Great Programming

Recent school-related repertoire projects have taught me all about the importance of great programming, for both the performers and the audience.

Here is an example of amazing programming:

Beethoven's Violin Concerto
Intermission
Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

Yes, this was last night's Cleveland Orchestra concert.

This is why it is amazing:

1. It is simple-two works of about the same length makes for an even concert; 2. It is not too long-although I could listen to Cleveland forever, after a while the seat gets uncomfortable. This is about an hour-and-a-half, which is a perfect amount of time for attentiveness and comfort; 3. It has historical links-sometimes it is great to program very contrasting pieces, but these are two examples of early romantic writing. Your ear appreciates this; 4. Beethoven influenced Berlioz. The program notes write themselves.; 5. These compositions balance PERFECTLY-light and elegant vs. heavy and insane.

If only I could program 45/50 minute long works for fifth grade band.

Ordinary Comics

I'm a big fan of webcomics, and Ordinary Comics is my favorite. The author, Ozge Samanci, keeps her personal information to herself, but I gather than she is a young Turkish (I think?) art student/artist who travels frequently. She makes panels out of every-day observations and posts them. A recent one is on the left.

She uses ink, watercolor, collage materials, etc.

I think these illustrations are gorgeous, and she reminds me to look for beauty, emotion, and humor in every little thing I see. Even the ordinary can become extraordinary.




Here is one of my favorites, I love the color. It is a little "deeper" than an ordinary observation. It was my screensaver for quite some time.





Think about it.

Harry Partch!

Music History strikes again! I am totally into this interactive website, which allows you to play Harry Partch's instruments! For those of you not enrolled in 20th Century Western Music History class, Harry Partch is an American composer (1901-1974) who approached music in a completely new way, designing his own scale and instruments. He was interested in all the aesthetics of a performances (aural, visual, sensual). This paragraph from HarryPartch.com sums it up:

"Harry Partch (1901-1974), one of the greatest and most individualistic composers of all time, was not only a great composer, but an innovative theorist who broke through the shackles of many centuries of one tuning system for all of Western music, a music instrument inventor who created dozens of incredible instruments for the performance
of his music, and a musical dramatist who created his own texts and dance/theatre extravaganzas based on everything from Greek mythology to his own experiences as a hobo. Between 1930 and 1972, he created one of the most amazing bodies of sensually alluring and emotionally powerful music of the 20th century: music dramas, dance theater, multi-media extravaganzas, vocal music and chamber music---mostly all performed on the instruments he built himself."

So anyway, this website explores the sounds of Partch's beautiful instruments. Very fun and very interesting.

I will never be able to afford

anything from Anthropologie's new home catalog.

But it is fun to browse. Excellent presentation and intriguing products as always.

That is all. It is too sunny to be inside on a computer today!

Nina Ricci

I have not posted anything about Paris Fashion Week! So here I am, sitting in front of the fire on a rainy day, pouring through collections. And the winner is...Nina Ricci!

"Olivier Theyskens said he wanted 'to introduce a new wave of cool—something urban and gray-ish, but nonchalant, fragile, and superlight'"

Fragile, indeed. Look at the ballet slipper pumps on these two images! So feminine! I love the flowly, barely-there skirt on the right. The look is urban yet ethereal.


The seams on this dress, the assymmetrical neckline, the layered skirt, the way it looks like it would melt in the rain. It is a dream.

Think the color palette is totally limited? Think again!


There are some very vivid yellows towards the end of the collection. It stands out beautifully against the cool grey. It is beyond delicate.

Stravinsky's Bird and Schroedinger's Cat

Changed my mind. This is what I can't live without:


My new most-favorite thing on etsy is this print by Kathleen Bryson. She describes her art as "highly textured mixed-media pieces." For her very interesting ideas, check out her profile on her etsy shop.

She describes this work ("Stravinsky's Bird and Schroedinger's Cat" if you didn't figure it out): "I am painting things which are half: Schroedinger's almost-there cat, in vaporous glow-in-the-dark paleness, stalking Stravinsky's bird in a fairy-tale wood, the bird guarding a nest of Russian nesting-doll eggs."

Tim and I have always been adamant about the art in our home relate our lives. I think it is a great way for us to reflect on our passions, travels, etc. and to communicate something about ourselves to guests. I would feel much more at-home in a room decorated with art that depicts music, science, and nature (our joys) than one with generic flowers and landscapes. Our home will be about us (and I can't wait to live in it!).

So. This little guy is perfect.

Panda

The end of Spring Break and coming back to school was a rather rough transition for me, as it made me lazy rather than productive. But I am back with creative venegeance!


Here is a panda bear from Free People that I don't think I can live without. It combines my two great loves, artsiness and bears.