Symphony - Murray Periah - Beethoven Piano Concerto #4

We went to the CSO tonight - overall a very good program:

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Bernard Haitink, conductor
Murray Perahia, piano

Haydn -   Symphony No. 44 (Mourning)
Lutoslawski -   Symphony No. 4
Beethoven -   Piano Concerto No. 4

The pre-concert talk was given by Johann Buis, whose enthusiasm and knowledge always make for an entertaining lecture.
As the Lutoslawski ended, somebody rudely booed - presumably to display his displeasure at any music from the last century, or something.
The video below shows a much younger Murray Perahia playing the end of the Beethoven.

Another video of the whole last movement - better filmed, conducted by Colin Davis.

And finally, further from tonight's actual performance, but very interesting - Ricardo Muti (the next CSO Music Director) and Claudio Arrau rehearsing the Beethoven in mixed English and Italian:

Even in his waning moments, he is scary

I thought I could stop beating a dead horse - but the lunacy of the horse that avoided real military service keeps me coming back.
If a horse wants to be beaten, it shows.

“During this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom. America's men and women in uniform deserve our highest respect – and so do the families who love and support them,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “Lately, I have been asked what I will miss about the presidency. And my answer is that I will miss being the Commander-in-Chief of these brave warriors.”

We were outside the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai two years ago...

... and now it is in flames after a terrorist attack!

CSO - Mahler's Symphony #2 - wonderful

Last night we went to the Chicago Symphony and heard Mahler's Symphony #2. Wonderful performance from the full orchestra and chorus - and the organ. A literally ground shaking event. After seeing and hearing the opera Lulu by Alban Berg the night before, I realized how much my taste in music has moved to the more modern - Mahler the bridge from the old and Berg the new.
This morning I heard that the Chicago Symphony has been voted the best symphony orchestra in the USA by the Gramophone Magazine critics - and fifth in the world. I feel privileged to be able to attend so many of their concerts.
The full listing is:

1 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

2 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

3 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

4 London Symphony Orchestra

5 Chicago Symphony Orchestra

6 Bavarian Radio Symphony

7 Cleveland Orchestra

8 Los Angeles Philharmonic

9 Budapest Festival Orchestra

10 Dresden Staatskapelle

11 Boston Symphony Orchestra

12 New York Philharmonic

13 San Francisco Symphony

14 Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra

15 Russian National Orchestra

16 Leningrad Philharmonic

17 Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

18 Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

19 Saito Kinen Symphony Orchestra

20 Czech Philharmonic

Source: Gramophone

Why I shoot

David Pogue of the New York Times wrote an article explaining why he, like me, records everything he sees and does in photographs and videos. He is more into moving images than I, but his overall reasons are the same as mine.

Lulu

We went to the opera "Lulu" by Alban Berg last night. Magnificent!
This was the most integrated work I have ever seen. The music, lyrics, staging, plot, directing and acting combined to create an amazingly effective experience. Marlis Petersen in the title role was outstanding - singing and acting - and visibly aging as the plot progressed.

The director of Lulu...

Bread Machine Challah Recipe

Bread Machine Challah Recipe

In your bread machine, follow your bread machine instructions for "Dough Only" prepare the dough using:

22 oz Bread flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk (Keep white for wash)
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) yeast


While waiting for the dough to be completed, warm an oven to 150F and turn it off, warm a large bowl, and oil it well.
Take dough out of bread machine and place it in the warm, oiled bowl.
Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and then with a clean kitchen towel.
Let it rise in a warm, draught-free place (like the warmed, open oven) about 1 1/2 hours until doubled in size.

Prepare an egg wash by beating the reserved egg white with a tablespoon of water

Lightly grease a large baking sheet and set aside (I usually forget this step but ill effects have not yet occurred.

Punch down and braid as follows:

Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one roughly half size of other.

Divide large piece into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into rope, about 1 inch in diameter.
Line up ropes of dough side by side and pinch ends together, braid, then pinch ends together. Place braid on baking sheet.
Divide the smaller piece of dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into rope
as long as the first ropes, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Braid together, pinching the ends together to seal.
Brush some of egg wash on top of large loaf and place the small braid on the larger braid.

Or braid it any way you like!

Loosely drape loaf with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until loaf becomes puffy and increases in size by a third, 30 to 45 minutes.
(or, freeze and remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.)

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. (190 F on instant read thermometer)

Allow to cool on a rack.

Timing (for my machine):
Prepare ingredients: 15 Min
Dough: 2 Hr 20 min
Rise: 1 Hr 30 min
Braid: 15 min
Rise: 30-45 min
Bake: 25 min
Cool down: 15 min

So, start about six hours before your guests arrive!

This recipe is derived from several others that I have have read, modified as I go for every mistake I made. I suspect that the exact quantities may or may not be important - recipes I studied vary widely in their proportions. The process above gives a nice yeasty, moist loaf that pulls off in satisfying long strips. If you prefer a more cake-like challah, the Cook's Illustrated recipe may be more to your liking - I did not like it.

I need this guy to tidy my desk

One final remark on the election: Why Sarah Palin Conservatism is dangerous

One of my favorite sources is Edge. To quote from its "About" page:

"Edge Foundation, Inc., was established in 1988 as an outgrowth of a group known as The Reality Club. Its informal membership includes of some of the most interesting minds in the world.

The mandate of Edge Foundation is to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society."

Today's edition contains an article by Jerry Coyne commenting on the war on science being carried out by the Right in the USA.

"In her usual faux-folksy style, Palin lit out after a congressional earmark involving these insects: "You've heard about some of these pet projects — they really don't make a whole lot of sense — and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit-fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not." (Reading this diatribe is not sufficient; only video reveals the scorn and condescension dripping from her words.) ... The research Palin attacked was a perfectly valid project designed to protect American growers from the olive fruit fly, a destructive pest. But fruit-fly research is good for far more than that."

"Trying to bond with the American people by taking pride in your ignorance and making science the common enemy — now that's a bridge to nowhere."

Read the article - and subscribe to Edge.

The good guys won...

... in case you missed it:-)
I will make a prediction. This Blog is the best place for me to do this, because if it is wrong, nobody will know, and if it is right, I can point to it and say "I told you so".

The USA economy will receive a major boost simply from the psychological lift that the election of Obama will give to under-achieving minorities. The power of hope and confidence should not be overlooked. People without hope and confidence achieve nothing.

The opponents of Obama dismiss his rhetoric as "empty words" - but words have the power to motivate and motivated people can achieve great things. Obama talks about hope, and give people hope. McCain used the rhetoric of war even when talking about domestic policy and his campaign. His speeches ended using the word "fight" and the metaphors of war over and over again.
 
People worldwide are tired of fighting. They want hope. This is why McCain lost. His rhetoric was hopeless.
With hope anything can be achieved. With war nothing can be achieved except destruction.