Various Thoughts About My Work
(and a
few other things)
by Bruce Duffie
First posted in March, 2017, with
additions from time to time
On editing my interviews...
As you may or may not be aware, my full-time
employment from 1975-2001 was with
WNIB, Classical
97 in Chicago. Except for four
hours overnight during the week, and four
hours on Saturday afternoons,
the programming was exclusively classical
music in its great variety. In addition
to my regular duties as announcer, I also gathered
interviews with various musicians for use both
on the air and in selected magazines and journals.
In all (through about 2005), I did over 1600
exclusive interviews. A few guests I met
twice, and very rarely even more times. While
it was not the original intent of the management
to include atonal or cutting-edge repertoire,
I was able to add that material on my weekend overnight
shifts, and part of those programs were the interviews
with composers and performers of new music.
Preparing and presenting these interviews
on webpages is very different from
editing sections for use on the radio.
What sounds good to the ear may not look
good to the eye. Hence, various changes
need to be made in order for the resulting
impact to be virtually the same.
Let me state here that it is my purpose
and duty to render the thoughts and ideas
of my guests as completely and accurately as
possible. It is also my feeling that
I should make the guests look good. I
have a genuine interest and overwhelming
love of my subject, and always tried to solicit
ideas from my guests in response to my own inquires
and proddings. Occasionally, I would
ask a question which was purposely ambiguous in
order to allow the guest to have the freedom to answer
in whatever way he or she chose. This would,
however, come after at least a few questions which
would indicate to the guest that I, as the interviewer, knew
what I was talking about, and that I was interested in knowing
what they had to say.
As
to the actual editing, when doing it for
the radio, I would always try to select
sections that showed my guest to their best
advantage. I would also make sure to
end the section on a positive note.
Let me inject here that when WNIB was going
off the air on its final day, I chose
an opera that ended with a positive sound in
a major key — Turandot
— and the final piece of music at 12 Midnight
— Lyric for Strings
by George Walker
— was also a chosen because
of its aural impression, and
the fact that it ended quietly in a major
key. My first thought was to use
Adagio for Strings
by Barber, but that piece was so
associated with the movie Platoon and other works
and dates, that I desired something
more unique and somewhat unknown with the
same feeling. To read more about the final
broadcast, click HERE.
When editing the spoken words for visual
(print) use, certain mannerisms and
repetitions become really annoying, and when
something is annoying, it detracts from the
overall impact. So the phrases ‘you
know’ and ‘I think’, and
the interjection ‘well’
were almost always dropped. I also
usually removed the phrases ‘kind
of’ and ‘sort of’ in most instances
since they diminished the thought and derailed
the impact. My guests were
strong and vibrant, and there was no reason to veil
them in any kind of namby-pamby cloak. In speech,
sentences would often begin with the word ‘and’,
so I would either drop the word, or simply connect
the thoughts into one sentence. Parenthetical
material, which is meant to amplify or clarify ideas, makes
for tricky reading, so I would often re-order the
sentence to get the thoughts together.
I hope you notice that in all of the instances
I never changed any ideas of my guests,
nor did I put words into their mouths.
Their thoughts are what has come through...
at least that has always been my hope, and what
I strive to accomplish. On the rare occasion
that my guest would not answer my question directly
— or at all! — I would change
my question in the print edition so that my guests
could answer in the way they saw fit.
If there were any digressions or extraneous portions,
those were usually omitted, and any glaring errors
were either fixed or explained. Again, those
instances were very rare.
I did change English-English to American-English,
but mostly only in spelling.
‘Labour’
became ‘labor’,
‘theatre’
became ‘theater’,
‘programme’
became ‘program’,
‘organisation’
became ‘organization’,
and references
to a group became singular rather than
plural. ‘The audience
don’t care’ became ‘The
audience doesn’t care’.
This adjustment, by the way, is only in the
text of the interviews. The biographical
boxes and reprints of obituaries were almost
always left intact.
People whose first language is not English
will often become quite proficient
with English vocabulary, but will continue
to use their original structure patterns.
Whereas in English we put the modifiers
first — a lovely blue sky
— others might speak about ‘a
sky blue lovely’.
Those quirks have often been fixed, though
not in every instance.
It always was my intention to present these
conversations as something to
learn from and enjoy. The transcripts
are not of the ‘legal stenographic’
kind. My guests were not on trial.
I was a guest at their concert venue
or in their hotel, or they were guests in my
home or studio. I always treated them with
kindness and respect, and allowed them to express
themselves without fear of any kind of accusation
or derision.
It is special to be able to do it at all,
but I have managed to do it quite well
in both the audio medium and the printed
renditions. Not to toot my own horn,
but most people seem to think I am pretty good
at both. I have found it necessary
to look not only at the big, overall picture, but
also the smallest details. I’m
sure there is nothing new or extraordinary about
this, but keeping that in my mind as I edit goes
a long way to strengthening the impact of each interview.
I know these interviews
are generally long, but they
are what I have, and I want to share what
is there. In a radio broadcast,
people have to sit there until it is over... or
go away and miss whatever comes next.
On the printed page, readers can interrupt their
journey and (hopefully) come back at some point
to pick it up again without missing a beat.
Occasionally I will update the pages with
new photos and links. So even
though a date at the bottom might indicate the
page was uploaded before others, that
is why later interview links can appear.
I do not do this chore very often, so there may
be links which could be on a page, but are not.
However, as long as there is the possibility of
additions or corrections, things might get improved!
On that thought, it always pleases me to
be able to include links to other interviews
within each new one that is posted.
In most cases, these are names that are brought
up by the guest, or appear in the biographies
or obituaries. Only occasionally have
I introduced them in the course of asking
questions, and in each case, the reference
was, I hope, relevant and logical.
I freely admit to being
a cheerleader for my topic and my guests.
This is not a bad thing since I am not a
news gatherer, but rather a feature reporter.
Because my interviews were Features rather
than News, some of the basic rules and formats did
not apply. For instance, the old adage
for news gathering is to ask these questions:
who, what, where, when, why, how, huh?
That last one (which I have added) is usually where
I got the best and most interesting responses.
[A brief related addition,
posted on November 5, 2019] Regarding
my webpages, several times I have received
requests to place advertisements. In
all cases I have declined, and despite my tight
financial situation, I hope to be able to continue
to say a resounding “NO!”
to any and all inquiries of that sort.
= = = = = = = = = = =
The
following list appears on a couple of
the interview pages, but since people
continue to ask, here is the answer . .
.
I have done interviews with
several musicians who were born in
the Nineteenth Century. My guest with
the earliest birth-date (March 10, 1892)
was soprano Dame
Eva Turner.
However, composer/administrator John Donald Robb
(June 12, 1892), though three months
younger than Turner, was nearly two years older
at the time of our conversation. Hence,
a clarification is needed when I am asked who
my oldest guest was! Next in birth-order
is composer Paul
Amadeus Pisk (May 16, 1893), followed
by composer/pianist Leo Ornstein (December
2,
1893), and lexicographer Nicolas Slonimsky
(April 27, 1894).
Then come mezzo-soprano Sonia Sharnova
(May 2, 1896), composer/critic Virgil
Thomson (November 25, 1896), and composer Vittorio Rieti (January
28,
1898). The order continues with composer/pianist
Ernst Bacon
(May 26, 1898), followed by composer Marcel Dick (August
28, 1898),
conductor Werner
Janssen (June
1, 1899), and composer Alfred Eisenstein (November
14, 1899). The remaining
four are composers Elinor Remick Warren
(February 23, 1900),
Otto Luening
(June 15, 1900), and
Ernst Krenek
(August 23, 1900), and finally publisher Hans Heinsheimer
(September 25, 1900).
The rest of my guests were born in the Twentieth
Century. Perhaps, if I have
the opportunity, I might interview someone
born after January 1, 2001, and thus have
conversations with people born in three
different centuries and two different millennia!
Though there is no clerical error involved,
and it is not my intent to pad my statistics,
somehow the film Mr. 3000
comes to mind.....
= = = = = = = = = = =
Many of my guests are mostly or completely
unknown, and in an odd way, that pleases
me very much. If someone who is little-known
becomes more-known through my efforts,
then I have succeeded in bringing forth something
special to the composite knowledge of mankind.
A lofty statement, certainly, but when one thinks
about it, each of us is asked to push our tiny segment
forward, and my task seems to have been to enrich the
musical world through discovery of interesting items.
Yes, I have also presented some of the best-known and
most popular figures, but, as John von Rhein mentioned
in a Tribune article
about the station, he admired my collection of
‘oddball’ composers and performers.
Many times, after doing a program featuring
one of them, I would get a call or two asking why this
person was not better-known. The callers
would remark to the effect that the music or performing
artistry just presented could certainly stand up
against the output of the well-knowns.
Editing these interviews from a quarter-century
ago or more, I often find interesting
sidelights and tidbits that either amplify
ongoing ideas, or give new insight into little-explored
or un-spotlighted areas of the subject.
It is truly amazing that these thoughts would
be found in the most remote places and come
from such unlikely sources. This is why I do
what I do, and I hope that others both enjoy and are
enlightened by it all.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Despite the fact that my early exposure
to great music was on radio (mostly
WEFM, the station sponsored by Zenith
in Chicago), and that I built up a huge
collection of recordings on LP and open reel
tape, and that I made my living at another station
(WNIB, Classical 97, also in Chicago), I
maintain — and have said
openly many times — that
the real place to hear great music is live in a
concert hall or opera house. The collision
of these two worlds becomes the so-called ‘pirated’
performances. Usually
operas, these gained wide circulation
amongst the cognoscenti, and in my teens and twenties
I found a number of people who traded copies
of various things with me. However, once I became
a professional radio announcer, I was very
careful NOT to use any of this material on the air.
First of all, the sound quality was often poor, and
even though those of us who obtained these performances
understood this, the casual listener would not be
expected to be aware of the reason(s) for presenting
something in poor sound. Besides that, broadcast
rights were very tricky, and I did not want to involve the
station in anything which could have caused legal problems.
It is a thorny issue, and the musicians I have spoken with
have not come to any kind of consensus about it. Many
of them collect copies — not
just of themselves but of others, both past and current
— even while decrying their use and existence!
I remember specifically one top record executive
remarking on the Texaco Opera Quiz that he does, indeed,
collect them, but would immediately bring suit
against anyone who tried to distribute copies of one of
the artists on his label!
