Samhain Is Here!

Deb is carving the pumpkin.  I am readying the fireplace.  The pies are baked.  Supper is on.  At 8 pm the lights go down and the party begins!  More news on this major annual event tomorrow!

I made it through October reading no less than 16 books!  Not bad, eh?  I just finished an easy and very funny read, Piers Anthony's "Prostho Plus," about a dentist captured by aliens who need his assistance.  It leads to some very unusual emergency dental calls, as Dr. Dillingham is in demand all over the galaxy, filling teeth and straightening mouths of aliens in all shapes, sizes, and temperaments.  Next up is the last unread novel of Eric Frank Russell.  After that novel I will (sadly) only have some of his short stories of his left to read).  I received three books in the mail recently, including as book of translated poetry by Harry Martinson, writer of "Aniara."  I also received a needed novel by Moorcock, and a non SF by S.B Hough, who wrote incredible SF under the name of Rex Gordon.  I have three authors/books remaining to read in the Avon/Equinox series.  The authors are Ballard, Maltzberg, and Blish.  Someday I will have read all the books by all of the authors.  Then I'll have to find a new reading project.  By that time my book review blog will fill up half of the internet.

We watched two feature films lately.  One was Woody Allen's "Cafe Society."  While not exactly boring, Allen's tribute to NY cafe society in the 1920s/30s is not something I would be interested in seeing again.  It is one of the blander movies I have seen by the director.  Though some of the dialogue is priceless, it doesn't seem to really work.  The cast is okay, but there seems to be little chemistry.  The film is what it is, and nothing more.  Probably for Allen completests only.

A recently watched flic. 

Much more watchable and fun is "Wonderstruck," a film about a deaf girl and boy finding some truths and meaning in life.  It's a kids movie at heart, but one of those rare ones that can easily hold the attention of an intelligent adult.  As much as Woody tries to show off NYC in his recent film, this one does a much better job.  We get to experience NYC in 1927 (in b & w), and then in 1976 (in full psychedelic colour), and then again as a vast model city, which the viewer towers over like a Godzilla.  We get to explore the Brooklyn Museum in 1927 and 1976, also.  The kid actors (there are 3 of them) are okay, which helps.  Definitely worth a look.

Deb has won another award for her most recent film, this time from Ottawa (Best animated short in festival).  She had a movie shown in London, England over the weekend, and about to launch her own Youtube channel, dedicated to everyone's favourite skull (which has 22 bones in it, by the way), Yorick (from "Hamlet").  Search "22 Bones" on Youtube to find it, I think by Friday.  Enjoy!

Lastly, I now have two posts up on our recent trip to NM.  At least two more are coming soon.

Mapman Mike

Practicing Piano With Intensity

As I near the end of the road with most of the pieces I am learning for the next recital, it is time to up my game, increasing the focus and striving harder than ever for perfection.  Except for about half a dozen measures of music, the Schumann Op #2 is now memorized, along with the Bach and 4 movements of 5 of the Haydn, and one of the pieces by Louie.  I have one Haydn movement to memorize, and one piece by Louie.  A third piece by here will be performed with music, if I can ever actually play it well enough.  It is nearly time to bring the pieces to Philip, to have them torn down so I can rebuild them!  Not next week (too much going on) but hopefully the week after that.

Randy has notified us that treatment for Anita has more or less been halted, with maintaining her comfort now the priority.  His simple sentence to us brings with it much sadness and reflection.  Of course our thoughts are constantly involved with both he and Anita.  A most difficult time for all involved.  The unseasonable cold and increasingly damp weather we have been having does not make things any easier.  I spoke with my Mom today, and Sudbury has been very depressing this month.  After all, what is Autumn without an October?  We have simply moved right into November.

I have finally got a start on the NM blog, and have published the first part concerning my solo drive west.  Hopefully more will be coming soon, including our Albuquerque and Santa Fe adventures.

I am currently enjoying another novel by Norman Spinrad, a somewhat autobiographical tale called "Children of Hamelin."  Very entertaining so far.  I am reading the book on Kindle, which I more or less like, but when reviewing such a story it is virtually impossible to flip back and check on things.  So I keep a notebook handy, which is cumbersome when reading.  I doubt that my reviews of books read on Kindle are as thorough as the ones I write from real live books.

M.

