tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32308212011-07-28T20:22:40.898-04:00News, commentary, and criticism about music of every conceivable type compiled by a musical omnivore and graduate student in musicology.leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.comBlogger3751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-70002491868635776352010-05-29T03:41:00.002-04:002010-05-29T03:47:34.111-04:00

The thing I wondered about most after reading this was, "Just how much lead does the average person's skull have?"

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-51010432913514732652010-05-27T13:08:00.001-04:002010-05-27T13:10:23.015-04:00

Drama in Italian opera houses--and not the good kind.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-14126228879221617512010-05-27T12:45:00.004-04:002010-05-27T13:08:20.483-04:00

Greetings from the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. I just passed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gift shop on my way to the gate and thought, "Oh yeah! I have that music blog!" (But maybe no readers anymore, who knows. I'd deserve it for being a neglectful blogger.)I'm on my way to Germany for the next month, mainly for language immersion/butt-kicking (and it will be a butt-kicking, as I

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-20360549808487190652010-04-22T13:58:00.003-04:002010-04-22T14:13:24.442-04:00

One of the projects consuming all my time right now is a study of Harry Partch. This is now my absolute favorite video on all of YouTube:(A friend suggested that it pairs well with this video.)

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-917382932240361632010-04-05T12:45:00.001-04:002010-04-05T12:46:30.294-04:00

One month remains until summer break. And then maybe I will blog again?

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-51535786345558039832010-03-03T10:52:00.005-05:002010-03-03T10:55:31.847-05:00

NPR goes crazy with Chopin's name in honor of the composer's 200th birthday.I don't know if the goal was originality, but they've left off the classic "Chopin Liszt."

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-54743940363530360142010-02-26T15:11:00.005-05:002010-02-26T15:32:26.772-05:00

According to The Sun, a new recording of Carly Simon's song "You're So Vain" has the name of its mysterious subject embedded in it.Finding out who this song is about would entirely defeat its purpose. I've always just liked it for being perhaps the only pop song to reference the gavotte.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-52273465980892224812010-02-23T13:05:00.003-05:002010-02-23T13:19:13.090-05:00

Late yesterday evening, I reached that point where I needed to do something unrelated to schoolwork--which right now is largely Mahler-centric. So I flipped on the Olympics for a bit.Yeah. Ice dancers skating to Mahler's Fifth:It was a lovely performance, though. And even in the thick of things, I'll take Mahler over Andrew Lloyd Webber. (Sorry, Davis and White.) Or the bastardized Stravinsky in

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-47585694838938612712010-02-20T11:48:00.003-05:002010-02-20T11:51:35.186-05:00

In the vein of really well-known English pop songs in other languages:

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-37396764079901694832010-02-17T16:31:00.000-05:002010-02-17T16:32:56.182-05:00

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-8238428700161229052010-02-13T17:06:00.003-05:002010-02-13T17:14:19.449-05:00

One of the guitarists in this 1950s skiffle band (on the left) is a thirteen-year-old Jimmy Page. Watch through the first song to hear when he says he plans to quit music to do "biological research."A great video.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-13222890053358603162010-02-13T16:50:00.003-05:002010-02-13T17:02:51.338-05:00

I've watched Pierre Boulez conduct the Cleveland Orchestra this week and last, from the front few rows of Severence Hall. Many things that I saw amazed me, not least of which was this: at eighty-five, he can conduct without wearing glasses. I'm sure he has all of these scores memorized to some extent. In fact, I noticed him flip a page during the opening viola soli of the Adagio from Mahler's

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-49313485201765343542010-02-09T14:29:00.001-05:002010-02-09T14:32:08.703-05:00

Here's where I admit to always starting my research with Weekly World News. Sadly, the WWN doesn't have much to offer on Gustav Mahler. Except that a descendant is now a police chief in Baldwin, NY.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-16252306491192068602010-02-08T21:03:00.001-05:002010-02-08T21:09:59.122-05:00

For the record:

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-61305156339476203942010-02-08T20:29:00.002-05:002010-02-08T21:00:11.272-05:00

To all of you underemployed musician types out there: quit complaining. Getting a job is this easy:So easy a beaver could do it?

