This LARGE SERVICE DOG ACCESS TAG informs those around you that you are accompanied by a Service Dog and help inform them of your rights as a disabled individual. The Disabled Veteran Service Dog Collar-Cards clearly states that your dog is a Service Dog.
These cards are NOT cheap laminated cards, and are made of durable PVC plastic that is as thick as your driver's license. The ink used is thermally infused into the plastic using high-heat printing so it is made to last.
Measures 2"x3" making it extremely visible.
Hang it on your service dog vest, collar or leash or standard walking harness with a d-ring.
Tag reads "Service Dog. Access is Required by Federal Law".
Production tag features rounded corners.
Chain or keyring not included.
For your dog's safety: never leave a collar card attached to your dog's equipment while they are unattended. This could result in your dog chewing the item, resulting in possible serious health issues.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as the ADA, clearly states that proof of "certification" cannot be required by any facility or business for legal access if you meet the requirements for a person with a legal disability, and your dog meets the requirements of a service animal. While many business owners and establishments are ignorant of this law, Collar-Cards will have all of the necessary contact information should they require further explanation regarding your rights when accompanied by your Service Dog.


text:
Arts & Entertainment Headlines News
Musical 'champion' dies suddenly
Ryan Taylor	January 13, 2014 3
Shetland Folk Festival stalwart Davie Henderson died suddenly in Unst on Sunday, prompting tributes from many in the local music scene.
Although not musical himself Mr Henderson had worked for many years as a committee member on the folk festival committee, and has been described as Shetland music's "ultimate ambassador". His son Kevin is member of a number of bands including Fiddler's Bid.
Shetland Folk Festival representatives (from left) Mhairi Pottinger, Davie Henderson and Christine Fordyce with the event of the year award won by the festival in 2010. Photo: Louis DeCarlo
Promoter Davie Gardner said the 62-year-old, and the longest-serving member of the festival committee, had worked tirelessly over the years.
"Last night Shetland lost one of its most dedicated musical exponents and local ambassadors," said Mr Gardner, who had been due to fly off with Mr Henderson to the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow later this month.
"Although Davie Henderson wasn't a musician himself, he probably did as much and more for Shetland and its music (both home-grown and imported) than anyone else I know.
"Of course the Shetland Folk Festival has flourished and become genuinely world-renowned during his many years as the longest serving and perhaps prominent member of its committee – with him booking all the visiting acts and so much more besides for many years now."
He added that he had regarded Mr Henderson as an "unfailing champion" who had worked hard and given much of his time to the arts.
"I watched Davie in industry-related action many times over the years – at music conventions, trade fairs, music industry 'panels' or whatever. Throughout, he was an unfailing champion not only of the Shetland Folk Festival, of course, but equally so of Shetland itself."
Tributes were also paid to Mr Henderson from bands which had worked with him over the years.
The Revellers said: "The band are absolutely shocked and devastated to hear of the passing of Davie Henderson – the ultimate 'Reveller'.
"It will take a very long time to sink in. Not only was Davie a big supporter of Shetland music (of all varieties), but he was one of the nicest guys you could meet and the ultimate party animal.
"We have many fond memories of him and the work he did for the Shetland Folk Festival as well as countless sprees we got inveigled with.
"Our thoughts are with his family and close friends at this time. Rest in peace Davie."
Meanwhile, the four-piece ensemble Väir credited Mr Henderson with helping get them on the road to success.
They stated: "All our band members counted on Davie Henderson as a good friend and are absolutely gutted to hear of his passing.
"He organised our first gig at Sandwick Social Club and took a chance by getting us a Clickimin slot at the Shetland Folk Festival.
"If it wasn't for him, there's a good chance we'd not be playing together. Many bands and artists across the world could say something similar.
"It's safe to say he was Shetland music's ultimate ambassador, which is quite an achievement considering he didn't play or sing.
"What he lacked in musical ability though, he made up for with a strong set of principles combined with a zest for life and mischievous sense of fun."
Mr Henderson had recently retired from his work at BP in Sullom Voe and – according to Mr Gardner – had much to look forward to, including the birth later this month of a grandchild.
A statement from Police Scotland said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Henderson's death. A report is being submitted to the procurator fiscal and a post mortem is being carried out.
Shetland Folk Festival
Coutts' old photos in the frame
Gas plant strike on if union 'aspirations' not met
John Eeles (Spadger Sound)
The news of Davie's death is a great shock for many of us who know him for his enthusiasm, dedication and character – especially with his involvement in the Folk Festival, and he will be sorely missed. A great and charming man – ferry crossings to the festival will always be remembered with himself and the committee getting to know the inbound (and at times queasy looking) musicians, sharing a drink at the bar, and then undertaking herculean feats of wakefulness during the festival proceedings, helping sort and organise the many 'backroom' challenges that were always appearing.
Sadly missed, and a great loss to Shetland. Commiserations to all.
I don't know how many years ago my brother , Malcolm, introduced me to Davie on the Wednesday boat from Aberdeen to the start of the Festival but since then I have grown to know him as a man of charm and integrity and an unbounded enthusiasm for Shetland and the Festival. It was a privilege to be greeted by him as a returning friend on subsequent visits. Shetland has lost a great ambassador.
James Anne and Tony Mcdaid
James Anne and Tony would like to offer our sincere condolences to Davie's family.
We had the pleasure of being his drivers when he came to Celtic Connections. We found that we had a lot in common, where we were brought up and our common football interests etc. He will be sadly missed but we will celebrate his life.
Carmichael highlights folk festival in warning over Brexit's impact on cultural events
Cultural events such as Shetland Folk Festival need greater support to overcome Brexit barriers on touring musicians, Alistair Carmichael has said. The Orkney and Shetland…
November 21, 2021 | 10.18am
Symphony orchestra to help Aith pupils record songs about climate change
An orchestral tour capturing young people's thoughts on climate change kicks off in Shetland next week. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's ( SSO)"Song Sessions" tour…
September 5, 2021 | 11.49am
'This is just phenomenal' – Between Islands musicians perform live together for first time
Shetland musicians joined collaborators from Orkney and the Western Isles for their first "Between Islands" live performance. Artur Nicolson, Maggie Adamson and Jenny Keldie were…
August 7, 2021 | 1.36pm

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
On the road towards America's Best Community
A music video was shot in downtown Portsmouth Monday, featuring the music of Shane Runion. The video was being produced as a part of the America's Best Communities Competition.
PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth is one of 15 communities around the county competing for anywhere from $1 to $3 million dollars in prize money from the America's Best Communities Competition.
When the America's Best Communities Competition was first announced there were roughly 400 communities throughout the United States involved. That pool of communities was narrowed to 50 and has been narrowed to 15 communities.
As a part of the contest, communities are challenged to highlight unique ways they show community pride.
Adam Phillips, Southern Ohio Port Authority Asset Manager and Main Street Portsmouth Executive Director Joseph Pratt, had no trouble coming up with a unique way to show community pride, through music.
Several months ago local singer, song writer Shane Runion was tasked with writing a song that reflected Portsmouth.
Not a song that reflected Portsmouth in the past or a song that reflected some of the negative aspects of Portsmouth.
He was tasked with a song that promotes positively Portsmouth and what's going on with Portsmouth's growth.
Runion said, the inspiration for such a song did not come easy and was close to asking if one of his other songs would fit better.
"The song it's self was extremely difficult because, you could not talk about the past and you could not talk about negatives. That was the first difficulty. The other difficulty is, in only talking about positives," Runion said.
He said a self-imposed goal for the song was to not make it cheesy.
After receiving his instructions, Runion went to the drawing board with a blank slate and struggled with it for a while.
"I was completely at a block with it up until one day. I was just about to call Joseph and suggest to him, maybe one my other songs would work," Runion said.
Runion said it was then the hook for the song came to him, I want to build up this town and pass it down to our daughters and sons. Because I'm proud of where I'm from.
"We wanted something that captures the spirit and energy of Portsmouth, I think Shane has done just that," Phillips said.
Recently Runion posted a preview of the song on Facebook and thousands of people have watched the video.
"I thought the most sincere thing I could say was that our compassionate folks in our community want this (Portsmouth) to be a good place for my kids and for the future," Runion said.
Towards the end of last week, filming started for the music video, filming continued Monday and will be wrapping up later in the week. The video is being filmed by Andrew Dodson.
The video, once complete will be previewed at Portsmouth Day with the Cincinnati Reds on April 10 on the jumbotron, with a full release through social media.
On Monday Runion, Pratt, Phillips and Dodson shot portions of the video is various downtown businesses. On Monday Runion performed a show, which will be incorporated into the video.
In late April a delegation including Jason Kester, Executive Director of SOPA; Joseph Pratt, Executive Director of Main Street Portsmouth; Barry Witherspoon, Principal, New Urban Concepts; and Kirk Donges, V.P., Tanner Stone Holsinger & Donges (TSHD) Architects, will travel to America's Best Communities Summit in Durham, North Carolina.
At the summit the delegation will only being given a short time to present the community revitalization strategy and answer questions.
At the end of the summit, eight communities will be named finalists and awarded $100,000 to bring their plans to life. They will have one year to implement their strategies, and the top three communities that make the largest impact and show the greatest potential for achieving sustainable revitalization will be selected as the grand prize winners. The top community will receive $3 million, with second place earning $2 million and $1 million for third.
Other communities to advance in the competition from the region include, Huntington and Charleston West Virginia.
For more information about the local working being done to advance the community in the competition visit them on Facebook.
For more information about the competition visit www.americasbestcommunities.com or visit http://abc.sohpa.org/.
http://portsmouth-dailytimes.aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2016/03/web1_IMG_1184-1.jpgA music video was shot in downtown Portsmouth Monday, featuring the music of Shane Runion. The video was being produced as a part of the America's Best Communities Competition.
Hi! A visitor to our site felt the following article might be of interest to you: On the road towards America's Best Community. Here is a link to that story: https://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/news/6485/on-the-road-towards-americas-best-community


