tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61493152012-01-28T22:58:40.228-05:00Musical musings by Carl Banner and guestsCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.comBlogger6221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-69501901108707957302012-01-27T05:41:00.000-05:002012-01-27T05:41:06.445-05:00

As a new student at the U of MD College Park in the 70's, I asked directions to the library from a chemistry professor, who gave me a long poetic travelogue about the beauties of the campus, leaving me a little dubious about his sanity. My neighborhood in Takoma Park is special in many ways, and I love it. So now I understand the professor's appreciation as something more than denial. I am only

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-88297197141822214192012-01-26T17:49:00.002-05:002012-01-26T19:20:59.679-05:00

A friend of mine has Susquehanna ancestors, so out of curiosity I looked them up on the web. I was shocked to learn that the tribe has been extinct since 1763. Today I found this article on the revival of the Wampanoag language by Jessie Little Doe Baird. "It felt as though a fire had been lit inside my soul. I felt drawn to the language the way you might feel… when you've found the love of

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-39556375796628375122012-01-26T15:12:00.000-05:002012-01-26T15:12:26.463-05:00

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-65876320547406638552012-01-21T13:54:00.000-05:002012-01-21T13:54:51.969-05:00

Last night at the community center was super! Charley and I had a ball, and I think Alice enjoyed it too. A lot of very nice people showed up to hear us, and talked about the music with some excitement afterwards. Here are two video clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuTa9vPDzJ4&list=UUkFM9i1CJrGjwWrSLYTvtBw&index=2&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_d_EcLZyYU&list=

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-80252263857435676772012-01-16T21:03:00.000-05:002012-01-16T21:03:11.619-05:00

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-90734639073907019472012-01-15T11:01:00.004-05:002012-01-15T15:46:46.811-05:00

Put Frederica up there in the hall of fame with me and Duke. Still pissed at 100 years old! "She joined the movie industry, and left school, after answering a want ad for an assistant to the story editor at Universal Pictures in New York. 'I was fierce in my passion for this new medium,' she wrote in her memoir, “The Shocking Miss Pilgrim: A Writer in Early Hollywood.” She moved to Hollywood,

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-15977035125486252612012-01-15T00:33:00.000-05:002012-01-15T00:33:33.882-05:00

This dog sings a mean blues.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-35790539324356333092012-01-11T12:03:00.000-05:002012-01-11T12:03:39.916-05:00

How illuminating to set the Arietta from Op. 111 in Sibelius! I used three staves. Talk about semplice!

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-18275384055471915572012-01-08T21:48:00.000-05:002012-01-08T21:48:11.597-05:00

Ah New York! A sidewalk in Dumbo, and the departing view from the Vamoose bus.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-25237218523407207672012-01-08T20:41:00.002-05:002012-01-09T16:01:09.353-05:00

I have often said that Op. 111 had a perfect ragtime passage. Here is a wonderful confirming view from Elaine Fine and James Dean. And here is a midi version of the rag - oh, what Ludwig would have done with midi!

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-92118419073155944132012-01-04T15:16:00.000-05:002012-01-04T15:16:49.149-05:00

Tanya Rosenbilt refused to move to the back of the bus, even when urged by a policeman. She has received death threats from "pious" Jews.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-92009470373195930212012-01-03T12:41:00.000-05:002012-01-03T12:41:37.327-05:00

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-24446609414443750352012-01-03T12:36:00.000-05:002012-01-03T12:36:25.630-05:00

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-16995399940897363252012-01-01T21:43:00.002-05:002012-01-01T21:45:10.870-05:00

(It is fragile, like grass). In classical chamber music one worries about coming in at the right time, together with the other players, right smack on the beat, boom. Jazz is looser about it - "the groove" is a more flexible concept. Classical musicians insist on precision because they want to substitute correctness for responsive listening, as if good manners makes everything OK. "If I play the

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-44877426833732030842011-12-31T14:27:00.001-05:002011-12-31T17:07:44.704-05:00

Here is a recording of Beethoven's Op. 78 Allegro vivace that I just made. No, not on the piano - on the Mac. Is this cheating? I can just imagine that wild German rubbing his hands with glee.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-66290179518019226992011-12-27T22:47:00.002-05:002011-12-27T23:15:42.778-05:00

(The menorah is solid brass - Alice Sims brought it back for Marilyn from Morocco in her suitcase - it weighs a ton).