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-90040085492806571812010-02-07T21:05:00.005-05:002010-02-08T11:07:59.267-05:00

I'm currently working on some program notes for Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. (Hi, by the way. I haven't forgotten I have a blog; I just seem to have forgotten how to find time to write in it.)I think I'm in the majority when I say that I associate this work with deaths, funerals, and memorial services, although this seems to have little to do with what Barber intended when he wrote it.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-42647873592752608452010-01-18T11:45:00.000-05:002010-01-18T11:46:43.076-05:00

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-74765213652424957062010-01-13T10:19:00.003-05:002010-01-13T10:22:40.941-05:00

A commercial for a new British reality show, complete with the stereotypical ties between opera and luxury. And, of course, breaking glass. The real question is: will they rip this one off in America?H/T: Chicken Scratch

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-83503426533329525532009-12-25T20:35:00.002-05:002009-12-25T20:38:15.118-05:00

One more from the Pee Wee Christmas special, because I forgot how great it was:

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-15694158436008600582009-12-24T02:37:00.002-05:002009-12-24T02:39:29.160-05:00

Weekly World News--a good brain cleanse after a long semester.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-83918653861235530952009-12-21T12:02:00.002-05:002009-12-21T12:06:41.070-05:00

Fröhliche Weihnachten from the Hoff.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-79015768157951354302009-12-20T17:58:00.003-05:002009-12-20T18:11:58.149-05:00

I'm not sure if this piece was intended for Christmas, but it is Christmasy in that "Away in a Manger" sort of way. The cattle are lowing.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-19139542764450910742009-12-18T10:18:00.004-05:002009-12-18T10:41:21.537-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if these advertisers think to look at text translations or plots when they use operatic arias, or if they just assume nobody knows what the words mean. Or if there is some deeper reading of this commercial that has to do with druids and chaste moon goddesses:(Is that Montserrat Caballé?)Red Bull, however, picked an extremely clever operatic reference ("Der Vogelfanger Bin Ich

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-46009009205956721042009-12-17T23:42:00.002-05:002009-12-17T23:44:32.376-05:00

I've been neglecting my operatic TV commercial collection lately. Here's a pretty odd one.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-88164534475389777062009-12-17T23:11:00.005-05:002009-12-17T23:27:33.902-05:00

I've been debating lately whether this series should have been called "Christmas Kitsch." But it's vacation now, and I don't feel like exerting the effort required to determine the difference between camp and kitsch. Either way, the following two videos bring together two of my very favorite things: campy Christmas specials and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's questionable taste in concertwear.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-23260132287022076072009-12-05T12:47:00.001-05:002009-12-05T12:48:43.397-05:00

Wham! Edition.And no, not all of these are going to be from the 80s.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-2134122951953285852009-12-03T16:02:00.003-05:002009-12-03T20:16:01.430-05:00

I have to admit, I really can't stand Christmas music. I have taken to wearing my headphones in the grocery and in Starbucks lately because I just can't take it. I know, I'm the world's foremost popera scholar, I should be able to take it.But on the other hand I love, LOVE, Christmas camp. Today begins the Christmas Camp series. Campy musical submissions welcome.The first installment features two

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-67508399515510107572009-12-03T15:26:00.002-05:002009-12-03T15:30:22.893-05:00

A new piano that can be easily retuned by the performer before or while playing.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-48346413012647011542009-11-28T09:45:00.002-05:002009-11-28T09:47:39.396-05:00

Chase is donating $5 million to charities based on the votes of Facebook users.I'm encouraging people to vote for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra:(You get 20 votes and can only vote for an organization once--so if you have other pet causes, you can vote for them as well.)

