to call it a veranda -- but the bar indoors, beautifully restored by the owner, is also a fine place to eat. There are some nice gourmet things on the menu, but tonight I have the generous plate of buttermilk fried chicken with hockey-puck-sized cheddar biscuit and other delicious items accompanied by a Hooker Blond Ale. (The menu could change before my next visit. I'm not sure how fluid the menu selection is here. You better hurry.)

Thursday, August 4: Well, it might have been yesterday afternoon or today when I drove onto the grounds of Kaatsbaan. I learn that it's not really open to the public between events, but an administrator shows me around a little and gets my name for their e-mail list. (Yes, I'm already getting Kaatsbaan e-mail.) This looks like an interesting destination for presentations and performances in future visits. I get to see the lobby of the new studio and theater building, and a query about the rather distinctive old stables and barns all over the place reveals that this was once the estate of a Polish count who raised thoroughbred horses. (There are still many other such horse farms in the area.)

Either yesterday or today for a late lunch, I find another new business on Tivoli's Broadway. Actually, Murray's is an older place which has been bought and remodeled by enterprising young partners since my 2008 visit. They just opened this summer and thankfully provide a place where you can get something to eat at lower prices than elsewhere on this street. Also, they might be the only place for lunch in Tivoli other than the village's excellent bakery across the way. Murray's had homemade sandwiches, muffins, coffee cake....and some of the best scones I've had anywhere. Sorry, but I raved about the scones while I was in Tivoli. They also serve as a small grocery store, as did the former establishment.

home page for Murray's

So today's big destination is Innisfree Garden, which I learned about in Tim Mulligan's book only after my previous visit. It's further south but really worth the drive. I use the somewhat scenic Taconic State Parkway to get there in the morning. Only 4 dollars to park. I spend at least three hours exploring and viewing the rather special Chinese concept used in Innisfree's design, built around a large glacial lake. Expect to be awed when you go. Personally, I left my little digital camera in its pouch for a long time as I first appreciated what Innisfree had to reveal to the beholder before any kind of documentation took place. Nearby Millbrook is another one of the area's larger tourist hubs. I park along the street and walk by crowded restaurants and several antique stores. Yes, I think this is when I headed back to Tivoli for a late, small lunch at Murray's.

Innisfree Garden

Perhaps it was today that I make a first quick visit to Olana just to look around the grounds and buy some books in the excellent museum shop. I did do this house tour on my last visit, well worth it for any admirer of the Hudson School painters. This time, I make a point of buying a membership (40 dollars a year at basic individual level). This gets me discounts in the shop and admission any time without further payment.

Dinner again at Madalin's Table. I learn that the restaurant will be closed Saturday evening, because the staff will be working at a wedding (lucky wedding guests), so I want to enjoy it as much as I can. Salad with blueberries and ricotta cheese, hangar steak, more Hooker Blond Ale, pear tart. I'm spending upwards of 40 dollars at each dinner, though it's worth it and the hefty meals are needed after lots of walking on estate grounds or in gardens. Lunches are either at Murray's or quick snacks I'm carrying with me and bread from that excellent bakery.

Evenings, I'm collapsed in my room either perusing new art books and guides or surfing the TV stations. Thanks to comedian Daniel Tosh for putting our Founding Fathers in perspective for me as I explore some of their estates. (Tosh is definitely not for everyone.)

Friday, August 5: My friend from the Percy Grainger House left yesterday. We had a longer chat at breakfast and I learn more about his own opera adventures. It must be mentioned that he liked the updating of the Bard production of Danae.

I walk around the grounds of nearby Montgomery Place this morning, then I head down the Taconic Parkway again. This time, I'm visiting the Mary Flagler Arboretum and associated Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Well, the store at the Gifford House, which Mulligan's guide claims that no "gardener worth his salt can leave empty-handed", has been closed for several years. However, a huge plot of blooming perennials at the Cary Institute center is swarming with butterflies and I pick up several pamphlets from the center. One of these identifies one of the more stunning species of butterflies on the flowers as the Great Spangled Fritillary. My own photos are not so good, but I might post later.

Fern Glen Trail on the Cary grounds is good to see, and I learn that the Hudson Valley is not immune to tornados -- one touched down in these woods in 1992. Note deer tick and Lyme disease warnings here and everywhere else. I avoid paths and trails where I might be brushing against any tall grass or foliage.

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Also note deer along the roads day and night. Coming back from Olana on 9G around 5:30pm, I spotted a doe who looked for all the world like she was teaching her fawn how to cross the road safely.

Last dinner at Madalin's before they do their wedding duty. After today's hiking, another plate of the buttermilk fried chicken and a tall bubbling glass of Warsteiner beer is just right. However, this time I skip dessert and any appetizers or salads.

