Mid-Week Mash-Up

 

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 -- Books &...

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THOUGHTS

My sister texted me this afternoon to tell me that she was in the bathtub all alone when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

TICKETS

Another weekend filled with amazing music. Mnozil is an Austrian brass septet founded 30 years ago. They are sublime instrumentality combined with ridiculous stage antics. I only wish that they had shared the play list in advance because I think that I missed a lot not knowing which genre of music were so artful combined in each piece. I did recognize the swirling melodies of Vivaldi's Four Seasons but what the hell else did they melt into it? If you ever get a chance to hear them, say yes.

Sunday afternoon, it was Orchestre Métropolitain of Montreal under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Their opening piece, "Controlled Burn," was written and performed by Canadian composer Cris Derksen; I've never seen such creative use of a cello before. Her piece was my favorite of the day -- and the other two were Rachmaninoff and Sibelius. The other big surprise of the afternoon was pianist Tony Siqi Yun, just graduated Julliard and he brought the house down Playing Rachmaninoff -- standing O and played an encore. My hands hurt from all the clapping.

The best part of the visit from these artists is that they are teaching artists. They go into the public schools for a few hours and they work with the student musicians. Mnozil taught a masterclass for the band at one of the local high schools while members of the OM spent time with a city-wide program and their Youth Orchestra. Many of those students also attend the concerts with their parents. It gives them a chance to see another side of the music world.

READING MY HORDE

Oh dear, just one book this week and it was a DNF at that.

AT THE LIBRARY

WOO-HOO! Just Delivered (Mar 3).
• The Importance of Being Earnest (placed Feb 29)
• Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, (placed Feb 10)

Even though I've completely lost interest in reading Lessons in Chemistry, I still want to see how long it takes to get to me. It has been 27 weeks so far; the original promise was 16 weeks.

THE BOOKS

The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I have read it multiple times and I continue to be fascinated by the combination of painstaking research and serendipitous encounter that go into finding "lost" paintings. I'm re-reading it now because hopefully I will get a chance to finally see this painting when we visit Dublin in May. How did a Caravaggio end up in Dublin of all places? Read the book; it is fascinating.
4.25 stars

Elixir: A Parisian Perfume House and the Quest for the Secret of Life by Theresa Levitt

I had to ditch this one. It isn't about perfume as one might think from the title and the BIG bottle of perfume on the cover. It is about the historical development of the unlocking of the secrets of organic chemistry in the search to finds the whatever that gets us from a jar of chemicals to a live being. I got bored. It just did not grab my attention.
No rating

Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

Fun cold case story featuring Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. My favorite part was the comments that Ms. Oliver, author of mystery novels, makes about her Sherlock.
3.75 stars

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson

Oh, my. Another Hallmark story. Trite but enjoyable with a HEA ending. I'm glad the MC got the kick in the butt she needed to get on with her life.
3 stars

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
A 1950s recording featuring Sir John Gielgud and Dame Edith Evans

If I could see this play once every year, I would. It is such a hoot. It is also one of the first plays that I saw in an actual theater performed by professional actors, as opposed to in the school auditorium with student actors. This was a re-read for me. I already have the LATW version but I decided that in preparation of our upcoming travels to the British Isles, that I wanted to see what other performances I could find. I was thrilled to find one with Gielgud and Evans, two terribly classic British actors. How could I pass it up? My only problem with the performance is that it felt like bits and pieces were missing; it didn't feel long enough (especially when compared to the LATW version).
4.25 stars