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-64960701963145376722009-11-24T19:07:00.001-05:002009-11-24T19:09:31.023-05:00

. . . or term papers. Sorry about the continued blog neglect.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-25101614504707185092009-11-02T09:38:00.002-05:002009-11-02T09:42:21.151-05:00

. . . are to be published (ed. John Evans):The diaries open as the young Benjamin heads to boarding school, "worse luck!". The Lowestoft-born son of a dentist father and keen amateur musician mother, his early musical talent was prodigious, and his schoolboy diaries are bafflingly thick with accounts of works he is writing alongside reports of tennis games, life in the sickroom, and homework.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-74440004271888533052009-11-01T19:21:00.003-05:002009-11-01T19:22:53.155-05:00

This Pixar animated short just made my day. I hope the link works--you might need a Facebook account to view it.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-64065149972164764242009-11-01T13:09:00.000-05:002009-11-01T13:10:36.654-05:00

Michael Gordon imagines a contrabassoon video game controller.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-6886371292201479782009-10-29T16:23:00.003-04:002009-10-29T16:24:36.579-04:00

I think I'm only going to make it up to five posts in October--a new low! I need to find a way to prove that one can blog regularly and be a PhD student at the same time. Ideas?

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-63234789911073121202009-10-29T16:19:00.003-04:002009-10-29T16:22:57.450-04:00

Michelle Obama sets up a Classical Music Student Workshop Concert. Ohio shoutouts: The lineup includes Cleveland Institute of Music Artist-in-Residence Alisa Weilerstein and Awadagin Pratt, who is currently on CCM's piano faculty.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-65365749891793356112009-10-13T19:43:00.001-04:002009-10-13T19:46:35.158-04:00

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-73691980882283464502009-10-11T18:22:00.003-04:002009-10-11T20:13:37.195-04:00

My Alma Mater on national TV.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-22852096858989725042009-10-07T15:18:00.004-04:002009-10-13T19:47:24.428-04:00

I miss my little blog. I haven't disappeared completely; I'll be back when I reclaim my life from bibliography class. This semester feels like music bootcamp. It's a good thing--but I have to prioritize.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-80612352587365936832009-09-26T00:11:00.004-04:002009-09-26T00:21:03.763-04:00

Review this and this, and then ponder whether or not the Weekly World News could predict the future.(And if you can't stand opera, find some advice from WWN here.)

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-10022156954456437722009-09-24T16:23:00.007-04:002009-09-24T16:32:40.887-04:00

Everyone's favorite grocery store tabloid--and, of course, the only source of real news--is now on Google Books.Musical reporting includes:Beethoven was actually black.Mozart's younger brother, Fritz, wrote the first piece of Rock and Roll with his ground-breaking work Die Zaubertrommel.Classical music v. Britney Spears: Effects on Dogs.There goes my afternoon. Good thing my brain was shot anyway.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-82778330260779883972009-09-23T08:53:00.001-04:002009-09-23T08:54:34.854-04:00

I disagree with the count of 8, but am amused by this nonetheless:

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-70350477264839030432009-09-18T13:52:00.001-04:002009-09-18T13:54:23.100-04:00

Sarah Palin v. Joe Biden, the opera.I hope the Joe the Plumber character is a basso buffo.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-17983448297935962392009-09-16T22:49:00.004-04:002009-09-16T22:58:18.180-04:00

Mary Travers, of Peter Paul and Mary, has passed away at age 72.This makes me incredibly sad. Like many in my generation and my parents', I grew up listening to the trio. Seeing them in person a few years ago was one of my most favorite concert experiences, and they dominated my iPod for a time.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-23298133462803355662009-09-09T19:51:00.001-04:002009-09-09T19:53:25.218-04:00

Greatest Hits of the Second Viennese School:Kivie, this made my entire day.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-45444833521656498392009-09-09T13:13:00.004-04:002009-09-09T13:23:29.661-04:00

I just wanted a blog post dated 09/09/09. But to make it less boring for you, here is Lenny conducting/commenting on the end of Mahler's Ninth (Vienna Philharmonic, 1975), which is the best way I can think of off the top of my head to incorporate a composer to whom the number nine had some numerological significance. Maybe you can think of something better.Technically, at 09:09 09/09/09, I was

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-2492380596809457612009-09-08T19:15:00.002-04:002009-09-08T19:19:32.444-04:00