At last week's LIMA Retail and Branding Conference, I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Brand, EVP of Programming, Marketing and Business Development at HSN. In his presentation, Bill outlined how HSN has transformed into an innovation network by building an enviable level of customer engagement with its loyal customers and those new to the experience. Following the event, I spoke with Bill further about how HSN is connecting content with commerce.
Carol Spieckerman: You talked a lot about the demographic sweet spot for HSN, which skews a bit older. Your HSN Arcade gaming platform is targeted at over-30 casual gamers as well. Do you have a strategy for capturing the attention of a new generation of HSN shoppers?
Bill Brand: Our strategy is much more about the psychographics than the demographics because it's really about what's going on in a customer's life as she's approaching her 30s, and what is changing. She has a lot less time. She's married and having kids. And she doesn't have the free time to wander through an entire mall and hit all the specialty stores so she's shopping the end-caps. She's shopping with us at that point because she can do it on her own time at any time, and on any device.
Over the past several years, retailers have had to adapt to new rules of engagement. Their customers are at once empowered, demanding, skeptical, and value-oriented, and they are flocking to social networks, online forums, blogs, and digital apps to satisfy their hunger for objective guidance and entertainment. In order to stay on their customers' radars, retailers have had to shift from a focus on driving transactions through sales channels to engaging shoppers across many touch points, some of which offer no direct ROI. Retailers have invested heavily in keeping shoppers fully engaged with their brands and many have graduated from gap-filling and moved on to building arsenals of options that attract and bond with shoppers as never before. Read the rest of the article.
Carol Spieckerman, president and CEO of newmarketbuilders, joins a terrificspeaker lineup at the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association's (LIMA) inaugural Retail & Branding Conference on September 13th. The event brings together a focused line-up of major retailers, brand marketers, and thought leaders to explore the future of branding, collaboration, and shopper-centric strategies.
The half-day conference will merge forward-looking insights with practical strategies and applications in an intimate setting that will encourage networking and the open exchange of ideas among attendees and speakers. Each presentation will include ample time for Q&A with the speakers.
Join fellow brand, retail and marketing executives for what promises to be a compelling day of inspiration and connection.
Register for the conference now.


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Home Mobile Infinix Note 12 Pro phone with 108 MP camera is certified by Anatel
by Janes 13 Dicembre 2022
written by Janes 13 Dicembre 2022
Anatel certified the Infinix Note 12 Pro smartphone, an intermediate model with 4G support. The smartphone has already been launched in the international market.
The Infinix Note 12 Pro is equipped with the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, an eight-core chip aimed at incoming and intermediate phones. The smartphone goes out of the factory with Android 12, using the XOS 10.6 interface.
Infinix Note 12 Pro: modest but with 108 MP camera
Despite being an intermediate smartphone, the Infinix Note 12 Pro has a set of cameras that promises good results.
At the rear, the phone brings two cameras: an angular (main) with 108 MP and a depth sensor of 2 MP. The main lens has f/1.8 aperture. The selfie camera features 16 MP and f/2.0 aperture. In videos, Infinix promises that both the rear and selfie cameras will shoot in QuadHD at 30 fps.
The AMOLED display is 6.7 inches long and has Full HD+ resolution. The GPU used is the Mali G57. The battery is 5,000 mAh and has support for fast charging of 33 W.
The model is sold in a single memory configuration: 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage. As expected from an intermediate smartphone, which will take a more affordable price, it has 3.5mm audio connector.
The smartphone will be manufactured by Positivo in its factories in Curitiba, Manaus and Ilhéus. In the certificate of technical conformity, it is also reported that some units will be manufactured in China.
Positivo currently only sells Infinix Note 10 models in the country. The company has not yet released a release date for the smartphone that has been approved. Infinix's portfolio in Brazil has four products: Infinix Hot, Infinix Note, Infinix Smart and Infinix Zero.
Galaxy A53 should receive Android 13 with One...


text:
Kittel and Co. Return to Watermelon Wednesdays 9/8
Jeremy Kittel is Grammy nominated musician, originally from Michigan, who has put together an ensemble of the best young acoustic musicians on the planet! I caught up with Jeremy on the road to a residency program in upper New York state where the band will rehearse and learn some of the new tunes he's wrote in the last few years.
Kittel and Co. is doing a small New England tour starting September 7 at the Springville NY Center for the Arts which is a livestreamed event. The following day they will perform at West Whately's Chapel as part of Watermelon Wednesday series. They follow that show with a Club Passim show on September 9th.
Jeremy's band is full of world-class talent including mandolinist Josh Pinkham, guitarist Quinn Bachand, bassist Ethan Jodiwiecz along with Jeremy on fiddle.
Our segment began with the tune "Pando" from the Kittel and Co.'s latest release "Whorls" followed by "Bear Island Reel" from Jeremy's "Chasing Sparks" CD. We finish the tunes with Aiofe O'Donovan's "Bull Frog Croon" which features Jeremy on fiddle. Our conversation begins with a discussion of what the last two years have been like for the artists and what took place of the heavy tour schedule. The workshops, online teaching, and music study continued. Jeremy spent a lot of time studying film music. We also talk about the process of writing for a large orchestra compared to the ensemble pieces. Jeremy was commissioned to write for the Orlando Philharmonic during the past year as well as previously for the Detroit Symphony. Jeremy also divulged that he's been practicing singing during the past year as well as guitar to increase his repertoire.
We finish our segment with Jeremy introducing "The Boxing Reels" from "Whorls".


How do I register a WarpPortal Master Account?
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If you created a WP account using an email address, please visit that email's inbox for a final verification message. Please follow the directions and do so as soon as possible, and you will now have a registered WP account.


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Q: Convert RDD to Dataframe in Spark Streaming Python I am trying to convert RDD to DataFrame in Spark Streaming. I am following below process.
socket_stream = ssc.socketTextStream("localhost", 9999)
def convert_to_df(rdd):
    schema = StructType([StructField("text", StringType(), True)])
    df =spark.createDataFrame(rdd, schema = schema)
    df.show(10)

socket_stream.foreachRDD(convert_to_df)

I am providing input through socket nc -lk 9999
If I give "hello world" as my input it is showing me below error
StructType can not accept object 'hello world' in type <class 'str'>

expected output
+-------=-+
|text     |
+---------+
hello world
+---------+

A: Since you use RDD[str] you should either provide a matching type. For an atomic value it is either a corresponding AtomicType
from pyspark.sql.types import StringType, StructField, StructType

rdd = sc.parallelize(["hello world"])
spark.createDataFrame(rdd, StringType())

or its string description:
spark.createDataFrame(rdd, "string")

If you want to use StructType convert data to tuples first:
schema = StructType([StructField("text", StringType(), True)])

spark.createDataFrame(rdd.map(lambda x: (x, )), schema)

Of course if you're going to just convert each batch to DataFrame it makes much more sense to use Structured Streaming all the way:
lines = (spark
    .readStream
    .format("socket")
    .option("host", "localhost")
    .option("port", 9999)
    .load())

A: Try ArrayType(StringType())
Else since you have only one column try giving the schema directly as
df =spark.createDataFrame(rdd, StringType())

Check out udf for pyspark as you need to declare a udf for spark

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Swin Transformer model pre-trained on the ImageNet-22k dataset suitable for off-the-shelf classification.

