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Recent Posts
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Hrafnfreistuor (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 26th of November: Music we’re thankful for; fairy tales and myths; a graphic novel about a pandemic; an Old Hag, a Piglet, Canadian television, and hot chocolate!
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Greening the Estate (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 12th of November: a grab bag of adult and YA fiction and nonfiction; Russian and Eastern European folk-rock, classical, Celtic, blues music and more; Sons of Anarchy; an intrepid air hostess
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Guy Fawkes Day (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 29th of October: Halloween is Nigh on Us!
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Summer afternoon (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 15th of October: Music in fiction and non-fiction; Psycho and its sequels; Two Fat Ladies; some Gaiman; folk music from all over, plus some Zappa and some jazz
- What’s New for the 12th of October:
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Tunes
- What’s New for the 1st of the October: Horror, time travel, murder and fantasy, and comics journalism; personal Scandinavian jazz, ancient Persian songs, bluegrass, Americana, and a podcast; Johnny Cash on TV; chocolate and empanadas
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: Béla
- What’s New for the 17th of September: WWII (and other) mysteries; jazz, Americana, Celtic music and more; Doc Martin; summer beer and ale
- A Kinrowan Estate story: My Library
- What’s New for the 3rd of September: Gary pens a short tribute to Jimmy Buffett, New jazz and Americana music, a grab bag of styles from the archives, books about English folk rock, books about breakfast and brunch, a black and white world, a panned comic, and more
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Library and Its Librarian
- What’s New for the 20th of August: Some favorite mysteries; jazz, country, RT, and a musical grab bag; a hoedown, a big dragon, Hellboy, and of course ice cream!
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Guest Lecturer
- What’s New for the 6th of August: Weird westerns and singing cowboys, Jane Lindskold and two from Patricia McKillip; ska, Spanish jazz, klezmer, and songs about fishing; Mary Poppins and lonely Vampires, Roman emperors and superheroes; and a couple of Oregon ales in a British style pub
- What’s New for the 3rd of September:
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Chasing Fireflies
- What’s New for the 23rd of July: Books by Roger Zelazny; Scottish music, SCOTS music, dance music and Asian Underground; chocolate-peanut butter cookies, rock poster art, and a little primal horror
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: A Theological Anthropologist
- What’s New for the 9th of July: All Sorts of Good Things
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Musical Ganeshas (A Letter to Svetlana)
- What’s New for the 25th of June: Steeleye Span edition
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Danse Macabre (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 11th of June: Space Opera, Folkmanis Rat in a Tin Can, Lots of folk rock – Steeleye Span, Orthodox Celts – Maddy Prior interview, some contradance and some bluegrass; a catty film review; Vess’s Ballads & Sagas; and some new Norwegian folk rock
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Reading Groups (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 28th of May: All Sorts of Interesting Reviews, Page and Plant’s ‘Kashmir’ and Kage’s Favourite Folk Song
Tag Archives: modernism
Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings: Orchestral and Chamber Works
Samuel Barber is one of those composers I haven’t paid enough attention to, except for the Adagio for Strings, which at its best is an overwhelming piece of music — but more on that later. Barber was born into comfortable … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged American music, modernism
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Guarneri Quartet’s The Hungarian Album (Ernö Dohnányi, String Quartet No. 2 in D-flat Major, Op. 15, String Quartet No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 33; Zoltan Kodály, String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10)
The Guarneri Quartet is one of the most distinguished ensembles of the latter half of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1964, reportedly at the instigation of Alexander Schneider of the legendary Budapest String Quartet, although Arnold Steinhardt’s recollection … Continue reading
Works of Igor Stravinsky
Works of Igor Stravinsky is a massive set: 22 CDs of performances of Rite of Spring, Petrouschka, L’Histoire du Soldat, Symphony in E-Flat, The Rake’s Progress and more under the direction of the composer, with additional performances by his disciple … Continue reading
Claude Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque; Maurice Ravel’s Sonatine, Valses nobles et sentimentales, Alborada del gracioso
After I had gained a little background in what we call “classical” music (which is to say, Western art music of whatever era and style, whether it is truly classical or not), the customary juxtaposition of Claude Debussy and Maurice … Continue reading
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Tagged classical music, modernism
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Alfred Schnittke: Symphony No. 9/ Alexander Raskatov: Nunc dimittis
To Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke, music provided continuity, a connection with history and, in fact, to all of life. This is, perhaps, not so surprising: his musical education took place largely in post-War Vienna, and if anything typifies the life … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged contemporary music, modernism
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Miranda Cuckson, Blair McMillen: Bartók, Lutosławski, Schnittke
If I had to choose one word to describe the music of Central and Eastern Europe in the years after World War II, it would be “restless.” This restlessness actually predates the War, having its roots in the Vienna of … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged contemporary music, modernism
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Béla Bartók: Bartók’s Sonata for Solo Violin, Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano
If I seem to be enthusiastic about the music of Béla Bartók, it’s only because I am — you’d have to be, to sit and listen to more than five hours of his music for solo piano. Happily, he was … Continue reading
Gustav Mahler: The Complete Symphonies
Both Tim Page and Erik Ryding, in their essays accompanying this Sony reissue of Leonard Bernstein’s landmark cycle of the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler, give Bernstein pride of place in Mahler’s “rehabilitation” in the 1960s. While I don’t want … Continue reading
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Tagged classical music, modernism, romanticism
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Béla Bartók: Bartók: Solo Piano Works
Vol. I: Seven Sketches (Sz 44), Sonata 1926 (Sz 80), Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs and Dances (Sz 71), Four Dirges (Sz 45), Allegro Barbaro (Sz 49) Vol. II: Suite (Sz 62), For Children (42 Hungarian Folk Songs) (Sz 42), Three … Continue reading
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Tagged contemporary music, modernism
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Carol J. Oja’s Making Music Modern: New York in the 1920s
The 1920s was a formative decade for “serious” American music, and the nexus of musical activity was in New York. Music professor Carol Oja provides an in-depth exploration of the music of the decade and its continuing impact on American … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Music
Tagged contemporary music, modernism
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