Salvador Dali + Beethoven's Ninth + Chocolate = WIN.H/T: Daily Dish

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-55465987705733596462009-09-08T18:58:00.002-04:002009-09-08T19:02:07.538-04:00

I love their interpretation of Outkast's "Hey Ya":Thanks, Z.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-84147969741603538582009-09-06T17:57:00.002-04:002009-09-06T18:00:33.176-04:00

A cellist in the National Symphony Orchestra speaks to monkeys' emotions with music.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-57685796748739522012009-09-05T09:31:00.002-04:002009-09-05T09:52:39.506-04:00

Various people keep finding this piece of snark on this blog after asking Google what they can do with a music degree.I thought that as a holder of a music degree and a general supporter of people with music degrees, I should perhaps paint a less bleak picture.Through the power of Facebook, I've been able to track what many of my former undergraduate classmates from conservatory are up to now.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-36064430918805619172009-09-04T18:24:00.005-04:002009-09-04T18:32:14.791-04:00

I'm trying to verify a quote from Stravinsky I've seen in a few books (not properly soruced, of course) while working on a current research project: "The Three B's are Bach, Beethoven, and Brown--James Brown." I would love to prove that he really said this, but I have my doubts. Any leads would be welcome.I did find an interesting late interview in the New York Review of Books.NYR: What are your

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-44114761124357117612009-09-03T19:13:00.012-04:002009-09-03T21:37:56.538-04:00

One of the big perks of being a music student in Cleveland is the proximity of Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra. Today some of my colleagues and I had the privilege of touring the archives there.Among the most fascinating items in the collection are a series of signature books. It has been a long-standing tradition of the orchestra to collect the signatures of visiting soloists,

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-82221997995189683872009-09-02T22:15:00.002-04:002009-09-02T22:15:59.236-04:00

Rachel showed this to me, and it must be further spread:World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-30613066279777978822009-09-01T08:06:00.001-04:002009-09-01T08:08:33.305-04:00

A young musician's survival guide from the Times of London.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-68258293501919718542009-08-30T13:51:00.003-04:002009-08-30T13:54:40.743-04:00

“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” --Ted Kennedy, 1980(And for the record, I would like the same musical lineup at my funeral.)

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-39823169517312088732009-08-30T13:41:00.000-04:002009-08-30T13:42:30.118-04:00

OH I'LL NEVER GET IT, NEVER NEVER!

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-56873906366064060132009-08-26T20:58:00.005-04:002009-08-26T21:06:29.672-04:00

The music department at my university is participating in the Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure in a couple of weeks.If you enjoy this blog and its random assortment of links and commentary, perhaps you will consider paying it forward with a couple of bucks to support the blogger and her efforts to raise funds for cancer research, prevention, and treatment?Clicking the link above will take you to

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-29536909327270165462009-08-25T20:10:00.002-04:002009-08-25T20:13:26.577-04:00

Wow, that hit harder than I thought it was going to!I have a wonderful and varied assortment of classes and projects going on, from "the Fantastic Romantic" to learning to play the viol. So once I get settled, I will have all sorts of new things to blog about. But damn. Right now, I need a nap.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-56274347380245670782009-08-17T10:49:00.004-04:002009-08-17T10:57:33.355-04:00

A great post on Daily Kos about an encounter between Joan Baez and some right-wing protesters outside one of her concert venues:What would you do if you found yourself standing face to face with people bearing signs accusing you by name of killing babies and encouraging the shooting of American soldiers? Might you lose your cool? Might you get involved in an exchange that would ultimately lead

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-4785320900044915682009-08-15T11:01:00.005-04:002009-08-15T11:25:21.179-04:00

So speaking of Jimi Hendrix, I was reading in my trusty Grout/Palisca/Burkholder A History of Western Music the other day that Hendrix "became for the electric guitar what Paganini and Liszt were for the nineteenth-century violin and piano."And then I saw this. Hendrix takes it to Paganini and Liszt on their own turf. What technique! I'll bet Paganini never played a violin with his teeth.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-77951848316068376262009-08-15T10:50:00.003-04:002009-08-15T11:25:55.475-04:00

