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- For the past 12 years or so, I've usually played a solo organ recital in the Spring. I haven't posted info about them on here before - I'm usually too busy before the date to post, and it seems completely moot afterward. This past Sunday I played another recital, but it diverged from my usual pattern a bit. I played with two ensembles gathered together just for the recital. I started with a solo piece, Bruhns' Praeludium in G. That was followed by Brahms' Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren, sung by a choir which I accompanied. Then I concluded with Hindemith's Kammermusik Nr. 7. The Hindemith is a wonderful & exciting score. But I'm afraid it's rarely played. It was expensive to rent the parts & hire the musicians. But I think it was worth it. Things went well and the event was a success. Here's a youtube link to a recording of the piece by an Amsterdam group.
- I just made the penultimate payment on my mortgage. (I bought the house, my first, 9 years ago.)
Portugal II
Oct. 14th, 2012 07:24 pmOn my trip this year, I was casual about taking pictures. At times I seemed to forget the camera altogether. I used my iPad a little more as a camera. On one of the rides on Tram 28 in Lisbon, I did get the camera out and shoot every couple of seconds as I was going from the edge of the Alfama back to the central part of town. It then occurred to me to use the video - and so I made a few videos of the rest of the ride. I did not shoot anything past the Estrela gardens.
Now that I have looked at them, I wish I had been more systematic and had videotaped the entire ride on Eléctrico 28, including through the Alfama.
I strung the stills & the videos together in iMovie. It does give a little flavor of Lisbon - which of course is a wonderful city!
Now that I have looked at them, I wish I had been more systematic and had videotaped the entire ride on Eléctrico 28, including through the Alfama.
I strung the stills & the videos together in iMovie. It does give a little flavor of Lisbon - which of course is a wonderful city!
new computer at work...
Aug. 29th, 2012 02:49 pmbefore, after
boss explained I could also use laptop as my personal computer. it's a generous place to work if nothing else.
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.
Als ich jünger war...
Aug. 20th, 2012 10:10 am
I enjoyed a couple of the movies I saw on TCM this weekend more than any of the Hollywood releases I saw this summer in the cinema. I had never heard of either of them before. Elvis on Tour, from 1972, was amazing. And yes, I'm surprised I thoroughly enjoyed a movie about Elvis Presley. Loving, from 1970, which I caught in the wee hours of the morning is a dark little comedy of manners. It seems like a forerunner of The Ice Storm - one of my favorite movies.I even watched Captains Courageous on Saturday night, and for the umpteenth time, North by Northwest. Though not one of my favorite Hitchcock movies, I particularly enjoy one of the actors: Adam Williams. I don't think he even has a line, but appears throughout as one of the stooges. He looks exactly like the men I was attracted to when I was a boy.
I watched all of these in the kitchen, except Loving. So not completely a couch potato.
(no subject)
Aug. 4th, 2012 01:32 am
In Santa Fe for a long weekend with Israel. Saw King Roger tonight at the opera. Sensual & complex with rich orchestration - about a medieval king who converts to a Dionysian paganism.
(no subject)
Jul. 28th, 2012 04:02 amI had the wind knocked out of me earlier this week.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Scott Hyde - the T-shirt
Jul. 28th, 2012 01:34 am
I posted once before about Scott's hands. He photographed the left hand of 24 artists in 1966. Included were Andy Warhol, Oldenburg, Lichtenstein, Marisol, etc. Scott had given me a print of John Cage's hand, and recently the hand of Ray Johnson (who was gay, had died by suicide, and generally less well known).
The photographs were made with one of his experimental techniques - basically no gray tones. Last week I had a sudden thought. The next morning I scanned Ray Johnson's hand and took it to the T-shirt screen printers around the corner. The shop delivered the T's on Wednesday.
I took them over to Scott's that night. He was ecstatic - he thought they were terrific.