5-Day Weekends

Thursday, October 25th/18 

This will be the first weekend in three that we do not have a concert to attend.  There are several we could attend, but it's time for a weekend at home.  I do not miss the Thursday teaching at all, and am very happy to work only two afternoon/evenings a week.  Some may complain that a weekend lasting only five days is not nearly enough.  However, I don't agree.  A two-day work week seems ideal!  I had a book waiting for me at the Dearborn mailbox, and there was a new vegan restaurant we wanted to try.  We crossed at the bridge, having to wait in line a long time, as only 3 car lanes were open.  There was some kind of training going on.  But guess what?  Just as we finally got up to the booth, the other lanes began to open.  Ain't life funny?  At least coming back we scored, getting right up to a booth on the Windsor side, with no waiting.

The restaurant is called "Unburger," and features 3 main types of burger, each in two styles.  There are many other things on the menu as well, but we came to try the burgers.  Priced at only $7, they filled us without ordering any sides.  And they were delicious!  We did bring home a piece of vegan chocolate cake for later.  Yesterday was the full moon, but I taught from 4 pm till 7:30.  No time to bake, or even celebrate.  And tonight it is overcast, whereas it has been very clear for several nights in a row.  Hmm, must be heading towards the astronomy session again.   

October has been way colder than average.  It is usually our nicest month of the year.  However, October seems to have been replaced by November, with consistently below average temps.  I wonder what November will bring.... 

Piano practice has been hit or miss this week.  Jenn G. visited all day Monday, so there was no opportunity there.  We had an all day beer sampling session, though, and even managed an outdoor walk.  I haven't seen Jenn in ages.  I get the feeling she might want to move back to B.C.  She is currently living in the cesspool that is central southern Ontario, which is quickly being turned into one giant suburb.  I can't blame her for not liking it there.  Today I managed an hour, as I did yesterday and Tuesday.  So I have big hopes for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Piano practice will be mixed in with yard work, which is on-going.  And that doesn't even count leaves.  Just catching up on summer growth that needs to be tamed.

 

Highpoints

Tuesday, October 23rd/18 

I seem to be on a roll at home lately, having read some truly remarkable novels, and listened to some of the best music ever penned.  Over the weekend we heard Benjamin Britten's spellbinding operatic version of "Turn of the Screw," from the novella by Henry James.  I studied the book in high school, but now need to reread it.  We are searching for an audio version on-line.  Britten brings exactly the right sense of drama to the work, and it will stick with me for a long time.

Brahms' Op 53 and Op 54, two works for solo voice and orchestra, are spellbinding in different ways, but essential to hear if one claims to love music.  Op 53 was Clara Schumann's favourite piece by Brahms, and Op 54 continues to be one of his most popular.  Earlier in music history  we have Haydn's Symphonies 41 in C Major and 42 in D Major.  Very different works, indeed, but captiving, energizing, and completely wonderful little worlds unto themselves.

In SF literature, reading "Aniara" by Harry Martinson (a Nobel Prize winner for literature) was one of the most moving experiences of my life.  He gets completely and utterly to the important matter, and the whole epic poem is a hymn to Earth, and to those who realize what we have (the prize of the galaxy, no less).  I will reread this book until I wear out the pages.  Also recently devoured was an utterly brilliant story called "Greener Than You Think," by the genius writer Ward Moore, who also brought us "Bring The Jubilee."  It actually has a lot in common with Martinson's novel, and it is interesting that by chance I read them back to back.  Reviews can be found in my Avon/Equinox blog, in the left margin.

We are continuing with the visually stunning PC game called "Obduction."  It has proved impossible to solve without a walkthru, and even then has been very challenging to try and finish it.  However, I am often just happy and sit and stare at it, or walk through the many different landscapes.

Beethoven's Turn

Saturday, October 20th/18 

For the last three weekends we have attended a concert that has been devoted to a single composer.  Two weeks ago it was Schubert; one week ago it was Bartok.  Now it was Beethoven's turn.  Philip Adamson, my piano instructor for the past many years, was back at his bucket list, performing 4 more of the 32 piano sonatas.  He has now performed 16 of them, and is likely at work today on the next programme.

