The Classical Music Guide Forums

lmpower

I don't endorse a Muslim takeover. I simply observe the handwriting on the wall.

lmpower

Folks who are there replace folks who are not there. If a culture devises a way of life, which enables it to displace another culture, that would be what Herbert Spencer would call "survival of the fittest."

lmpower

I don't mean that Darwin would favor the Muslim cause. I mean that he would see that the group which raises the most offspring to maturity eventually prevails in the stuggle for existence.

lmpower

I have also been trying to make this point for a long time. I expressed it by saying that Darwin would bet on the Muslims to win.

lmpower

Ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen by Gustav Mahler transports me out of this world.

lmpower

Are you familiar with Kanae Matsumoto? I had never heard of her, but last night I attended a recital of Schumann and DeBussy works by her. She made Schumann's second sonata come to life for me for the first time. It was a good illustration of how listening to records can never replace the need for l...

lmpower

These are the autumnal works of an old man in a declining civilization. I dearly love them. What do you think of the Radu Lupu interpretation?

lmpower

This is a matter of concern to me, since I frequently hike in coyote country. I carry a very stout staff with me. I thought I might possibly have to fend off a cougar someday, but I certainly never thought I might be threatened by coyotes. The western coyotes are smaller than those in the east, whic...

lmpower

A 19-year-old woman has been mauled to death by two coyotes while hiking in Canada. Coyote attacks are uncommon The teenager from Toronto died a day after being attacked by the wild animals in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia. The Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) said the woman ...

lmpower

I don't have much trouble reading Shakespeare other than looking up a few obsolete words.

lmpower

The first LP I bought was Mahler's Lied von der Erde with Reiner and Maureen Forrester. The saleslady lamented losing such beautiful album cover art from the store. That really was a different era. The first record I bought was a 78 RPM album of Jacob Gimpel playing Chopin favorites.

lmpower

Contemporary music is the biggest gap in my collection. I still haven't gotten around to buying any Bach cantatas. That is on my to do list. Other than that I have a representative collection of classics from Gregorian chant through Shostakovich.

lmpower

Speaking of unsatisfactory LED bulbs, my wife just remarked that the kitchen light seems dim at times. I still haven't told anyone that I've changed to a different type of bulb. I don't think people would be happy with nothing but LED bulbs. Each type of bulb has its own advantages and disadvantages.

lmpower

I still use an incandescent light for reading. You can't beat them for quality of the light. They are being banned in Europe. A German man bought 3000 of them in order to have a lifetime supply. I forgot to mention that the LED bulbs emit a humming sound. It isn't loud enough to be a nuisance, but i...

lmpower

Gentlemen, I have received a half dozen LED bulbs and am currently testing them. You are right about directionality. I have placed them in ceiling fixtures with a reflecting backgound. This seems to diffuse the light fairly well. I did not tell my other family members about what I did. My wife came ...

lmpower

I learned to play the piano late in life by attending my sons' piano lessons. I certainly don't consider myself a musician though. I am simply a music lover.

lmpower

I have a tendency to go on kicks like this also. I have just finished listening to Beethoven quartets from the seventh through the sixteenth.

lmpower

I can't say that one stands out as the very best, but I don't think that I've seen anything better than Schwarzkopf as the Maschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and I had the good fortune to see her twice in the role.

lmpower

Swedish and Norwegian are the only European languages that have this characteristic. It is called samansatt accent or musical pitch. Den heliga anden means the holy ghost when inflected, but it means the holy duck if you don't get the musical pitch right.

lmpower

I've never tried this before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvrHxQ3qjAE

lmpower

I try not to do anything else while listening to classical music. Most of my life I averaged two hours a day of attentive listening. I agree with the idea of fasting from music occasionally. I spent a month in a Buddhist monastery where I heard nothing but Buddhist chant. I was surprised that the sl...

lmpower

When I was living in Sweden I saw some quite interesting films at a film festival. One of them was Branningar, which came out in 1935. Ingrid Bergman plays the part of a young girl living on an island. During a violent storm with the passionate music of Tchaikowsky playing in the background, a visit...

lmpower

I don't quite understand why this happened. We are planning to stay at a resort in December where Buffalo meat is served. My wife wants to try it. They charge plenty for a steak.

lmpower

I have just finished reading the book by Lopez. It is just as gripping as the movie and fills in a lot of details. You get a chance to see where the movie falsified the facts to get a better story, but is it really better than the truth? By the way, I might recommend seeing the video "A Man Called N...

lmpower

Yes, jbuck, I have seen long life incandescent bulbs advertised. John F, I have just ordered some 13 watt LED bulbs, which give the equivalent of a 100 watt incandescent light. I hope to report back on the results within a couple of weeks.

lmpower

Nut-job's observations are well taken. He didn't mention the mercury content of CFL bulbs though. I would still like to test these even though the price should come down. I see some being sold for $100. That really is an absurd price.

