Chitty Chitty Gang Bang

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Music in Review

MUSICIANS FROM MARLBORO

Readers’ Opinions

Jennifer Taylor for The New York Times

Maurizio Pollini played Karlheinz Stockhausen and Beethoven Friday.

When the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont first sent its performers on tour under the Musicians From Marlboro banner in 1965, one of the participants was the violinist Arnold Steinhardt. A year earlier, Mr. Steinhardt had co-founded the Guarneri String Quartet, now one of chamber music’s most enduring ensembles. The quartet regularly plays at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but when Mr. Steinhardt appeared there on Friday night, it was as mentor to a current crop of young Marlboro musicians.

Mr. Steinhardt played second violin in a memorable account of ’s String Quartet No. 8. Playing first violin, the position that carries much of the narrative impetus in this moody, occasionally tormented piece of musical autobiography, was Lily Francis, whose graceful solo lines conveyed a poignant fragility. The violist Yu Jin and the cellist Wendy Law, both accomplished, powerful players, seemed to relish the work’s more obsessive passages.

By comparison, Dvorak’s Piano Quartet in E flat was a sunny frolic. Mr. Steinhardt, Ms. Jin and Ms. Law were joined by the pianist Anna Polonsky, a chamber musician of exceptional refinement. Compared with the Shostakovich, this was slightly rough-hewn. Still, telling details emerged: Ms. Law’s surpassingly sweet solos in the second movement, Ms. Polonsky’s rollicking dulcimer evocations in the third, Ms. Jim’s ardent lines in the finale, Mr. Steinhardt’s dignified contributions throughout.

Looking back was the theme of Friday’s Walter W. Naumburg Foundation concert at Weill Recital Hall — part of a series celebrating past winners of its prestigious prize. And the American String Quartet, which won in 1974, did just that.

First, it looked back to Alban Berg’s Op. 3 quartet, mellow and organic, playing with a dark throatiness from the opening crunchy second violin line, like a footstep in dead leaves: each phrase subtle, reined in, refracted through all the instruments to yield ever new patterns, like colored beads in a kaleidoscope.

Then it looked to the recent past with an emotional “Triptych” written about 9/11 by Robert Sirota, president of the . It is a challenge, today, to convey chaos in a tonal language: the first movement, illustrating the fall of the towers, struggled to go beyond agitation, rising and falling from long-held notes, dying away, that sought to hold together the dispersing clouds of music. The second movement was a sorrowful meditation, while the third sought to make peace with a kind of lullaby that evanesced in fillips of ascending notes.

For the Schubert C major quintet the group looked back to its original cellist, David Geber, who after a wild and slightly muddy first movement coalesced with the others into a single, remarkable organ of sound. Peter Winograd’s first violin sent out questioning phrases while the other players steadily built in intensity; when the phrases returned they had clearly been answered, but the intensity continued to build for the remainder of an edge-of-the-seat performance. ANNE MIDGETTE

MAURIZIO POLLINI

Some people live faster than others. Schubert’s life, it can be argued, was not tragically short but was lived at high velocity. Then there is Maurizio Pollini, who plays piano music at such speed that we can only stand by the roadside and try to catch glimpses of it whizzing past. Elegant, thoughtful and vastly cultured, Mr. Pollini seems to exist in a time continuum all his own. I am sure he hears his own playing with perfect clarity. I wish I could keep up with him.

Listeners at Carnegie Hall on Friday had rare opportunities to catch their breath. One was at the start, in the Stockhausen Klavier stücke Nos. VII and VIII. The first is really about silence, with isolated strokes on the piano acting as boundary markers subdividing the empty spaces. The second speaks a rhapsodic Romantic language but with violent contrasts of bass and treble and in a language removed from the past.

Those wanting to make an early evening of it were probably grateful for the Schumann “Kreisleriana” that came after. When asked by the music, Mr. Pollini can ruminate and linger with great beauty. Elsewhere, he takes the “very” and “extremely” of movements marked “extremely agitated,” “very excited,” “very lively” and “very quick” (I translate from the German) at their word. 1 /n /n

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Why Do We Love The Sopranos? Part 2

I'm continuing to think aloud on the puzzling question of... why do we exactly love the brutal Sopranos?

Sopranos know how to "take care of business." When a guy bumps their car from behind and refuses to take any responsibility for it, and challenges them with a self-righteous "sue me!", they don't sue anybody. They settle the score through their own means. And since we had lost untold amounts of time and money in the past in either suing someone or getting sued, we understand the simplicity and "beauty" of the concept.

We know that their kind of "score settling" is not legal. But still we cannot help but take a shine to the kind of "direct justice" dished out by the Sopranos. It is a world in which no legal reforms are needed since everything is settled by brute force. We are aware that civilization cannot survive even for a single day if EVERYONE settled their problems like Sopranos do. However, we still derive a vicarious satisfaction from justice delivered quickly, without any ambiguities.

