Postcards of Matisse’s Blue Window (1913) and Bonnard’s Table in Front of the Window (1934-35) called out for construction paper cut-outs. As if that weren’t enough, I scouted among our shelves, where I spotted an ancient packet of watermelon seeds and put them to use. Continue reading
These days, I start many a morning by tuning in to my own version of a talk show: The Curtis Institute of Music’s The World of the String Quartet MOOC. The extent to which I’m enjoying it can be directly measured by how much I look forward to getting on to the next episode even though spring weather is finally here. Continue reading
This year, I’m even more relieved than last year that I’m not a professional critic assigned to assemble a “top ten” music list for 2013. Instead, here is a year-end offering of highlights from my personal musical journey throughout the year.
I also want to recognize the composer and musicians who participated in This Life in Music profiles during 2013: Maxwell J McKee, Sabrina Tabby, Dávid Adam Nagy, Lucy Dhegrae, and Amy Garapic, as well as composer Dylan Mattingly, for his guest post on his new work, The Bakkhai (a report on the premiere of The Bakkhai is included in this post). It was a pleasure and privilege to present each of them on Prufrock’s Dilemma. Thanks to all! Continue reading
New York Estonian House
Almost two years have passed since I met Merike Beecher at a concert at Scandinavia House. I didn’t know her name until later, and I didn’t meet her son until the three of us happened to land in the same subway car. Her son, it transpired, was a composer: Lembit Beecher. When I got home, I looked up Beecher, watched his oratorio, And Then I Remember, online, and snapped up a copy of the DVD. I’ve been on the look-out ever since to attend a live performance of Beecher’s work, and this October, I finally got my chance. Continue reading
Prufrock's Dilemma 