I printed the T-shirts to celebrate the opening of his show, but he has mentioned marketing them several times since then. He wants me to help him with that. Since the set of hands includes people like Warhol - he thinks they would sell.
Ummm? It's a thought.
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.
shootings (again)
Jul. 21st, 2012 04:41 am
I made a list for myself because I couldn't find one anywhere. I'm giving up on making it complete. I revised it with the earlier postal shootings from the 80s & 90s, and posted it on Google. I restricted it to the USA because it is such an outrageous phenomenon here. I started with Charles Whitman at the University of Texas because that was such a vivid memory from my childhood. This Youtube from Rachel Maddow was helpful.
My friend Scott has a show coming up...
Jul. 18th, 2012 09:50 amThe PSA:
With a career that has spanned more than six decades and includes a Guggenheim Fellowship for experimental photography, Scott Hyde has worked as both an art and commercial photographer. Photography when Hyde started his career was not widely collected as fine art. The Witkin Gallery in New York City was among the earliest commercial galleries to show and promote art photography. Hyde was one of the six photographers in the gallery’s first exhibition. His work, which combines off-set printing with photography, has been published by Aperture a leading photographic journal. John Szarkowski, when he was curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, included Hyde’s work in the Museum’s collection and publications. His photographs have also adorned the covers of Miles Davis and Lionel Hampton albums. Hyde has lived in Amarillo for more than twenty years, where he continues to pursue his artistic passion.
Sponsored by
Friends from the Blue Front Café Friday Morning Breakfast Group
Mr. and Mrs. John Boyce with a gift to the 40 years Celebrate the Past, Ignite the Future Exhibitions Fund
Opening: Thursday, August 2, 2012 7:00-8:30 PM
Members Preview at 7:00 PM
Date: August 3 - September 30, 2012
Hours: Tues-Fri from 10-5 and Sat-Sun from 1-5.
Location: The Amarillo Museum of Art is located at 2200 South Van Buren on the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College
With a career that has spanned more than six decades and includes a Guggenheim Fellowship for experimental photography, Scott Hyde has worked as both an art and commercial photographer. Photography when Hyde started his career was not widely collected as fine art. The Witkin Gallery in New York City was among the earliest commercial galleries to show and promote art photography. Hyde was one of the six photographers in the gallery’s first exhibition. His work, which combines off-set printing with photography, has been published by Aperture a leading photographic journal. John Szarkowski, when he was curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, included Hyde’s work in the Museum’s collection and publications. His photographs have also adorned the covers of Miles Davis and Lionel Hampton albums. Hyde has lived in Amarillo for more than twenty years, where he continues to pursue his artistic passion.
Sponsored by
Friends from the Blue Front Café Friday Morning Breakfast Group
Mr. and Mrs. John Boyce with a gift to the 40 years Celebrate the Past, Ignite the Future Exhibitions Fund
Opening: Thursday, August 2, 2012 7:00-8:30 PM
Members Preview at 7:00 PM
Date: August 3 - September 30, 2012
Hours: Tues-Fri from 10-5 and Sat-Sun from 1-5.
Location: The Amarillo Museum of Art is located at 2200 South Van Buren on the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College
I was notified yesterday via phone that I passed the Practical Part of the A.G.O. Fellowship Exam.
So, half way there. I guess I will try to take the written part in June 2013.
There is an essay question on the written part: "Write...on one of three given topics concerning the life and music of Benjamin Britten.". (The composer changes every year - always someone known for their organ and/or choral music.) I'm relieved it is Britten - someone I don't mind learning more about.
So, half way there. I guess I will try to take the written part in June 2013.
There is an essay question on the written part: "Write...on one of three given topics concerning the life and music of Benjamin Britten.". (The composer changes every year - always someone known for their organ and/or choral music.) I'm relieved it is Britten - someone I don't mind learning more about.
(no subject)
Jun. 20th, 2012 02:48 am
Languorous evening at home. I'm already spent from the week. I get tired of working hard. But inner voices keep driving me. They seem benevolent - but sometimes I wonder.