Beethoven is such a composer of truly odd works, and despite historians and musicologists trying to pigeonhole his styles and periods, in my opinion it is all for nought.  No two piano sonatas are alike, or even closely related.  They all explore completely different ideas, emotions, and, in some instances, games and buffoonery.  When Beethoven wishes to be serious, it can lead to music of such devastation and calamity that it is a wonder a true performer doesn't die in the attempt to bring it forth for an audience.  I am reminded of a performance many years ago of the 5th Symphony by Antal Dorati and the Detroit Symphony.  Even back then I was totally familiar with most of the notes in that iconic work.  However, Dorati's performance was so intense and overpowering that I jotted in the margin of my program something like "This music is like a mighty mountain being torn apart."  

 Portrait of Beethoven we saw in Vienna,

at one of his houses.  My photo.

My favourite performers of Beethoven's piano music are the late Ivan Morovec, who only performed and recorded select sonatas, and Andras Schiff, alive and well and still performing the entire set on occasion.  I have been fortunate to hear these masters on several occasions, and their Beethoven sets standards far beyond anything that mere mortals can achieve, no matter how many hours are spent at the piano.  Having said that, Dr. Adamson has accredited himself admirably in his attempt to climb the mighty heights of the Beethoven Sonatas.  Though he has completed work on 16 of them, there are still some mighty big sonatas that lie ahead, including the Appassionata, the Waldstein, the Hammerclavier, the Tempest, and the nearly impossible to bring off effectively final sonata.  So I congratulate him on his progress, and wish him well with the rest of his amazing journey!

Last night Philip chose to group three of the four pieces he performed around the key in which it was written.  Beethoven chose G Major for four sonatas, but the smaller student one had already made an appearance on an earlier program.  Since (see above) the sonatas are so vastly different, and strikingly odd in each their own way, there was no danger of the works sounding like one another.  Especially so with Philip's deeply thought out interpretations and carefully chosen tempos.  With professional pianists sometimes the music flashes by so quickly that special moments are lost in the flurry.  Philip takes time to bring out these moments, and many others, but manages to keep things lively and moving along.  Favourite parts for me were the slow movement of Op 79, the first movement of Op 14, #2, and the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata.  The latter was as fine a performance of that old chestnut as I have ever heard.  It certainly beats out Morovec, who plays much too slowly, and comes closest to Schiff, though somehow Schiff manages to play with the damper pedal depressed all the way through.

I had some problems with the piano, a new Yamaha CFX, priced somewhere near $100,000.  For one thing, it was out of tune, and a high C# was twanging away throughout the final piece (which was in C#).  For another, the middle range has difficulty keeping pace with the very powerful bass, so sometimes balance of sound was a problem.  Having said that, the acoustics for piano performances are vastly superior in the new recital hall than they ever were at Assumption Chapel, which more less resembled an echo chamber. 

Overall it has been a very fascinating three weeks of live concerts.  Combined with my home listening projects of attempting to hear the complete works of Britten, Brahms, and all the Haydn Symphonies (we already have completed Delius) I am doing my best to keep my ear(s) in good shape!  Our next concert date isn't until November 10th, another piano solo recital (with some Beethoven)! 

In New Mexico news, Jens Hanson was at the concert last night.  He was professor of theory and composition at the university when I attended.  He and Dr. Kovarik, who taught history, were the two most interesting people in the building.  He is from NM!  He managed to get back to his hometown for a visit this past spring.  However, a massive forest fire had devastated the surrounding mountains, leaving him with a rather sad impression.  I am currently at work on my blog version of our journey, and hope to have the first post up soon.  So come back often!

Mapman Mike

Lone Mtn Homestead Leisure Time Pursuits

Monday, October 15th/18 

With students fleeing piano lessons this year, I am way down in both numbers and hours.  It means a lot less travelling abroad next year, with possibly no major trip on the horizon after Vienna.  I can live with that for now, since it affords me more opportunities for observing, reading, writing, listening, practicing, gaming, and every other pursuit that interests me.  Teaching music for 37 years has never been boring or a disappointment, but I'm certain I will survive with many fewer students.  In fact I have no urge to even advertise open positions.  It is what it is.  If there is less money for travel, so be it.