These days, though I am not involved in
the day-to-day broadcasting activities,
I am posting interviews with my guests and
illustrating the webpages with photos of
the artists and their recordings. I find
things on the internet, but try not to use any
copyrighted material, and I eschew the placement
of images of pirated recordings on my sites.
The commercial recordings are fair game,
especially since I am giving them free publicity,
but usually not the broadcasts and in-house items
which seem to abound.
= = = = = = = = = = =
A few random thoughts.............
Whoever named the Butterfly committed
a spoonerism. I think that
every time I see one flutter by, no matter
what the articles on its etymology say.....
Technically, I was born in Elmhurst, Illinois,
on March 11, 1951. My mother’s
doctor was at Elmhurst Hospital,
so that is where she went to deliver me.
My father, however, always insisted I was
born in Evanston, since that is where we lived
at the time. With the myriad suburbs surrounding
most major and minor cities, I wonder
how often this kind of thing happens...
It is pleasing to me that I am exactly
— to the day — 100
years younger than Rigoletto.
Another Verdi opera, Don Carlos also
had its premiere on March 11, but in a later year (1867).
I also share that date with composer Carl Ruggles
(1876) , and band leader Lawrence
Welk (1903). A quick Google search
just now also revealed many others, including
Shemp Howard (1895). [Related story...
I met Michael Fine when he was producing one of
the recordings made by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
I inquired if he was related to Vivian Fine, whom I
had interviewed. He said no. I then asked if he was related
to Irving Fine, another composer, and he said no.
Finally, I asked if he was related to
Burton Fine, principal violist of the Boston Symphony.
Once more, the answer was no. He
then volunteered that he was related to
Larry Fine of the Three Stooges.] More March
11 birthdays... Astor Piazzola (1921), Mercer
Ellington (1919), and Henry Cowell (1897).
When I interviewed Geraldine Decker,
we had a great laugh that she, also, was born on
March 11 (1931).
They left out the letter ‘D’
from the name Arizona.
I’ve never been there,
but I know it’s quite arid
in the South West...
There are three major musical works in
three different languages, all of
which the public quite often mistakenly adds
the word ‘the’
before the name. To
wit: Messiah,
Pagliacci, and Winterreise. Each one is named as
just shown, NOT The Messiah, nor
I Pagliacci, nor Die Winterreise. [Note that the
title of the TV Game Show Match
Game also lacks the article. More
about that program later on this webpage.]
What is with this overwhelming compulsion
to cite the excrement of the male
cow?
English is not the easiest of languages… It can
be understood through tough thorough thought though.
General observation... Regarding professional sports, we,
in the Twenty-First
Century are just like the Ancients.
We take delight when our city’s
hired gladiators defeat any other city’s
hired gladiators. [GO CUBS!]
= = = = = = = = = = =
[September
1, 2017] While there have always
been doomsayers and other prophets
predicting the end of time, in the past
twenty years, there have been three distinct
events which many people truly believed signaled
the End of Days. Obviously, they were
wrong, but it is interesting to make note of them...
(1) Y2K. In anticipation of the numbered-year
leaving
the 1900s and moving to the 2000s, the
hue and cry was heard all over the
world that the computer systems could not handle
that change, and all our electric and electronic
grids would fail, and we would be destroyed.
Much time and effort was put into correcting
the problem, which apparently worked.
(2) One version of the Mayan Calendar simply stopped
on December 21, 2012,
and many people felt this was to be the last
day of Earth. Another version (which carried
on for many more years) was later discovered,
but that did not seem to prevent a few people from
weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth.
(3) On November 2, 2016, the Chicago Cubs won the
World Series.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[December
26, 2017] A number of people
have asked me about how I selected
which interviews would be used on the air,
and when they would be presented. These
days, on the WNUR series — and
also on the late (and hopefully lamented) series
on Contemporary Classical Internet Radio
— there really is no rhyme nor reason
for selection. Programs were prepared,
and now the ones which exist are simply repeated
after two or three years, and usually in a different
month. HOWEVER, in my quater-century
at WNIB, I was very careful and rather ingenious
about timing. Fairly early on, I stumbled onto
the use of ‘round birthdays’. This
simply meant that when a composer or performer had a ‘round
birthday’ — 50, 55, 60, 65, 70,
etc. — they got a show. Every
five years each one would come up, and a few of the early
interviews aired several times. These programs
were in addition to any promotional use
— such as when one of their works was being presented
in live performance in the Chicago area, or in conjunction
with a new recording. The advantages of this system
meant I did not have agonize over who had been done and
who might be neglected, and so forth. It also was completely
color-blind and gender-blind. There are only 366
possibilities, and everyone has one whether they like
it or not. It also suited my style, in that I celebrated
life and not death. Yes, I mourned and eulogized
my guests when they passed away, but I did not, thereafter,
mark their dates of death with special progams.
What
brings all this to mind is a brief article
in the newspaper, which is reproduced
at right. Since I am not doing fresh interviews
any more, I wondered just how well I did
during the time I was gathering them, from 1978-2006.
So, I counted up just the composers, and
of the 496 names, 62 are women (12.5%), and 15 or
16 are African-American (approximately 3%). The
discrepency is a man named Roque Cordero.
He was included in the series of recordings
of music by Black Composers issued on Columbia
LPs, but in our interview he told me quite
forcefully that he did not like that label. He
insisted he was Panamanian, not black. There
are probably others — both in general
and on my list — who dislike or even disown
one category or another, but that is for another
discussion. As to other minorities, I cannot accurately
compute them for various reasons. First, I am often
unaware of their background. A name might come
from a few generations back, or perhaps have been lost
or changed through marriage or assimilation. Further,
I have met a number of composers who belong to countries
other than America. How should I count them? Are
they to be lumped into a vague category of Minority-Citizens?
Then, to discount the entire exercise, it is not
my desire nor intent (nor responsibilty!) to ascertain
any kind of pedigree. My interest is their music, and
their ideas about its creation and presentation. Beyond
that, I truly do not care. Their race or sexual orientation
or any other factors are not my concern. As long
as they are part of the Classical Music community, I
accept them as such, and will give them their shot (as I like
to say). In truth, I consider all these
kinds of labels both insulting and unnecessary. We are
all people, citizens, musicians, etc. Naturally, I
do not want to purposely include or exclude anyone, and without
really paying much specific attention to the matter, I think
I have been rather fair and equitable. Looking at the
numbers mentioned above, I assume that this percentage also holds
for the performers... though the women will have a higher resulting-number
since they account for nearly all of the sopranos and
mezzos! As to conductors — which are
even more neglectful of the distaff side — there
are 14 women in my group of 224 interview guests,
which is 6.25%, plus six African-Americans.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[January
6, 2018] During this Holiday
Season, I was listening to some old favorites,
including The Typewriter,
a novelty piece by Leroy Anderson. It occurred
to me that it might not be too many years
until that device, which was once ubiquitous,
would not be even recognized by most of the populace.
In musical terms, it would be like mentioning
the Ophicleide or the Serpent...
Just a
note regarding soft timbre... Throughout
musical history, usually the
brighter and louder instruments have won the
battle. However, the actual idea of being
‘loud’
is, ironically, soft-pedaled!
There are two significant instances
where the idea (and nomenclature) of being
‘loud’
was dropped. One of the early
hammer-struck keyboard instruments
was the ‘fortepiano’
or the ‘pianoforte’. Forte
means loud, and piano means
soft, so it was literally the ‘loudsoft’
or the ‘softloud’, indicating
its ability to be both, contrasting to the plucked-instruments
such as the harpsichord
and the virginal. Quickly, the
name was abbreviated to simply ‘piano’,
as we know the instrument
today. So, the idea of being
‘loud’ was dropped. The
same thing happened to the box which actually
turns electrical signals into sound, namely
the ‘loudspeaker’.
We all know it as
a ‘speaker’, which,
again, drops the idea of being loud. [You
may insert here any and all puns involving
the word ‘allowed’.]
=
= = = = = = = = = =
On
the subject of things that are obsolete,
I have wondered for a long time if the
slide rule was the object which went the fastest
from being absolutely necessary to being completely
useless. Everyone who did any kind
of mathematical computation needed one, and
relied on it in every instance. But as soon
as the electronic hand-held calculator came out,
the slide rule was immediately pushed aside,
never to return to any kind of use... except as a relic
of a bygone age.
Of
course, we can always look back even
farther in time to the abacus . . .
Chinese
type (5 plus 2) above; Japanese type
(4 plus 1) below
Noting
the two different systems shown,
today, one might think of the rivalry
between Mac and PC, and realize that
such dualities have existed for centuries.
Recently, there was the debate between
VHS and Beta video tape systems, between
45 rpm and 33 rpm records in the late 1940s, and
cylinders vs. lateral-cut 78 rpm discs at the turn
of the Twentieth Century. There was no
real problem with the introduction of electrical
recordings in 1925, since reproducers in the home
could accommodate both. The only real need for
new equipment was at the production end, and the
record companies invested in the new system. The
same could not be said for the introduction of stereo
in the mid-1950s. There, the home consumer had
to be persuaded to purchase new equipment, and this was
not even a decade after everyone had to abandon their 78 machines
in favor of the LP players. A similar upheaval in the
music industry was seen with the advent of cassettes and CDs.
A story
I heard many years ago (and have repeated
in the hopes it was mostly or completely
true) involves the size and playing-time
of the compact disc. It seems that one of
the people who were calling the shots at the time
of its creation was a Japanese man who knew that
his countrymen simply adored the Beethoven Symphony
#9. So, to accommodate that piece of
music, the CD needed to hold about 74 minutes of
sound. The story may or may not be true, but it
makes a good legend, and I simply choose to believe
it.
[August 31, 2019, and inserted
here to keep the topics together] Thinking
again of 78s, here's the famous image of
our old friend Nipper, and a couple of tidbits
about its origins . . . . .
His Master's Voice
(HMV) is a famous trademark in the
recording industry, and was the unofficial name
of a major British record label.
The trademark image comes
from a painting by English artist Francis
Barraud titled His Master's Voice.