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-51211745793361198182011-12-27T13:17:00.000-05:002011-12-27T13:17:47.617-05:00

"Thanks to the website of Washington Musica Viva, I've heard two performances by the Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet, both recorded live: Alex Wilder's Quartet and Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds, WMV director Carl Banner at the keyboard. Wilder's quartet is amusing. The Mozart performance isn't a staid affair; the Broken Reed players aren't afraid to make a sax sound like a sax." from "The

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-71543384431809701482011-12-25T15:24:00.002-05:002011-12-25T18:03:27.710-05:00

Must share this fabulous video blog from Duke Fightmaster. I subscribed.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-49765707670383365322011-12-25T05:06:00.003-05:002011-12-25T05:14:42.014-05:00

Here is a very interesting view about the role of performers and the invisibility of composers from Elaine Fine's "Musical Assumptions" blog. Excerpt from her post: "I happen to like invisibility. My goal when performing is to have the musical experience (i.e. the experience of the music) be the most important thing. In my case it mostly involves trying to make sure everything is in tune, is in

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-71060284546419820472011-12-24T21:51:00.000-05:002011-12-24T21:51:34.215-05:00

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas, and much music in the New Year!

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-86843949504880212002011-12-20T18:14:00.001-05:002011-12-22T22:57:55.425-05:00

I used to work at a biotech company. We would genetically engineer bacteria to make various products. The people running the company were not very smart, and they very soon had to lay off half their scientists (including me), and the company eventually went under. It was there that I first observed what I call "the asshole principle". In a nutshell, it is that foolish people looking for a product

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-57725189173483020652011-12-20T11:03:00.006-05:002011-12-20T19:11:15.032-05:00

2011 has been something of a rough year for WMV, looking back. A little more than a year ago, on September 21, we were evicted from our long time Bethesda venue (we had gotten too popular!?). We found temporary lodgings in downtown Silver Spring and Glen Echo, but after only five months our Baldwin was again evicted from the Silver Spring Civic Building (new management, liability concerns), at

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-31374262878025147152011-12-19T18:07:00.003-05:002011-12-19T23:27:03.048-05:00

Youth is prelude. I would like to think that the future directions of my work are implicit in the past and present. So that a present insight does not invalidate a previous performance - that a listener could hear what I meant even though I was not yet aware of it myself. Even what's wrong has implicit in it what's right - you only have to listen well enough. Understanding is not conquest,

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-73534852176727794942011-12-19T16:47:00.003-05:002012-01-02T15:50:02.924-05:00

Music is a way to admit to each other that we have feelings. Some music, like Brahms' G major Sextet, is eyes rolled back in the head sort of stuff. The afterlife for me is to go where that music comes from. Just being involved in art is such a privilege! Sometimes playing music is like being issued a visitor's pass to heaven. We can hear our most distant ancestors speaking to us through

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-59588606876926220172011-12-19T15:19:00.001-05:002011-12-19T18:27:24.070-05:00

"Bird on the horizon sitting on the fence He's singing his song for me at his own expense And I'm just like that bird Singing just for you I hope that you can hear oh oh Hear me singing through these tears." Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks Yes, I am entertaining the public at my own expense - a fool's errand.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-61285658625732900592011-12-18T09:44:00.002-05:002011-12-18T09:58:33.523-05:00

Vaclav Havel has died, one of my heroes. He drew this heart on my Martinu score when I played an all-Czech program at a reception for fighters for human rights at the Czech Embassy a few years ago. From the Washington Post obituary: “We have become morally ill because we are used to saying one thing and thinking another,” he said. “We have learned not to believe in anything, not to care about

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-54687343965423627202011-12-09T10:31:00.000-05:002011-12-09T10:31:19.570-05:00

(Marilyn Banner, "I'll Adorn You With Gold", encaustic painting on wood) It’s been said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” However, when the imitation is passed off as the original, and the imitator makes big bucks as a result, it’s a fake, and it becomes immoral or illegal. In music, a work may be arranged and re-arranged for new ensembles, and jazz arrangements of old tunes or

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-81842266027095876882011-11-29T21:09:00.007-05:002011-12-26T22:33:05.610-05:00

I am a big fan of Franz Kafka. Here is my translation of the last paragraph of his story "Das Urteil" (The Judgment): George felt himself thrust from the room, the sound of his father falling back onto the bed still in his ears. Flying down the stairwell as if it were a sheer slope, he startled the cleaning woman, who was about to air out the apartment after the night. "Jesus!" she screamed,