Consumption lately
Jun. 14th, 2012 11:06 pm
This past weekend at the Modern museum shop, Israel spotted this turquoise pillow printed with the Queen's image from an old 81 pence stamp.
A few weeks ago, when the Google Doodle became a very cool, very interactive doodle version of the mini Moog, I had an impulse to hear some of the old music. I found a 'Switched-On' box set on Amazon. Listening to it on and off in the past two weeks was nostalgic. My Bach consciousness has come a long way, but these old arrangements still bring a smile.
Long time no post
Jun. 12th, 2012 09:04 pmHow to jump back in?
I was busier than usual this spring - I continued to read LJ, but somehow couldn't find even a few minutes to post. When I got home - usually two hours before bedtime - I spent the time cooking, reading, & watching TV.
Some catch-up:
My GWT project at work is still all-consuming. I'm still working solo on the project. It is still exciting. On most days within 30 minutes I'm zoned-in: code, imagination, and fingers locked in sync together, moving fast as possible. The application has an elegant look and functionality. I'm sure there are a few other web-apps like this but I don't know of any myself. Around the first of April, I showed the project to the boss. He was estatic. The last thing he said: "You know this will have to work on the iPad." By 5:00 that afternoon I was able to walk into his office with an iPad and say: "Now it does".
In January I decided that I was going to take the playing portion of the A.G.O. Fellowship certification this year. I stuck to my plan & took the playing exam this past Saturday in Dallas. The organ was a splendid instrument installed in 2004. In my 3 hour practice session on Friday afternoon, I was constantly interrupted. Despite this I think I did well - at least on the major parts. I don’t think I could have performed the repertoire any better. The improvisation went well too. I will find out in six weeks. If I do pass this portion, I will have 5 years in which to pass the written half of the exam.
At my second job (the organ position), a new head of staff was finally selected to replace Jeff. What I could gather from Google, he had a long record of being very conservative, and I think I had just cause to worry about my relationship with him. About the same age as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dewittar, he knows what needs to be done and how to do it, and - thus far - things have been good. So I think I will leave it at that for now.
I’m dumping all the income I can into paying off my house mortgage. At the moment the balance is 13.5K. I think I will have it paid off before the end of the year!
The only travel I did this spring was a weekend with Israel in Santa Fe, and a weekend trip to San Francisco. I was delighted to meetnotdefined and to play for a couple of hours on his Hauptwerk organ-in-progress. (In case you aren’t following, he’s building an organ in his house using the Hauptwerk program & downloads - which provides many different digitally sampled pipe organs as a sound source.)
Two handsome guys:notdefined & Morgan:
A couple of iPad vids I shot at the end of my practice on the Dallas organ:
I was busier than usual this spring - I continued to read LJ, but somehow couldn't find even a few minutes to post. When I got home - usually two hours before bedtime - I spent the time cooking, reading, & watching TV.
Some catch-up:
My GWT project at work is still all-consuming. I'm still working solo on the project. It is still exciting. On most days within 30 minutes I'm zoned-in: code, imagination, and fingers locked in sync together, moving fast as possible. The application has an elegant look and functionality. I'm sure there are a few other web-apps like this but I don't know of any myself. Around the first of April, I showed the project to the boss. He was estatic. The last thing he said: "You know this will have to work on the iPad." By 5:00 that afternoon I was able to walk into his office with an iPad and say: "Now it does".
In January I decided that I was going to take the playing portion of the A.G.O. Fellowship certification this year. I stuck to my plan & took the playing exam this past Saturday in Dallas. The organ was a splendid instrument installed in 2004. In my 3 hour practice session on Friday afternoon, I was constantly interrupted. Despite this I think I did well - at least on the major parts. I don’t think I could have performed the repertoire any better. The improvisation went well too. I will find out in six weeks. If I do pass this portion, I will have 5 years in which to pass the written half of the exam.