<!-- asset-path: https://storage.googleapis.com/swin-tf/tars/swin_large_patch4_window7_224_in22k.tar.gz  -->
<!-- task: image-classification -->
<!-- network-architecture: swin-transformer -->
<!-- format: saved_model_2 -->
<!-- fine-tunable: true -->
<!-- license: mit -->
<!-- colab: https://colab.research.google.com/github/sayakpaul/swin-transformers-tf/blob/main/notebooks/classification.ipynb -->

## Overview

This model is a Swin Transformer [1] pre-trained on the ImageNet-22k dataset. You can find the complete
collection of Swin models on TF-Hub on [this page](https://tfhub.dev/sayakpaul/collections/swin/1).

You can use this model for performing off-the-shelf classification. Please
refer to the Colab Notebook linked on this page for more details.

## Notes

* The original model weights are provided from [2]. There were ported to Keras models
(`tf.keras.Model`) and then serialized as TensorFlow SavedModels. The porting
steps are available in [3].
* If the model handle contains `s3` then please refer to [4] for more details on the architecture. It's
original weights are available in [5].
* If the model was only pre-trained on the ImageNet-22k dataset, then please refer to [6]
to know more about how to parse the predictions.
* The model can be unrolled into a standard Keras model and you can inspect its topology.
To do so, first download the model from TF-Hub and then load it using `tf.keras.models.load_model`
providing the path to the downloaded model folder.

## References

[1] [Swin Transformer: Hierarchical Vision Transformer using Shifted Windows Liu et al.](https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.14030)

[2] [Swin Transformers GitHub](https://github.com/microsoft/Swin-Transformer)

[3] [Swin-TF GitHub](https://github.com/sayakpaul/swin-transformers-tf)

[4] [Searching the Search Space of Vision Transformer by Chen et al.](https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.14725)

[5] [AutoFormerV2 GitHub](https://github.com/silent-chen/AutoFormerV2-model-zoo)

[6] [BiT ImageNet-22k model usage](https://tfhub.dev/google/bit/m-r50x1/imagenet21k_classification/1#usage)

## Acknowledgements

* [Willi](https://ch.linkedin.com/in/willi-gierke)
* [ML-GDE program](https://developers.google.com/programs/experts/)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Holidays have always been special in Holcomb. Gary and Cletia Clanton share the season at the Clark-Jackson-Oakley home (above and below) in Block G facing Williams Street/Sparta Road.
The Cecil Jacks home in Block C facing Paschal Street.
The home of J. Roland and Thelma Hill in Block 8 facing Paschal Street.
This house in Block 8 facing Paschal Street was home to the family of "Bud" Minyard, Gladys and J.P. White and Bena White.
Carmel and Mary Ella Norris lived in this home in Block 9 facing Tuscahoma Street.
The families of C.C. "Foots" Clark, D.K. Hayden and Ward DeLoach lived in this home on Williams Street/Sparta Road.
The Hye-Townsend-Knights-R.L. Harris home is in Block 12 facing Tuscahoma Street.
The home of Tommy and Ester Faye Jackson is in Block 8 facing Paschal Street.
The Payne home is in Block B facing Tuscahoma Street.
Copyright © 1995-2013 www.Buckhead, inc. All rights reserved.


In the Transportation Practice area, AER, Inc. provides engineering support for Class 1 Railroads. We have designed short-span bridges, bridge repairs, retaining walls adjacent to tracks, shoring for excavations adjacent to live track and drainage structures.
Projects frequently are designed for construction adjacent to live tracks with minimum track outages. We have also provided engineering review services for Railroad overpasses and underpasses designed by others to ensure that all design is in conformance with AREMA and the railroad's design guidelines.
See sample Transportation Practice Area projects.


Thinking About Deviance, second edition, explores how people participate in and produce the phenomena of deviance. Through nineteen brief and provocative chapters, such as 'Is Deviance Harmful or Helpful?', 'Once Deviant, Always Deviant?', and 'Do You Get the Time Because You Did the Crime?', the book examines how everyone is involved in the many facets of deviance. While a small portion of deviance may seem to be exotic, done by people on the fringe of society, deviance is an integral part of society and of conventional people's lives. By using everyday instances of deviance familiar to college students (such as shoplifting, academic cheating, underage drinking, and smoking) and examples from the media, the book engages readers and enables them to develop more general thinking about deviance. Through an interactive style in which the readers are asked questions and presented with hypothetical and actual situations for their thoughts, the book creates a 'conversation' with the readers. It encourages readers to think about and question deviance, including their participation in and their assumptions about it, in ways they are unlikely to have done before.
What Do We Need to Know to Understand Deviance?
Is Deviance a Threat to or Part of the Foundation of Social Life?
Is Deviance Harmful Or Helpful?
Can Deviance Be Intended to Promote Morality Not Violate It?
What Kind of Person Is the Offender?
Images of Harm or Harmful Images?
Who Could Cause Such Harm?
Do You Get the Time Because You Did the Crime?
Can We Deal with Deviance without Discriminating?
Each Case of Deviance Is Different Isnt It?
How Can We Get People to Do What We Want Them to Do?
How Much Deviance Is There?
What Causes People to Commit Deviance?
How Does Meaning Matter in Committing Deviance?
Paul Higgins is professor of sociology at University of South Carolina and author of Understanding Deviance. Mitch Mackinem is assistant professor of sociology at Claflin University.


text:
'Fielding is an attitude' - Arthur wants Pakistan to 'not hold back' against India
Pakistan's clash against India in Manchester on Sunday, 16 June, might be the most anticipated fixture of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, but for their coach Mickey Arthur, it is just another game.
"There's always pressure in any game, and these games carry exactly the same amount of points. They carry two points," Arthur said. "Obviously, there's a massive hype that's created a lot of time by the media. Our guys are prepared. We're ready. We're comfortable that we can get out there and perform, and we are so excited about the opportunity tomorrow."
|Read More : "All-round Root stars in comprehensive England win"
This will be the first match in this World Cup at Old Trafford, and as a result, neither team will be completely sure about what this pitch will do. Consequently, Arthur said that no firm decisions on team composition have been made yet.
"Well, we had a little look at the pitch yesterday. It actually looked pretty brown and flat," he said. "So, we'll take that into consideration. We haven't made any decisions as yet, but by the end of training today, we'll be pretty clear in our mind which way we'll go."
One of the areas where Pakistan could look to improve is their fielding, and Arthur said it's one they have been working very hard on.
"Look, we can't do more. We've worked the boys incredibly hard. Fielding is an attitude," he said. "Batting and bowling is something that you can't really control because you're up against somebody else. Fielding, you can control. You can control your attitude in the field.
"When we get a little bit tentative, we tend to fall off the ball a little bit, and the message for the boys tomorrow is not to hold back. We want to leave everything out on the ground, whether that's with bat, ball, or in the field. And if we do that and not play a tentative game, we take the game on, which has been our mantra for a period of time now. Hopefully, it clicks, and everything goes well.
"It only takes one moment of magic. It only takes one moment of brilliance, and it needs one guy to stand up and do that, particularly early in the game for us."
Mickey Arthur