We also like the "honor code" that Sopranos manage to maintain despite all that depravity and violence, a code that values friendship and loyalty above anything else. Living in a relativistic world in which everything depends on what your lawyer can do against mine, that kind of ABSOLUTE ethics appeals to a primordial sense of morality encoded perhaps into our DNA. We like that too.

We like the guilty pleasures as well, for sure. Expensive dinners in expensive restaurants, fantastic cars, young mistresses, vacations, outings to the race track, and the whole works. Good life.

Last and certainly not the least – we even like the violence, don't we?

We have to admit it. We watch it for the same reason we watch a bloody boxing match or an even bloodier free-fighting competition. Or, watch the car and train wreck and cop chase videos…

There is always something fascinating about the mystery of death and violence that we try to decipher by vicariously going through the experience, through the agency of others like actors, writers, and directors. The Sopranos provides us with that kind of roller-coaster scream of an hormonal experience as well. (Where else are you going to see a guy stuff the severed head of one of his closest friends into a bowling ball bag?)

When The Sopranos is off the air this summer, we'll spend at least a few more years watching its past episodes on DVDs and wondering what happened to Tony, Carmela, or the others who brought us such forbidden and truly sinful pleasures for the last six years. They'll be missed.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

11 Jobs That Can Help You Stay Focused On Your Acting Career

1. Try to get work in a casting director or an agent's office. Sometimes in the industry trade papers agents and casting directors advertise for assistants and people to work a few hours a week opening mail and doing office chores. It's a great way to learn what goes on in their offices. You get to see the kinds of mail other actors send in, overhear telephone conversations, and just basically see what it's like first hand.

2. The Actors Connection is an organization in New York that provides a great service to actors by giving them the opportunity to meet and audition for agents, casting directors and other industry professionals who are not always the easiest people to be able to meet. They do this in the form of seminars every evening and often even on Saturdays. During the seminars there are what I call "gate keepers" who keep the time and ensure that all the participants get an equal share of the industry professional's time who is conducting the individual session.

At times AC is looking for people to work, usually flexible hours as one of the "gate keepers". That is also a great way to meet first hand casting directors and agents, listen in on the question and answer sessions before the individual, one on one sessions take place. A great way to learn!

3. In addition, there are other acting schools around the city that look for assistants.

4. Theater companies looking for stage personel and production assistants often with no experience necessary. Prerequisite is to be responsible and a fast learner.

5. There are also a host of casting websites and organizations, such as Actors Access, Breakdown Services, NYCastings as well. If you do a Google search, you will find a slew of others. Why not see if they need help or could use your services?

6. There are also showcases and industry events that are organized to help actors promote their careers. It's a great way to meet casting directors and agents. The organization of those events is a big to do and they need hosts and hostesses to help the event go smoothly. You can find information about such events by simply keeping abreast of what's going on in the industry. Read the trade papers regularly and check the top acting/casting websites.

7. Why not see if the local union offices of SAG, AFTRA and EQUITY could use some help? Find out where their offices are. See if you can find out what they might be looking for. Find out who the person is you need to contact and if your approach is to send a cover letter, then address the person by his name as opposed to "To whom it may concern."

8. Do you have skills that one of the trade papers could be interested in, maybe to work in one of their offices? Could be an idea to contact Backstage, Ross Reports, probably the most read of the industry papers. Have a look on the internet or in the Drama Book Shop in New York to see some of the other possibilities that exist.

9. There are many production companies who are looking for good people with skills.

10. Do you have the skills to form a production company? I know someone, a fellow actor, who has done just that. It's a great way to make industry contacts with people who could also help you further your career as an actor.

11. Do you have the skills to start and run your own small business, form your own company? What do you love to do? Could you turn your hobby into a business? If so, do you know other responsible and reliable people who share your same passion and who have good business skills? If so, maybe you could form your own company together with those people. Why not? As time goes on, you could gradually distance yourself from the daily business of running your small company and dedicate more and more time to acting and promote your acting career.

The whole point of this article is to help you think. If you don't have a steady stream of residual income that will permit you to focus 100% of your time on your acting career and you have to work in the traditional sense to make ends meet, then at least do something that will keep you connected to the industry and at the same time help you grow in some way as an actor.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

3 Doors Down "Seventeen Days" Rock Music CD Review

Not sure what's happening with me on this one, but it seems like the more I listen to it, the better Seventeen Days gets. Seventeen Days simply put is one of 3 Doors Down's best CDs to date.

Seventeen Days opens with an outstanding track, Right Where I Belong, that I suspect will be heard on radio stations everywhere, and deservedly so. It really is a very nice track.

One of the refreshingly nice things about this CD is the way all of the participating artists seem to be really enjoying themselves. Combine that with the overall presentation and you've got one of 3 Doors Down's most impressive releases ever.

Overall Seventeen Days is an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up and is most definetly a worthy addition to any Rock collection. Truly an outstanding Rock CD. One of those that is completely void of any wasted time, as each track is simply superb.

