Category Archive: Banter

Commentary on personal and/or musical issues.

Finding Music in NYC

Finding Music in NYC

I visited New York on a whim over Christmas. We chose excellent weather (it didn’t rain, despite the forecast until this afternoon, when we had …

 

The Stingers

The Stingers

In the 1990s I was an undergraduate at the University of Rochester (NY). As a trombonist, I was recruited to form a trombone ensemble by …

 

Two New CDs…

Two New CDs…

On January 15, 1993, I sent this letter to my friend in college; he was in Ohio, and I was in Rochester, NY. He sent …

 

Further reflections on Il Giardino del piacere

Further reflections on Il Giardino del piacere

Earlier this May, I wrote about a freak discovery when looking online. A new recording by Goebel’s Musica Antiqua, by an obscure composer named Johann …

 

Metamorphose

Metamorphose

Excellent! From the Dave Holland release, Prime Directive

 

Before E-mail

Before E-mail

Often times I am asked why I need to buy a new hard drive. “I don’t throw anything away,” but that is never accepted as, …

 

Reflections – Canada 2011

Reflections – Canada 2011

I visited three cities during this past week’s travels to Canada. First, we flew into Burlington, VT, which I think is a nice little town. …

 

Favorite things

Favorite things

What has become one of my favorite meals is roast chicken, following a recipe by Thomas Keller, chef of several well-known restaurants, including Per Se …

 

It wasn’t always about music…

It wasn’t always about music…

My website hasn’t always been about music, although, since hosting it back in 1998, I have been a fan of Biber. Evidently, I followed a trend …

 

Maximizing your Time

Maximizing your Time

“What did you do this weekend?” a friend at work will ask. “Ah…” I’ll think, with flashbacks to sleeping-in on Saturday, on Sunday, and no big …

 

Bachfest 2011

Bachfest 2011

As part of my regular regimen of self-torture (where I peruse things online I cannot have, usually because of cost), I re-visited the Bach Leipzig …

 

Dumbarton Oaks

Dumbarton Oaks

This past weekend I visited the grounds of what’s called Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, up the hill a bit along Wisconsin Avenue. This estate …

 

Movement

Movement

Over the past month, I’ve purchased a couple “complete sets” of music, as I’m often inspired by Mr. McElhearn writing about his boxed sets, although, …

 

Killing the Music Experience

Killing the Music Experience

I cannot comment because I don’t use Windows. Comment on what? You’ll have an easier read over here, but I wanted to get to the original …

 

Taking Stock of Bach’s Cantatas

Taking Stock of Bach’s Cantatas

You can buy all of Bach’s cantatas, as some enterprising conductors have set to do just that, record them all! There was Harnoncourt, then Koopman, …

 

Voices of Music

Voices of Music

Great chamber ensemble from the San Francisco area in California. Among all their videos online, I liked this one the best.

 

Favorite Albums Acquired – 2010

Favorite Albums Acquired – 2010

Each year, the Web, and the blogs that seem to proliferate the Web, fruits “Best” and “Worst of” lists around this time. As a consumer …

 

Picard

Picard

There are little stories behind some of the photos I took recently on my trip to Paris. This one was taken right after we walked …