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-44723113587542763682011-11-27T06:20:00.000-05:002011-11-27T06:20:51.915-05:00

More cool photos from Adkins Arboretum:

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-17863861490703724232011-11-27T06:15:00.000-05:002011-11-27T06:15:27.556-05:00

Playing with my camera outside the gallery at Adkins Arboretum while Marilyn's show was being installed by Howard and Mary McCoy.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-1494783800182762902011-11-13T22:08:00.000-05:002011-11-13T22:08:27.284-05:00

I went to a club last night, heard a pretty good rock band. I thought about rhythm and rock n roll, that simple beat, bang a bang bang. A Grateful Dead comfortable kind of beat that you fall into and kind of slop around in it, feeling like a baby in a mother's arms. Or an electrifying reggae beat that makes you jump and shout. Or jackhammer blues. Powerful stuff, that beat... But what happens

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-43221428079792466992011-11-11T20:58:00.002-05:002011-11-11T22:30:33.001-05:00

I finally understand legato, after all these years. Legato - the hand moving gracefully from one note to the next - was simply the most convenient way to find the right note. I bet CPE Bach has something to say about that.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-82597053006797301132011-11-06T09:45:00.000-05:002011-11-06T09:45:34.734-05:00

Our friend the extraordinary violinist Elizabeth Field sent this notice of her upcoming activities: The Vivaldi Project Presents An Afternoon of Trio Sonatas Conversations Among Friends with Elizabeth Field and Allison Edberg, violins, Stephanie Vial, cello William Simms, theorbo and guitar, and Henry Lebedinsky, harpsichord Sunday, November 13th at 4:00pm The National Presbyterian Church

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-61897447978420014132011-11-04T14:39:00.003-04:002011-12-19T14:32:47.260-05:00

I like tubas. Here is one at a Day of the Dead gig in Mexico, courtesy of Burro Hall. I think being dead I would like tuba serenades, wouldn't you? The combination of melancholy and buffoonery. Even beats a trombone (Mozart's choice). But of course this lucky stiff gets both!

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-15321244804550901782011-10-30T23:55:00.000-04:002011-10-30T23:55:45.122-04:00

I think the source of morbid obsession is trying to get one up on life - trying to figure it out. The animal does not, nor the person who is content to let what will be be. This is the removal of a great burden. I am just not that smart to know what is in God's mind. And it leaves me much freer to indulge my appetites. Language is not really controlled by any kind of police force, though of

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-35643657479694554502011-10-27T14:25:00.000-04:002011-10-27T14:25:14.263-04:00

What is this about the human voice? Women cannot sing in public? What century is this? How crazy can it get? All you have to do is sing to get arrested?

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-46829180601219496942011-10-27T10:27:00.000-04:002011-10-27T10:27:13.774-04:00

Every Rosh Hashona there is a sermon on the sacrifice of Isaac. I have grown very tired of this, and no longer attend services. However, I do think about it. Bob Dylan does too: God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son" Abe says, "Man you must be putting me on" God says, "No" Abe says "What?" God says "You can do what you want Abe, but The next time you see me coming you better run" I come from a

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-91051533777493571752011-10-27T09:53:00.002-04:002011-10-27T12:00:18.727-04:00

Discipline is repetition. Repetition is good and bad. Good if the familiar grows more so, hopefully deepening. Bad, however, if it keeps out the new altogether. Repetition and novelty - like breathing out and breathing in. Discipline can serve to shield one from scary new things, like a blanky. It can also be a gentle reminder that you have important and defined things to do, and other things can

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-91153550485837850742011-10-25T21:11:00.000-04:002011-10-25T21:11:37.536-04:00

I love to read Gertrude Stein. I find her profoundly thoughtful. Here is a passage from "The Making of Americans": "There are then a kind of them, a kind of men and women, there are very many of them always living who have it in them to be inside them to be mostly to every one, to be always to mostly every one pieces coming out of them, pieces that never make of them a whole one, not because

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-71665778113321894182011-10-23T12:20:00.001-04:002011-10-23T12:23:14.655-04:00

I can't believe this venomous piece of shit. It has left me temporarily speechless.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-31103253002312368092011-10-10T19:53:00.000-04:002011-10-10T19:53:55.791-04:00

Elaine Fine gives us this lovely quote from Charles Ives: A MS. score is brought to a concertmaster-he may be a violinist-he is kindly disposed, he looks it over, and casually fastens on a passage: 'That's bad for the fiddles--it doesn't hang just right--write it like this, they will play it better.' But that one phrase is the germ of the whole thing. 'Never mind, it will fit the hand

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-12512632669695613152011-10-10T15:42:00.000-04:002011-10-10T15:42:47.312-04:00

John and Eser recently got back from a wonderful vacation in Turkey (Eser is Turkish). Last night we flipped through lots of beautiful scenes on her ipad from the Bosporus, Mediterranean coast, and Istanbul, but this is the photo I had to have. Thanks, Eser!