While this entire CD is outstanding some of my favorites are track 1, Right Where I Belong, track 3, Let Me Go, and track 6, The Real Life.

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 4, Be Somebody. Outstanding!

Seventeen Days Release Notes:

3 Doors Down originally released Seventeen Days on Feb 08, 2005 on the Universal Records label.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Learn The Basics Then Pick Up Your Guitar And Play

Every year many people want to learn to play the guitar. A few succeed but many more fail. Learning to play takes some skills that most people can master if they really try. The whole idea behind playing guitar is actually picking up the guitar and playing. It is all too easy to get hung up in details and forget about the big picture.

You need to get comfortable if you to learn this instrument. Next you should learn the right way to hold your guitar and pick. Learning to tune is one of the most important skills you will need to master. Then you can jump start your playing by learning to read tablature. This article will take a look at a few essential things you need to think about when learning to play a guitar.

When starting your guitar learning adventures it is wise to get comfortable. It is hard to learn how to do anything if you are not in the right state of mind. Find a place to play where you can have some privacy so you will not drive your family nuts when you play that G scale for an hour at a time.

Take the time to learn the right way to hold your instrument. Bad habits are hard to break so take the time to learn the basics. It is a lot easier to learn the correct way than it is to have to start over.

Ask anyone who has had to listen to someone playing an out of tune guitar if learning to tune your guitar is important and you will probably get a quick answer. You cannot tell if you are playing the correct notes if the guitar is out of tune. With the modern technology available today anyone can learn to tune the guitar. You can buy an electronic tuner that will tune your guitar very accurately.

Learning to read music is certainly not for everyone. It takes many hours to learn to read music and most people just want to get on with playing. Fortunately there is an easier way to learn. Reading tablature is a method a lot of folks really like. Most people find reading tablature to be a better way to learn.

Use the method that suits you best to learn to play guitar but stay with the reason you started learning in the first place. Get your basics right and make sweet music by picking up the guitar and playing. That is what learning to play guitar is about.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Why I like Blockbuster's Online DVD Film Rental

Online DVD film rental companies allow a person to rent and buy DVD movies on-line through the mail. Normally, a customer interacts with the DVD rental company via the Internet and recieves the films ordered via regular mail.

How DVD film rental works

DVD film rental companies operate on the following model: A new customer joins the DVD rental service and creates a list of good movies they will like to rent, next the DVD rental company sends movies from the customers list by regular mail, finally the customer receives the films, views them and sends them back and receives another film from list.

The best-known DVD film rental company today is known as BlockBuster.

Blockbuster DVD Film Rental

I am in love with Blockbuster's DVD rental service, Its easy to use, quick and affordable. Another popular Film rental company is Netflix.

The reason i don't use Netflix and won't advice anyone to use its service is because their service is expensive, DVD delivery is slow and they don't provide coupons as often as Blockbuster does.

Another reason i use Blockbuster to rent and buy DVD movies on-line is because they provide free movie and game rental coupons to users each month.

The last reason i love Blockbuster's service is their fast and efficient delivery of DVD rentals, they have an arrangement with USPS that enables Blockbuster to electronically register DVD's refund before they actually arrive their office. This saves time for both Blockbuster and their users benefit from greater turn-around time for their next DVD rental.

If you are looking for an efficient, reliable and affordable Online DVD film rental service, I highly recommend Blockbuster online DVD rental.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Celebrity Homestyles - Helen Mirren

Their shotgun-style house in New Orleans' lower French Quarter is as polar opposite as Helen Mirren's palace digs in her Academy Award winning role portraying Queen Elizabeth ll in the 2006 blockbuster hit; "Queen". Mirren shares her home here with husband Taylor Hackford, director of many successful films. Unassuming from the street, the intimate side courtyard draws you into the open living, dining and kitchen space. One with high ceilings to marginalizes the steamy heat, broad, luxurious moldings and period antiques that say "stay and let's catch up with all that's new."

An eclectic blend of artwork ranging from old portraits to African busts complement the hand woven rugs, wrought iron tables, cushy day beds and sofas. Warm and light paint colors provide a backdrop for Mirren and Hackford to unwind from professional demands that span the globe. French doors with transom windows are a recurring architectural feature in the bedroom wing, where a love of dramatic color surfaces. Vintage beds found on vagabond trips into the southern countryside are focal points and contrast starkly against the Hunter Green and Sunshine Yellow walls. Mirren and Hackford's New Orleans' low-key refuge from the formality of England speaks more about their sensibility, which here in the deep south is nothing but pure American style.

Enjoy more Celebrity Homestyles featuring: Hannah Storm, Princess Marie-Chantel of Greece, Sofia Coppola, Meredith Viera, Pamela Anderson, Giorgio Armani, Anjelica Houston and more. Do you have a celebrity that would like to be featured in an upcomming Celebrity HomeStyles article? Include the celebrities name, home location, along with photos of the exterior, gardens, living spaces and master bedroom.