text:
Rhona Clarke, A Different Game, The Fidelio Trio
In Rhona Clarke's very first album dedicated solely to her own music, she proves to be one of Ireland's most interesting and convincing living modern composers. A Different Game (Metier 28561) features the considerable dynamic expressive capabilities of The Fidelio Trio performing six chamber compositions that stand out for the articulate flow of modern musical ideas and the structural strengths of the overarching form each work takes.
The sophisticated advanced modern tonal pallette of her Trios Nos. 2, 3 and 4 (the latter bearing the descriptive title "A Different Game") have a haunting, sometimes somewhat melancholy caste. They have thematic clout in a slightly neo-classical mode. The Fidelio Trio gives us spirited, detailed readings of the works that feel just right. They also tackle expressively the three additional chamber works that make use of smaller instrumental groupings: "Gleann Da Loch" (for piano solo), the ambient wonders of "Con Coro" for violin, cello and tape, and the reflective cello solo "In Umbra."
"Piano Trio No. 4 'A Different Game'" moves the trio concept along with a spiky, more playfully modern demeanor than Nos. 2 and 3, but in the end each of these works reveal aspects of Clarke's magnetic compositional personality, her brittle and atmospheric modern lyrical immediacy.
Clarke comes through as an original stylist and a brilliant musical conversationalist on this disk. There is always something there to pique your musical imagination, never a moment when inspiration flags. I find the entire program heartily stimulating and nearly endlessly rewarding.
It makes me want to hear more of her work! And it gives me great pleasure in the listening. Strongly recommended.
Labels: contemporary modern chamber music from ireland, neglected contemporary irish composers in breakthrough releases, rhona clarke a different game the fidelio trio gapplegate classical-modern review
Kapralova, Complete Piano Music, Giorgio Koukl
Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940) led a brief life but marked it by writing music of an individual, modern nature that alas only gives us a tantalizing but fully formed glimpse of what she might have been. The Complete Piano Music (Grand Piano 708) shows us both a robust and paradoxically a delicate sensibility, a maturity of approach conjoined with a youthful impetuosity, all of which seems in retrospect to compensate for the all-too-short musical and physical life she lead. The back of the jewel box to this CD states that she is "now considered the most important female Czech composer of the 20th century." I find no reason to disagree.
Giorgio Koukl gives us an impassioned and well burnished performance of these gems. There is a quasi-romantic veneer to the earliest especially, a touching impressionistic lyricism that breaks through with a near breathtaking loveliness (hear the "April Preludes") and a budding modernist-folkish originality that has a strong Czech component but as a whole creates a world we would not otherwise know.
There is a good deal to absorb in the 65 minute playing time of this CD. of eleven works, four never before heard in recorded form, ranging from 1931-32 when she was but 16-17 years old, to some of her very last works of 1938-40. The music gradually becomes somewhat daringly modernistic in keeping with the flourishing of the Czechoslovak Republic prior to WWII, of a piece with that world but singularly showing her own brand of things.
There is some connection to Janacek to be heard, though never in some obvious way. Indeed, her father Vaclav Kapral was a pupil of the master composer. But in the end this in its finest moments (and there are many) is irredeemably Kapralovian. a young talent following her own muse. It is one of the 20th century's tragedies that she was to make it only to age 25, apparently a victim of Typhoid. The world lost what might well have been a major voice in the music. As it is there are strong intimations of more than mere mortality, some really beautiful works for us to savor and retain in our ears.
It is all here, all of the piano music. I am captivated with it and I would bet you would be, too. Some 77 years after her death we can still feel the musical pulse quickening in her aural self. Eerie, tragic, but triumphant for what little chance she had to give us her musical vision and what she left for us to contemplate. Appreciate that we are here to experience her music now. Not every life is long!
Posted by Grego Applegate Edwards at 5:47 AM 2 comments:
Labels: czech modern piano music 1931-40, important neglected 20th century czech composers, kapralova complete piano music giorgio koukl gapplegate classical-modern review
Mick Rossi, 160
The modern-day studio set up has made it possible for one person via overdubbing to become his-her own ensemble, playing all the parts and providing the impetus for a new music personally and directly. The digital platform has made such creations virtually infinite, which has then created a need to know how far to take it, when to stop.
Mick Rossi knows. He was inspired to lay down an entire album of such self-expressions, which we have happily on the CD 160 (Innova 954). This is music that combines adventurous new music/quasi-post-electronic outpourings with a rhythmic drive that is at times infectiously rock-related.
For precedent Frank Zappa comes to mind in his later days. He too created a self-mobilized sound via his elaborate sampling-synthesis set up. The result was brilliant Zappa. Mick Rossi might be said to follow in Zappa's footsteps, but the result is quite originally his own, with its own sort of brilliance.
Mick for this set of 15 short, interrelated vignettes mans a piano, prepared piano, Farfisa, harmonium, drums, percussion, glockenspiel, guzheng, mbira, sampler, and dog toy. The album is a reworking of music Rossi did for the film Albi's Oboe.
There may still be purists who look down on this sort of virtual reality. I am not one of them. The point is the musical result and the process, while of course is critical, it is not in the end defining.
160 is filled with absorbing sequences of multi-part developments, made pleasingly retro-like through certain motifs, the Farfisa parts, microscopic detunings between instruments and a kind of analog ambience.
But for all that this is a step into a rock-new-music zone that is both convincing and forward moving. It is complexly contemporary and foot-tappingly immediate.
Since I too delve into self-realized musical terrains often enough I regard Mick as an important and very worthy colleague. His 160 gives us a most excellent listen, a pioneering adventure into electroacoustic futurism. Repeated hearings create a joy of recognition, which all important new music should be capable of. It is music to dwell inside, to make over onto one's musico-memory template.
Labels: mick rossi 160 gapplegate classical-modern review, modern electroacoustic music incorporating rock and new music elements, new sounds in studio art
250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven, Susanne Kessel, Piano, Volume 1
Beethoven will never leave us, come what may. He and Bach have captured especially the world's heart and soul, have stirred our imaginations, made us look onto our earth or into what we can see of the firmament and think, "we can be more than we seem."
And so it is right that pianist Susanne Kessel has launched an ambitious international composition project of which we see the first fruits here, namely 250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven, and its first installment as Vol. 1 (WDR: The Cologne Broadcasts ppfb1 2-CDs). Here we have the first 25. Bonn pianist Kessel aims to have all 250 commissioned and in hand by 2020, which marks Beethoven's 250th birthday!
In the first installment all 25 are short, bagatelle-like, making use of Beethoven motifs or not as freely decided by the composers, but in some way channeling what Beethoven has meant to each. The music is captivating, ranging from a high modernism to a neo-post-wherever-we-are eclecticism.
The sheer diversity of approach is given concentrated poetic expression by Susanne Kessel, who makes of each piece a thing of dramatic beauty, or whimsical musicality, or heightened presence, or all-at-once.
The continual common denominator is the Kessel pianism, her readiness to put herself into whatever any given composer has creatively crafted. You may recognize some of the first 25 composers' names or you may not. The point is their point-in-time contemporaneity and how they choose to put into musical terms their debt to Beethoven and his revolutionizing of the role of the piano in the music that came to him and to those many generations of composers who came after.
In the end the first 25 of the composers give us a whirlwind of possibilities and remind us just how central Susanne Kessel is to the music of our time, marking and making vividly present our real-time devotion to the very new and the once new.
This is a central volume and a most promising beginning for such a worthy undertaking. Even if this were to be the only volume produced, which we know will not happen because more is on the way, it would (and does) stand on its own as a triumph of concept and content, masterful performances of fascinating and moving music. But of course there will be more. It all starts here. Listen, by all means.
Labels: contemporary modern piano music in tribute to beethoven, susanne kessel 250 piano pieces for beethoven vol 1 gapplegate classical-modern review
Jerome Combier, Gone, Ensemble Cairn
Some ultra-contemporary composers write music so timbrally striking that the once sharp divide between electronic and instrumental music is radically blurred. Ensemble Cairn negotiates the realms of color and shadow and creates a unerringly vivid picture of such a music, the music of Jerome Combier. Gone (Aeon AECD 1651) brings to the listener a program of five Combier compositions that challenge our everyday assumptions of what instruments are "supposed" to sound like, and, for that matter how they are supposed to interact with electronic sounds.
The chamber plus electronic pieces form the beginning and end points of the album, but the middle works are no less exploratory in their compelling acoustical mass. Ensemble Cairn forms a mid-sized chamber ensemble, or a mini-chamber orchestra. There is a flautist, a clarinetist, pianist, guitarist, harpist, and a string quartet altogether.
The various Combier works call for various instrumental combinations, making entirely coherent demands on the players in a body of extended techniques, all of which results in a series of stunning sound-color sculptures.
"Dawnlight" (2015) opens the program with a long sound tapestry for flute, piano, violin, cello and electronics. This is music that travels beyond tonality or its lack to enter complex relationships between clearly pitched, sonically complex multiple pitch emanations and relatively unpitched percussive outbursts. One might say the same for all the works in this program.
In fact the huge potential vocabulary of electronic sounds matches the sonic variabilities of the instrumental utterances in brilliantly contrasting groupings and unexpected regroupings.
The middle part of the program brings three purely instrumental works to our ears. "Noir gris" (2007) for string trio, "Dog eat dog" (2014) for cello and guitar, and "Terra d'ombra" (2012-2015) for piano, harp and cello each has a unique and startling sonance. There are rich universes of dramatically narrative timbral relationships that unfold with unexpected and endlessly fascinating regular-irregularity.
Finally the 20-minute title work "Gone" (2010) for clarinet, piano, string trio and electronics unleashes the most sustained new timbral world of all. There are few living composers that could match this work for its startlingly inimitable palette of sounds and sequences.
In short Jerome Combier in Gone brings us signature high-modernist music with a brilliance that is virtually unparalleled in new music today. Ensemble Cairn brings their considerable contemporary technical prowess to bear on some of the most challenging instrumental works extant. They make of each of them a poetic totality, a remarkable achievement. Most importantly they bring us a beautiful realization of Jerome Combier's considerably prescient musical vision.
Unforgettable music. Essential listening!
Labels: compositions of timbral brilliance, jerome combier gone ensemble cairn gapplegate classical-modern review, ultra-modern chamber music from france
ACME, Thrive on Routine