I've been celebrating Woodstock's 40th anniversary by, well, going to the Rock Hall, but also by watching the videos on the YouTube channel WoodstockStory.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-91841998210480044132009-08-14T21:12:00.001-04:002009-08-14T21:13:33.531-04:00

Whoa:H/T: Pop & Hiss

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-25012198382744585362009-08-13T20:44:00.003-04:002009-08-13T20:52:45.406-04:00

More crazy in PA. While the courts may consider jam band concerts to be conceivably a religious activity, 76 bags of marijuana, 22 bags of hallucinogenic mushrooms, 1,000 marijuana pipes, and LSD--not so much.My favorite part is the quote from the security guard who claims to not have smelled the marijuana smoke:My nose is always stopped up all the time, I've got real bad sinuses.At the risk of

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-25814249884268401532009-08-13T17:55:00.003-04:002009-08-13T18:10:39.152-04:00

I'm a day (or two) late and a dollar short on this one, but Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has retired from the opera stage.*pause*Okay, so I totally fall into the category of persons who thought she had retired already.I will also own up to a secret and very catty hobby of searching YouTube for Dame Kiri's most questionable concert fashion choices.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-24033180046927209972009-08-13T16:21:00.002-04:002009-08-13T16:32:02.949-04:00

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has just launched a new blog. I'm interested to see what they do with it. My membership pass has already paid for itself (and I'll be going twice in the next week or so for different events), and I've had a couple of chances to hear Rock Hall curators speak. Highly informative and interesting. I'm definitely excited about having this place as a resource while I'm

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-17896223419948583042009-08-12T10:13:00.003-04:002009-08-12T10:19:45.785-04:00

In other pop-opera news (because we know that's what I'm all about here), there is a slow-motion opera about a fictional second relationship between Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake: Timberbrit. More from NPR, and a video:It's the slow motion thing that gets me.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-9079689039230921622009-08-12T09:57:00.003-04:002009-08-12T10:08:54.774-04:00

Next season at the Royal Opera House in Great Britain, excerpts from a new opera written by Twitter users. So far, the libretto is apparently about a man kidnapped by birds. Europera meets The Magic Flute?To read more, follow @Youropera on Twitter or check out the Royal Opera House Blog.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-43264391833142638422009-08-09T16:12:00.003-04:002009-08-09T16:17:33.217-04:00

A few of you will understand the deeper significance of this; the rest of you, just enjoy.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-31598296537077096572009-08-09T15:54:00.001-04:002009-08-09T15:56:47.111-04:00

Well, happy belated Abbey Road Day.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-2777100652583024892009-08-08T19:02:00.006-04:002009-08-08T19:14:33.551-04:00

A few months ago, I posted a link to a story about the Church of Universal Love and Music in Pennsylvania--a story which raised some interesting issues about freedom of religion and zoning laws. Despite only being three sentences long, the post has brought in more Google searchers than any other on this blog except the two about Family Guy's "Distracting Trumpet" episode. (The CULM post also

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-81210919571275739872009-08-08T15:29:00.003-04:002009-08-08T15:33:36.613-04:00

Thanks to the power of Micromedia Flash and the American Mavericks series by American Public Media/San Francisco Symphony, you too can play on Harry Partch's instruments. There are also sound clips of the real things and of Partch explaining them. So if you've always wanted to play a Chromelodeon or perhaps the Gourd Tree with Cone Gongs pictured in Grout/Palisca/Burkholder, this is your

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-91837717694084280522009-08-04T11:18:00.004-04:002009-08-08T19:16:36.011-04:00

I'm still here--the vacation/hiatus continues.My new digs in Cleveland don't have internet yet. Soon Good Noise will return in all its glory.In the meantime, I've purchased a membership to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have been adapting to my new surroundings.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-84706922670255288192009-07-30T13:36:00.003-04:002009-07-30T13:40:35.732-04:00

Several people have sent me this one recently: another elaborate production based around a YouTube video of a cat playing on a keyboard--here, the famed "Nora."I still like the Schoenberg better, but the real question is, how much spare time do these people have on their hands?