It was acquired from the artist in 1899 by the newly
formed Gramophone Company, and adopted as a trademark
by the Gramophone Company's United States affiliate,
the Victor Talking Machine Company. According
to contemporary Gramophone Company publicity material,
the dog, a terrier named Nipper, had originally
belonged to Barraud's brother, Mark. When Mark
Barraud died, Francis inherited Nipper, along with a cylinder
phonograph and recordings of Mark's voice. Francis
noted the peculiar interest that the dog took in the recorded
voice of his late master emanating from the horn, and
conceived the idea of committing the scene to canvas. The
incident took place at 92 Bold Street, Liverpool.
A different source relates
a cautionary tale for artists about getting
and keeping the copyright for art...
When Barraud painted Nipper
curiously searching for his master's
voice in the phonograph's horn, not only was
the artist turned down for a copyright for the
image, but he was also rejected by the Royal Academy,
and various magazines. The Edison Bell company responded
that "dogs don’t listen to phonographs."
Barraud eventually sold
another painting, with a Berliner brass
horn, to one of the company's managers, where
it caught the eye of the Emile Berliner, the
company's founder, who commissioned another copy
AND bought the rights to it! The famous image went
on to become the trakemark of the Victor Talking Machine
Co. Victor was Berliner's partner, and the image ultimately
survived Victor's merger with RCA in 1929. It was
printed on record labels, letterheads, novelties,
and catalogues for decades, but Barraud, the
original artist, only received two payments of £50
each.
Here are a few more details
about the dog, and the original painting
(shown below, which depicted a cylinder
machine, and not the flat-disc machine we all know)...
Nipper was born
in 1884 in Bristol, England, and died in
September 1895. He was a mixed-breed dog and probably
part Jack Russell Terrier, although some
sources suggest that he was a Smooth Fox Terrier,
or "part Bull Terrier". He was named Nipper
because he would "nip" the backs of visitors' legs.
Nipper originally lived
with his owner, Mark Henry Barraud, in the
Prince's Theatre where Barraud was a scenery designer.
When Barraud died in 1887, his brothers Philip
and Francis took care of the dog. Nipper himself
died of natural causes in 1895 and was buried in Kingston
upon Thames in Clarence Street, in a small park surrounded
by magnolia trees. As time progressed the area
was built upon, and a branch of Lloyds Bank now occupies
the site. On the wall of the bank, just inside the entrance,
a brass plaque commemorates the terrier that lies
beneath the building. On 10 March 2010, a
small road near to the dog's resting place in Kingston upon
Thames was named Nipper Alley in commemoration of this resident.
In 1898, three years after
Nipper's death, Francis Barraud, his last
owner and brother of his first owner, painted
a picture of Nipper listening intently to
a wind-up Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph. Thinking
the Edison-Bell Company located in New Jersey,
USA, might find it useful, he presented
it to James E. Hough, who promptly said, "Dogs don't
listen to phonographs". On May 31, 1899, Barraud went
to the Maiden Lane offices of The Gramophone Company
with the intention of borrowing a brass horn to replace
the original black horn on the painting. Manager William
Barry Owen suggested that if the artist replaced the
machine with a Berliner disc gramophone, that he would
buy the painting. The image became the successful trademark
of the Victor and HMV record labels, HMV music stores,
and the Radio Corporation of America, after the acquisition
of the Victor company in 1929. The trademark was registered
by Berliner for use in the United States on July 10, 1900.
Francis Barraud said, "It
is difficult to say how the idea came
to me beyond the fact that it suddenly occurred
to me that to have my dog listening to the phonograph,
with an intelligent and rather puzzled expression,
and call it 'His Master's Voice' would make an excellent
subject. We had a phonograph and I often noticed
how puzzled he was to make out where the voice came
from. It certainly was the happiest thought I ever
had."
The slogan "His Master's
Voice", along with the painting, was
sold to The Gramophone Company for £100
(equivalent to £10,628 in 2018) – half
for the copyright and half for the physical painting
itself. The original oil painting hung in the EMI
boardroom in Hayes, Middlesex, for many years.
The two cartoons below
reflect our 'progress' as we firmly embrace
the Twenty-First Century, and amplify my remarks
vis-à-vis the typewriter . . .
. .
[Another observation, from May
11, 2020] Future generations may
wonder why something called a "compact" disc held
more material than a "long playing" record!
Next
is a cartoon from 2017 (below-right), which was originally
placed on this page on September 27, 2021. The other
cartoon (on the left, and probably from a couple of decades
ago) just seemed appropriate, and was added January 30,
2022.
Statement seen: "Classic
LPs are going for record prices!!!!"
Next, yet another vinyl gag
[added to this page on July 16, 2022]
= = = = = = = = = = =
[June
29, 2018] Alert observers might
notice that as of the end of March, 2018,
many of the links to my interviews which
appear in Wikipedia articles have a
slightly different format. Specifically,
my name has been removed from the line.
For several years, it was <<<Interview
with (name of guest) by Bruce Duffie, on
(date of interview).>>>
Because someone complained that I was
spamming, and felt the only reason for
these links was my own self-promotion, that person
urged the removal of all of these links. A
discussion was launched, and several Administrators
weighed in with their opinions. Fortunately,
enough of them saw the importance of the interviews
themselves, and the complainant was admonished
to cease the battering, and even urged to apologize
(which did not happen). After about a
week, the discussion was formally closed, and the upshot
was that I removed my name from many of the links,
and am not including it in future postings. However,
a number of the old-style links remain, so there might
be a bit of confusion since they are not uniform. For
anyone who cares to read it, the entire discussion is reproduced HERE.
[Updated information
about the above item] Since I had
"corrected" many of the links (to remove my name),
another editor(s) felt this was wrong, and undid
some of those corrections... thus replacing my name
in the link. One editor contacted me about the
removals, and I showed him/her the discussion (linked
above). Since I don't go back to old Wikipedia pages
very often, I do not know whether the changes have
been made to a few or many of them. It is unimportant...
as long as the link itself is there, I am satisfied.
[Further updated
information about my involvement with Wikipedia] In
August of 2021, another editor started deleting my links.
Upon inquiry, he stated that I had no rights to
use the images of record covers. I explained that
record companies sent me promotional copies of their material
in hopes that I would use it on the air, and also (where possible)
show their images. I even checked this out with one President
of a major record company, but this did not stop him from saying
he would continue to delete my links. Despite having been praised
as "an asset to Wikipedia" by several Administrators (shown above via
the link), I knew that he would see anything I added or deleted from
Wikipedia. So, I have simply withdrawn from any further involvement.
My hope is that he has lost interest in me, and that my earlier
links would be left intact. I say all this to (a) let you know
that no further interviews will be linked, and (b) tell why some links
might disappear from existing pages.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[January
3, 2019] In reading some of the
comments about my interviews, a couple
people have noted that a few of my questions
tend to pop up with regularity. While this
is certainly true, I do hope that in each case the
inquiries come naturally, and at an appropriate
place in the conversation. I never worked
with a specific list of questions, and always
tried to discuss the specific strengths of each guest.
However, since all were involved in so-called
Classical Music, there were bound to be common points
of interest and expertise. To look at it another
way, when you eat at my restaurant, each meal on the menu
will be unique, but many will have some ingredients in common.
Since all are being prepared by myself as chef,
there will be some resemblances and similarities. I
hope this does not discourage anyone from sampling my cuisine.....
It is also interesting to see how various
people respond and react to the same
question(s). Continuing the metaphor,
there will certainly be differing opinions
from various people to the same item on my menu.
Observing those reactions should not,
necessarily, cause me to change the recipe. Perhaps
having a few condiments on the table will
allow for each person to season the dish to their own
taste, but this can only happen when a certain stability
is built into the process. Once again, my goal
with the interviews is to allow each guest to express their
own views, and I trust that a few similar questions
will get a variety of responses.
= = = = = = = = = = =
A few years
ago, I met a fine baritone whom I had
known on the stage for a long time. Warren
Fremling has performed in local and regional
productions over the years, and has had a significant
impact each time. Lately, he has
been an invaluable help to me by proofreading my interviews
before they are opened to the public on my website.
I am grateful to him for pointing out not
only mistakes (of which, fortunately, there are few),
but also for occasionally suggesting better ways of expressing
the ideas. As I have mentioned, I never change
the focus nor direction of the words my guests use,
but by tightening and sometimes re-gathering thoughts,
their objectives are made more clear to readers. In
several cases, Warren has suggested slight changes which
bring these thoughts into sharper focus, and for that
I am eternally grateful.
In our exchanges,
he also has provided me with further
insights into the world of professional
singing, and his most recent gift to me was a clear
and succinct explanation of the various voice-types,
and how they can be viewed by experts and
novices alike. With his permission, it is
reproduced here...
There
are two
things that decide this. The first
is color. Richness in the middle
voice is revealing. The second, and
much more reliable, is the location of the bridge
or passagio. A mezzo’s bridge is a-kin
to a baritone’s. It’s on the D, a ninth above
mid-C (a baritone’s being an octave lower, obviously).
I’ve diagrammed voices according to their
interest and comfort to the listener’s ear – not
what the singer does, but what is natural
to the instrument. A soprano or tenor sound like
this: \/ - the bottom is light and the voice
sounds more interesting and easier as the voice
ascends. The mezzo and baritone sound like this:
() – the voice is fattest in the middle. We have
some of the low notes of the contralto/bass and some
of the high notes of the soprano/tenor, but you can’t
live there. The middle is where we’re most at home.
The contralto/bass is the exact opposite of the soprano/tenor
– the voice gets fatter and more beautiful with the
descent.
|
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[February
4, 2019] As the the shortest
month of the year rolls around once again, I
am reminded of the one word which I simply gave
up trying to pronounce correctly. I
made an effort, but it simply was too awkward to do
both correctly and smoothly at the same time. I
could say Feb-ROO-rary, but it required slowing
down the enunciation to the point where it was simply untenable.
[You may insert any kind of joke here, regarding
it not being a ten, or even a nine, but perhaps a two or
three at best...] Imagine, if you will, a car
on the highway, and for some unknown reason it just slowed
to a crawl. It would certainly look strange,
to say nothing about impeding traffic and being hazardous.
This is not to say that an announcer mis-pronouncing
a word on the radio could be hazardous in any way,
but you get my drift... So if any tapes exist of my work
where I say the name of the second month, you will hear a
firm and confident FEB-you-air-ee. I know it is wrong,
and I knew it at the time, and I make no excuses.