ACME stands for the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. Based on the CD at hand, I must say I am impressed. I speak of ACME's Thrive on Routine (Sono Luminus 92211). On it we hear a nicely chosen selection of modern/postmodern works occupying an ambient, radical tonality turf.
The group as a whole consists of two violins, a viola, cello, piano, celeste, and two vibraphones. Clarice Jensen is the Artistic Director.
In all five works are represented, each one a journey into tone color and depth of field.
Calen Burhams, the violist in the ensemble, gives us his Jahrzeit for string quartet. It is beautifully resonant with an atmospheric born of harmonics, pizzicato and sparely applied but lush harmonies. The ostinato pattern repeated and played on top of reminds of Glass perhaps, but most appealingly rises into its own depth of expression. I get a strong pastoral feeling that fills me with a nostalgia for springs and summers past--but that is perhaps entirely personal.
Next up is a solo cello work by Caroline Shaw, "in manus tuas," played by Clarice Jensen. The colorful ambiance of the work fits in and follows naturally with Burhans' opening. Pizzicato and arpeggiated bowing establishes a post-Bachian presence that wears nicely.
Caroline returns with a solo piano work (played by Timo Andres), "Gustave Le Gray." It has a touching, yearning motif that continues to repeat and open out with developmental graduals in a moody fashion. It is based on Chopin's "Mazurka, Op. 17" and motives from that work blend in various ways with Caroline's own inventions.
Timo Andres then gives us his string quartet work in four movements, "Thrive On Routine." It musically describes Charles Ives' morning routine of early rising, digging in his potato patch, playing some from Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier" and so forth. The music has a playful deliberation that to me expresses Ives' continually inventive being as contrasted with the recurring sameness of his morning ritual sequence.
The final work features the full ensemble in a flowering version of John Luther Adams 1999 opus "In A Treeless Place, Only Snow." On the aesthetic level it has a feeling of a sort of enlightened haiku thoughtfulness expressing the suchness of nature. The repeating and intermingling strands work together for a very processual, unified result. It is remarkable, evocative, realized with great sympathy and affinity with the composer.
The album comes, as is often the case with Sono Luminus releases, with two disks--one a standard CD in vibrant stereo, the other a Blu-Ray disk with 5:1 playback capability. I do not have Blu-Ray but I can imagine that this sort of program would sound ravishing in the expanded aural space.
After hearing this a number of times I come out of the program with an enthusiastic two thumbs up. It is nothing short of lovely. ACME is off to a wonderful start!
Labels: acme (american contemporary music ensemble) thrive on routine gapplegate classical-modern review, modern postmodern ambient radical tonality chamber music of today
Vyacheslav Artyomov, Symphony, On the Threshold of a Bright World, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, Vladimir Ashkenazy
From the brilliant musical mind of Russian composer Vyacheslav Artyomov comes another volume of orchestral works including the monumental Symphony, On the Threshold of a Bright World (Divine Art 25143), very stirringly performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia.
I reviewed another volume on these pages several months ago (see search box above) which was nothing short of revelatory. This new volume confirms that first impression. Artyomov is a major figure on the Russian new music scene, with an explosively modern pallet of mystical, mysterioso universes of sound, a basic sensibility that goes back to Scriabin and Messiaen but then carries it forward to today with true originality.
Two substantial works comprise this additional volume: the title work "Symphony, On the Threshold of a Bright World" (1990/2002) and "Ave Atque Vale" (1997), for percussion and orchestra. A brief bonus work closes off the program, "Ave, Crux Alba" (1994/2012) for choral group and orchestra.
The Symphony has a vast spatial expanse as its foundational premise. The orchestra bursts forward with huge modern clusters and quieter introspective interludes. It is landmark in its dramatic thrust, sounding great as a CD and one can imagine even more spectacular live.
"Ave Atque Vale" has a singular role for solo percussion, handled deftly by Rostislav Shatayevsky. An immersively contrasting aural dimension is the way forward, marking out yet another, more reflective but no less enthralling spatial-sonic universe.
"Ave, Crux Alba" ends the CD with a brief but memorably anthemic lyricism.
Like the volume previously discussed here, this one beautifully carves out for us a celestial mysteriousness and at times a hugeness that holds its own as some of the most bracing and original music of our times. Artyomov is a voice for today, ultra-modern, futuristic and vibrant in its consistent aural brilliance. Get this one! Get both!
Labels: high modernist russian symphonic music of our times, vyacheslav artyomov on the threshold of a bright world ashkenazy national philharmonic russia gapplegate classical-modern review
Dvorak, Symphony No. 9, From the New World, A Hero's Song, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orch., Krzysztof Urbanski
One of my happiest first experiences in classical music was buying and hearing Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, From the New World. I was still pretty new to the classical literature. I found a version that was affordable to me (I did not have much spending money of course as a kid) and it turned out to be faithful to the spirit of the music (in retrospect). I played it for my mom and she loved it, too. Like many of us in the US, we were flattered that a great composer took the time to visit and leave for us a masterpiece. Of course it no doubt energized the composers active in the US at the time and more so later, giving them the energy and courage to forge their own way.
The popularity of the work here is such that my friend Marc many years ago applied for a cashier's job at a local Sam Goody record store, and one of the few questions they asked him was "who composed the New World Symphony?" In those days the chains even sought to carry and sell the more fleetingly popular fare and to pronounce Dvorak's name properly was a sign as well that you knew enough about things to help customers.
Well the years have ticked by at an advanced rate and I do wonder if the 9th sells well anymore, if there is a populism that has brains and knowledge? Suffice to say that for me the 9th still rings beautifully in my ear. And when I hear the movement based on the spiritual "Going Home," I remember my mom and how she loved this symphony.
A recent move has stripped me bare of most of my vinyl and Dvorak's 9th was among those. I actually did not much care for the version I had ended up with, so when the Krzysztof Urbanski and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra came up as something to review (Alpha-Classics 289), I eagerly jumped at it.
This is a singing version with everything going for it. The only aspect that I had to adjust to was the highly variable dynamic level, which perhaps came about as microphone placement was some distance from the orchestra? Not sure there, but in any event once you turn up the volume a bit all comes into focus.
The connection of this symphony genetically with Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony has hit me more forcefully as I listen to the NDR--and perhaps it is the fine definition of the strings in relation to the winds in the overall balance and Urbanski's painstaking attention to getting that phrasing-dynamics right that has brought the lineage connection to my ears that much more readily. In any case the balance and phrasing brings out the beauty of the totality and how countrified the music is in Dvorak's special way. The "Going Home" movement takes advantage of that as well as one might hope for. And no reading is complete of course without a ravishing treatment of the section. I can hear my mom responding again, wherever she may be up there.
Urbanski gives us an unhurried, detailed take on the entire symphony. It makes one feel that Dvorak did manage to capture then what made America great and it wasn't walls or tax cuts for the rich, crippling the "meals-on-wheels" program, or for that matter slavery. There was a human-human decency in the US at its best and a human-land relationship of respect and care when things were right, and I think Dvorak managed to put that into his music.
As a nice extra, the album includes the lesser known but worthy Dvorak tone poem "A Hero's Song." Urbanski and the NDR give us an impassioned reading of that, too.
Well now I would say that if you are looking for a very living version of the "New World Symphony," or one more if you have a few, this performance stands out as very fulfilling. It reminds me of what enthralled me about the work when I was 14!
Labels: dvorak symphony no 9 from the new world krzysztof urbanski ndr elbphilharmonie orch gapplegate classical-modern review, new performances of classic symphonies
Johan Halvorsen, Carl Nielsen, Violin Concertos, Henning Kraggerud, Malmo Symphony, Bjarte Engeset
If one gets a certain distance from the origin period of one's love for music, one generally finds oneself being exposed alternatingly between the known, the known re-presented, and the relative unknown. So today I am pleased to express my receptive thoughts on such a mixture: violin virtuoso Henning Kraggerud and the Malmo Symphony Orchestra under Bjarte Engeset giving us a program of Violin Concertos by Johan Halvorsen and Carl Nielsen (Naxos 8.573738). Added as a short bonus is Johan Svendsen's "Romance."
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935) was during his lifetime an internationally acclaimed violinist, conductor and composer. His Norwegian roots entered his musical language in a general way, and we can hear that readily within the late romantic Scandinavian idiom of his Violin Concerto. It was first performed in 1909 by Canadian violin virtuoso Kathleen Parlow, then only 18 years old. The work was greeted with an enthusiastic audience reception in the four performances Parlow gave the work between 1909-1910. In was never performed again during the composer's lifetime, and he apparently burned what he thought were all copies of the work on his retirement in 1929. That was a mistake.
But happily Kathleen Parlow had retain a copy of the complete score and parts, which turned up in 2015. Kraggurd premiered the first present-day concert performance in 2016 and on the heels of that made the world premiere recording of the work which we can now appreciate here. It is a substantial bundle of rhapsodic demeanor, folk color and a definite "Northern romantic" quality. Kraggurd and the Malmo Symphony conducted by Bjarte Engeset, give us a spirited, idiomatic reading fully worthy of the work's substance and charm. And so we have something of great interest in fully fleshed out form.
The Halvorsen performance certainly makes this release worth pursuing in itself. But then we have the Nielsen Concerto nicely done. If you do not have or have not heard this aspect of the Nielsen complete opus you no doubt should.
Johan Svendsen's "Romance" is a sweet surprise. It is northern lyric rhapsodicy in a fine fettle.
And all-in-all this is a thoughtful combination, well worth the good Naxos price. Hear it!
Labels: early 20th century concertos, halvorsen and nielsen violin concertos kraggerud gapplegate classical-modern review, nordic late romantic violin concertos
Ralph Vaughan Williams, The Pilgrim's Progress, Radio Play, Boult, BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Chorus
What lengths we go to hear ALL of Ralph Vaughan Williams' oeuvre depends on how committed to such a project we might be.
An example of the charming yet non-essential Vaughan Williams there is out there is the complete 1943 BBC radio play broadcast of The Pilgrim's Progress (Albion ALBCD 023/24) on two CDs, with incidental music by Vaughan Williams, played and sung by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The classic tale is rendered as only the BBC could do back then, with a period dramatic ethos we do not experience so much anymore.
The music itself has much to recommend it. Eight years later Vaughan Williams completed a full opera on the same subject, and this music has similarities and differences that will fascinate the completist.
Included is a 1929 broadcast of two short choruses by Granville Bantock, commemorating the John Bunyan tercentenary.