We have been playing a visually astounding PC Windows game called Obduction, from the people who brought you Myst.  It started out quite great, with decent puzzles and mind-blowing graphics.  Now the graphics are decent and the puzzles are mind-blowing.  We have no hope of finishing the game, even with a very sketchy walk through.  We are stuck in a hell, nicknamed "the gauntlet," which appears just before "the maze."  The puzzles have been beyond Mensa level, which is evident from the comment boards, where virtually everyone has resorted to the walk through, often, like us, without luck.  Game designers apparently have not learned valuable lessons even today.  Needless to say we will not be purchasing their newest game.  On my older upstairs computer I am playing a very old game called The Last Express, which came out around the same time as Myst.  It runs perfectly on the old computer, and is quite fun, as you embark on the Orient Express in Paris, and become involved in a murder and mystery on board as the train travels past different stations.

Music home listening continues on three fronts.  We have finished with the first 40 Symphonies of Haydn, as well as up to and including the Op. 53 of Brahms and Britten.  Brahms Op. 54 coming up later tonight!  

Astronomy has been a disaster due to incredibly hazy and/or cloudy weather.  October is usually the best time to observe, and this month there was not a single good night to do so when the moon was out of the way.  In 2016 from July through October I was able to get out and observe 29 times.  In the same period of 2017 (a very bad year) I went out 16 times.  This year my grand total is 10!  I fear that I see a trend here, and it's not a pretty one.  So it is even more important that I am able to get out on almost any clear night, thanks to two less evenings of teaching.  The moon is waxing now, so of course it is wonderfully clear tonight.....

My Avon/Equinox reading project is still going great guns.  My right eye cataract is worsening, so it will need fixing.  I will try to arrange for the surgery right after our Vienna trip.  I currently have an appointment with my optometrist on Oct. 31st.  He will then refer me to a specialist, hopefully Dr. Emara, who did my left eye a few years ago.  Anyway, I am still reading like a demon.  I finished three books on the NM trip, including the enormous biography of Brahms.  I just recently discovered that the same author penned a Beethoven biography that was recently published.   Sounds like a must-read!  In the past two weeks I have finished and reviewed 8 books!  I am currently reading an early one by Robert Silverberg, having just finished a really fascinating one by Hal Clement.  Clement is a hard-science writer; he chooses an interesting situation on an interesting planet and then goes about demonstrating how things work there.  He  wrote a short series (two novels and three stories) about the planet Mesklin and its caterpillar-like inhabitants, and it proved to be one of the most fascinating discoveries so far in my reading project.  I have read the first novel (Mission of Gravity) and two short stories.  The novel was absolutely mind-blowing!  I have discovered so many fabulous authors in this reading project (see my Avon/Equinox page for a full blown discussion)!

My only current writing project is trying to finish the NM Trip #38 journal.  It's nearly done.  the problem is that I physically write this, and I find that I cannot write for more than 30 minutes at a time.  It should be finished soon, and I will begin work on the web version.  In other writing projects, I have a good start on my 2nd Valeria the Vegetarian Vampire story, and hope to finish it before winter is out.  With two short books in hand and ideas for at least two more, that will be the time to approach publishers.  Once published, Hollywood should snap up the film rights, and we will live the high life in California!  We will still visit Canada occasionally.

Half-Listening to Bartok's Music: The One-Ear Approach

Friday evening was our second concert of the new season.  Held at Wayne State University, it was an all-Bartok program that went a long way to cleaning out my head of music rooted in the traditional tonic-dominant relationship.  The concert opened with a short talk on Bartok's music, and then was followed by the brief but very intense 3-movement Sonata for Piano.  This is a wickedly difficult piece to perform, with big chords, large leaps, and rhythms that almost defy human ability to interpret from the printed score and play in time.  Of course just as the music was about to start, my hearing aid battery died.  I forgot to bring a spare battery.  It has a music setting which isn't too bad for listening and practicing, but last night I had only one ear to hear with.  Still sounded pretty amazing.

After a very short intermission to set up the stage came the master's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.  Two percussion players use 11 different instruments during the piece, which is essentially a quartet.  Again it is in three movements, and follows traditional classic forms to a large extent.  This is vibrant and very exciting music to listen to, but very difficult to perform.  A fine job was done by all concerned!  I used to play a lot of Bartok, and have one of his big pieces scheduled for the concert after my upcoming one.  Meanwhile, several of the astronomy pieces I have been playing recently by Alexina Louie are heavily influenced by Bartok, as well as Debussy.  It was interesting to hear to hear the speaker last night tell how much Debussy's harmony influenced Bartok.

