Bim! Bam!
Week from Monday 18th September 2023 - Sticking with the "GOOD ORCHESTRA/BAD ORCHESTRA" theme... There was a corking rendition of MAHLER's THIRD RACKET on the wireless last night. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra was conducted by Paavo Jarvi, a billing which didn't look too enticing on paper, but it turned out to be beautifully played and well recorded. I always judge performances of the Third by how clear and present the "O MENSCH!" and "BIM! BAM!" movements sound coming out of the speakers, and these were delightful. I've lost count of how many versions I've heard spoilt by a sub-standard jobbing contralto or an over-zealous kiddychoir. Incidentally, considering how joyful it SOUNDS at times, the symphony is in 'D minor', Tufnell's so-called "SADDEST OF ALL KEYS"...
ALSO... a biggly big-up for the SIMON BOLIVAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, who wowed the Edinburgh Festival a while back, with a concert of 'FOLK-INFLUENCED' music. Their MAHLER's FIRST wasn't too shabby, but it was the preceding set of material by Venezuelan composers that really caught my attention, especially the piece "ODISEA" by Gonzalo Grau, a concerto featuring the QUATRO maestro JORGE GLEM. A jawdropping piece of "HOW THE F**K DOES HE DO THAT?" virtuosity!
Guardian review - YouTube excerpt
ALSO (sprach)... there's been some okay broadcasts from the SALZBURG FESTIVAL earlier in the summer... Kubrick chose well with the opening couple of minutes of 'sunrise' music, because the rest of Richard Strauss' tone poem is 'NOT ALL THAT', as you kiddies say. The LIGETI pieces on the same bill sounded quite nice though... MESSIAEN's final piece "Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà", while entertainingly weird, was a little fragmentary for my ears...
But if you haven't aready guessed, BBC RADIO THREE has been my 'go to' for background listening for most of the day. Just let it wheedle out of the speakers unattended... I'm 'under orders' for "TOTAL REST", so I TRY to avoid any fetching and carrying, bending and lifting (a practical impossibility, by the way - One can't be expected to remain stationary for weeks on end! Even the smallest of 'THINGS TO DO' requires SOME sort of physical effort.)
THE COST OF FREE SPEECH: THE BAFFLING TALE CONTINUES... Elmo is now "suggesting" that ALL users of TwitteX should be paying for the privilege, and that all content will eventually be hidden behind a PAYWALL. I would have thought that anybody who thinks Xwitter is WORTH paying for is already doing so by now, having splashed out for their valueless-as-bitcoin BLUE TICKS.
But then, what would I know? I'm not a business genius, am I?
The chat from within appears to indicate that THAT is the line that nobody in their right mind will cross, and many who haven't already jumped ship are already (AGAIN!) making plans to go elsewhere. That will only leave the RIGHT-WING NUTTERS a place in which to rant amongst themselves, and proves that Elron set out to buy the world's most expensive echo-chamber.
But at the moment, I'd bet that it's just another example of Noel's established practice of 'SAYING THINGS OUT LOUD, LONG BEFORE DETERMINING WHETHER THEY'LL WORK OR NOT'. He STILL hasn't BLOCKED THE BLOCKING as he announced, and the ill-targetted ads festooning everybody's timelines are STILL a random mish-mash of "Exchange & Mart" opportunists.
I remain in 'WAIT AND SEE' mode. IF it happens, then that'll be the time to leave. I agree that TwiX is not what it used to be, but from where I'm sitting, it's still not as bad as some claim. I'm still comfy. But for them to make it worse, THEN ask us to pay for it? I don't think so.
Should Musky demand to see my bank details, I shall happily decline the request, clear all my stuff out, then re-open the shutters on my Vivaldi-hosted WOOLLY MAMMOTH site and make a new start there. Of course, I hope that this here BLOGSPOT will garner more attention, and I intend to open it up to COMMENTS, so that chums (those with G***LE accounts, anyway) can still keep in touch and 'join the conversation' through that portal. But we shall see...
ALSO... a biggly big-up for the SIMON BOLIVAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, who wowed the Edinburgh Festival a while back, with a concert of 'FOLK-INFLUENCED' music. Their MAHLER's FIRST wasn't too shabby, but it was the preceding set of material by Venezuelan composers that really caught my attention, especially the piece "ODISEA" by Gonzalo Grau, a concerto featuring the QUATRO maestro JORGE GLEM. A jawdropping piece of "HOW THE F**K DOES HE DO THAT?" virtuosity!
Guardian review - YouTube excerpt
ALSO (sprach)... there's been some okay broadcasts from the SALZBURG FESTIVAL earlier in the summer... Kubrick chose well with the opening couple of minutes of 'sunrise' music, because the rest of Richard Strauss' tone poem is 'NOT ALL THAT', as you kiddies say. The LIGETI pieces on the same bill sounded quite nice though... MESSIAEN's final piece "Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà", while entertainingly weird, was a little fragmentary for my ears...
But if you haven't aready guessed, BBC RADIO THREE has been my 'go to' for background listening for most of the day. Just let it wheedle out of the speakers unattended... I'm 'under orders' for "TOTAL REST", so I TRY to avoid any fetching and carrying, bending and lifting (a practical impossibility, by the way - One can't be expected to remain stationary for weeks on end! Even the smallest of 'THINGS TO DO' requires SOME sort of physical effort.)
THE COST OF FREE SPEECH: THE BAFFLING TALE CONTINUES... Elmo is now "suggesting" that ALL users of TwitteX should be paying for the privilege, and that all content will eventually be hidden behind a PAYWALL. I would have thought that anybody who thinks Xwitter is WORTH paying for is already doing so by now, having splashed out for their valueless-as-bitcoin BLUE TICKS.
But then, what would I know? I'm not a business genius, am I?
The chat from within appears to indicate that THAT is the line that nobody in their right mind will cross, and many who haven't already jumped ship are already (AGAIN!) making plans to go elsewhere. That will only leave the RIGHT-WING NUTTERS a place in which to rant amongst themselves, and proves that Elron set out to buy the world's most expensive echo-chamber.
But at the moment, I'd bet that it's just another example of Noel's established practice of 'SAYING THINGS OUT LOUD, LONG BEFORE DETERMINING WHETHER THEY'LL WORK OR NOT'. He STILL hasn't BLOCKED THE BLOCKING as he announced, and the ill-targetted ads festooning everybody's timelines are STILL a random mish-mash of "Exchange & Mart" opportunists.
I remain in 'WAIT AND SEE' mode. IF it happens, then that'll be the time to leave. I agree that TwiX is not what it used to be, but from where I'm sitting, it's still not as bad as some claim. I'm still comfy. But for them to make it worse, THEN ask us to pay for it? I don't think so.
Should Musky demand to see my bank details, I shall happily decline the request, clear all my stuff out, then re-open the shutters on my Vivaldi-hosted WOOLLY MAMMOTH site and make a new start there. Of course, I hope that this here BLOGSPOT will garner more attention, and I intend to open it up to COMMENTS, so that chums (those with G***LE accounts, anyway) can still keep in touch and 'join the conversation' through that portal. But we shall see...
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