Saturday, 8 May 2004

Voice of the Century Music: Maria Callas - La Voix du Siecle Mood: exuberant Ever since I saw the French movie "Diva" in the early Eighties I have loved that wonderful piece from Act 1 of Catalani's opera "La Wally". A few years later I discovered this gem of a record. The Callas makes the performance in Diva" seem like...well, you can hear it for yourself...no wonder people were swooning when Callas lit up the stage. Put on track 8, "La Wally", and turn out the light...fantastic! 3:42:56 PM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   Saturday Afternoon Music: John McLaughlin - Thieves and Poets Mood: open I realized that throughout my life, I 'borrow' from everyone who inspires me in some way, and not just musical: to the point that I wonder what an 'original' thought truly is That quote is from the booklet notes to above CD "Thieves and Poets". My impressions from hearing the CD only twice: Beautiful music. Nice writing for the orchestra. Beautiful playing by all involved. I truly wish I had seen this performed live in Paris a few years ago, when John McLaughlin performed "Thieves and Poets" and Paco de Lucia performed the "Concerto de Aranjuez" in the same evening. That must have been a once-in-a-lifetime concert. McLaughlin does not have a pleasant guitar sound, but maybe that's just me...I have not once enjoyed the sound of a pick on nylon strings. The lack of flesh makes the strings sound tinny and terrible to my ears. That goes for McLaughlin as well as for Jesse Cook, or Strunz and Farah. Just my personal taste...I am not trying to put down anybody, I am just sharing an aural preference... 3:34:36 PM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   Missing your royalty check from EMI? Well, make sure your name isn't on that list..... 3:29:19 PM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   Sales of Prius shot up 62.4 percent The Baltimore Sun provides some useful info on the current status of hybrid cars in the American automobile market: U.S. registrations for hybrid cars rose more than 25 percent last year, to 43,435...Sales of Toyota's new Prius shot up 62.4 percent in the first quarter compared with sales in the first three months of last year...In March, Honda sold 2,725 hybrid Civics, the most ever in a single month... Half of the hybrids sold in 2003 were the Honda Civic hybrid, and just under half the old model Toyota Prius. Over 11,000 were registered in California, with Virginia coming in at #2 with about 3,400 new hybrids in 2003. [Another World Is Here] European and American car manufacturers better take notice. I have had several European cars in the last decade, but I won't even consider a non-hybrid car at this point. 1:18:40 PM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   A Picasso has sold for $104m TOP TEN MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS 1. Pablo Picasso, Garcon a la Pipe, $104m (£58m), May 2004 2. Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of Dr Gachet, $82.5m (£47.1m) May 1990 3. Pierre Auguste Renoir, Au Moulin de la Galette, $78m (£44.5m), May 1990 4. Peter Paul Rubens, Massacre of the Innocents, $76.7m (43.8m), July 2002 5. Vincent Van Gogh, Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe, $65m (£37.1m), November 1998 6. Paul Cezanne, Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier, $55m (£31.4m), May 1999 7. Pablo Picasso, Les Noces de Pierrette, $51.67m (£28m), November 1989 8. Pablo Picasso, Femme aux Bras Croisés, $50m (£28.5m), November 2000 9. Vincent Van Gogh, Irises, $49m (£28m), November 1989 10. Pablo Picasso, La Reve, $48m (£27.4m), November 1997 Two thoughts come to mind: 1. I would like to see the original amount of money each artist received for the painting - after the gallery's commission was deducted. 2. This has to be a pissing contest between billionaires. If they were really into art, they would buy great young artists. Some of their paintings might double in value overnight, but then again - their names won't be as recognizable in a conversation. 1:10:42 PM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   Adobe Cloud 8:28:07 AM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   Ebony or Rosewood? Guitar fingerboards are usually made of Ebony. Why is that? Probably because all violins, violas, celli and basses are always made with ebony fingerboards. On many fretless instrument Ebony produces a superior tone. although Jon prefers Rosewood fingerboards on his fretless bass guitars. Ebony is not as strong as Rosewood and I believe that Rosewood is better for guitars. It does not look as dramatic as the black Ebony, but works very well. 6:52:14 AM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   Movies I highly recommend the following movies: 1. Chaos 2. Swimming Pool 3. The Man on the Train 4. The Triplets of Belleville I guess I am not into Hollywood movies these days. Some of the above films have been out for quite a while, but I just got around to seeing them. All four have one thing in common. They are French. 6:49:16 AM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry   Stamp out Hunger Day Hopefully you read this in time or didn't miss the USPS post card, Saturday May 8th is a 'Stamp Out Hunger Day'. All you need to do is place a brown bag filled with non-perishable foods where your Postal Carrier picks up and the post office will delivery it to a local food bank. 6:41:47 AM  Permanent Link 2 this Entry

© Copyright 2004 Ottmar Liebert. Last update: 01.06.04; 10:27:24.