It was a cold a rainy night in Detroit, but restaurants were crowded and there was a lot going on in the big city.  We had dinner beforehand nearby, and were home by 10 pm.  Concert #3 for us is next Friday night here in Windsor, as my instructor Philip Adamson performs four more Beethoven Sonatas, his fourth concert in his complete cycle of the 32 sonatas.  I am very excited!  Sometime next week I will bother him again for a few lessons on my up and coming repertoire.  My practicing has gone much better this past week, and I am now considerably beyond where I was with the pieces before the trip to New Mexico.

Speaking of that trip, I am finishing up my written journal, and hope to start on the website version early next week.  Stay tuned for news of that.  In film news, one of Deb's short films took first prize at a festival in Venice!  She is currently working on her Youtube channel.

Detroit Concert Season Opener

Sunday, October 7th/18 

Last night we attended the first of four planned concerts between now and our trip to Vienna.  The first three concerts come on consecutive weekends, so we have another concert next weekend, and another the week after that.  Our first concert of the new season was a performance of the Schubert Octet, one of the greatest pieces of chamber music ever written.  It's a long one, too, at nearly one hour.  It has six movements, and is heavily modelled on the earlier septet by Beethoven.  Schubert added a 2nd violin, which Beethoven omitted.  So he used a full string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello), then added a double bass and the three winds; French horn, bassoon, and clarinet.  The clarinet and first violin interact continually, but the other instruments get to solo as well, and the sound combinations are nearly limitless.

There are six movements, and each one seems to be a complete world unto itself.  The 12st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th are all massive in scale, and really do need to be taken one at a time by the listener.  Hearing all six uninterrupted is like eating a heavy 6-course dinner!  We had the good fortune of hearing 8 chamber players from the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, from London, and they gave a magnificent performance and interpretation.  Before the concert the musicians came out, and the horn player talked about the piece at some length.  the group played excerpts to illustrate certain points, mainly comparisons with the Beethoven work.  Then they performed uninterrupted.  It was a long time to sit, as there was no intermission. 

We hit heavy rain and storms once in Detroit, and again after the concert.  At home, 3.2" of rain was sitting in the rain gauge!!  Needless to say, our little creek is rather full today.  With the warm weather we've been having (and clouds), I will be cutting the grass again very soon.  Our tree and yard man paid us a visit last week.  We will be getting some trees trimmed and some old branches removed, as well as having an old stump ground down, thus stopping the endless number of shoots that grow on it every year.  There is still so much to do in the yard, but there are still mosquitoes, so we will wait a bit longer.

My own concert preparation has taken a bit of a dip since our return from NM.  I have been finding it really difficult to get back into the pieces, though my very bad ear likely has something to do with it.  I am not yet back where I was with the pieces before I left home, and am having trouble concentrating.  My reading concentration is fine, and I've been working hard on my trip journal (it's about half done now).  I just think I would rather be in NM right now, hiking some more.  When I returned and finally sat down at the piano again, I fully realized how difficult it is to play piano and learn pieces!  I actually had a dull ache in my brain afterwards.  It really does take full concentration, which is very demanding, especially if you are continually thinking of mountains.

October 2018

Wed., Oct. 3rd/18 

The former staff at APS was always much closer than most other schools.  We were a lot like family, and made some friends for life.  The camaraderie shown back in those days carries on occasionally even today.  Our luncheon attracted 16 or 17 people that use to work together day in and day out, doing our best to send students out the door in the right direction.It was a fun get-together, and there will be others.  One of our members couldn't be there, as his wife is dying of lung cancer.  Previously to the luncheon, a collection had been taken up raising considerable funds, and given to Dave for restaurants etc. as he deals with his wife's severe and terminal illness.  Anyway, it is a good group of people, and I am happy to still know them and was proud to work with them for many years.

The October astronomy session is turning into an unmitigated disaster, much like most of the other months so far this year.  Warm, humid, cloudy weather is persisting, much like a continuation of the first half of Sept.  No clear nights are predicted so far in the 10 day forecast.  Unbelievable.

I finally got some trip photos printed, and I am writing up the journal.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will be finished, and then can concentrate on the web version.  Next trip is Vienna in early December.  Caroline sent a link to a review of the Bruegel exhibit, and of course it sounds totally amazing.  At least half a dozen new (for us) paintings of his will be on display, in addition to the Prado's incredible "Triumph of Death", a picture we got to know extremely well during our six-week stay in Madrid in the 1980s.

Another tram view of the Sandia Mtns. in Albuquerque.