The Bells

While I was familiar with Rachmaninov’s The Bells, I’d never listened to it in a focused way until re-introduced to it by David Nice’s Russian Music course. Here’s an excerpt from David’s program note for a performance of The Bells at the 2014 Proms:

Sergei “Golubchik” Taneyev, “the most cultured musician of his time”

Tchaikovsky called him “Golubchik” (“Little Pigeon”); Rachmaninoff named him “the most cultured musician of his time.”

Innisfree Garden, Mid-October

The photographs were taken at Innisfree Garden on October 13, 16, and 20th (the last day before Innisfree closed for the season).

Dancing with Rachmaninoff

Central Park Conservatory Garden, Dancing Maidens

Fall color is coming on in the hills, and the concert season has begun. I have a long list of potential concerts about which I’ve done almost nothing but order a small subscription to the New York Philharmonic. In the end—and it’s not unusual—my concert season started with something I hadn’t planned: a friend had an extra ticket to Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Stravinsky’s complete Firebird at Carnegie Hall. It’s not only something I didn’t have on my list, but also something I’d not have chosen on my own.