Early June in the Hudson Valley with the Dynamic Triptych of John Foulds

[Foulds] had ideas no one else dared have and he brought them to life.
—Sakari Oramo

In early June, I snapped several photographs at the Walkway over the Hudson and Innisfree Garden, and it seemed I ought to put them up somewhere. Along the way, several signs have pointed me to the music of John Foulds. First was a Proms concert to which I was (easily) lured by the promise of hearing Sakari Oramo conduct, among other works, Nielsen’s Symphony No. 6 ‘Sinfonia semplice.’  Tucked in ahead of the Nielsen was a small work by Foulds called April-England, about which David Nice provided a colorful description on The Arts Desk:

Short Takes: Walking, Mid-April

Great Egret with Jogger, Central Park

I am wide/awake. The mind/is listening.”
—William Carlos Williams

The photographs were taken mid-April on walks in Riverside Park and Central Park.

Seeking Shostakovich: The Eighth Symphony

Shostakovich 1942 or 1943 (Library of Congress)

Reflections on the Symphonies of Shostakovich

In seeking Shostakovich, I’ve discovered one thing above all: his genius is too often obscured, if not lost altogether, in the babble of commentary that surrounds his work. While an accurate understanding of the historical context is both useful and inspiring, the most important place to look is the one place to which we are often pointed last: his music.

Seeking Shostakovich (“All Life For Me Is Music”)

Dmitri Shostakovich, 1933

In 1925, Shostakovich wrote to a friend, “For me there is no joy in life other than music. All life for me is music.” [Fay 398] I think of him then, a young man who, in his First Symphony, had had a phenomenal success. Yet if he’s to make his life as a composer, he can’t rest on one success and, anyway, he doesn’t want to. He continues on, searching for the next inspiration, and the next.