A timely topic given my own musings of late on "where to put a new piano" and so on. The article strangely doesn't spill much ink on mention of upright pianos. This is strange as uprights (along with the other variety of familial piano hand-me-downs the spinet and console) is what's most likely to be found in a piano-owning home. But may it's just all about the demographics.
Still there food for thought and more on the feng-shui of piano owning. Here's a tasy tid-bit:
"A century ago, the piano room — or parlor — was the original home entertainment center. That's where guests were received and the family gathered to share what we now call "live" music. Then there was no other kind. Television and honking home stereos would render the parlor obsolete long before computer games and iPods.
Piano sales are a fraction of what they were when Teddy Roosevelt was president. In 1909, 364,500 were sold, but by 1999, fewer than 102,000 new pianos were brought home. Still, there are people for whom music is the defining characteristic of their house, and its rooms must serve their musical needs."
Enjoy the rest
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Manilow plays Vegas
Unlike Ms. Keys, Mr. Manilow actually can lay some claim to having "classical chops" --remember his dreadful abuse of the Chopin c minor prelude. Songs like "Mandy" and "copacabana" are the kinds of dreck that get stuck in one's head at the supermarket... SO vegas seems a natural.
But shouldn't Barry get at least a little respect.. I think the article makes a compelling case for the affirmative.
"It's his reputation as a master entertainer that's kept Manilow viable ever since the hits dropped off in the '80s and he started making noncommercial jazz albums. Last year his supposed farewell tour sold out stadiums across the country. "It must have been another generation that discovered me," Man-ilow says. "Or maybe they were brainwashed by their parents and wanted to see me before I died. 'Look, he's still breathing. Buy the ticket!' "
Manilow has been performing ever since he was a kid himself. He was raised in Brooklyn by his mother, the daughter of Russian immigrants—his father, a truck-driver for a beer company, left shortly after Barry was born—and "a billion" cousins. Music figured prominently in the household. "If it had been another time and place, my mom could have been Ethel Merman," says Manilow, in his still-strong Brooklyn accent. "But she couldn't, so I did it." He went to Juilliard out of high school, got a job in the CBS mailroom and was married by 22. Four years later he'd left the day job—and the marriage—to jam in Manhattan's jazz clubs and cabarets."
It's actuall a good read.
Check it out
But shouldn't Barry get at least a little respect.. I think the article makes a compelling case for the affirmative.
"It's his reputation as a master entertainer that's kept Manilow viable ever since the hits dropped off in the '80s and he started making noncommercial jazz albums. Last year his supposed farewell tour sold out stadiums across the country. "It must have been another generation that discovered me," Man-ilow says. "Or maybe they were brainwashed by their parents and wanted to see me before I died. 'Look, he's still breathing. Buy the ticket!' "
Manilow has been performing ever since he was a kid himself. He was raised in Brooklyn by his mother, the daughter of Russian immigrants—his father, a truck-driver for a beer company, left shortly after Barry was born—and "a billion" cousins. Music figured prominently in the household. "If it had been another time and place, my mom could have been Ethel Merman," says Manilow, in his still-strong Brooklyn accent. "But she couldn't, so I did it." He went to Juilliard out of high school, got a job in the CBS mailroom and was married by 22. Four years later he'd left the day job—and the marriage—to jam in Manhattan's jazz clubs and cabarets."
It's actuall a good read.
Check it out
Jerry Lee Lews to Give Kid Rock Piano Lessons?
Oh please...
"rap-rocker has decided it's time he learned to tinkle the ivories and he's called in his rock 'n' roll pal to teach him the basics - and while they're having impromptu lessons, the pair plan to record an album together."
Link
Somebody's PR wetdream? Next up: Kid-Rock plays duets with the single most over-rated mediocre pianist on the planet -Alicia Keys.
And, speaking of Keys, it is ever so amusing to find rock folks swooning because she can sit down and plunk her way thru "Fur Elise". Her penchant for name dropping classical composers (always in some clumsy and amusing way) and gross over-statement of having so-called "classical training" (i.e., she had piano lessons) is amusing. But aside from this obvious exaggeration (so overwhelmingly demonstrated by her remarkably mediocre piano play ability) is the curious way in which classical music is used to create an exotic patina, as if it bestows merely by being invoked a profundity and virtuosity that so plainly exeeds her grap. On the other hand, her target audience is wowed by anyone able to set down and pluck-out the Moonlight sonata or Mozart minuet, even if they wouldn't be caught dead listening to
classical music
Laugh or cry... ??
