In 1641, before the Dutch East India Company had set up a refreshment station at the southern tip of Africa—at the point that the cold currents of the Atlantic Ocean and the warm current of the Indian Ocean converge—a captain called van der Decken ran into a deadly storm at the Cape of Good Hope … Read More »
There are reasons not to feel proud about being a South African, the most egregious being the legacy of apartheid, of course. But there are also reasons to be very proud, like the iconic Nelson Mandela and the peaceful transition to democracy in the 1990s. Now, add another reason: the 25 year old Olympian, Oscar … Read More »
What an extraordinary thing to read a “new” piece by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the August 6th edition of The New Yorker! I must confess I was a late bloomer with Fitzgerald. I had studied “The Great Gatsby” as an undergrad student and, for reasons that I really can’t defend now, I was not captivated. … Read More »
As the cicada choruses begin to vie with each other, it’s an indication that we have reached the dog days of summer. One of the things I love about living in America is how clearly demarcated the seasons are: the vibrant fall, the Christmas card snow scenes of winter, the rejuvenation of spring, and then … Read More »
On Friday night, I was deep into some writing at my computer in the study upstairs. At about 11.15 PM I was pulled from my concentration by the most unearthly sound. It was a roaring unlike anything I had ever heard. A few seconds later the house shook to its foundations with the impact of … Read More »
The Taming of the Shrew is such a problematic play, isn’t it? It feels almost sacrilegious to say that I dislike a Shakespeare play but I really do dislike this one. It’s true that we often have to suspend belief for a Shakespeare play and have to approach it bearing in mind the context in … Read More »
I would love to be a fly on the wall when Jonathan Biss is practicing in the privacy of his apartment to see if he is as physical then as he is on the concert platform. He is what you might call and mover and shaker in front of the keyboard–bending low, arcing back, fidgeting … Read More »
Diana Ross, WBJC’s website maestra, has asked us to write about our earliest musical experience, inspired by the moving stories that have been coming in from our members. My mother’s sister was a fine pianist by all accounts (she died when I was young so I could never form my own opinion) and my mother … Read More »
Sometimes, when you go to hear a concert it is the performer who is the star of the show. Take someone like the phenomenal Lang Lang, for example, with his high tech performances that have him approaching the keyboard almost as if it is a computer console. It is riveting and exciting and, almost no … Read More »
Despite the fact that they are emerging from chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Philadelphia Orchestra is still playing away and able to attract top notch conductors. They were led by Sir Simon Rattle this past weekend, including a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. I went up to Philly to hear them in their home … Read More »
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