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.
|
= = = = = = = = = = =
[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.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[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.
= = = = = = = = =
= =
[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!
= = = = = = = = = = =
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*
