Beethoven & Barenboim: The Power of Music*
Sean MurphyAwake, alive. Alone. Never forget this feeling. That evening, halfway through high school, watching the snow fall outside your window. Lights out and that music playing: Beethoven. The sonatas, with…
Curiosity Can’t Kill The Cat or, Art Becomes Life*
I. You Can’t Go Home Again, someone once wrote And he was wrong. Of course you can—all you have to do is never leave— Leaving it behind does not mean…
Staring Over The Shoulders Of Giants: Overture
First off, super-sized kudos to Anthony Tommasini, the classical music critic for The New York Times. To even have the interest, much less the ability, to grapple with an ultimate ranking…
Beethoven, Barenboim, Bliss
Beethoven again. It seems impossible to believe that Daniel Barenboim is only 68 years old. It feels like he has been around forever. Possibly it’s because the music he plays–the…
NOMAH! or, A Welcome Return for the Beantown Prometheus
Nomah. No mas. It's fantastic to see Garciaparra, and the Red Sox brass, both burying the sharpened Louisville Slugger and letting No. 5 retire as a Red Sox. Hard to…
Ten Songs To Celebrate The Fall of the Wall
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, 1st Movement Grant Green, “Exodus” Rahsaan Roland Kirk, “Balm in Gilead” John Coltrane, “Psalm” Philip Glass, “String Quartet No. 5” Jimi Hendrix, “Beginnings” Bob…
August 26, 2002: Remembering My Mother in Music
Blogs are, or can be, like diaries. Except that diaries, by nature, are private. Which begs the question: do people who blog censor or soften the observations, complaints or critiques that…
Of Big Macs, Beethoven and Fisherman’s Friends
Ten years is a long time. Imagine something you love, or crave. Then imagine ten years without it. Some cravings (indeed, most cravings, it might be argued) involve things like…
Song of the Day: Daniel Barenboim (Sonata No. 14, 3rd Movement)
Beethoven again. It seems impossible to believe that Daniel Barenboim is only 66 years old. It feels like he has been around forever. Possibly it's because the music he plays--the…
Song of the Day: Beethoven’s Pathetique, First Movement
Not winter yet, but it's close. Dark even before the sun sets, cold even when you turn the heat on. You know better than to try to sleep, so it’s…