I am sure I made
other mistakes, and, indeed, I was corrected
on a few occasions. But by and large,
I was complimented by members of the public
on my accuracy and stylistic manners. It
was especially nice to hear that I had pronounced
the name of a person or location properly from
someone who was from that particular locale. I
want to say, however, that when someone called to
make a correction, my first task was to ascertain
if that person on the telephone was accurate! There
were a few occasions when a caller would berate
me and give a different version of the way to pronounce
a name, and when I checked with a known authority, I found
that my own rendition was correct, and the caller had
been wrong. It reminds me of the sign which famously
hung in the City News Bureau for many years, which
screamed, “If your mother says
she loves you, check it out!”
On that particular
subject, I remember one evening when
we aired a syndicated broadcast of the Los
Angeles Philharmonic. The announcer
(who shall remain nameless) proclaimed the conductor
to be Esa-Pekka Sa-LOH-nehn. Well,
I had interviewed
the Maestro, and, as usual, had
asked him to do a station break, in which he said
his name. His pronunciation was SAL-oh-nehn.
At some point during the evening, I must
have said his name myself, and pronounced it his way,
and immediately received a phone call screaming at
me for my stupidity. “If
the announcer on the Los Angeles Symphony broadcast had
said it one way, that MUST be the accurate way!”
I tried, very calmly, to explain,
but the caller simply slammed the phone down. The
next evening, I brought in my interview tape and played
the station break. I have no idea if that caller
from the previous night heard it, but at least I settled
the matter for anyone who was listening . . . . .
= = = = = = = = = = =
[April 22, 2019]
Consider, if you will, the following
scenario... Bill opens a small restaurant
that features Fine Dining. He is successful,
and over the course of forty-five years, the eatery
becomes well-known and highly-respected. After
spending his adult life maintaining this establishment,
he decides to retire. As it happens, the location
he originally chose -- which was, at the time, perfectly
good but not very popular -- had become very desirable.
So Bill closed the restaurant and sold the location
to Bonney, who brought in her own staff and opened a shoe
store. It immediately attracted business, and became
very competitive.
Now when one thinks
of the history of the restaurant vis-à-vis
the ongoing story of the shoe store,
it should be obvious that aside from the physical
location, there is no connection whatsoever. Right?
Perhaps, the historical account of
each one should have a mention of the other as being
at the same address, but that's certainly all the crossover
interest there would be.
With that in mind,
I ask you to look HERE.
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[June 28, 2019] Following
up on my remarks about diversity
(above, with the date of December 26, 2017),
much has transpired in the short time since
then. While I do not — and did not
— go into
the political area when conversing with my musical
guests, it has come to my attention that the
Music World is, nonetheless, very much involved
in such social matters. For example, the
editorial in Opera Canada of Summer, 2019, discusses
the “central debate about
how to keep the art form relevant for an audience which
no longer passively accepts the racist, misogynist
and sexist tropes of yesteryear.” It
goes on to discuss the “challenges faced by
women singers portraying some of the standard repertoire’s
iconic roles... many of which are mired
in stereotypes we find unacceptable in the
#MeToo era.”
My reason for bringing
this up is to point out that in several
of my interviews — which
date from 1978-2006 — I
specifically ask the question of my female
singer guests. To wit: “How
do we keep these Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Century characters relevant to women (and
men) today who have gone through world wars, and social
upheavals, and other developments of our times?”
This is not to
just pat myself on the back for being so
forward-looking, but to show that my own curiosity
was such that it became imperative to inquire
about these ideas, and to ask how they resonated
with audiences far removed from the original mores
and strictures.
Of course, in the
theater, the production team can (and often
does) re-set the action to a later era,
or even to the present day. That is,
again, a discussion for another time and place,
but it does move the ideas in ways that can provoke
or amuse. There is also the need to remember
that it was only in the early Twentieth Century that
the classical musical public abandoned its craving
for anything and everything which was new. Until
then, while there were performances of older pieces, it
was the newest and latest symphonies and operas which were
anticipated with genuine eagerness. Once this trend
was lost, the oft-repeated repertoire began to show signs
of losing its immediate contact with concert-goers,
and from there it is the famous ‘slippery
slope’.
In any event, I just
wanted to call attention to my own small
attempts to make inquiry when possible, and
to show that my own feeling is that opera
can remain a viable and exciting living breathing
art form.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Music Joke... Question:
What are the names of the Three
Bears? Answer: Smokey Bear,
Yogi Bear, Jacques Ibert
Second Music
Joke... What if we discover that’s
what it really is all about? [Reference:
Hokey Pokey]
Third Music Joke...
Question: What is the voice-range
of the quarter-hour? Answer:
People often say, "It'll be tenor
fifteen minutes!"
Fourth Music Joke...
A woman is on trial for beating
her husband to death with his guitars.
The judge asks, “First offender?” She
replies, “No, first a Gibson, then a Fender.”
Musical variation on an old
joke... If Mezzo-Soprano Shirley Verrett
married Tenor George Shirley,
she’d be
Shirley Shirley!
Continuing with a bit
of music humor, for those who wish to look at a slightly
risqué image, this R-rated item
is the photo of a sculpture depicting the realization
of a very old (music-related) joke. While it is nothing
more bold than what one would see at a museum, remember, no
one is forcing you to look. So, by clicking the link you
implicitly agree that your viewing is voluntary, and no complaints
can be made.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[August 29, 2019]
I stumbled upon this item just now,
and thought it would be fun to post it
here. For those who do not read music, or
for anyone interested in seeing a nifty connection
between this tune and the main thrust of my website,
click HERE.
Lest you think it
is only one or two goofballs at a single
establishment who would make such an error,
consider the fact that the government of the
former DDR (East Germany) issued two postage stamps in
1956 to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of
composer Robert Schumann. They were the
same portrait of Schumann, used for two denominations,
but the music in the background was by Franz Schubert!
These are the top two stamps in the illustration
below. Soon, the error was discovered,
and a new version of the stamps (with music by Schumann)
was issued, as seen in the bottom two in the illustration.
There have been other
philatelic mistakes, but most have been
caught before the stamps were available to
the public for use as postage. This is not
about printing errors, such as inverted images, or
mistakes in colors or perferations. Rather,
place names have been mis-attributed and people
have been wrongly identified. But those
shown below are the only foul-ups I know which involve
music or musicians.
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= = = =
[September
19, 2019] The following is from
an essay about the (missing?) "A" in Neil
Armstrong's famous first statement when
he stepped on the moon, which was posted on the website
"The Conversation" 7/16/19.
----------------------
When we talk, we formulate a thought, retrieve words from memory and
move our mouths to produce sound. We do this quickly, producing, in English,
around five syllables every second.
The process for listeners is equally complex and speedy. We hear
sounds, which we separate into speech and non-speech information, combine
the speech sounds
into words, and determine the meanings
of these words. Again, this happens nearly
instantaneously, and errors rarely occur.
These processes are even more extraordinary when you think more closely
about the properties of speech. Unlike writing, speech doesn’t have
spaces between words. When people speak, there are typically very few
pauses within a sentence.
Yet listeners have little trouble determining word boundaries in real
time. This is because there are little cues – like pitch and rhythm – that
indicate when one word stops and the next begins.
But problems in speech perception can arise when those kinds of cues
are missing, especially
when pitch and rhythm are used for non-linguistic
purposes, like in music. This is one reason
why misheard song lyrics – called “mondegreens”
– are common. When singing or rapping, a lot
of the speech cues we usually use are shifted to accommodate
the song’s beat, which can end up jamming
our default perception process.
[October 18, 2019]
When I was a teenager in the mid
1960s, I actually did some work with computers...
designing flow charts and writing code in
FORTRAN. The lines were then put onto punch cards,
which then ran through the computer to execute the
(very simple) programs. I didn't stick with it,
though, and only came back to computers via a Memorywriter
(a word-processor) which the radio station had, and
used for awhile to publish the WNIB Program Guide
in the late 1980s.
My reason for mentioning this
at all is that some time back then I saw the
famous saying which is reproduced below. Recently
I remembered this saying, and looked it up
via a Google search. The many presentations
varied a bit, but had the same basic content. Besides
the signs and posters there was a tee-shirt, a coffee
mug, and even one going so far as to use faux nazi stationery.
In any event, here is one rendition
for your enjoyment.................
In the same Google search,
I spotted the following item, which probably
should be posted in every office................
[March 23, 2021 (yes, a year after the item which
follows)]... This next image actually belongs
with both the items above and below! .................
= = = = = = = = = = =
[March 24, 2020] During
the coronavirus pandemic, I happened
upon this article,
and felt it was significant enough to share. Perhaps
it should also be posted in every office, along
with the item shown directly above (about the rising
cost and increase of stupid questions), as an antidote
to the situation . . . . . . . . . (!)
Obviously, there is nothing
funny about the coronavirus, but there
is some humor to be found in the actions of a few individuals
. . . . .
[April 22, 2020] Current
version of old joke: Why did the chicken
cross the road? To maintain her social-distancing!
[November 9, 2020, and Covid is still the
#1 topic everywhere... *sigh*]
[April 17, 2021... as it all still drags on] My
local grocery store has gone too far.
They’ve put a big X on the floor to show where
to stand in line at the register.
I’ve seen enough Roadrunner cartoons...
I’m not falling for that.
[October
30, 2021] Do we even need Halloween
anymore? I’ve been wearing a mask
and eating candy for 14 months…
= = = = = = = = = = =
[June 24, 2020] We owned a Smart Car (shown
on right in the photo above) for about five years. It was really very
comfortable, and fun to drive
around town. Our other car was a mini-van,
which we used for transporting larger items, and
took on longer road trips. One day, when
our Smart Car was parked in a lot that was full, the
owner of the white Smart Car asked if she could use the
‘other half’
of our space. The result looks as though
our cars are kissing! In the spirit of
admonishing a couple who are showing too much PDA (public
display of affection) to “Get a room!”,
a passer-by shouted, “GET A GARAGE!!!”
= = = = = = = = = = =
[September 12, 2020] As
people who have read my interview with Charles
Nelson Reilly know, one of my guilty
pleasures is watching re-runs of Match
Game. The ones I like best are from the 1970s,
with host Gene Rayburn, and panelist Richard Dawson,
who was there until 1978. Of course, Reilly was
there throughout, and he truly made the show funny. One
of the other regular panelists, Brett Somers, said that
a fan had declared that the program should really be called
Charles Nelson Reilly's House Party, alluding
to another program actually called Art Linkletter's
House Party. One week, Raymond Burr was in the
lower-middle position of the six panelists. My reason
for mentioning all of this is that on one episode that
week, there were two questions relating to music! The
first one went something like this... Tough Teddy
said, "Our school was soooooo tough... [audience shouts,
"How tough was it?"] ...it was so tough that the the school
orchestra kidnapped the janitor and put him in the _______."