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-73495636435875665222011-10-10T13:06:00.000-04:002011-10-10T13:06:56.274-04:00

I have just posted a digital realization of Chopin's Db Nocturne on the website. Note that there are no dynamics, no phrasing, no articulations, no rubato, no melodic or rhythmic subtlety of any kind, no sensitivity of touch or responsiveness to anything whatsoever - it is just the notes, with pedaling as indicated in the authorized edition. Why is this interesting? Because our training as

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-29575217739273714192011-10-08T09:12:00.000-04:002011-10-08T09:12:36.447-04:00

Mike Daisey has an op-ed in the NYT, a little different from the other talking heads this week: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/opinion/jobs-looked-to-the-future.html?_r=1

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-26090572643522845282011-10-07T12:14:00.002-04:002011-10-08T23:20:51.394-04:00

Playing in a jazz band with Lenny Robinson is such a privilege! It is comfortable and comforting to follow his beat, and of course a joy to experience his solos. You can see him in action with us here. Back to the role of the piano with strings in chamber music: hello, I'm the drummer! There is no other percussion in this group. And just what makes you think you don't need to follow me?

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-75572485604668448172011-10-01T14:57:00.000-04:002011-10-01T14:57:10.166-04:00

It doesn't make any sense to withhold anything - there is no such thing as practise, it is always the real thing. If you've got any passion, now is the time, not afterwards, there is no afterwards. Don't be fooled - there is no time for figuring anything out. Don't try to get the upper hand - life has the upper hand, and then death. I won't say it's all good, but this is what it is, and you

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-21185364335577503242011-09-22T16:37:00.004-04:002011-10-23T12:50:06.140-04:00

(Left to right: Carl Banner, Lenny Robinson, James King, Charley Gerard, Syberen van Munster; photo by Mary Fetzko) This was a good show! You can get the flavor of the event here. And you can hear the concert yourself at the following links: 1. Slap on it! 2. Divorce Shack 3. Slavonic Shuffle 4. Minuet for Antonin 5. Petka 6. Calypslovonic 7. Hobbling Toward Seven 8. Afrolantonin 9. Blue

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-71783121792986105852011-09-21T12:23:00.002-04:002011-09-21T23:04:22.523-04:00

Charley and Syberen are down from NY for tonight's Czech Embassy gig. We rehearsed separately, first with James King and then with Lenny Robinson (schedule problems). First full rehearsal will be today in the hall at 5 pm - that's jazz! Here is a clip from "Slavonic Shuffle" (minus bass): rehearsal clip 1 rehearsal clip 2 .

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-51349951364211020372011-09-19T22:36:00.000-04:002011-09-19T22:36:40.022-04:00

Old age sprouts wisdom the way youth sprouts hormones: Counterpoint is the ability to listen to two different things at the same time. How confusing to have a clock ticking at almost the same tempo as one's heart. Breathing is independent, and of course one must walk as well. The sound of steps is like an audible shadow. There is always something to listen to if you have the energy to listen.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-52738353580685831462011-09-19T15:50:00.001-04:002011-09-19T22:41:48.245-04:00

Postcard art, just arrived from Judi Tenhunen: Into my cup gurgles a stream of steaming coffee The cup tinkles against saucer after every sip A clock ticks patiently and morning once more trickles into place between my ears "Chamber Music" by the jhude 9/ 2 0 1 1

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-74309004455604481862011-09-18T08:30:00.005-04:002011-09-18T09:30:17.784-04:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/czech-embassy-celebrates-170th-anniversary-of-dvoraks-birth/2011/09/16/gIQARIXtYK_story.html I like the "over-insistent sound" part best. .

