Lisztomania.

Bard Music Festival, weekend two
The New York Times, August 22, 2006

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Yes, well. I did promise -- way back on July 24, to be precise -- that just because I'd been afforded the privilege of observing things in an official capacity for the Times didn't mean that I was abandoning this blog. And truthfully, that hasn't been the case. But with the good Dr. LP temporarily in residence for the summer, I simply spent less time hitting concert halls and clubs... though I did see her off with a truly rockin' Central Park concert by Gnarls Barkley and Peeping Tom.

Eraritjaritjaka and Zaide, as well as Hazel Dickens and Will Oldham, went unremarked upon; blame me, not her. But now, school is now in session down south and everywhere else. Alone again, naturally I turn to you for company. And while the Times has provided an exceptional platform from which to observe classical music, I've got dates with Album, Shakira, Asia, Celtic Frost and Iron Maiden penciled into my now-solitary dance card. Assuming those encounters take place, this is where I'll be sounding off about them.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining; far from it, in fact. Having spent an unforgettable stretch of Tuesday afternoon in conversation with Ornette Coleman at his midtown loft, with the art that provided cover images for Dancing in Your Head and Body Meta hanging on the walls nearby, I'm more than ever reminded that -- despite a workload that's pushed me to the edge of panic for more than a few days now -- I am leading a life that can only be described as "blessed," and I plan to continue talking about it.

So I'm back... and I hope you're still here, too.

Playlist:

Ornette Coleman - Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar)

Giuseppe Verdi - La Traviata - Anna Netrebko; Rolando Villazón; Thomas Hampson; Carlo Rizzi conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon); and Anna Moffo; Richard Tucker; Robert Merrill; Fernando Previtali conducting the Rome Opera Orchestra and Chorus (RCA Victor)

Benjamin Britten - Peter Grimes - Peter Pears; Claire Watson; James Pease; Benjamin Britten conducting the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Decca)

Comments

[mwanji]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm still here and happy to read NaN.

[Lisa Hirsch]

"Grassy knell," heh. I once made a reference to the "grassy knoll" in some appropriate context and whoever I made it to was too young or too ignorant to get the allusion.