[The panel and contestants were to fill in the blank at
the end of the sentence, and when they matched, it scored
a point for the contestant.] The more popular answer
was "Tuba", given by the contestant and four of the panelists,
but Reilly (and one other panelist) said "Drum". This
was what the writers were going for, since there was a commercial
product called "Janitor in a Drum". The second musical
question was, "Pat Pending (!) invented a juke box for people
who hate music. You drop a quarter in the slot, and it
______s the record." The obvious answer (which won the
game for the contestant) was "breaks" (or smashes).
[November 2, 2020... amazingly
this goes with the Match Game item
above!] I continue to enjoy these re-runs, and
now they have added the evening series Match Game
PM. Each week had a stand-alone game which
was edited a bit to get through the entire game in
one segment. (The weekday edition just played for
the time allotted, and games spread over to the next day
when necessary - which was most of the time!) Anyway,
there were two music questions in recent PM programs...
The first was "Lawrence _______". The panelists
gave Lawrence of Arabia, and Lawrence Welk, then Reilly
chimed in with, "I know this is an old reference, but Lawrence
Tibbett!" Rayburn acknowledged that he knew of "the
famous baritone", and began singing the Toreador Song from
Carmen, but the audience was not impressed. The third
response from the polled audience was Lawrence Olivier. For
the record, Lawrence Welk was chosen by the contestant, and
won the top prize. The other question was more obscure. The
question was "_______ foxes." The panel suggested sly foxes,
and, being theater people, Little Foxes (the play by Lillian
Hellman). I don't remember the third choice, nor which
was the winning item. I was engrossed in the fact that while
Somers and Rayburn were trying to remember which actress starred
as Regina on Broadway, and which one was in the film, Reilly screamed,
"AND BRENDA LEWIS STARRED IN THE OPERA REGINA BY MARC BLITZSTEIN."
I was so proud of him at that point. For the record,
it was Tallulah Bankhead on Broadway (1939), and Bette Davis
in the film (1941). The opera premiered in 1949 at the 46th
Street Theatre, with Jane Pickens as Regina, conducted by Maurice Abravanel.
Lewis sang Birdie, but then moved to the title role
when the opera was revived in 1953 at the City Centre
Opera.
[December 2, 2020... a couple more related
items] Two more questions come to mind,
and both relate to music in the nude. (!) A
well-endowed lady volunteered for the All-Nude Orchestra.
Unfortunately, she played _________. The
contestant responded with Cymbals, and some panelists
also said that. But after all six made their contribution,
Rayburn said that his answer was the Accordion! [Huge
laugh from the audience.] On another episode was this
question... A man complains to the conductor of the
All-Nude Marching Band, "I don't mind playing in your ensemble,
but do I have to walk in front of the _________???" Again,
the contestant said Cymbals, but a couple of the panelists
said Trombone!
[December 27, 2020... one more item!]
This is from the third version of the program,
the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.
This incantation of the program only lasted
one season (October, 1983 - July, 1984). Rayburn
returned as host of the Match Game portions, and
Jon Bauman (who had been Bowzer with Sha Na Na) hosted the Hollywood
Squares segment. Bauman dressed normally, in
a suit and tie, with regular hair, not all greased up.
However, he did occasionally refer to his Bowzer character
"from a previous life," and sometimes showed his famous
open-mouth fists-in-the-air pose. Anyway, on one segment,
there was this (musical) question: "When well-endowed
Wanda played her accordion, Lady of Spain became
Lady of _______." As it happened, one panelist
(Mark Russell) gave away the punch line by saying that the title
became Lady of Pain, and they had to throw out the question
before the contestant had a chance to respond. For those
who are interested, see my interview with accordionist Robert Davine.
On another program, the question was "George was
always tired when he got home from work because he
was a ________ salesman." I don't remember
any of the other responses, but Bauman said "Anvil", and promptly
started singing the "Anvil Chorus" from Il Trovatore.
(Remember that Bauman had attended Juilliard!)
Rayburn also joined in, but no one else seemed to
respond to their rendition. *sigh*
[January 16, 2021... though the date of my posting
is not really relevant since all the Match Game
programs are re-runs from 45 or more years ago!]
Another couple of musical questions... "George
knew his son would be a musician because his head
was shaped like a __________." The contestant
said Violin, and the six panelists said Drum, Grand Piano,
Heart - which is an Organ (the panelist made that clarification!),
Triangle, Tuba, and Reilly said a G-Clef, and drew a very respectable
image on his card. The last panelist (Joyce Bulifant)
noted that it was quite an ensemble, and Rayburn pointed
out that there were seven different excellent responses. [The
following was added on November 27, 2021, but placed here
for obvious reasons] On another program, there was a
different set of seven responses. The question was, "Ugly
Edna was the center-fold of Musician's Monthly because
her legs looked like a ___________. The contestant said
Violin, and the six celebreties said Baton, Tuba, Piano Legs (Reilly),
Cello, Slide Trombone, and a Pair of Bassoons (Patti Deutsch).
Another question
was, "When Joshua wanted to destroy the wall in
Jericho, his trumpet wasn't enough, so he used a _________."
The contestant and one panelist said Tuba,
another panelist said Piano, one said Bulldozer, and the
other three said Hammer. Rayburn lamented that four
of the six panelists just didn't understand the question! Though
there were no 'right' or 'wrong' answers, he often would
gently deride them when there was one (or more) obvious answer,
and the contestant or panelists would completely miss the
joke.
[February 12, 2021] Yet another "Audience
Match" question was, "Bella _______." Dawson
rightly said that the audience often mis-spelled
their responses, and that despite his name being Bela,
they might have said "Lugosi," which, indeed was the
number-one answer. Incidentally, other questions
on the program often used the character of Count Dracula,
and Rayburn spoke the quote in an accent quite close to
Lugosi's. Again, I forget what the number two response
was, but Reilly's (third position) response was, "Bella
figlia dell'amore," which is the opening phrase of
the Quartet from Rigoletto. Rayburn then began
singing the phrase (correctly). It's just another reason
why I love that show.
[September 21, 2025, and placed here to keep these items together...]
Another opera-related question was, "Nerdo-Crumbezia [their mythical
little horrible country] has the sleaziest opera company. [Audience
screamed, 'How sleazy is it?'] Instead of playing Madame Butterfly,
they played Madame ______." The contestant said Madame Worm.
The panelists said, Madame Beetle, Madame Moth, Madame
Housefly, CNR said Madame Roach, Madame Margarine Fly
(instead of 'butter' fly!), and one said Madame & Wayland (alluding
to the comedian Wayland Flowers, whose act included the puppet 'Madame',
and was known as Wayland and Madame.)
[March 21, 2021... yet another one to SPRING
up... ! (Sorry for the pun. I just
wanted to SEASON this line.)] Rose phoned her
psychiatrist. She said, "My husband is on the roof!
He thinks he's a ________" The contestant said
Cat. Three panelists said Bird, one panelist said
Weather Vane, and another said TV Antenna. Reilly
said FIDDLER ! (Get it? Fiddler on the Roof!)
[January
23, 2022] One more re-run just seen... The
question for the big money was "______ toast". One
celebrity response was "French" (which was the $500 (top)
audience response, and the one the contestant chose). The
next celebrity response was "White", and then Reilly said,
"I'm going to give a Nellie answer. MELBA!" He had
to explain who Nellie Melba was, and that she was a famous opera
singer. It turned out that Melba Toast was the $100 audience
response.
[February 19, 2022]
From another re-run of Match Game 75... The
tuba player said, "I don't think that new conductor likes
me. In the middle of my solo, he started __________ing
in my tuba!" While the celebrities were writing their
responses, CNR asked, "How far was the tuba from the conductor?"
(Some laughter from the audience) Betty
White asked, "And what was the trajectory?" (More laughter)
CNR continued, "How old was the conductor? All those
strings to get across..." (Much laughter) The contestant's
response was, "Tinkling". Rayburn then pretended to be
on the podium looking at the orchestra, pointing to the violins, then
the cellos, then the basses farther away, and, "Waaaay in the back
are the tubas." The celebrity answers were a bit boring...
Allen Ludden said "Blowing", Brett Somers said, "Barfing", CNR
said "Eating lunch", Dolly Martin said "Expectorating", and Betty
White said "Pouring Water." Richard Dawson was the only one
who matched the contestant with "Tinkling".
[March 7, 2022... I
just keep watching the progams, and they keep serving
up the music questions] On a PM show, the question
was: A Marching Band member said, "I learned a painful lesson
today. Never stop fast when there's a ______ player behind
you." The contestant said Tuba, but all six celebrities
said the 'right' answer, which was Trombone!
[Also September 21, 2025] Staying with the tuba, on another later
show, panelist Phyllis Diller was giving a few of her one-liners, one of
which was, "My mother-in-law's mouth is sooooo big, she could play the tuba
by blowing into the wrong end."
From another (regular
weekday) show from 1978... Jack said, "This t-shirt
craze is really wild. I saw a girl with an entire
orchestra on her front. She had the biggest ________
I ever saw!" The contestant said Cymbals. The celebrities
said Tubas, Instruments, Bassoons, and Maracas. CNR
said Kettle Drums, to which Rayburn commented that when they
were upside down they'd look... (he never bothered to finish the
sentence since everyone was laughing). By this time, Richard
Dawson had departed for Family Feud, and Bob Barker (host of
The Price is Right) sat in the lower-center seat that week.
He said Boobs, to which the audience loudly booed. He
then said, "This audience is the pits... like orchestra pits!"
and the audience continued to boo. After everything settled
down, Rayburn said that in the office, they all thought the answer
would be Bongo Drums. Yes, there were more boos from the audience.
It's really a fun show...........
[March 17, 2022...
and the shows just keep coming along!] A Match
Game Limerick: A kinky young pianist named Twist/Played
piano with only his wrist./When he got on his knees/And
banged on the keys/He said, "I'm bound to be ________." The
contestant and four on the panel (including CNR) said Kissed.