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-32856671170990249262011-09-14T22:54:00.008-04:002011-09-20T14:48:16.836-04:00

Under a Painting Crows over waves of wheat What blue is that sky? Underworld, or upperworld? Arrow that hurries late from the soul, Twang of bow, intimate glow, Both worlds. Globes In the eyes that diverge, read: The orbits of sun and of heart, and thousand-lovely in vain. Death and all the consequences. The chain of family here laid to rest, hanging here in the ether, to hem and hold

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-51790111531372873742011-09-14T20:32:00.004-04:002011-09-14T21:04:51.397-04:00

I have loved the poetry of Paul Celan since I was introduced to it by Wolfgang Emmerich at the University of Buffalo in 1969. Lately I have begun reading Celan again. Inspired by the depth of the Martinu Quartet that we are rehearsing, I opened the book of poems and find resonance there. Here is my provisional translation of a poem called "Sprich auch du": Speak, yes you Speak, yes you, You,

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-88859211997432654462011-09-14T16:50:00.000-04:002011-09-14T16:50:39.650-04:00

The composer Bohuslav Martinu has written music of such beauty that it takes the breath away. Here is a portion of today's rehearsal: the slow movement of his gorgeous Piano Quartet.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-90029471975375647692011-09-12T19:39:00.000-04:002011-09-12T19:39:19.740-04:00

From Wimp.com, where I get a lot of entertainment. http://www.wimp.com/frenchcows/

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-23728104921888146092011-09-09T17:11:00.002-04:002011-09-09T17:14:59.437-04:00

From A. Adnan Saygun, as quoted in Selim Giray's "A Biography of the Turkish Composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun and a Discussion of his Violin Works" (Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003): "[Bela Bartók] saw clearly that he could no longer live in Hungary. He asked me if I could find a position for him in Turkey that would permit him to establish permanent residence there. We could then work

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-63494681461446990822011-09-05T15:11:00.001-04:002011-09-05T17:22:03.336-04:00

Photography at the neighborhood bar. (Click on link to hear mp3)

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-12864822095904633512011-09-04T13:36:00.000-04:002011-09-04T13:36:41.657-04:00

Our son Gabe left NY to escape hurricane Irene, and drove up to the Catskills. Here is his video from Margaretville NY.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-31537652511708955192011-09-04T11:48:00.001-04:002011-09-04T12:47:04.229-04:00

A 20 year old Czech viewer commented on our "Mozart in Wellfleet part 1" video: "beautiful". So I watched it again, and yes, I agree, that is good Mozart. Thank you, zralokvemigraci!

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-1163778978634310292011-08-21T19:04:00.001-04:002011-08-21T21:56:34.768-04:00

Our high school friend William Sleator died recently. I won't say much about him and what he meant to us just yet, but in his memory I have made midis of his 1965 violin sonata, which I did not know existed until last week. Marilyn has posted a comment on a memorial website. I. Andante II. Presto III. Andante

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-86635767685276194572011-08-16T18:50:00.000-04:002011-08-16T18:50:25.505-04:00

Dear Carl, My violin abstraction of the opening chorus of Bach's St. John's Passion, some of my attempts at harp composing, and the saxophone solos I wrote for Anders Lundegård, have led me into an area I'm not sure I want to be in very often: Writing music that sounds OK (to me) but that can't be performed by a person live with an instrument, due to the physical limitations of the instrument

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-91913583920787588462011-08-13T11:39:00.003-04:002011-08-16T16:53:54.851-04:00

Darius Milhaud wrote a song cycle in 1916 entitled "Poëmes Juifs", Pour Chant et Piano, Tráduits de l'Hébreu. I have made midis of a few of them to hear what they might sound like: Chant de Sion Chant de la Pitié Chant de Nourrice Chant du Laboureur Chanson d'Amour Chanson de Resignation

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-45713781497862334632011-08-12T23:11:00.004-04:002011-08-14T12:46:48.688-04:00

I love to collect sounds in NY - it is a rich source! I went to get my morning coffee and bagel in Dumbo, and sat in the park overlooking the East River - so beautiful. The Manhattan Bridge spans overhead, and the D train goes over it, so loud! This morning had an extra attraction - they were tearing up Main street with a jackhammer. Very exciting! Here is my Dumbo Suite: part one, the D train

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-33241732174080876572011-08-11T17:03:00.001-04:002011-08-11T17:05:09.957-04:00

From Ethelbert Miller: Two excerpts from the last page of DUSK OF DAWN by W.E.B. Du Bois: "I have loved a fight and I have realized that Love is God and Work is His prophet; that his ministers are Age and Death." "I have never shared what seems to me the essentially childish desire to live forever. Life has its pain and evil - its bitter disappointments; but I like a good novel and in