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-35733915064718091842009-07-29T20:24:00.003-04:002009-07-29T20:28:00.253-04:00

Reading Soho the Dog today, I came across this amazing bit of video editing: a reconstruction of Schoenberg's Drei Klavierstücke--made up entirely of clips of cats on keyboards found on YouTube.All I have to say is, wow.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-64835959902341180882009-07-23T19:50:00.003-04:002009-07-23T19:53:25.409-04:00

I must be feeling overly sentimental because this almost made me cry. (Either that, or I was squinting too much because the text is a bit hard to read.) And I think the word "festooned" needs to be employed much more often.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-8655559966836743882009-07-23T17:40:00.008-04:002009-07-23T17:58:36.106-04:00

I took a cue from PopDiva and put my entire master's thesis (almost ready to be uploaded to an OhioLINK ETD center near you) into Wordle to generate a word cloud.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-62622529088744931212009-07-20T10:02:00.005-04:002009-07-20T10:38:57.961-04:00

Another article on classical music vs. pop culture fads.I have a lot of problems with this piece. Not the least of which is the conflation of "classical music" with "historical music"--for the purposes of this argument, that strikes me as a false analogy.The full rant will have to wait until another day, though--I have too many boxes to unpack right now.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-32413399641743203172009-07-14T18:01:00.004-04:002009-07-14T18:14:03.247-04:00

I just encountered this music video for Kasabian's "Fire":Kasabian - FireHmm, I thought to myself after watching it. Guitars . . . used as guns . . . to hold up a bank. Haven't I seen this somewhere before?Oh, yeah. I totally have. Judas Priest, 1980:Breakin' the Law, Kasabian?

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-46907636077355784182009-07-12T14:47:00.002-04:002009-07-12T14:55:25.124-04:00

I highly recommend this severely dated article from the TIME Magazine issue of 9 December 1966, about female orchestral musicians.Some noteworthy excerpts:While most married symphony women practice the "offbeat rhythm method"--that is, plan their babies for delivery during the off-season--Peggy merrily pounds away on her drum practically right into the labor room.Lady-Killer Zubin Mehta, 30, who

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-80962732548822237402009-07-12T14:02:00.006-04:002009-07-12T14:12:48.126-04:00

My collection of operatic TV commercials has continued to grow. The project I'm working on focuses on how opera and cultural perceptions of opera are used to sell products--but a related strain is commercials where opera itself is the product.I have to say, so far, most of these have elicited a "WTF?" Like this one from the Minnesota opera. Where are these people supposed to be that they can all

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-29464671374382274692009-07-08T16:36:00.001-04:002009-07-08T16:38:16.304-04:00

David Thomas, a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, asks a good question.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-86398802759567304452009-07-06T11:50:00.005-04:002009-07-06T12:54:01.581-04:00

Jane Scott they ain't, but this trio of senior pop critics has gone viral: More episodes of their web TV show here.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-47568578402761040932009-07-03T19:54:00.001-04:002009-07-03T19:56:55.309-04:00

Cool:TOP 10by extermitent

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-42280423612525496762009-07-02T21:43:00.002-04:002009-07-02T21:45:12.996-04:00

I'm sorry to those of you who are sick of the Jacko-saturated media, but I'm not over it yet.Thanks to my cousin Matthew for this one:

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-78668562452356011272009-07-01T22:52:00.004-04:002009-07-01T22:57:42.393-04:00

A German musicologist by the name of Klaus Martin Kopitz believes he has finally identified the dedicatee of Beethoven's "Für Elise."

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-20925214788493967552009-06-29T14:26:00.002-04:002009-06-29T14:30:10.722-04:00

Hundreds of inmates at a prison in the Philippines perform an elaborate tribute to "Thriller":After Jackson's death, they made a followup:

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-5986475530734429362009-06-29T11:22:00.002-04:002009-06-29T11:26:50.431-04:00

I apologize for the drop off in post volume. I have just finished drafting my master's thesis and since I have not had to be glued to my computer screen for once, I have taken the opportunity to . . . well, not be glued to my computer screen. We'll do Good Noise-lite for awhile, then back full-steam in August.Happy summer!(More on solid potato salad here.)

