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Best reviewed books of 2019
Best reviewed books of 2019
POSTED JANUARY 11, 2020
The Literary Hub website may just be the best internet resource for books of all descriptions. As 2019 wound down, Literary Hub posted a dozen or so "best of the year" articles covering various literary genres.... the best-reviewed works of fiction and literary non-fiction...READ
Art Nouveau: the fin de siècle movement that took Europe by storm
Art Nouveau: the fin de siècle movement that took Europe by storm
POSTED FEBRUARY 10, 2020
Art Nouveau was a short-lived movement that captured the imagination of architects, artists and designers primarily in Europe from about 1890 to the First World War. A reaction to industrialization, Art Nouveau works are characterized by sinuous lines and "whiplash" curves inspired by the natural world, often arranged in a decorative scheme that would allow for the repetition of stylistic patterns. The Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi, the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the Czech illustrator Alphonse Mucha are among its most famous and influential practitioners...READ
Art Deco: skyscrapers, locomotives, and 20th century design
Art Deco: skyscrapers, locomotives, and 20th century design
POSTED FEBRUARY 20, 2020
After World War I, Art Nouveau began to feel dated. Contemporary life had become very different from a few decades earlier. It was time for something new, something more "20th century." The response was a movement that came to be known as Art Deco...While Art Nouveau was a reaction to industrialization, Art Deco embraced the influence of the industrial revolution. Where Art Nouveau used sinuous lines and curves inspired by the natural world, Art Deco designs were symmetrical and streamlined, attempting to make machine-made objects more aesthetically appealing... READ
The Scandinavians: Part I - Jean Sibelius
The Scandinavians: Part I - Jean Sibelius
POSTED MARCH 6, 2020
Scandinavia has produced composers, who, while they may not be as famous as their counterparts from other European countries, have contributed much to Western classical music. The three most recognized are Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen, and Edvard Grieg.
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras of classical music. His seven symphonies and his tone poem "Finlandia" are among his most known works. The latter is Finland's unofficial national anthem, composed by Sibelius in 1899 while Finland was ruled by Russia. Sibelius drew much of his inspiration from the natural beauty of Finland and from its culture - being "particularly passionate about the importance of the Karelia region – home to the oldest and most respected aspects of Finnish culture." READ
The Art of Jackson Pollock: from Thomas Hart Benton to the "Drip"
The Art of Jackson Pollock: from Thomas Hart Benton to the "Drip"
POSTED MARCH 17, 2020
Jackson Pollock's iconic "drip" paintings, created between 1947 and the mid 1950's, are world-renowned and among the most valued on the art market. Their unmistakable style makes them easy to recognize, and the technique employed by Pollock is reminiscent of the Surrealist notions of the subconscious and automatic painting. Although he developed a strong early interest in painting, Pollock was not a naturally-gifted artist. And so, in 1930, the eighteen-year-old Pollock made his way from Cody, Wyoming, to New York City and enrolled in Thomas Hart Benton’s Art Students League class... READ
The Scandinavians Part II - Carl Nielsen
The Scandinavians Part II - Carl Nielsen
POSTED MARCH 21, 2020
Brought up by poor but musically talented parents, Danish composer, conductor and violinist Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) went on to become the most influential figure in that country's musical history. He composed complex and modern music for the concert hall as well as "simple yet unforgettable" songs for the Danish public. Nielsen wrote music in many genres, notably symphonies, concertos and choral music, but also operas and incidental music, chamber music, solo works for violin, piano and organ as well as nearly 300 songs and hymns. His early music was inspired by composers such as Brahms and Grieg, but he soon developed his own style, first experimenting with progressive tonality and later diverging even more radically from the standards of composition still common at the time. READ
Magical Realism: Gabriel García Márquez' "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
Magical Realism: Gabriel García Márquez' "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
POSTED APRIL 6, 2020
Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez (1927 - 2014) was the greatest Latin American writer of the 20th century and the most renowned of the "magical realists". In 1982, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature "for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts". When he passed away in 2014 at the age of 87, tributes poured in from around the world for the beloved author...One Hundred Years of Solitude has been called the quintessential work of magical realism. Set in the fictional Colombian town of Macondo, One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the multi-generational story of the Buendia family...READ
The music of Beethoven: the symphonies
The music of Beethoven: the symphonies
POSTED APRIL 15, 2020
In this, the 250th year since the birth of Beethoven, I'll do several posts on his music - perhaps the greatest ever written. This first post is an introduction to his symphonies.