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-19097416599495572952011-08-06T14:03:00.005-04:002011-08-06T15:39:41.346-04:00

Charley sends me Mitch Levenberg's recent blog entry. OMG, it's about us! (or at least artists like us with a vision like WMV). I only wish that the writer could have been a little more proud of "The Shed" - this cool grassroots place that offers poets and poetry lovers a chance to really experience poetry in a unique way. Melville was right, but it is very hard to see.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-47994899472603351882011-08-04T09:18:00.000-04:002011-08-04T09:18:01.451-04:00

So here it is, the new idea. Well, not 100% new, but... Friday night chamber music evenings - EVERY Friday night. Like a jazz club, high-quality but relaxed and informal. A lot of interaction with the audience. Standards plus new material, jazz-based works, etc., just like we already do. Simple idea, but runs into a surprising amount of resistance from all sides. So much so, that I know it must

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-29730568129182645712011-08-02T18:39:00.000-04:002011-08-02T18:39:20.345-04:00

We live in Takoma Park MD, and we like it a lot! Relaxed lifestyle, friendly neighbors, lots of babies, lots of gay and mixed race families, a great farmers' market, dedicated gardeners, liberal political activism and community awareness - just an all-around good quality of life. So I have arranged to loan the Community Center a piano, in order to start a concert series there. Takoma Park was

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-8374733709078857472011-07-29T21:13:00.000-04:002011-07-29T21:13:42.067-04:00

My composer friend Charley Gerard visits occasionally, and this is what happened on one of those occasions: We are off to a rehearsal with a van full of gear. Charley is sleeping, he took the bus down from Brooklyn today. I am playing a new Dylan CD, probably World Gone Wrong, or something more recent. After the rehearsal, back in the studio, Charley sits down at the piano and plays a whole

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-52276940309889797422011-07-29T20:06:00.000-04:002011-07-29T20:06:52.011-04:00

There is a story about the golden road (from "The Water of Life", Grimm's Fairy Tales): "The princess, however, had a road made up to her palace which was quite bright and golden, and told her people that whosoever came riding straight along it to her, would be the right one and was to be admitted, and whoever rode by the side of it, was not the right one, and was not to be admitted. As the

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-87050389322672592802011-07-29T18:31:00.000-04:002011-07-29T18:31:02.429-04:00

Gee, I kind of like samosas. I get them at my favorite Burmese restaurant, Mandalay, and at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Abyssinia, both in Silver Spring. The Al-Shabaab folks apparently don't approve of them however, in famine stricken Somalia - they think they have a secret Christian agenda, and they have banned them.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-53056987364757123012011-07-27T07:32:00.001-04:002011-07-27T07:33:44.379-04:00

I can't seem to stop myself! I am pulling Darius Milhaud scores from boxes in the basement. Over the years I have found no opportunity to program or even any way to listen to this music. And so I am programming them in another way - digitally! I have finished copying three movements of his Premier Quintette, and I suppose the fourth will come along soon. Copying music, by the way, is probably

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-42372885537701247292011-07-21T20:17:00.001-04:002011-07-21T20:44:43.418-04:00

From guest blogger Michael Strand: Who is the fourth great "B"-composer, with Bach, Beethoven and Brahms? Maybe you like Bruch, or Bartok, or Alban Berg, disciple of Schoenberg. Berg wrote a beautiful and haunting violin concerto. But for my money it's Alexander Borodin. Here's the link to a good article about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Borodin For Borodin, music began

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-14204028514190665602011-07-13T13:51:00.003-04:002011-07-19T13:00:32.583-04:00

As long as I was digitalizing the Martinu Quartet, I thought I might as well typeset a piece I do not know at all, the Quatuor for piano and strings by Darius Milhaud. To my knowledge, there is no recording available of this piece, and I have never heard it performed. Having the computer play it for me, even in this rough form, is like magic. Here is the first movement, "Modérément animé, avec

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-38104015502150560702011-07-10T08:56:00.002-04:002011-07-10T09:03:02.186-04:00

I have posted a digital mp3 version of the Poco Allegro first movement of Bohuslav Martinu's First Piano Quartet here. We are scheduled to perform this great work on September 15 at the Czech Embassy. Why input the score into a digital program? It is rhythmically complex, and very much in Czech syntax. The two commercial recordings that I have are somewhat unsatisfactory in this regard -

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-51438543287686810352011-07-08T17:22:00.003-04:002011-07-08T17:43:45.931-04:00

We heard Marcia Mello on the street in Provincetown. You know life is OK if you can hear music like this on the street. Here is a clip. Here is another, and another.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-60783823923363511472011-07-07T18:27:00.001-04:002011-07-07T18:46:37.538-04:00

Monk just gave us permission - but for what?