Perhaps this is not for everyone. But the serious Vaughan Williams enthusiast will respond readily. Others may be satisfied with Vaughan Williams' complete opera.
Labels: vaughan williams obscurities, vaughan williams the pilgrim's progress complete radio play with incidental music boult bbc symphony orchestra and chorus 1943 gapplegate classical-modern review
Martucci, Music for String Quartet, Piano Trios, Piano Quintet, Maria Semeraro, Quartetto Noferini
The absolute predominence of opera began to balance off with the growth of instrumental music after the turn of last century in Italy. One of the most interesting composers in this development was Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909). Pianist Maria Semerano and the Quartetto Noferini give us a judicious sampling of his chamber music on the recent 2-CD set Music for String Quartet, Piano Trios, Piano Quintet (Brilliant 2CD 94968).
Martucci managed to avoid the opera-producing hegemony of his times in Italy, embarking on a career as piano virtuoso, then establishing himself as an instrumental composer as well.
The assembled musicians give us very idiomatic, very decent readings of the "String Trios Nos. 1 and 2," the "Piano Quintet Op. 45," the "Momento musicale for String Quartet," the "Minueto for String Quartet" and "Three Pieces of G. F. Haendel transcribed for String Quartet."
One thing that strikes me about the music is its rhapsodic lyricism, its Italianate flavor, is ability to straddle romanticism, post-romanticism and even an incipient impressionism without a lot of to-do or overweaning musical pride. Martucci's lyric gift is in evidence throughout, but it does not seem to seek to draw attention to itself. There is an unforced flow of invention to be heard throughout, thanks in part to Ms. Semeraro and Quartetto Noferini's nicely understated readings. What is romantic about the music is generally allowed to emerge without the gushing of overly effortful emotive outpourings. And in the process Martucci sounds ahead of his time.
This is no doubt not music that will cause us to redefine radically the development of modernism. Nevertheless it is music of a distinct appeal, the presence of an almost endless font of creative form weaving. Listen to the first disk and its attention to the first trio and the quintet. They certainly sound fresh in the hands of the performers. They have a delightful sincerity about them, and that's true of the entire set.
I do recommend this to you, whether you wish to trace the development of modern Italian music or simply wish to experience some beautifully lyrical chamber strains, or both.
Labels: martucci music for string quartet etc maria semeraro quartetto noferini gapplegate classical-modern review, neglected italian chamber music circa 1900, romantic modern italian composers
Natalia Andreeva Plays Preludes & Fugues, Bach, Franck, Shostakovich
Everybody knows and appreciates, for the most part, how Glenn Gould played fugues. Fast as it goes, exciting, dynamic. But of course there are other ways. Natalia Andreeva, the Russian pianist who gave us a beautiful volume of Ustvolskaya's complete piano works (see index box above) comes through with an album of Preludes & Fugues (Divine Art 25139) where the emphasis is on a kind of meditative, poetic cast, grandly unfolding without hurry, studied but extraordinarily direct.
I've been listening closely to this album, and the more I hear it, the more I get inside of her way. Covered here are two preludes and fugues by Bach (one in C Sharp minor, BWV 849, and one in A minor, S. 462, originally for organ, transcribed for piano by Liszt), plus Franck's "Prelude, choral et fugue," Shostakovich's "Prelude and Fugue in C minor, Op 87 No. 20" and finally, as a bonus, two "Etude-Tableau" by Rachmaninoff--one in G minor, Op. 33, No. 7, and one in C sharp minor, Op. 33 No. 8.
The minor key, as seen above, predominates, and Ms. Andreeva makes much of this with a mesmerizing clarity and spirit, very gravitas. She gives us every reason to appreciate her approach. She allows each segment much space to breathe, much to say by drawing out every passage with that Russian, singing quality we have in some of the best pianists from there.
It is an album to hear repeatedly, each time you uncover more detail and subtlety. It is a marvel of poetic interpretation. And a very coherent selection of gems as well.
Hurrah for Natalia Andreeva! Highly recommended.
Labels: bach, baroque to modern contrapuntal piano compositions in high interpretive mode, franck, natalia andreeva plays preludes and fugues gapplegate classical-modern review, rachmaninoff, shostakovich
Peter Racine Fricker, The String Quartets, Villiers Quartet
English composer Peter Racine Fricker (1920-1990) made something of a mark on the new music scene in the later forties-early fifties with a number of prize winning and commissioned works. After that he continued on with excellent music but perhaps operated more in the shadows.
In his lifetime he wrote four works for quartet that have been gathered together in The String Quartets (Naxos 8.571374), played with intense concentration and precision by the Villiers Quartet.
The works span a long period between 1943 and 1976. They show a serious and somewhat somber demeanor, filled with a modern chromatic expansiveness (No. 3 is in a serial mode) that borders on severity.
A marked brilliance of craft pervades all four works. Somewhere between later Bartok and, eventually, mid-Elliot Carter in manner of intent rather than imitation, the quartets consistently espouse a serious uncompromising modern expression as the subject matter.
There is growth and change to be heard when following chronologically the thread of expression from the "Adagio and Scherzo" of 1943, the Quartet No. 1 Op. 8 of 1948-1949, the Quartet No. 2 Op.20 of 1952-53 and the Quartet No. 3 of 1976. Three of the four works are in first recordings, surprising given the quality and singularity of this music.
I heartily recommend this volume for anyone with a serious interest in the modern period and in English composers of last century. This is very enlightening and provocative music, performed with zeal and care.
Labels: forgotten modernist chamber music from 20th century england, peter racine fricker the string quartets villiers quartet gapplegate classical-modern review, string quartets from england
The Waldland Ensemble, American Voices, Music for Clarinet, Viola and Piano
The virtuoso Waldland Ensemble (Jeremy Reynolds, clarinet, Hillary Herndon, viola, Wei-Chun Bernadette Lo, piano) energize our musical senses and provide us with excitement and depth with a program of modern world premier recordings of American chamber music from relatively unknown but very deserving living composers. American Voices (MSR Classics MS 1541) brings us in close and intimate concordance with Kenji Bunch ("Four Flashbacks"), Anthony Constantino ("Ritual Songs"), Dana Wilson ("A Thousand Whirling Dreams"), Michael Kimber ("Vanishing Woods"), and Libby Larsen ("Ferlinghetti").
There is not a clinker to be heard and nothing save ultra-dynamic energy and lyric power in this anthology. The somewhat unusual instrumentation seems entirely right in the hands of this potent trio.
"Four Flashbacks" gives us brief but spectacular blues drenched vignettes that try and capture the composer's fleeting sensory and concrete memories of his musical upbringing in New York City.
"Ritual Songs" uses a three-note motif to launch a series of three short but intensive movements that function as a tripartite set of variations.
"A Thousand Whirling Dreams" gains inspiration from the vivid ending of the poem "As I Grew Older" by Langston Hughes.
"Vanishing Woods" captures the composer's love of the rapidly vanishing natural woodland settings available to us through treatment of an old hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth."
"Ferlinghetti" is a series of musical responses to the American poet's work.
We immerse ourselves happily in this music (or I do, anyway), which gives us a great number of reasons to celebrate the ongoing local efflorescence of the modern vernacular-influenced sound of the best in American chamber music today.
Very much recommended!
Posted by Grego Applegate Edwards at 12:09 PM No comments:
Labels: modern american chamber music of 21st century, the waldland ensemble american voices gapplegate classical-modern review
Crystal Mooncone, Listening Beam Five
For consideration today is an album of ambient, radical tonality soundscapes by the trio Crystal Mooncone. Listening Bean Five (Innova 973) gives us eight live sonic meditations that put us into quiet brown studies of varied atmospherics, all from the collective imaginations of the threesome--Stephen Rush on electric and acoustic piano, synthesizer, vocals and miscellaneous instruments; Chris Peck, flute and miscellaneous instruments; and Jon Moniaci, accordion and miscellaneous instruments.
The relatively simple means to produce a broad spectrum of cosmic moods does not detract from the aural appeal of it all. Drones and sustains layer under tonal events that include folk-like melodies and other diatonic lyricalities. Generally the overall sound transcends the relative simplicity of each element.
What is remarkable is the engaging and affective outcomes of each scape. These three are attuned to the ambient objectives of each number and make all eight interrelate and stand forward.
Some beautiful, gently aspiring music.
Labels: contemporary modern soundscapes with live acoustic-electric execution, crystal mooncone listening beam five gapplegate classical-modern review
Brahms, Sinfonie Nr. 1, Franz Konwitschny, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, 1962
In 1962 conductor Franz Konwischny, just weeks before his death, gathered the Gewanhausorchester Liepzig into an East German recording studio to record Brahms' celebrated Symphony No. 1 (Berlin Classics 0300839BC). That recording, remastered from the original tapes, lives once again.
The enormous power of this reading comes to us over the years as timeless. As I first listened I heard of course once again the influence of Beethoven, but then it struck me how much it was a precursor to Bruckner's sprawling symphonies, despite the critic Hanslick's diatribes separating Wagner and then Bruckner radically from a consideration of Brahms. No, Brahms's incredibly moving First pointed backwards to Beethoven but also pointed forward to late romanticism. I have lived with a van Karajan version of the symphony for years, but this reading has something very different going on.
The strong opening assault on the senses, those beautiful andante-largo passages, the soaring lyricism of the final movement, there is an unhurried, stately, singing beauty and largeness I've never quite heard from the First until now.
The sound is excellent, the performance inspired. It is a true ear opener.
Get it if you love the First, but even if you are not sure (if that is possible).
Labels: brahms symphony no 1 franz konwitschny gewandhausorchester liepzig 1962 gapplegate classical-modern review, brahms's first in a beautiful reissue, paradigmatic romantic symphonies
Peter Maxwell Davies, Works for Violin, Duccio Ceccanti
We lost composer Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016). But of course he left behind a large body of works and Naxos has been seeing fit to issue and reissue a large number of them Today we have an interesting chamber compilation of recent compositions, Works for Violin (Naxos 8.573599) featuring Duccio Ceccanti as the violin protagonist in a series of fine, virtuoso-poetic performances.
Three works cover the period from 2002 to 2013, one goes back to 1978-88; all tend to combine modernistic with tonal and sometimes folk colloquial sounds. Three of the four works are first recordings.
The "Sonata for Violin Alone" (2013) has a deeply introspective, ruminating quality and a stark beauty. It is one of Maxwell Davies' last works--dedicated to Duccio Ceccanti who gives us a very beautiful performance.
The "Dances from the Two Fiddlers" (1978/88) is a memorable fiddle-tune oriented work adapted from the children's opera of the same name with a series of brief but engaging ditties.
The "Sonata for Violin and Piano" (2008) returns to somewhat more formal grounds, though it portrays an imaginary walk through Rome on a non-existent walkway. It is modern-eclectic sounding in Peter's later, very personal way. There is drama in abundance for moments of considerable expressive power, then a disarming folk tenderness.. It is a tour de force for Ceccanti and pianist Bruno Canino.
The "Piano Trio: A Voyage to Fair Isle" (2002) brings in Vittorio Ceccanti on cello nicely for a modern take on folk forms and their integration into expressionist classical-modern style a la Maxwell Davies.