How to Listen to Classical Music and Enjoy It
Beethoven's three creative periods
The Nine Symphonies
The Scandinavians Part III - Edvard Grieg
The Scandinavians Part III - Edvard Grieg
POSTED MAY 1, 2020
Unlike many other European countries, Scandinavian classical music only dates back to the Romantic Age when it “flourished in an atmosphere of national sentiment”. The most renowned and influential of the first generation of Scandinavian composers was Edvard Grieg. As Sibelius did for Finland and Nielsen for Denmark, Grieg drew on elements of folk music, legend, and myth to create a national expression of classical music for Norway. Grieg himself once explained, "The traditional way of life of the Norwegian people, together with Norway's legends, Norway’s history, Norway’s natural scenery, stamped itself on my creative imagination from my earliest years." READ
Romantic Era Art and Music
Romantic Era Art and Music
POSTED MAY 10, 2020
Romanticism was an artistic, musical, literary and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Europe. Characterized by its emphasis on emotion, individualism, and the glorification of the past and nature, it was a revolt against the Age of Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and the Industrial Revolution's emphasis on science. In part spurred by the ideals of the French Revolution, Romanticism also embraced the struggle for freedom and equality and the promotion of justice. .. Gericault, Constable, Friedrich, Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky...READ
Voyager's Golden Records
Voyager's Golden Records
POSTED MAY 23, 2020
In the summer of 1977, two small spacecraft were launched on the longest journey ever undertaken by mankind. Voyager I and Voyager II were each about the size and weight of a sub-compact car. The initial phase of their mission was an exploration of the planets of the outer solar system. After this, they would enter travel on to the stars with a message from Planet Earth..
Before entering interstellar space (Voyager I in 2012 and Voyager II in 2018), they gave us much new knowledge and understanding of the outer planets. Photographs of Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan, Uranus, and Neptune were complemented with the iconic "Pale Blue Dot" photograph of Earth from the edge of the solar system.
[Below: Astronomer Carl Sagan's beautiful paean to the "Pale Blue Dot" ...use full screen option]
In addition to their scientific mission, the Voyagers were on a cultural journey. On board each of the Voyagers were two phonograph records - the Golden Records - which contained sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life who may find them. Included on the records were greetings in 55 languages, "sounds of earth", 116 images and 27 musical selections from all over the planet.
The images included scientific diagrams, photographs of natural environments and animals, cityscapes and famous buildings, and even one depicting how humans ate and drank.
[Below: a compilation of the Voyager images]
Anyone introducing themselves to a new person (or, in the case of Voyager, a new intelligent life form) wants to make a good first impression. The project team therefore pulled together an eclectic blend of music selections which included folk and indigenous music from each of the six inhabited continents as well as classical and popular music ranging from Beethoven to Chuck Berry.
Below are some of the images and links to video renditions of a few of the classical music selections that accompanied Voyager. (A complete listing of the contents of the Golden Record can be found in the Wikipedia entry.)