At my second job (the organ position), a new head of staff was finally selected to replace Jeff. What I could gather from Google, he had a long record of being very conservative, and I think I had just cause to worry about my relationship with him. About the same age as
dewittar, he knows what needs to be done and how to do it, and - thus far - things have been good. So I think I will leave it at that for now.I’m dumping all the income I can into paying off my house mortgage. At the moment the balance is 13.5K. I think I will have it paid off before the end of the year!
The only travel I did this spring was a weekend with Israel in Santa Fe, and a weekend trip to San Francisco. I was delighted to meet
notdefined and to play for a couple of hours on his Hauptwerk organ-in-progress. (In case you aren’t following, he’s building an organ in his house using the Hauptwerk program & downloads - which provides many different digitally sampled pipe organs as a sound source.)Two handsome guys:
notdefined & Morgan:
A couple of iPad vids I shot at the end of my practice on the Dallas organ:
(no subject)
May. 3rd, 2012 05:05 amI was in a different part of the country. Probably the Pacific northwest or even Canada. Or maybe upstate New York. Someplace with a lot of trees and lots of lakes, streams, and rivers.
The first part of the dream I was wandering around in the country, or maybe even at the end of an organized hike. I remember waking up in this country in someone's house. But I can't recall the people, but they were simple people - North American. Blond hair, stocky women, country accents, xenophobic. I was hiking again the second day, and by mistake entered into what looked like a placid stream. But I only had my foot in or something. Someone pointed out how dangerous the water is. And I realized it. Watching how fast the current, and merciless.
Later in the day I was leaving the country in my car. I was by myself, on the cell phone, talking to someone. I wasn't paying attention to my driving and suddenly entered what I thought was a road that had been slightly under water. I didn't realize it but I had driven into one of these lakes.
The current immediately overtook the car with a great force, and the car and I were being sucked up at a very fast speed. As I was moving I became less aware of the car itself, but I was attached to something (perhaps a piece of the car remaining). The part I was attached to trapped me. My head was under water, but somehow I could still breathe. I was being propelled along for a great time, it was very very fast and dangerous, and I couldn't free myself. I could see the sky.
After many minutes of this vortex, I was pulled into some kind of processing station - like a damn or something. For some great reason, I was able to struggle free and get my head to the surface. I cried out help. And it was heard. There were workmen close by with levers, etc. controlling the flow of water through the damn. I was on the verge of the abyss so to speak, and they pulled the levers, and somehow I got out. They could not believe I was alive.
The first part of the dream I was wandering around in the country, or maybe even at the end of an organized hike. I remember waking up in this country in someone's house. But I can't recall the people, but they were simple people - North American. Blond hair, stocky women, country accents, xenophobic. I was hiking again the second day, and by mistake entered into what looked like a placid stream. But I only had my foot in or something. Someone pointed out how dangerous the water is. And I realized it. Watching how fast the current, and merciless.
Later in the day I was leaving the country in my car. I was by myself, on the cell phone, talking to someone. I wasn't paying attention to my driving and suddenly entered what I thought was a road that had been slightly under water. I didn't realize it but I had driven into one of these lakes.
The current immediately overtook the car with a great force, and the car and I were being sucked up at a very fast speed. As I was moving I became less aware of the car itself, but I was attached to something (perhaps a piece of the car remaining). The part I was attached to trapped me. My head was under water, but somehow I could still breathe. I was being propelled along for a great time, it was very very fast and dangerous, and I couldn't free myself. I could see the sky.
After many minutes of this vortex, I was pulled into some kind of processing station - like a damn or something. For some great reason, I was able to struggle free and get my head to the surface. I cried out help. And it was heard. There were workmen close by with levers, etc. controlling the flow of water through the damn. I was on the verge of the abyss so to speak, and they pulled the levers, and somehow I got out. They could not believe I was alive.