Dawson said Hissed (which was my answer), but Bobby Van
had the best response, which was LISZT !
Another question from
another show... A stripper said to the night
club owner, "I want a new dressing room! The musician
next door just poked a peep hole through the wall with
his __________." The contestant had the best answer,
which was Trombone, but none of the panel said that. CNR
was away doing a Broadway show, so Gary Burghoff sat in his seat
and said Drum Stick. (He had actually worked as a jazz drummer,
and was seen in M*A*S*H playing a drum solo (which
was not overdubbed!). Other responses were Piccolo, Horn
(which matched), French Horn (which did NOT match), and two said
Instrument.
[August 19, 2022] From
a very early program in the series, since Rayburn was
called the Host rather than the Star... A music teacher
said to Dumb Dora, "You don't play a _________ by blowing on
it." The contestant and five of the panelists all said
Piano. CNR was the only one who said Violin.
[October 17, 2022] Here's yet
another pair of questions... They call Oscar the Orchestra
Leader "The Ostrich" because when the band plays bad, Oscar
sticks his head in the _______. The contestant and three
panelists said Tuba. Arlene Francis said Pit, and CNR said Toilet.
[The contestant had matched one in the previous round, so
only 5 panelists responded.
The other question was an Audience
Match. Slide _________. Brett suggested Rule,
Betty White said Projector, and Richard Dawson made a joke
of Slide, Kelly, Slide (the 1927 silent film), but then opted
for Trombone. I was amazed that Trombone did not show up as
any of the audience's responses. The third most popular response
($100) was Home, the second ($250) was Projector, and the top one
($500) was Rule. I don't remember what the contestant picked,
but it was not Trombone..... *sigh*
[November 18, 2022] A baritone
asked a tenor, "How do you hit those high notes?" The
tenor replies, "Before each performance, my wife _______s my shorts."
The contestant and four of the panelists said starches.
Patti Deutsch said heats, and clarified that it was because
the theater was cold. CNR said lights. Dawson then remarked
that if she lights the shorts, only dobermans would hear the high notes!
[March 18, 2024] Each year there are some
'new' additions to the re-run rotation, and now the syndicated version
(without a date attached) is being seen. One show from 1980
had this item... Old Oscar the musician is really old. He
played his first duet with ________. The contestant said Beethoven,
and when Rayburn asked why she had come up with that, she said it was
the only song she knew. However, she soon started saying "Jesu
joy (of man's desiring)" which some audience members shouted was by Bach.
The panelists' responses were Brahms (Robert Walden), Bach (Brett
Somers), then CNR said he had The Definitive Answer: Gabriel, because
he blew his horn! Judy Landers then said Eve, Bill Daily said Lawrence
Welk, and Marcia Wallace said, "That good little tuba player, Noah!" CNR
then chimed in that Noah would have played the Double Bass, since everything
on the Ark came in pairs!
[October 28, 2025] On a re-run when CNR was NOT there (he was off
directing a play on Broadway), the question was "Rudolph ______". The
suggestions were "...the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (which was the $500 response),
"...Valentino" ($250), and "...Nureyev" (who spells his first name Rudolf,
but, as Rayburn often said, "Spelling doesn't count here"). The $100
answer was Bing [General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York 1950-72]!
I will always assume that had he been there, this would have been CNR's
suggestion.
= = = = = = = = = = =
I am proud to say that a quotation
from my interview
with Maria Tallchief was used as the text with
the animation in this Google Doodle.
To see the video, and read about its creation,
click HERE.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[December 20, 2020] A couple of
images for the season . . . . . The first
one is not new, but does involve some wonderfully
appropriate critters!
On the other hand, it has
been a very tough year . . . . .
= = = = = = = = = = =
The following panel contains two separate jokes.
Do NOT try to make them into
one idea. They just happened to be inspired
by the world situation . . . . .
All of
his reminds me of an actual musical chord, concocted
by Nicolas
Slonimsky,
which he
calls The Grandmother Chord (shown immediately below)...
From
the interview, here is how he explains its derivation...
Technically, it is a mathematical problem because
you have to use all twelve different notes and all eleven different intervals.
It's not so easy; if you start by just trial
and error, you won't get anywhere because you
will either repeat a note or repeat an interval!
But I also found that musically it's very easy. Jocularly
I say that great adventures always have very elementary fundamental
principles, and this principle is extremely simple!
Using a convergent system of intervallic progression, the
first note of the scale, let's say C, then the last note of
the chromatic scale, B. Then the second note of the chromatic
scale, C-sharp and the one before — the
penultimate — B-flat, then D, A, E-flat,
A-flat, E, G, F, F-sharp. So it's convergent, and
when it's expanded [sings, alternating between low and high notes]
"da-DAH-dee-DAH-dah-DAH" and developed throughout seven octaves,
then I have my Grandmother Chord.
= = = = = = = = =
Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30,
1862 – December 22, 1950) was a German-born
American conductor and composer. He is best remembered
today as long-time director of the New York Symphony
Orchestra and for conducting the world premiere performances
of George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F
(1925) and An American in Paris (1928). Damrosch
was also instrumental in the founding of Carnegie Hall. He
also conducted the first performance of Rachmaninov's third
piano concerto with Rachmaninov himself as a soloist.
Damrosch was the National Broadcasting Company's
music director under David Sarnoff, and from
1928 to 1942, he hosted the network's Music
Appreciation Hour, a popular series of radio
lectures on classic music aimed at students. (The show
was broadcast during school hours, and teachers were
provided with textbooks and worksheets by the network.)
According to former New York Times critic
Harold C. Schonberg in his collection Facing the Music,
Damrosch was notorious for making up silly lyrics for the
music he discussed in order to "help" young people appreciate
it, rather than letting the music speak for itself.
|
Now, ninety years later, what would be the
long-term effect of even a mere five million listeners
(and viewers) of similar presentations on their
computers? I hereby "donate" all the interviews which
are posted on my website as research
materials to be used as any kind of compendium or
supporting material to a venture such as this.
= = = = = = = = =
[October
16, 2021] Occasionally, people notice that
my name (DUFFIE) is spelled differently than usual.
As a young boy, I asked my father about it, but he
just dismissed it with a shrug and a throw-away line about
an ancestor being a horse-thief. In any event, when
heard and not seen, most people will assume it's DUFFY. That
has never bothered me, except when necessary... like directing
people to my website! There, the name needs to be spelled
correctly.
When
speaking with composers, or others involved with new
music, they often asked if I was related to John Duffy. A
few even thought I was him! John was
a composer himself, who also founded Meet The Composer
in 1974, and ran it until 1996. When John and
I eventually met, I distinctly remember that we both had to
carefully write the other's name when scribbling our contact
info. I also interviewed the violinist Robert McDuffie,
and there is a woman named Duffie Adelson, who ran the Merit School
of Music in Chicago. In college, after we music
students learned about the early Renaissance composer Guillaume
Dufay (or Du Fay, pronounced doo-FYE, or dew-FY, in either case
it rhymes with defy) (1397-1474), I was always called by that
name.
What
brought all this to my mind recently was watching baseball
games of the Chicago Cubs. (Yes, even after trading
away several of their best players, I will still follow
them, as I have since I was a kid.) After being
with other teams, the infielder Matt DUFFY signed with the Cubs
for 2021. It always pleased me to hear the TV announcers
say his name, especially when he hit a home run, or made a
spectacular fielding play. As it happened, there were
a couple of Cubs games against the Minnesota Twins. (They
don't play each other very often because they are in different
leagues, but now, with inter-league contests, they do meet
every few years.) Until I happened to hear my family
name spoken on the Twins' roster, I was unaware of pitcher Tyler
DUFFEY. Unfortunately, I didn't pay close enough attention
at the time to know if DUFFEY pitched to DUFFY.
After
the fact, I e-mailed the Cubs to find out, but received
no answer. So, I sent the same e-mail to the
Twins. Again, no answer. Finally, I contacted
the Cubs Insider, an unofficial website. Well,
you guessed it, I got no response. That's three
strikes, so I'm out. This is too bad, because it would
have been fun to speculate about DUFFIE watching DUFFEY
pitching to DUFFY. Of course, the best would be
if I was at Wrigley Field to catch a homer, or even a foul ball
in this situation! *sigh*
Oh well,
as they say, "Wait 'til next year . . . . ."
[May, 2022] It's
now 'next year', and DUFFY has been traded to the Los
Angeles Angels. *big sigh*
[October
19, 2021] Also regarding names... The
Poet and Peasant Overture by Franz von Suppé
is certainly one of the more popular items on concerts
of light music. It's from an 1846 Viennese operetta
Dichter und Bauer, to use the original title. For
a long time, my interview with pianist Mischa Dichter has
been posted on this website. Earlier today, I
uploaded my conversation with conductor Harold Bauer.
I just thought it was a nifty happenstance.
= = = = = = = = =
[October
30, 2021] A friend of mine sent me the following
item. It reminds me of Emily Litella, the malaprop
character played by Gilda Radner in the early years
of Saturday Night Live.
[November
17, 2021] With all the re-thinking about
language these days, just as we call 8:00 "eight o'clock",
perhaps we should call August "eight o'calendar."
Also, what is the difference between a thingamajig
and a doohickey?
= = = = = = = = =
[November
27, 2021] The cartoon below could easily have
been inspired by my own work-space... *sigh*
= = = = = = = = =
[December
31, 2021] Three thoughts as we move from one
year to the next.....
A guy walks into a bar on New Year’s Eve and orders a glass
of champagne.
“It’s finally happened!” he exclaims. “I’ve made enough money that
I don’t have to work for the rest of the year!”
-----------------------------
My New Year’s Resolution is to go to the gym more often, get into
grad school, pay off my bills, and learn a
new language.
I don’t have a clue how I’m going to get all that done by tomorrow.
-----------------------------
I’m going to stay up on New Year’s Eve this year.
Not to see the New Year in, but to ensure this one leaves.
= = = = = = = = =
[January 8, 2022] First, let me say that I am
NOT a gamer. I don't play video games, and really never have. When
I was in undergraduate school, I played Pinball,
which had flippers controlled by my hands, and a
round steel ball which knocked down targets and banged
into bumpers to accumulate points. It was kinda fun,
and I wasted a bit of time on the machine in the basement of
my dorm. Partly, it was also that we discovered a way
to 'cheat' a bit, thus gaining free games, and allowing us to
keep playing for no extra cash.