First row: Third movement (Gavotte en rondeau) from Bach's Partita for Violin Solo No. 3 in E Major, Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13: in B-Flat Major, Opus 130: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (Le Sacre Du Printemps), Part II-The Sacrifice: VI. Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)
Second row: Ansel Adams photograph taken in Grand Teton National Park, a photograph of Egypt, Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula and the Nile from Earth orbit annotated with chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere, a photo of children (UNICEF)
The story of Voyager's interstellar cultural message would not be complete without mention of a famous Saturday Night Live skit. SNL cast member Steve Martin reports on the first positive proof that other intelligent beings inhabit the universe - just a four word reply - "Send more Chuck Berry"
Center: Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode", which accompanied Voyager to the stars
Right: Steve Martin holding "next week's" Time magazine cover. (You can see the skit at NBC.com)
The music of Beethoven: the piano sonatas
The music of Beethoven: the piano sonatas
POSTED JUNE 8, 2020
About Beethoven's piano sonatas, Classic FM notes that there "isn’t a weak one among them, and some are among the most important pieces he ever wrote. They contain every emotion Beethoven was capable of expressing." The piano sonata was a form that he returned to time and time again, composing thirty two over a span of 30 years from about 1793 to 1822. His sonatas are closely linked to the development of the piano, reflecting the increasing range and power of the instruments at his disposal...'Moonlight', 'Waldstein', 'Appassionata', Piano Sonata No.30 - "20 minutes of the most sustained musical rapture you could imagine"... READ (and listen)
Murray Wilkie, a Scottish Ansel Adams
Murray Wilkie, a Scottish Ansel Adams
POSTED JUNE 18, 2020
Photographer and film maker Murray Wilkie's photographs and short films of Scotland put me in mind of the great American landscape photographer Ansel Adams. Like Adams, Wilkie's photographs are of wilderness areas. Where Ansel Adams celebrated the American West, Murray Wilkie gives us the highlands and lochs of Scotland. Like the American West, Scotland's vistas are a constant source of inspiration for photographers...READ
Poetry Set to Music: Dylan's "Rough and Rowdy Ways"
Poetry Set to Music: Dylan's "Rough and Rowdy Ways"
POSTED JUNE 25, 2020
As a teenager in the 1960's, the songs of Bob Dylan always seemed to have something to say to me at just the right time. Protest songs for the civil rights and antiwar movements, surrealist songs reminiscent of the Symbolist poets, songs of longing and romantic love, songs of domestic happiness...it was all there. Now he's released a collection of new songs – something we Dylan fans haven't seen since 2012. “Rough and Rowdy Ways” is poetry set to music. The songs are full of cultural allusions and existential musings as you would expect from the artist who recently turned 79. Blues and ballads and a touch of rock, there is even a love song...READ
The music of Beethoven: the string quartets
The music of Beethoven: the string quartets
POSTED JULY 13, 2020
This is the 250th year since Beethoven's birth. In celebration, I have been posting occasionally on his music. Many regard Beethoven's sixteen string quartets as his greatest compositions. They are among the most intimate of his works and give audiences a peek into Beethoven’s genius during some of his most vulnerable times. While his predecessors like Mozart and Haydn wrote incredible string quartets as well, Beethoven had something new and exciting to offer in his string quartets. He added a new depth, variation, and complexity and took string quartets to a higher level, which was not always appreciated by the audiences of his time...READ (AND LISTEN)
William Wordsworth: poet of nature and the common man
William Wordsworth: poet of nature and the common man
POSTED JULY 29, 2020
Besides being the 250th birthday of Beethoven, this year also marks the 250th birthday of the poet William Wordsworth. Wordsworth, who once wrote that poetry is "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" and takes "its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility," is one of the founders of English Romanticism. Early influences on his poetry included his Lake District upbringing and a walking tour through Europe when he was 20 in the year following the storming of the Bastille. This walking tour of Europe deepened his love for nature and his sympathy for the common man: both major themes in his poetry....READ
Dadaism: artists respond to World War I
Dadaism: artists respond to World War I
POSTED AUGUST 12, 2020
Refugee artists escaping to neutral Switzerland reacted to the senseless slaughter of World War I by developing a unique style - one that rejected reason, rationality, and order of the emerging capitalist society, instead favoring chaos, nonsense, and anti-bourgeois sentiment. If the world was going to wage a senseless war, the Dadaists would respond with absurdity....
The Impressionist Composers
The Impressionist Composers
POSTED AUGUST 24, 2020
Impressionism formed a bridge between the Romantic and Modern eras of classical music. Similar to Impressionist paintings, Impressionist music conveys moods, scenes, and emotions rather than detailed stories. It is characterized by the use of tone 'color' or timbre through different textures, harmonics, and orchestrations to arouse feelings and create atmosphere...Debussy, Ravel, Albeniz...
