Today’s CD warrants a FAVORITE label. There’s just something light, fun, bouncy, and clever about it.
I like it a lot.
Providing the music for these Piano Trios is the Van Swieten Trio, which consists of:
Bart van Oort fortepiano
Franc Polman violin
Jaap ter Linden cello
Here’s a list of Haydn’s piano trios. The are referred to by their Hoboken catalog names, and their date of composition is not always certain. So I’ll Continue reading
It’s hard to believe that 100 days have passed since I began this exploration of Haydn’s music.
One-hundred days!
There are only 50 days left, less than two months.
Today’s CD offers Opus 55, which – like its predecessor Opus 54 – is known as the “Tost” quartets, named after Johann Tost, a violinist in the Esterhazy orchestra from 1783-89. These string quartets were composed in 1788. Haydn was 56.
I listened to Haydn CD 100 featuring Opus 55 twice through today. I wish I could say I remembered a note of what I heard. These string quartets are serviceable. They’re well crafted. But they don’t jump out at me.
Your mileage my vary.
Here’s what I listened to this morning: Continue reading
What happens when Panera just doesn’t cut it any more, when the thought of another Light Roast coffee or Asiago bagel curls one’s teeth?
D&W to the rescue.
I’m not sure what D&W stands for. I’m sure it’s probably the names of its founders, like Dick and Wally or something. But it’s a grocery story chain in West Michigan that’s been around forever.
This morning, D&W’s bright, airy (and chilly!) cafeteria plays host to a few guys with laptops (including me) who are using it as an office.
I see that a lot these days, people using Wi-Fi hotspots as remote offices. Nothing wrong with that. I do it all the time. It’s just interesting to see people with suits and ties (like the chap sitting directly in front of me in the next booth over) working on spreadsheets in a restaurant.
Ten years ago, a guy like that would have been at home, or at the office, but not in between in the professional equivalent of Purgatory.
In case you can’t see the sign, D&W sells Starbucks coffee, as most places do these days.
I don’t know why. Starbucks tastes like boiled car tires to me.
Granted, I used to like Starbucks. But, lately, that Continue reading
Okay. I’ll admit it. One of the reasons why I like initiating these projects is because I love the solitude of being up, out, and about before anyone else is.
In other words, I’m a morning person.
Which would be great if my wife wasn’t a night person. (Actually, she’s neither. She’d rather sleep at both ends of the day.)
So, my semi-nocturnal projects are perfect in that they get me out in my pre-dawn element, while allowing my wife to continue snoozing to her heart’s content.
Today’s symphonies were marvelous. Not up to Paris Symphonies levels. Those six were exquisite. But mighty fine works of art in their own right.
Symphony No. 88 in G was composed in Continue reading