"rap-rocker has decided it's time he learned to tinkle the ivories and he's called in his rock 'n' roll pal to teach him the basics - and while they're having impromptu lessons, the pair plan to record an album together."
Link
Somebody's PR wetdream? Next up: Kid-Rock plays duets with the single most over-rated mediocre pianist on the planet -Alicia Keys.
And, speaking of Keys, it is ever so amusing to find rock folks swooning because she can sit down and plunk her way thru "Fur Elise". Her penchant for name dropping classical composers (always in some clumsy and amusing way) and gross over-statement of having so-called "classical training" (i.e., she had piano lessons) is amusing. But aside from this obvious exaggeration (so overwhelmingly demonstrated by her remarkably mediocre piano play ability) is the curious way in which classical music is used to create an exotic patina, as if it bestows merely by being invoked a profundity and virtuosity that so plainly exeeds her grap. On the other hand, her target audience is wowed by anyone able to set down and pluck-out the Moonlight sonata or Mozart minuet, even if they wouldn't be caught dead listening to
classical music
Laugh or cry... ??
Burglar Charged for Moonlight Sonata
This had me almost choking on my coffee this morning...Definitely "Fark" worthy news:
"The police chief in New Riegel, Ohio, woke up in the middle of the night to sounds of someone playing Beethoven on his piano. Chief Steve Swartzmiller grabbed his gun and went to investigate. He found 19-year-old Shawn Chadwell drunk and playing the keyboard. "
Read all about it here
"The police chief in New Riegel, Ohio, woke up in the middle of the night to sounds of someone playing Beethoven on his piano. Chief Steve Swartzmiller grabbed his gun and went to investigate. He found 19-year-old Shawn Chadwell drunk and playing the keyboard. "
Read all about it here
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
New Beethoven Movie in Production
Ed Harris..? Really??
"Ed Harris is set to play Ludwig van Beethoven in "Copying Beethoven" for director Agnieszka Holland." More about it here But what's the plot? Anyone know?
"Ed Harris is set to play Ludwig van Beethoven in "Copying Beethoven" for director Agnieszka Holland." More about it here But what's the plot? Anyone know?
Monday, February 14, 2005
Fitness and Pianism
Perhaps someone should hook Ray Kurzweil up with Leon Bates:
"The pianist not only pumps ivory, he pumps iron, too, as a physical-fitness enthusiast. Music came first as a child, but Bates began weight training in high school while growing up in Philadelphia. His daily regime of practicing piano and lifting weights has been with him ever since. "You learn an awful lot about how your body works and what it takes to maintain it," he said. Today, he bench presses more than 300 pounds and has seen as many gyms as he's seen concert halls. "
Read More Here
"The pianist not only pumps ivory, he pumps iron, too, as a physical-fitness enthusiast. Music came first as a child, but Bates began weight training in high school while growing up in Philadelphia. His daily regime of practicing piano and lifting weights has been with him ever since. "You learn an awful lot about how your body works and what it takes to maintain it," he said. Today, he bench presses more than 300 pounds and has seen as many gyms as he's seen concert halls. "
Read More Here
condi and beethoven
from the just heard file:
"In an interview yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she's always loved Beethoven. When he heard this, President Bush said, ‘What a coincidence, that's my favorite movie, too." - conan o'brien
"In an interview yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she's always loved Beethoven. When he heard this, President Bush said, ‘What a coincidence, that's my favorite movie, too." - conan o'brien
Will Ray Kurzweil Live Forever
Kurzweil, the man who gave us the Kurzweil digital pianos and so much more, seems to think so. I suppose with Ray anthing's possible --especially with the keen attention he's given to "fine tuning" the body electric. Read more here:
Read the rest here
Read the rest here
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Bond composer rails against successors
"The film composer John Barry - whose stellar 50-year career has encompassed scoring the great Bond movies, Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves - has lashed out against his musical successors. "[The composers] have nothing to say. They are just messing around with notes. I'm at a loss," he told the Guardian."
and you know what? He's right. Absolutely right.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1409385,00.html
and you know what? He's right. Absolutely right.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1409385,00.html
A bone to pick with stilted classicists,
"Mesdames et Messieurs of the CSO, when you program idle, trite, and useless music for my education and protection, I feel condescended to, because I have a need for honesty. Would you be willing to program music that you love, so that I may love it?"
Link
Link