21st Century Composers: Max Richter
21st Century Composers: Max Richter
POSTED SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
Max Richter's compositions do not fit into tidy categories but he works within post-minimalism, contemporary classical and alternative popular musical styles. His orchestral works often combine ambient sounds, voices and readings (of poetry and other text) with the music. His most ambitious project was "Sleep", an 8.5 hour listening experience of 31 compositions released in 2015 and targeted to fit a full night's rest. He's taken on political issues such as the Iraq War and the war in Kosovo. His recently released "Voices" draws its inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights combines Richter's haunting music and vocals with text from that document... READ (AND LISTEN)
"Dream 3 (in the midst of my life)"
Robert Smithson and Land Art
Robert Smithson and Land Art
POSTED SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Although Robert Smithson died at the age of only 35, his short career inspired numerous young artists - perhaps more than any other among the generation of artists that emerged in the 1960s. A writer and critic as well as an artist, his interests ranged from entropy to medieval Catholic art to mineralogy to science fiction. His large-scale sculptures, called Earthworks or Land Art, engaged directly with nature and were created by moving and constructing with vast amounts of soil and rocks...READ
The music of Beethoven: the Heroic Period concertos
The music of Beethoven: the Heroic Period concertos
POSTED OCTOBER 7, 2020
The concerto is the ultimate showcase of musical virtuosity, where soloist and orchestra compete in a compelling musical dialogue. The soloist’s part is written to impress, to explore the bounds of technical ability, and often includes spectacular cadenzas and a cornucopia of extended techniques...Despite Beethoven's increased hearing loss, his Middle Period (~1803 to ~1814) was his most productive. Works from Beethoven's Middle Period included Symphonies 3, 4, and 5; two of his most famous piano sonatas (“Waldstein” and “Appassionata”); the Razumovsky string quartets, his one opera “Fidelio,” three of his five piano concertos and his ONLY violin concerto...
The many realities of Paul Klee
The many realities of Paul Klee
NOVEMBER 1, 2020
Descriptions of Paul Klee and his work often start with how uncategorizable he is. Klee's highly individualized style has been associated with Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Abstraction, but his works are difficult to classify. He worked in many different media— among them oil paint, watercolor, ink, pastel, and etching, and he often combined them in one work. Klee was an excellent draftsman who experimented with and deeply explored color theory In his artwork we see reflections of many of the ideas that inform his painting: transcendentalism, knowledge and love of music, appreciation of children's art and obsession with color. READ
Minimalism and the music of Philip Glass
Minimalism and the music of Philip Glass
NOVEMBER 15, 2020
Characterized by extreme simplicity of form, Minimalism is an artistic movement that began in 1960's America - primarily in New York and San Francisco - as a reaction to the dominant forms of art and music of the time...The composer Philip Glass was one of the first minimalists and became one of the most influential figures in the music of the second half of the 20th century. Born in Baltimore in 1937, Glass moved to New York in the mid-1950's and was at the center of the Minimalist movement that was beginning there...READ AND LISTEN
Pablo Neruda's Song of the Americas: Canto General
Pablo Neruda's Song of the Americas: Canto General
NOVEMBER 27, 2020
The Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971 "for a poetry that with the action of an elemental force brings alive a continent's destiny and dreams." Already known as a poet when he was just 13 years old, Neruda wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, overtly political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems. He is often considered the national poet of Chile, and his works have been popular and influential worldwide. Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez called him "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language". Perhaps no work better expresses “a continent's destiny and dreams” than his epic Canto General. Pablo Neruda began the work in 1938. Published in 1950, the 231 poems present an encyclopedic history of the Americas from a Latin American perspective....READ
The music of Beethoven: the overtures
The music of Beethoven: the overtures
POSTED DECEMBER 5, 2020
Ludwig von Beethoven was born 250 years ago - on or about December 16, 1770 - in Bonn, Germany. This post, the fifth and final in our series exploring Beethoven's music for his 250th anniversary, looks at his overtures for The Creatures of Prometheus, Beethoven's only ballet Fidelio based on the mythical story of Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus in order to create mankind from clay, and Fidelio, his only opera, about Leonore's attempt to free her husband Florestan, a political prisoner being held in 18th century Spain...READ AND LISTEN
Shakespearean phrases, Johnson's dictionary, books that changed the world and "firsts"
Shakespearean phrases, Johnson's dictionary, books that changed the world and "firsts"
POSTED DECEMBER 16, 2020
Besides his 38 plays and 150 poems, William Shakespeare added at least 1700 words to the English language and a slew of phrases stil in use today...Samuel Johnson's dictionary, literary "firsts" and 1o books that changed the world...READ
Winter
Winter
POSTED DECEMBER 30, 2020
Winter has many faces. Artists, composers, and writers through the ages have explored it and celebrated it. Here are a few of their works and thoughts...Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Vivaldi, Monet, Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Casper David Friedrich...READ AND LISTEN
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