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-57641522142568944762011-07-07T18:03:00.002-04:002011-07-07T18:47:10.210-04:00

Music structures time - that is its purpose. The most simple expression - a repeated note, for instance - says a great deal. It says, do you have faith that there is anything that moves and breathes between the strikes, or must you make each note anew as if starting over? What is happening when nothing is happening? The beats are part of something - what is it? The beats might be the least

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-27129454187089575182011-06-27T10:21:00.001-04:002011-06-27T10:45:02.544-04:00

Cicadas are great musicians. They can focus sound like a laser, and they are very loud. We passed by the hospital power plant yesterday, and I turned on the Edirol. To my surprise there was a very high pitched sound that did not seem to be part of the machinery, but was just as loud. Further down Sligo Creek trail, I could tell that it was a very high pitched cicada sound, which I recorded again

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-11876786564406165732011-06-26T21:35:00.002-04:002011-06-26T21:37:23.780-04:00

"… freedom is always at the beginning, and not at the end." "You cannot go to it; it comes to you." J. Krishnamurti, from "The First and Last Freedom"

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-12705535424663993532011-06-26T08:42:00.003-04:002011-06-26T17:30:46.268-04:00

The lawnmower next door is slightly mournful, in Bb-A. The slavery of the lawnmower, like a low and continuous moan of pain. The dropping off of a siren is like broken plastic. A car key alarm is like a little snort or fart. Plan to record: hinges, jet planes, a catbird. Churchy sounds don't always inspire devotion. What is your response to deep, gruff sounds? The relation between sound and

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-58469539329169272112011-06-25T22:10:00.000-04:002011-06-25T22:10:47.675-04:00

Why are there two high tides? "...pulled to one side by the moon or, rather, squashed prolate into a double tide...." Richard Feynman

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-89132662260931067582011-06-25T17:05:00.000-04:002011-06-25T17:05:07.598-04:00

The law is indeed changing: "The charges against Mr Cleary include conspiring with other unknown people on or before 20 June to construct a botnet - a collection of hijacked home computers - to conduct distributed denial of service attacks. He is also charged with making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply a botnet, intending that it should be used to commit, or to assist in the

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-50914614506405765452011-06-25T15:48:00.003-04:002011-12-25T05:25:21.634-05:00

There is a grey catbird that sings in the same evergreen tree on Davis Ave every evening. I am a great fan of mockingbirds, who are the musical genius in the genus. But this catbird is pretty darn good. I keep meaning to bring the Edirol and record one of his (or her?) concerts. Here is a clip. (Note the conversation between Marilyn and the bird). (Follow-up: catbird is gone; tree was cut

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-22523785601567599962011-06-25T15:34:00.000-04:002011-06-25T15:34:41.268-04:00

They have removed the Surfing Madonna.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-68168378054677354792011-06-22T18:17:00.000-04:002011-06-22T18:17:55.748-04:00

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-artist-20110623,0,4814130.story

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-70851485737810236812011-06-22T15:15:00.004-04:002011-12-25T05:28:53.093-05:00

I am making a list of bad attitudes I get from other musicians. Sort of the basic stance a person exhibits towards me. I encounter these from surprising sources, and am often taken off guard. It sure would be good to develop a sense of humor about this! List of Reprehensible Attitudes: "Are you still alive?" "Suck my ___." "I never heard of you." "My time is worth more than yours." "Yes, I am

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-3627190163415306422011-06-17T18:41:00.000-04:002011-06-17T18:41:39.095-04:00

From Ethelbert Miller: Treat Anger with Tenderness "Treat your anger with the utmost respect and tenderness, for it is no other than yourself. Do not suppress it—simply be aware of it. Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed. When you are aware that you are angry, your anger is transformed. If you destroy anger, you destroy the Buddha, for Buddha and Mara

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-6880743061854407752011-06-13T08:17:00.001-04:002011-06-13T08:19:32.745-04:00

Arnold Schoenberg wrote a fascinating pseudo-textbook, the "Theory of Harmony". Here is a sample: "Two impulses struggle with each other within man: the demand for repetition of pleasant stimuli, and the opposing desire for variety, for change, for a new stimulus. These two impulses often unite in one relatively common impulse characteristic of beasts of prey: the impulse to take possession....