lmpower

Would you pay $39.95 for a light bulb? Didn't think so. But what if it used 90% less electricity than a standard incandescent bulb, cut greenhouse gas emissions and saved you about $280 over its 25-year life span? That's the challenge facing Dutch start-up Lemnis Lighting, which on Friday began sell...

lmpower

I agree with Lance that Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is not one of his very greatest works though the Benedictus is a sublime violin melody. Beethoven's real religious music was the late quartets. I have long been curious about La Clemenza Di Tito. How have I gone several decades as a Mozart lover and...

lmpower

Saying that only Masons can understand Zauberflote is like saying that you have to be Finnish to understand Sibelius. I think the allegory in Zauberflote relates to the universal human condition. Maybe I don't understand all of the symbolism in the opera, but I still find it quite meaningful.

lmpower

We finally got around to watching the DVD of the movie. The ending was better than I expected. Nathaniel might not be cured of his mental illness, but there was redemption through music and friendship. Using the slow movement from Beethoven's opus 132 for the scene where Nathaniel is given the cello...

lmpower

The closest thing to a surprise is Massenet. What in the world did he write that caused so many recordings. They couldn't all be of Manon.

lmpower

Beside Wagner the name of Arrigo Boito comes immediately to mind. He was one of the very few with the talent to write professional quality lyrics and music for an opera. Mefistofele is a worthwhile example of this.

lmpower

I appreciate the list having the Callas Tosca, but what about Rosenkavalier and Cosi without Schwarzkopf?

lmpower

I really enjoyed watching the show with Fred Astaire. Oscar was very much as I remembered him with the heavy smoking and wild sense of humor. There was nobody else like him. He was uncommonly nice to his wife that evening. They could have violent spats that ended with her walking off the set. It is ...

lmpower

It was mentioned that Levant was a guest on TV shows. I am surprised that nobody remembers that he had his own television program in the late 1950's. He appeared with his beautiful blond wife, June. It was obvious that he was a very sick man at that time. To call him neurotic would be an understatem...

lmpower

A heart condition didn't stop Mahler from writing great music. I suspect alcohol may have damged Sibelius' brain, but I don't really know. It's just a guess until we get a definitive answer if ever.

lmpower

Alright Jbuck, Mark had some eccentric opinions, but what do you think of his reaction to "Per Pieta?" I have just watched a Sally Matthews rendition of the aria on youtube. It looked to me like she agreed with Mark on this one.

lmpower

I also feel the need to address Cosi Fan Tutte. In spite of the fact that I saw Schwarzkopf at the height of her powers sing Fiordiligi, I have continued to feel that Cosi is only my fourth favorite Mozart opera. My appreciation of it has been increasing however. Some think it has the best score of ...

lmpower

John F, I appreciate your knowledgeable critique of Magic Flute. You may well have the right interpretation. If that is the case, how could a wise man like Sarastro marry someone like queen of the night? Well I guess those mistakes happen in real life too.

lmpower

As a matter of fact I had not seen Bergman's version of Magic Flute, so I looked it up in Wikipedia. "Bergman made a major change in the plot." It sounds to me like Bergman's version of Mozart is no better than Peter Shaffer's. I say this even though I am an admirer of some of Bergman's early work. ...

lmpower

As a matter of fact I had not seen Bergman's version of Magic Flute, so I looked it up in Wikipedia. "Bergman made a major change in the plot." It sound to me like Bergman's version of Mozart is no better than Peter Shaffer's. I say this even though I am an admirer of some of Bergman's early work. I...

lmpower

I again find myself largely in agreement with the other members, except that I didn't pick Copland. Can someone please explain to me what I have been missing all these years. I admit that I am not extremely familiar with all his music.

lmpower

Magic Flute illustrates different levels of human development. Papageno represents the carnal man. He is interested in eating, drinking, sleeping and getting a girl friend. By accepting and cherishing this character Mozart is liberated to go to the next level, which is Tamino, the noble, high minded...

lmpower

The other members favored the same five as I did on this one also.

lmpower

Amazing! The forum agrees with me on this bunch.

lmpower

I voted for the usual suspects and after a brief hesitation chose Haydn instead of Handel.

lmpower

I am quite surprised that Dvorak is that popular. It is also strange that Mussorgsky is ahead of Wagner and Verdi. I was pleased to see Faure doing so well, since he is one of the five I voted for. I have only become an admirer of Faure relatively late in life.

lmpower

The article rang all too true to me. It leaves me feeling rather depressed, because it takes a reductionist approach to religion. This is the way sociologists think. I would like to mention that a few Muslims convert to Christinaity, because they perceive Jesus to be a kinder, better and wiser perso...

lmpower

I still have a lot of audio and VHS tapes. I haven't bothered to transfer them to discs. It is only rather rarely that I play anything on a tape format any more.

lmpower

Thanks for that advice. We'll be better prepared to cope with the internet jungle next time. I remember the first time I got a phishing email that put up a perfect replica of my bank website. The only problem was that the URL in the address bar read Latinamusica rather than Chase Bank. I became susp...

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