Duccio, pianists Matteo Fossi and Bruno Canino, and cellist Vittorio Ceccanti give us their sensitive and considerable all for a remarkable reading of these very intimate and revealing later works.
Modern chamber music enthusiasts and Maxwell Davies devotees no doubt will be captivated with this program as I am. But really there is beauty and accessibility for nearly everyone with the added challenge of very modern expression to brace our listening selves and provide a fabulously contrasting diversion.
Labels: late period peter maxwell davies, peter maxwell davies works for violin duccio ceccanti gapplegate classical-modern review, recent modern post-modern english chamber works for violin
Francesco Cilea, Complete Piano Music, Pier Paolo Vincenzi
The piano music of Francesco Cilea (1866-1950) has been virtually absent in our times from the concert hall, the publishing house and the recording studio. Until now and Pier Paolo Vincenzi's performance of Cilea's Complete Piano Music (Brilliant 2CD 95318). The totalized oeuvre spans the time period from 1883 to 1930. The early works reflect influence of the romantics, notably Chopin and Schumann, but the mature period is another matter. Vincenzi in the accompanying booklet notes Cilea's Mediterranean melodic approach and we can hear increasingly as Cilea matures a mastery of contemporary European harmony, the influence especially of Debussy and the impressionists.
In his earliest work he preceded the Italian instrumental masters of the early-to-mid 20th century by a number of years. Hearing all the works in one place here we encounter affable company, a lyric element, a sturdy character to most pieces and some that show an exploratory sense of adventure.
But in the end Cilea seems less an innovator, more a synthesist. Not a bold modernist as much as a craftsman of talent and now and again of inventive inspiration.
Pier Paolo Vincenzi does a fine job bringing these works to us. Anyone with an interest in 20th century Italy will gain knowledge of a composer who deserves hearing. The music pleases.
Labels: forgotten italian composers of the 20th century, francesco cilea complete piano music vincenzi gapplegate classical-modern review, italian solo piano 1883-1930
Nordic Affect, Raindamage
Iceland's contemporary music quartet Nordic Affect returns with the album Raindamage (Sono Luminus 70008). It features three compositions originally performed by Nordic Affect in 2014 in the Icelandic concert Flow, plus three electronic compositions, one by each of the composers represented on the program. So we get Valgeir Sigurosson with "Raindamage" for violin, viola, cello and electronics along with the electronic "Antigravity;" Ulfur Hansson and "PYD" for violin, viola, cello and voices, plus "Skin Continuum" for electronics; and Hlynur Aoils Vilmarsson with "[N]" for violin, viola, cello and harpsichord, plus "NOA::EMS" for electronics.
The music somehow has a natural ambient quality of process whether calling for conventional instruments, instruments and electronics or electronics alone. There are modern sound color elements, soundscaping and various punctuations that mostly enhance the flow of the sound tapestry.
The compositions fit together end-over-end to create one long interrelated sound interlude. Nordic Affect puts themselves into the music so thoroughly that their utterances do not for the most part sharply differentiate themselves from the electronic dreamtime landscapes.
The music has a vivid Northern quality, icy or expansive, musico-biological, uncanny. It is an intimate collaboration of composer and performers, so much so that I cannot imagine at this point subsequent versions by other instrumentalists, that is how much the composer-instrumental nexus creates strong bonds for these pieces. It is a fabulous sound world that has great abstraction yet a sort of sound narrative that speaks to us in each case.
Is this the new music of the future? We don't need to know that. In any case it is some new music of the present, some very riveting new music, something every new music enthusiast should hear and appreciate.
Labels: chamber-electronic new music soundscapes from iceland, nordic affect raindamage gapplegate classical-modern review
Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Works for Violin & Piano Vol. 2 , Stefan Kirpal, Andreas Kirpal
A close listen to Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Works for Violin & Piano Vol. 2 (CPO 777457-2) affirms that for all the revival hubbub on the Jewish-Polish-Russian modernist composer (1919-1996), there really is reason to pay attention. The Kirpal team (Stefan on violin, Andreas on piano, Gundula on 2nd violin for one piece) brings to us a remarkable set of works with all the devotion and care we could ask for.
The two CD set gives us the Sonatas for Violin and Piano Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 6 plus the "Sonatina, op. 46," the "Sonata op. 69 fur zwei Violinen" and "Moldowische Rhapsodie op. 47/3."
These are works that beautifully remind us how unexpected much of this music can be. The rhythmic flow moves along in expected ways, yet the diatonic-chromatic melodic and harmonic twists and turns combine Jewish, Russian and Polish elements in completely untoward ways. In the process all sounds right. All sounds for us in a completely idiomatic, original way. You hear a bit of Prokofiev and Shostakovich in their wayward moods (and maybe all three share a common zeitgeist which is more than mere influence?), yet it never quite goes the way you expect, and that provides endless aural fascination.
The Kirpals phrase everything just so, all the more to set the listener up for the beautifully obstinate refusal to hit the bland notes.
This volume is a wonder. It needs to be heard! Exceptional in all ways, I would say.
Labels: jewish-russian modernism, the weinberg revival--chamber music gems, weinberg music for violin and piano vol 2 stefan and andreas kirpal gapplegate classical-modern review
Bernstein, Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
One thing seems sure to me this morning. The advent of Bernstein's first (1942) and second (1949) symphonies marked the arrival of an American musical titan. Subtitled "Jeremiah" and the "Age of Anxiety," respectively, they showed us a contemporary modern composer of great originality, of dramatic power and lyrical intensity, a supreme melodist and a sure master of modern orchestration.
When we hear them again today in the hands of conductor Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony (Naxos 8.559790), they speak directly to us, they cut through the more overtly successful later Bernstein works and his subsequent status as a conductor and musical guide of the first rank. They remind us that Bernstein was on to something special even then.
We hear rhapsodic sincerity and great rhythmic vitality in "Jeremiah," as well understandably as some very spare but subtle Bernsteinian transformation of Jewish liturgical elements. The final movement brings in the mezzo-soprano part (nicely sung here by Jennifer Johnson Cano) for an almost Mahlerian flourish. Yet in the end this is an American symphony that follows originally in the footsteps of Bernstein's mentor and friend Aaron Copland.
The "Age of Anxiety," heard in its 1965 revision, goes even further into an American idiom, with the piano part (beautifully realized here by Jean-Yves Thibaudet) straying into jazz influences (that remained an important part of Bernstein's approach later on of course) and further extensions of the lyricism we hear in "Jeremiah."
With Marin Alsop's faithful and passionate readings of the two symphonies we hear a contemporary freshness, a timeless depth of spirit. They come across as landmark milestones in American symphonic music, as well they should.
Ms. Alsop and her musical colleagues breathe fresh air into these scores and give us pause. There is everything here, in supremely balanced readings.
Very much recommended, for those who have not fully experienced these symphonies as yet, and even for those who have.
Labels: bernstein symphonies nos 1 and 2 marin alsop baltimore symphony gapplegate classical-modern review, landmark modern 20th century american symphonies
Shostakovich, Piano Concertos 1 and 2, String Quartets 2 and 8 (solo piano versions), Boris Giltburg
Shostakovich most of the time managed to run the social realist gamut of the Soviet Union censors while remaining true to his artistic vision. He did endure periods of marked condemnation, notably in 1936 and 1948, but for the most part his talent outshined the strife. That did not mean that he had an easy go of it. His piano concertos were a good case in point. They were separated in time by some 24 years. Concerto No. 1 hails back to 1933; No. 2 from 1957. A new recording of them by pianist Boris Giltburg and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko is out and brings them both into sharp relief (Naxos 8.5736666). Both relied upon masses-inspiring gallops for the outer movements and lyrical interludes in the middle. Dmitri must have felt that such a sequence would meet with acceptance and approval. But there is ever a mood of refusal within each movement, a brilliantly original waywardness that survives as a subtext to outward compliance.
In any case the music holds plenty of attractions for us today. Very Russian in a Shostakovichian way, with enough modern touches to put them in the time frame of the then-present, they have real appeal and bittersweet poignancy when played in the ultra-spirited, then ultra-lyrical manner of Giltburg and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
A dramatic shift can be heard in the Giltburg solo piano version of Shostakovich's "String Quartet No. 8." It is a much more "advanced" work, expressive and uncompromising, and we feel the contrast especially vividly when we compare piano part to piano part. It is around 1960, when Shostakovich was apparently under increasing pressure to tow the ideological line, and though he complied it left him in a temporarily shattered state. Quartet No. 8 was a work he privately dedicated to his own memory, looking back on his life in very expressive, dark terms. It was his own private music, completely unmindful of government approval or rejection.
The Giltburg piano version is a nice revelation, as is his version of the allegro to Quartet No. 2 that also appears on the album.
If the piano concertos represent Shostakovich's brilliant transcendence over orthodoxy, his Quartet No. 8 is a bitter rejection of it. There is stark contrast here, but with the dedicated performances on the disk, there is ultimate triumph!
Recommended heartily.
Labels: shostakovich piano concertos 1 and 2 string quartet no. 8 giltburg royal liverpool philharmonic gapplegate classical-modern review, vintage modern shostakovich
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Today: We've lost a key defender of our interests -Northern elders
Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on Monday, expressed sadness over the death of Kano politician and former candidate of the National Republican Convention on June 12, 1993, presidential election, Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, describing him as "an indefatigable defender of North's dignity and values."
The Forum in a condolence message issued by its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said it lost a loyal founding member, a firm believer in responsible and visionary leadership.
The statement read, "Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and Nigerians are deeply saddened by the death of Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa.
"The North has lost an indefatigable defender of its dignity and values. Nigeria has lost an illustrious son, a consummate politician who was denied the opportunity to provide leadership with the annulment of the Presidential elections In 1992.
"The Forum lost a loyal founding member, a firm believer in responsible and visionary leadership. Alhaji Bashir was the embodiment of the best combination of private enterprise and unparalleled philanthropy. His landmarks in Kano and the national economy will match the best.
"History will record that Alhaji Bashir's life was well spent in the service of God and fellow humans, and he will continue to be an inspiration to many generations of Nigerians."
The Forum also condoled with the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, the people of Kano and Nigerian Muslims over the demise of Dr Datti Ahmad. It also prayed that "Allah (SWA) will reward him for his pioneering service to his community with Aljannah Firdausi."


