Well, I don't actually post daily, but there are enough posts on here (hundreds, if you get into the older stuff) that you can always find something to read in between these ongoing important and vital messages.
What happens when a pianist keeps his current pieces going longer than they should be kept? Do pieces have a "best before" date? Lots of pianists and other musicians are having this problem these days. Do pieces get stale? In my case, what happens is this: I know I've kept a piece too long if the mistakes I keep making are all related to concentration. If a driver drives the same route day after day, he soon loses the ability to keep track of the entire route. In other words, he tunes out the scenery and the road after a while. Same with commuters, who endure the same tube or train ride day after day. And the same with musicians who over practice their pieces. Even though I am also working on two large, much newer pieces for my next next concert, I am still keeping the older ones alive, in the hopes of performing them someday at my next concert. When is someday? Someday.
Our county is currently deep in the red zone for Corona 19, though Amherstburg isn't bad at all. But as the cases pile up, and the hospitals remain filled, a lockdown is looming, likely beginning next Monday. Not unexpected, as people still dash to and fro in a madness that is hard to describe and to understand. Going to the mall is such an ingrained behaviour, especially in December, that people just cannot stop doing it. Even in the healthiest of times, I might go to a major mall twice per year, and never in December. But I admit to being different.
In movie news, Deb has had two picks. She choose a selection of short films by Native American Sky Hopinka. His films are experimental, using images and words that remind me of films from the 1960s. Except his are in colour and usually to do with Native themes. His 2016 documentary about Standing Rock is probably the most accessible of his films for most folk. My favourite one is called I'll remember You As You Were, Not As What You Will Become, and is a tribute to a deceased native poetess. Some of the imagery is the best I've ever seen, as he captures pow wow dancers using a special filter that makes them appear totally ethereal and spiritual. Showing on Criterion, and also available on disc.
Scene of Native dancer from film by Sky Hopinka.
Deb's choice from "leaving December 31st" was Strange Cargo, starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Peter Lorre, and some guy (Ian Hunter) playing Jesus. It's a strange, very religious film, as a mysterious man helps a group of prisoners escape an island prison, though most of them die brutally in the attempt. It's somewhat successful as a pure adventure film, but that is not its goal. This is Gable's first release after Gone With The Wind, and his last pairing with Crawford. She is amazing in her role as a hard-bitten dancer trying to scrounge out a living, but Gable is too heroic and forceful. He doesn't seem like a prisoner, but rather a man enraged by his five star hotel because his room service champagne isn't cold enough. Of course the Catholic League Of Decency banned the film, because it showed God in a natural light, without the trappings of church and priest, and they even objected to the bible passages quoted in the film. LOL.
Showing until Dec. 31st on Criterion.
In art news, here is another fantastic DIA image, a print by French artist August Louis Lepere (1849-1918). Whenever I see a death date of 1918 I immediately think of either WW1, or the flu epidemic. Finding info on him is not easy, so I don't know which, if either. This image strikes a chord with us this week, as we just finished watching the 1958 six part serial called Quatermass and the Pit. It's still one of the best SF TV shows ever created, despite being limited as to special effects. If you've seen the series, then the following image will make more sense. Even if not, it's a stunning image in itself, a favourite of mine.
1890, wood engraving (9" x 8"). Collection DIA.
In music listening news, we heard a wonderful digital concert on-line yesterday sponsored by the DSO. It was a jazz quartet (double bass, acoustic, drums, sax, and piano. Cyrus Chestnut is a mountain of a man, and a heck of a jazz pianist. He and his group performed music from A Charlie Brown Christmas, extending it to longer than 90 minutes with all the wonderful improv that ensued. Good stuff! Our home listening program includes continuing on with the complete string quartets of Haydn, Art of the Violin by Locatelli, the complete works of Beethoven, in chronological order, and tonight we start an opera by Handel, Rodelinda. That doesn't count the stuff we just throw on during the day, such as Orchestra Baobab, Brian Eno, Ancient FM internet radio, or just about anything else.
Mogollon, our remaining cat, has now made his permanent home on the living room couch, listening and enjoying music as much as we do. Because he never got along with Gustav, he used to always be confined to one back room when we weren't around, and he always had to sleep there, too. Suddenly he finds himself King of the Castle, and is taking full advantage.
Mapman Mike
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