One of these evenings, I find Tivoli's Village Books and Artists' Co-op open. Watch for Village Books' big OPEN flag to catch when he is open. I think he's avoiding the heat of mid-day during the summer. This is a great used book store, and opera cats should note that there is a selection of vintage opera and music books. Nearby Bard College assures a selection of other interesting older volumes here. You'll have to ask me what I found on this visit that I had to have when you see me.

Village Books of Tivoli ... Tivoli Artists Co-op and Gallery

Saturday, August 6: Anticipating the featured operetta at Bard this evening. I spend the day revisiting Montgomery Place, Olana (see picture and links in preceding post) and Clermont. And then I'm too tired to go to the operetta, and I'm trying to decompress before tomorrow's long road trip home. I'm wondering if a ticket to an afternoon peformance, such as I had for the opera on Wednesday, elminates the urge to go out and about during the day before show time.

The repeated visits to the estates pay off with discoveries of new things and purchases at the shops. What species is that huge green butterfly that wafts through Montgomery Place's formal garden area on this second visit today? It's not in the Cary Institute pamphlet. Also, the ancient black locusts at Montgomery are amazing. And so are the locusts at Clermont, but that's a black walnut growing right over one corner of the house (the third largest of its kind in the state). I spend a lot on books and gifts at Clermont and Olana and try one of the shorter Olana trails near the house -- more spectacular views of the River and its Valley.

The shop at Montgomery Place and Merritt Books in Red Hook are no longer open. I think the shops at Olana and Clermont are the best sources (only sources?) near Tivoli for new publications and art books about the Hudson.

With Madalin's Table closed tonight, I wanted to try Panzur again, but instead I was drawn to Santa Fe across the road from the Madalin. This is Tivoli's only Southwestern-Mexican-Tex-Mex-Texican restaurant, and it's better than many Mexican places I've tried before. Anyone after strictly vegetarian fare should note Luna 61 next door to the Madalin. There is also a Japanese sushi place called Osaka that I have not tried yet and a bar called the Black Swan.

Sunday, August 7: Check out from the Madalin Hotel. I opt for Highway 23 along the northern edge of the Catskills to get back to I-88. It was 23-A right through the Catskills Park when I drove out of the area on my 2008 visit, but either way offers great scenery. When I reach 88, it's interstate driving all the way back to Maryland, but I make it home without having to stop for the night anywhere.

Monday, August 8: My short drive to go get Ollie shows me how fatigued I am from yesterday's long drive. But I typed this long post. I hope we can use it for planning for another Hudson River Valley visit. I might include links later and maybe more photos in new posts.

Historic Hudson Valley ... Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

The Hudson From Olana

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The views from Church's home at Olana, famous in American landscape painting, continue to inspire artists. Thanks to painter Richard F. Lisle for letting me include his work in my picture (taken this past Saturday).

I'm now a dues-paying member at Olana!

Scenic Hudson helps to protect that viewshed -- a word which I kept seeing in local signage and literature.

DER STURM -- Frank Martin

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Another new recording which I'll seek out after my break: Hyperion has released the first complete recording of Swiss composer Frank Martin's opera, "Der Sturm", based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest". It's one of the Editor's Choices in the August issue of Gramophone. (The review appears next to an overall very positive review of the Ariodante recording featured in a recent post here.)

See also Harmonia Mundi's earlier recording of Martin's "Le Vin herbe", his take on the Tristan and Isolde/Iseult story. Penguin Guide makes associations with Debussy's "Pelleas et Melisande".

"Der Sturm" at Amazon....and at Hyperion. From Hyperion's site: The painting is Richard Dadd's "Come unto these Yellow Sands" (1842).

Addendum: More about painter Richard Dadd with a complete view of the above painting and other works. He had a most tragic life, but left such inspired pictures, something akin to the work and subject matter of Arthur Rackham. If I could get to Twickenham before October...

a little break; blog roll adjustments

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I'm making one more post after this one -- another new opera recording with scenic cover art -- then I must take a little break from blogging. Enjoy my blog roll and other links. Please note that I've added Opera News magazine's Editor's Desk to the blog roll. I dropped a few local company and ensemble blogs for lack of activity, or in OV's case, problems with a new blog feed. OV's blog is now under the Buzz tab of its site. All the dropped blogs are still attached to the companies' sites in my links, if I/you need to look at them.

"For many of us who came to love opera before Regietheater took hold...

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...current notions of effective dramaturgy boggle the mind."

The Coda feature in Opera News (at the end of the August hardcopy issue): Senior Editor Louise T. Guinther writes on problems with updating opera.