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-6411610097061431102009-06-26T13:36:00.004-04:002009-07-02T00:36:33.586-04:00

Still in a state of shock about MJ over here at Good Noise. Taking in all of the tributes going up around the web.I got kind of a kick out of this video. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery . . .H/T: Daily Dish.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-16435678098765919162009-06-25T19:01:00.001-04:002009-06-25T19:02:47.820-04:00

This news will probably not actually be new to any readers of this blog, but Michael Jackson died today.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-46773594092027367872009-06-23T22:22:00.001-04:002009-06-23T22:24:01.654-04:00

A much-needed mental health break--for me, anyway, in the final stages of struggling with Microsoft Word over the formatting of my thesis.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-47990832080669120362009-06-22T22:07:00.002-04:002009-06-22T22:12:14.101-04:00

From a new study on using music to treat problems with the cardiovascular system:Verdi's arias, which follow music phrases that are 10 seconds long, appeared to synchronise perfectly with the natural cardiovascular rhythm.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-47495926718412520952009-06-21T11:37:00.008-04:002009-06-21T14:02:21.701-04:00

I'm certain Governor Strickland has had to make many difficult decisions in putting together a balanced state budget in this economy.One of these decisions, though, I can't stand by, and that is a draconian 50% funding cut to many of Ohio's public libraries. This measure would take effect on July 1 and could force up to 70% of these already struggling libraries to shut their doors or to

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-41012610705027177222009-06-21T08:43:00.002-04:002009-06-21T08:57:21.065-04:00

Wagner and Mendelssohn:Wagner expressed his approval of the Dresden premiere of "Paulus"; and one year later, Mendelssohn voiced appreciation for the Berlin premiere of "Der fliegende Holländer". The story of the aftermath, however, is long, its consequences far-reaching, and it can be summed up simply: Wagner laid into a dead man. But it would be too simple just to focus on Wagner's poor

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-72942704342434540362009-06-19T23:08:00.003-04:002009-06-19T23:14:42.374-04:00

This has been making the rounds on Facebook. No idea who wrote it, but it did make me laugh:A recent report now says that the Mozart effect is yet another charming urban legend. The bad news for hip urban professionals: playing Mozart for your designer baby will not improve his IQ or help him get into that exclusive pre-school. He will just have to get admitted to Harvard some other way.Of course

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-46405817681523685482009-06-19T10:43:00.002-04:002009-06-19T10:46:54.961-04:00

I'll have to get the converter box deal working before next Wednesday when this new PBS special airs, but for the time being, I've been having a good time exploring the corresponding website.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-17026163128173882582009-06-18T23:08:00.004-04:002009-06-18T23:16:01.526-04:00

...speaking about his teacher, Pablo Casals:Thanks, Ryan!

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-43007536268606512362009-06-18T18:17:00.004-04:002009-06-19T17:14:05.653-04:00

I hope this title doesn't stick to Weird Al Yankovic, because I covet it for myself.At any rate, Weird Al's new single spoofing The Doors is pretty brilliant:I'd also like to add to Marc Hirsh's comment that "In order for [his parodies] to work musically, Yankovic needs to have a reasonably deep understanding of what factors make up somebody's sound." It's not only that, but the videos also

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-65530154404130142702009-06-17T11:53:00.001-04:002009-06-17T11:53:46.888-04:00

The commentary on this is pretty priceless:Thanks, Nora.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-69280325694110200492009-06-17T10:57:00.003-04:002009-06-17T10:59:59.058-04:00

Was anybody else pleasantly surprised when going to do their first Google query of the day to find a Stravinsky-themed search page in honor of the composer's birthday?

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-71376241494279869412009-06-17T09:17:00.000-04:002009-06-17T09:18:38.177-04:00

This cracked me up:

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230821.post-51310517914096917582009-06-16T02:02:00.000-04:002009-06-16T02:04:20.219-04:00

A new report about arts education in the U.S. is more than mildly depressing.

leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992482364157723225noreply@blogger.com1