Later, while
working for WNIB, there was a pinball machine in the
coin laundry next to my 'L' stop, and I'd sometimes
go in and play a bit. Being cheap, I'd put in 50
cents, and play until that was gone. Sometimes I'd spend
an additional 50 cents, but never more than that amount of
money. Usually, that meant fifteen to twenty minutes,
but occasionally a half hour, and sometimes a mere five minutes.
What brings
this all to mind was an article by Jake Peterson which
I just stumbled on in the Lifehacker website.
It was titled, "Why Do Retro Games Look Better
On Old TVs?" The subtitle was, "8-bit Mario is never
going to look great on your 65-inch 4K TV." Here are
the opening two paragraphs...
<<<If
you own retro consoles—say, a Super Nintendo
or a Sega Genesis—you have access to some of gaming’s greatest
roots. However, you might find plugging these awesome consoles
into your current TV doesn’t result in the experience
you remember from years past. Games look fuzzy and distorted,
and it can be tempting to think your memory is playing tricks
on you. It’s not your memory, though; it’s your TV.
For retro gamers, the CRT is the
display of choice. Those giant, boxy
television sets that nearly everyone threw out or
gave away in favor of modern flat panels are actually
coveted for their ability to properly display games from the
‘80s, ‘90s, and even part of the aughts. Retro games are
not designed for modern, pixel-dense TVs.>>>
The article then goes on to explain the
thesis in detail, most of which I do not understand and don't care to explore
further.
My reason for bringing this up is that
since discovering 78 rpm records as a teenager,
and learning of the difference between 'acoustics'
and 'electrics', the old collectors insisted that acoustics
sounded better on outside-horn machines [as shown here
on the right, and also seen above where the dog Nipper is listening
to His Master's Voice]. This means that these records
do not sound as good when played by equipment which has
speakers. A variation of the outside-horn machine was
the inside-horn cabinet, which simply put the horn into the box,
and allowed it all to look nicer in one's living room. In
the photo at left, the horn is in the short chamber immediately below
the turntable, and below that is a larger chamber where records could
be stored. When not in use, it could be all closed up, and
was a distinguished piece of furniture. A photo of two of
the greatest singers of that era, Tita Ruffo and Enrico Caruso,
listening to their efforts can be seen on the page of my interview
with George Jellinek.
They only made one record together, on January
8, 1914. That page also has a self-caricature made
by the tenor of the recording process of singing into
the horn.
Acoustic
records were recorded by singing or playing into a
horn that looked like a megaphone, and electrics were
recorded by using a microphone. The date of change
from one to the other is 1925. All records made prior
to that date are acoustics, and after that date they all are
electrics. The change was almost immediate, and generally
universal, because it was the record companies which had to invest
in the new equipment, which they did. Both acoustics and
electrics would be playable on either horn or speaker machines,
so it was not that urgent for the public to get new equipment.
It is similar to film, in that all movies prior to The
Jazz Singer of 1927 were silent, but after that date,
little by little sound was incorporated, and they were called
talkies. But the change was more gradual because it meant
that all the movie houses had to invest in sound reproduction equipment.
Other huge changes happened in 1948 with the introduction
of Long Playing records, (although a few 78s were still being made
as late as 1955 or so), and again in the mid-1950s when Stereo came
along.
Anyway, it just
hit me that no matter what development comes along,
a similar upheaval probably occurred in the past...
*sigh*
[January 13,
2022] Continuing with the idea of recordings,
while preparing to post my interview with oboist Ray Still, he mentioned
that early in his career he had played on a record
called Classical Music For People Who Don’t
Know Anything About Classical Music, conducted
by Robert Russell Bennett. A bit of searching turned
up some interesting items, which are shown below.
= = = = = = = = =
[January 30,
2022] For a very special music joke about Mary
Had a Little Lamb, click HERE.
[February 5, 2022]
Remember the old PSA (public service announcement)
shown below-left? Well, I've devised a new one
relevant to my topic, shown below-right . . . . .
[March 5, 2022]
Three computer jokes . . . . .
I heard Reggae music coming from my printer.
The paper was jammin’.
—
I bought a 3D printer, but I didn’t like it.
So I 3D printed a dumpster to throw it in.
__
On
Ash Wednesday I will be giving up spreadsheets for
40 days and 40 nights.
It’s going to be completely
Excel Lent.
= = = = = = = = =
[April 28, 2022] C'mon...
we all knew this was going to happen, right???
[August 21, 2022]
As the new school year begins, perhaps we should re-examine
the curriculum . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[September 17, 2022]
It is known that I never discuss politics, and rarely
post items of topical interest. However, back in 1987,
I had a wonderful interview
with Lord Harewood. During his lifetime, he was
(among other things) editor of Opera Magazine and the famous
Kobbé's Complete
Opera Book, Director of the Royal Opera Covent Garden
and the English National Opera, as well as several festivals,
and the BBC. He had boundless enthusiasm for opera in general
and Verdi in particular – equating his music with
Shakespeare's plays.
He was also a member
of the British Royal Family. Captain
George Henry Hubert Lascelles acceded to the title of 7th Earl
of Harewood on 23 May 1947. Lord Harewood [pronounced
HAHR-wood] was the grandson of King George V, and first cousin
to the late Queen Elizabeth.
With her passing, and the accession
of King Charles III, I wanted to present this small bit
of my conversation . . . . .
BD: You are first
cousin to the Queen. Has your involvement and interest
in the arts engendered more interest on her part?
H: I don’t think
she would put it down first in her list of hobbies if she were
asked to write in Who’s Who.
The one member of the family who likes it a lot and is very
involved is Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.
He likes music a lot, but he is the first person for a generation
who has.
BD: Permit me to ask
one question, and you may dodge it if you like. Will
he make a good king?
H: [Matter of factly]
Oh yes. I think he’s a marvelous man. He has
so many qualities and so many experiences and he’s so judicious
about how he estimates them and how he goes about them.
I think he’ll be extraordinary.
* * * *
*
[September 19, 2022] [This
item by Norman Lebrecht appeared on September 18, 2022,
in the column SlippedDisc, ‘the
#1 Classical Music News Site’.]
In 2016, Judith Weir received the Royal Command
to become the first woman ever to serve as Master of the Queen’s
Musick, a title that dates back to 1626. No-one proposed, then or
now, to modify the term Master in a manner that made it more gender
inclusive. Now she is Master of the King’s Musick.
She tells the Washington Post:
‘I think most of us have grown up with, as we knew him,
Prince Charles. He actually is a most unusual lover of classical
music. He was a cellist in his youth, played in college orchestra
and really intensely loves classical music. He’s made some very
touching statements when interviewed about his interests and has
made it clear that it’s absolutely top of the list. I don’t expect
there to be less interest in what we musicians do, and I’m sort
of anticipating that there’s a chance for us to do even more,
once he gets over the huge backlog of work he has to do.’
* * * *
*
In another item, Weir says: ‘“For
this funeral service, Westminster Abbey requested that
I set to music the first seven verses of Psalm 42, “Like as
the hart desireth the water-brooks: so longeth my soul after thee,
O God”. The words and music speak at first of the soul’s great sadness
and thirst for God’s reassurance; but as the psalm progresses,
the mood becomes calmer and more resolved, culminating in consolation,
with the words “Put thy trust in God”. The Queen’s strong faith
in, and support of, Anglican worship was an inspiration for me
when setting this psalm to music.”’
= = = = = = = = =
[October 1, 2022] Over
the years, Kathy Cunningham has created several groups of
hand-made ceramic pumpkins. One is pictured below, and
more can be found HERE.
= = = = = = = = =
[Thanksgiving, 2022] As
we head into the Holiday Season once again, the Museum of
Science and Industry in Chicago presents their annual exhibit
Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light. Since
2011, Kathy Cunningham has been in charge of the USA TREE,
which is always a highlight of the display. This year, she
made a set of enamel ornaments depicting the birds, flowers, and trees
of each state, plus Washington D.C., and the four US Territories. These,
along with the set of wooden ornaments and other items from previous
years adorn the tree. Everything except the crystal icicles and
the flags is hand-made, and can be seen on the various webpages starting
HERE. Shown
below-left is a shot of the tree after being decorated by
the Friends of the USA Tree, but before it had been placed
into the exhibit. On the right is a close-up of one of
the new ornaments (front and back) as an example.
= = = = = = = = =
[December 4, 2022]
I ran across the following cartoon a couple months ago, and
saved it for Christmastide. Having grown up as a choral
singer, this particular carol appeared regularly. Like
Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall, it can become
repetitious. (!) If I may, allow me to recommend one
(of many) recorded versions for your listening pleasure. When
Joan Sutherland
committed it to disc, she used an arrangement by Douglas
Gamley. Since it only runs 3:10, let me suggest that
you listen to it twice. The first time, just enjoy her
lovely voice. The second time, ignore her singing (as much
as possible), and concentrate on the rest of the sounds. It
is the 'arrangement' which is notable, and can even be used as a
teaching-device to demonstrate the possibilities of making a terrific
version of an over-familiar (and over-repetitive) piece.
= = = = = = = = =
[December 27, 2022] A
few months ago, I ran across some cartoons by a Canadian pianist.
I saved this one (below) for an appropriate time . . . .
. . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[January 19, 2023] As
we head into the New Year, here's a bit of news that's sure
to cause consternation among lovers of Classical Music... *huge
sigh*
= = = = = = = = =
[February 14, 2023] It's
Valentine's Day, which reminds me of a wise-crack I used to
say in years when I was on the air that evening (1975-2001). [Note
that when one hears the term 'VD', it usually refers to venereal
disease, which is now called STD, or sexually transmitted disease.]
Anyway, on Valentine's Day I would, "Wish everyone a safe,
happy, and prosperous V.D." While I was never reprimanded by
the management for saying that, I do wonder if such a phrase might
not be decried as unacceptable in today's socio-political climate.
Being on a Classical Music station, perhaps my listeners
were a bit more sophisticated than those tuned to the Top-40 bubble-gum
frequency... (!)
= = = = = = = = =
[March 2, 2023] Throughout
my adult life, I have always encouraged people to experience
live Classical Music concerts. As far back as when I was
in junior high school (7th and 8th grades), my growing knowledge
and enthusiasm manifested itself in this quest. Later, I have
been quoted as saying that though I made my living on radio via recorded
performances, the LIVE variety was The True Way.