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-7077312828353543092011-06-11T17:03:00.000-04:002011-06-11T17:03:19.783-04:00

From Ethelbert Miller: The censors have not gone away: they have just relocated. Censorship rarely brings artists national fame. More often it confronts them with the mundane reality of petty politics and public officials' fear of controversy. When an incident gains national exposure everybody becomes a free speech warrior, but few have the patience to deal with everyday censorship. Yet those

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-16218286318877145592011-06-11T10:58:00.001-04:002011-06-11T10:59:31.941-04:00

Banner's Law: Success gives you this and only this: the opportunity to continue doing what you are doing. Corollary: You had better like what you are doing! The idea that you must first do something dull, distasteful, immoral, or unethical, or pay some sort of dues in order to qualify to do something you love is dubious at best. What has happened to education? Everybody wants their children to

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-68886113206311827422011-06-09T17:46:00.000-04:002011-06-09T17:46:47.501-04:00

The Capriccio Op. 116#1 of Brahms is an exuberant temper tantrum, and I have just about despaired of being able to perform it at the piano. Nevertheless, I like it, so I thought I would let the computer play it for me. I programmed it roughly into Sibelius, adding a few pedal tones and staccatos, but otherwise just the notes, ma'am. No dynamics yet, no slurs, rits, etc. But it sounds good! And

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-58945328523863256472011-06-04T16:47:00.000-04:002011-06-04T16:47:46.076-04:00

Listen to this version of Schumann's "Vogel als Prophet" - isn't it the eeriest you have heard? And check out how the Mac plays his "Reconnaissance" (from Carnaval).

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-78635364212108310852011-06-04T12:35:00.000-04:002011-06-04T12:35:37.917-04:00

What do I have to say about sound? Once you start listening, it is surprising what actually surrounds us. The sound of motors is the sound of slavery. Sirens are instruments of alarm; every cop or firefighter is a musician. B partial flat is the sound of the household - the refrigerator and other motors have it as their 60 cycle fundamental. Traffic is astonishingly loud from the sidewalk. The

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-26084666777390416792011-06-02T15:13:00.000-04:002011-06-02T15:13:23.199-04:00

"... after a while they found another man who was lying on the ground with his ear laid to the turf. 'What are you doing there?' asked the King's son. 'I am listening," replied the man. 'What are you listening to so attentively?' 'I am listening to what is just going on in the world, for nothing escapes my ears; I even hear the grass growing.'" (from The Six Servants, Grimm's Fairy Tales;

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-52375360390271220452011-06-01T08:51:00.000-04:002011-06-01T08:51:39.354-04:00

Burro Hall is fast becoming my favorite blog. Here is a real world video of sorts.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-86097126431517692012011-05-31T18:32:00.000-04:002011-05-31T18:32:17.925-04:00

I'm sorry, but I often find Krugman a rare source of sanity.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-88824426768995675342011-05-31T18:28:00.001-04:002011-05-31T18:35:18.511-04:00

This is a great example of what an artist can do.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-65810820993169912282011-05-30T10:58:00.001-04:002011-05-30T11:59:16.661-04:00

I think counterpoint tells us something about human relationship. It is like "parallel play" of pre-school children, in which the lines pursue their separate joy and integrity, influenced peripherally by one another. If one line is favored, or one ignores the other, or an artificial synthesis is attempted, all is lost.

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-41602175603746186112011-05-30T00:11:00.002-04:002011-06-04T20:51:01.838-04:00

Just got back from listening to incredible music at Abyssinia, our local Silver Spring Ethiopian restaurant on Georgia Avenue. I don't know who this musician is, whether he is the same musician as last year, or someone else, but we've been two consecutive Sundays, and I am becoming a huge fan of this guy (link is to a short video clip). Vocally, he is a combination of Smokey Robinson and Bob

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149315.post-5835557498358922962011-05-29T11:23:00.001-04:002011-05-29T11:34:08.051-04:00

(Erotic Object #3, Marilyn Banner ca. 1980) Almost every artist we know faces the question of what to do with the vast collection of beautiful objects they have created over the course of as many years as they have been working. I hasten to say that Marilyn sold about 90% of the work she did one year, the Costa Rican collages. But this is the exception, and her studio is full of 40 years of

Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10514831718968608817noreply@blogger.com0