2dogs 20C exploration

[some guy]

He died tragically as a victim of the world's funniest joke...

Also, I recognize your avatar--from in front of the Centre Pompidou!

Indeed.

I spent many happy minutes snapping pictures of the work of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely. On several different occasions, as I visit the Stravinsky Fountain every time I go to Paris.

I took my youngest son there once, when he met me in Paris on his way to or from studying in Bologne. I took him by a back way, where you turn a corner and suddenly there it is--the look on his face became one of my favorite memories. Sure, I only remember about four or five things, but still....

[steve ridgway]

1902 Debussy: Pelleas et Melisande. Jordan 2012.

This was unexpectedly great! A weirdly blue lit dream like performance with fascinatingly strange dialogue (in subtitles), psychological and very descriptive of the scenes. The music swelled and subsided to provide a rich background without becoming too prominent and detracting from the singing and story. It has been quite a shock to find that some operas do not include Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma.

[some guy]

1902 Debussy: Pelleas et Melisande. Jordan 2012.

This was unexpectedly great! A weirdly blue lit dream like performance with fascinatingly strange dialogue (in subtitles), psychological and very descriptive of the scenes. The music swelled and subsided to provide a rich background without becoming too prominent and detracting from the singing and story. It has been quite a shock to find that some operas do not include Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma.

Indeed, there are one or two....

[steve ridgway]

1902 Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht. Heiss 2013.

OK I get how it accompanied the poem, as similar music was used in melodramatic black and white films of the 1940s and 50s, but the association with those does not really appeal to me.

[steve ridgway]

1903 D'Albert: Tiefland.

More opera. It doesn't grab me at the moment.

[steve ridgway]

To be fair though, I couldn't find a performance with subtitles, nor one with engaging visuals and the plot synopsis didn't excite me.

[steve ridgway]

1904 Mahler: Symphony No. 5. Abbado 2004.

It was that Claudio "Two Bees" Abbado again .

A good absorbing orchestral piece, with plenty of rhythm and contrasting quiet and dramatic passages, and a bit of harp. Not at all tiring to listen to all the way through.

[steve ridgway]

1904 Sibelius: Violin Concerto. Vengerov, Barenboim.

Excellent stuff - super impressive solo violin backed and contrasted by a massively powerful orchestra.

[steve ridgway]

1905 Debussy: La Mer. Boulez 1992.

This conjured up images of the sea pretty well as it alternated between its calm and violent phases. No strong melodies as such, more the sections of the orchestra becoming more or less prominent. The harps swirled about well and the xylophone added a delicate top end to the sound.

[Mandryka]

I wonder what he was doing in that music, sometimes I think it's like a picture postcard of the sea.  Sometimes not.

[Mandryka]

1902 Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht. Heiss 2013.

OK I get how it accompanied the poem, as similar music was used in melodramatic black and white films of the 1940s and 50s, but the association with those does not really appeal to me.

Or as a ballet -- ballet is a bit like old silent films, or can be

https://www.youtube.com/v/X7z7bxUDKIg

[steve ridgway]

Or as a ballet -- ballet is a bit like old silent films, or can be

https://www.youtube.com/v/X7z7bxUDKIg

Oh yes, the music and dancing work well together.