Some months ago, I saw the following cartoon,
and stuck it in my file for future amusement...
Little did I know that the idea would actually
come to pass... What follows are two news items from a
regular daily feed called Slippedisc. There have, of course,
been occasional disruptions in concert halls over the years, but
this seems to be a first. Let us hope that it is the last...
Here are more details from the following day
...
[April 19, 2024] A little more than a year
later, we find this report . . . . .
[A couple weeks later...] Next, we have an
'official' statement, and then the perfect input from Stephen Hough, dealing
with his upcoming performance . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[March 14, 2023 (
day) ] A special version.....
= = = = = = = = =
[April 2, 2023]
I wonder if anyone has ever tried speakng the phrase, "Alexa:
Klaatu barada nikto." [Reference: The 1951 film The
Day the Earth Stood Still.]
= = = = = = = = =
[April 30, 2023] With budget considerations
always being discussed, this item should be kept handy . . .
. . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[August 8, 2023] Some bad news,
and then some good news.....
= = = = = = = = =
[October 28, 2023] For those
who drive around looking at Halloween decorations, here's a scary
group that might appear on your dashboard...
= = = = = = = = =
[December 31, 2023] As the year
comes to a close . . . . . [12/31/23]
[March 11, 2024] Today I am 73. A
quick Google search of that number presented several items. This
one was my favorite . . . . .
[June 16, 2024] In case I don't make it to 74,
at least there is something for me after my demise . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[May 12, 2024] This admonishment (below)
was seen on a bus in Birmingham, England. Whether or not it
has anything to do with the uproar at the Symphony concerts (cited
above) is anyone's guess . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[May 28, 2024] While watching the Cubs play Milwaukee
on TV, I heard them introduce a Brewers pinch hitter named Monasterio.
At first I could have sworn the announcer
said MONO-STEREO. *sigh* [The Cubs won 6-3.]
[June 23, 2024] Whenever I see an ad on
TV for Capella University, I always wonder if they have an a cappella
chorus.
= = = = = = = = =
[November 3, 2024] I hope *everybody* remembered
to re-set their clocks for Standard Time. When I was a boy, I sang
in the Choristers at St. Mark's Church in Evanston. In the Spring,
the choirmaster would scream and holler at us during Thursday night's
rehearsal, to be sure to remind our parents to set their clocks ahead.
Otherwise, we'd be late for Sunday services. He would actually
(really!) jump up and down while saying this. HOWEVER, in the Fall,
when failure to re-set would mean we'd show up an hour early, he never
said a word. I kinda respected him for that!
Later in life, I usually worked that Saturday Night/Sunday Morning
shift at WNIB, and I would make a big point of saying "Central Daylight
Time" or "Central Standard Time". The next evening, I would
gently chide the public with, "Did you remember to re-set ALL your clocks
and watches??? How about the one in your car? Or what about
that special wristwatch in your jewelry box, that you only wear on important
occasions?" And yes, I did get a few calls thanking me for reminding
them of those items . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[February 9, 2025] As it relates to music, the term
'period practice' is a style of music performance that uses techniques
and instruments from a specific historical period.
Today, there was an item on the Slippedisc website under
the heading 'A Different Kind of Period Practice' . . . . .
Chicago, IL, February 2025 – Endometriosis
Awareness Month highlights the chronic condition affecting 11% of
American women, but everyone who menstruates deals with the monthly
pain. As science looks into the relationship between music and pain
relief, could a new playlist be the key to relieving cramps?
For many women, menstrual cramps are more than just
a monthly inconvenience: they can disrupt daily life and impact overall
well-being. But what if relief could be as simple as pressing “play”
on your favorite playlist?
A recent study published in BMC Women’s Health explored
the artistry effects of music and drawing as coping mechanisms for
menstrual pain in nursing students. The results were promising, showing
that listening to music not only alleviated menstrual pain but also
helped reduce some of the emotional discomfort often associated with
menstruation.
The science behind this finding is rooted in how music
interacts with the brain. Research suggests that music activates the
limbic system, a region responsible for processing both emotions and
pain perception. This stimulation can reduce the transmission of pain
signals, making menstrual cramps feel less intense. Furthermore, music
has the ability to trigger the release of endorphins, the body’s natural
painkillers.
This healing power of music is supported by scientific
research. A study published in the National Library of Medicine, titled
Standardizing Music Characteristics for the Management of Pain, revealed
that instrumental music, particularly without lyrics, is highly effective
in relieving pain. The study examined music with specific features:
no lyrics, little percussion, no nature sounds, and a tempo of around
60-80 beats per minute (bpm). While each of these features contributed
to pain relief, the absence of lyrics consistently showed the strongest
results across studies.
Recognizing music’s ability to heal and uplift, U by
Kotex® has curated a playlist of 20 classical tracks to help you
relax during your period and navigate the ups and downs of your cycle.
*Listed in order of BPM (beats per minute), from highest to
lowest*
| # |
Composer |
Song title |
BPM |
| 1 |
Vaughan Williams |
Greensleeves |
80 |
| 2 |
Rosetti |
Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, RWV E3: II. Andante |
79 |
3
|
Mozart
|
Sonata No. 8 in A Minor, II Andante Cantabile
|
78 |
| 4 |
Debussy |
The girl with the flaxen hair |
76 |
| 5 |
Ennio Morricone |
Gabriel’s Oboe |
76 |
| 6 |
Bach |
Air on the G string |
74 |
| 9 |
Pachelbel |
Canon in D |
72 |
| 10 |
Yiruma |
River’s Flow in You |
69 |
| 12 |
Craig Armstrong |
Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene |
65 |
| 13 |
Satie |
Gymnopedie No. 1 |
64 |
| 14 |
Saint-Saëns |
The Swan |
60 |
| 15 |
Johann Strauss II |
The Blue Danube Waltz |
58 |
| 16 |
Beethoven |
Moonlight Sonata (1st Movement |
58 |
| 17 |
Tchaikovsky |
Swan Lake Act 2, No.10 |
58 |
| 19 |
Mahler |
Adagietto (Symphony No. 5) |
54 |
| 20 |
Arvo Pärt |
Spiegel im Spiegel |
54 |
|
= = = = = = = = =
[
March 25, 2025] Communication over the generation
gap...
I asked my daughter to give me the phone book.
She laughed at me, called me a dinosaur, and handed me her
iPhone.
So….. The spider is dead, the iPhone is broken, and
my daughter is pissed.
= = = = = = = = =
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
but only during the cold months.
In the summer she rented an open-toe sandal!
* * *
What time is 25% of a ballet dancer's outfit?
1:45 [Quarter to two, or quarter tutu.]
* * *
If Goofy's pet dog had $$$, he'd be a Plutocrat!
* * *
Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Not since I went to a cotton-polyester blend!
* * *
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring... because everyone had already finished
the food-preparation!
* * *
Rigoletto is the hunchback jester and title character in Verdi's
opera Rigoletto,
which is based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo.
Quasimodo is the title character of Hugo's Gothic Novel The
Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
Those two characters should file a class-action lawsuit for Trademark
Infringement against
Goodson-Todman, producers of the 1958-63 TV game show Play Your
Hunch.
[Brief pause to allow for laughter or groans.....]
Seriously, about the program, Variety [January 14, 1959]
called it
"typical daytime audience participation fare that some housewives
find entertaining."
I wonder what the rest of the media would say if such a comment
was made now!
= = = = = = = = =
[April 10, 2025] Apparently there was a bit
of a dust-up at a piano recital in Amsterdam, when a woman confronted the
soloist and demanded to know what he was about to play. This news
item (on Slippedisc) elicited a long discussion, which included
reasoned remarks as well as ugly derision of various publics. In
the midst of it all, one comment made me literally laugh out loud...
You see, we in America are spoiled because programs are usually
free and plentiful. It was pointed out that in Europe, quantities
are often very limited, and sometimes cost quite a bit. So, it seems
that numerous soloists announce what they are about to play, but a few
do not. One wag suggested that a particular pianist should say that
he was going to play the Beethoven Appassionata, but then actually
perform the Waldstein.
= = = = = = = = =
[August 13, 2025] Speaking of famous keyboards
. . . . .
Baldwin... Official Piano of the Hairless Victory
= = = = = = = = =
[August 18, 2025] When I came upon the following
news item in Slippedisc, I wracked my brain trying to think of *any*
operas which would not need some kind of warning . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
{August 20, 2025] A couple weekends ago,
Chicago had its annual Air & Water Show. I just wondered if there
was anyone whose family name was 'Watershow', and if they might name their
offspring either 'Aaron', or 'Erin'. [Pause for chuckles or groans]
Subsequently, the East Coast was hit with hurricane Erin, and while
watching the network news (on various channels), one reporter was actually
named Aaron! Aaron reporting on Erin... OK, so I'm easily
amused these days... *sigh*
= = = = = = = = =
[October 29, 2025] [Item on Slippedisc]
Ahhhhhh... I feel better already!
Montreal doctors can now prescribe concerts for
wellness
Press Statement:
Montreal, October 29, 2025 – United by a shared mission to bring
the many benefits of music to the community, the Orchestre symphonique
de Montréal and Médecins francophones du Canada are joining
forces to launch a new initiative: La musique sur ordonnance (Music on
Prescription). Beginning today, physicians who are members of Médecins
francophones du Canada and practice in Montreal will be able to prescribe
an OSM concert to their patients, offering free access to a live musical
experience as a complementary tool for wellness and health.
“At Médecins francophones du Canada, we firmly believe
that the well-being of physicians and that of their patients are closely
intertwined. With the initiative La musique sur ordonnance, we aim to remind
people that self-care is an essential part of medical practice. By offering
these wellness prescriptions, physicians provide their patients with a moment
of emotional connection and renewal—while also acknowledging the importance
of maintaining their own balance. This gesture strengthens the therapeutic
relationship and recentres care on the human being,” affirmed Nicole Parent,
Ph.D., Executive Director of Médecins francophones du Canada.
|
= = = = = = = = =
[November 2, 2025] Saw this photo and immediately remembered
the lines 'The King was in his counting house/Counting out his money', from
the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence.
= = = = = = = = =
[November 20, 2025] I've been wondering about this more and more
lately... As we progress (?) farther and farther, especially as AI
gets smarter and quicker, has our society perhaps jumped the shark?