Muhly grass is a pretty, flowering native grass that grows well in warm climates throughout the southern U.S. and Pacific Northwest regions. It stands up well to a lot of conditions and requires almost no maintenance, while also producing gorgeous sprays of pink flowers. At little cost, you can grow muhly grass from seed for your yard or garden.
Muhly grass is a native grass that is popular as an ornamental. It grows in clumps that rise to between three and five feet (1 to 1.5 meters) and spread about two to three feet (0.6 to 1 meters) across. The grass blooms profusely with purple to pink flowers that are delicate and feathery. Muhly grass is native to beaches, dunes, and flatwoods and can be grown in zones 7 through 11.
This grass is popular in yards and gardens in appropriate climates for its ornamental look but also because it is low maintenance. It tolerates both drought and flooding and has no pests. Once you get it started, the only thing you might want to do to maintain muhly grass is remove dead, brown growth in early spring as new grass fills in.
First, choose a spot that gets full sun. Muhly grass will tolerate some shade but grows best in sun. Prepare the soil by tilling it, and if necessary, mixing in compost or other organic material to enrich it and give it a better texture.
Muhly grass seed germination requires light, so press the seeds down as you scatter them but don't cover them in a layer of soil or compost. Keep the seeds moist until they sprout and grow into seedlings.
You can grow muhly grass from seed by starting indoors, which helps to keep the seeds warm enough. You can then move the transplants outside when the weather is right. Sowing muhly grass seeds directly outside is fine too, as long as it is past the last frost.
They will germinate best in temperatures of 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (15 to 20 Celsius).You may want to water occasionally during the first growing season, but otherwise you can leave your muhly grass alone and watch it thrive.
Read more articles about Muhly Grass.


Just like employment figures, petrol prices and home loan rates, the real estate market is not static. Nor is the market singular. Rather, the real estate scene is made up of many markets each moving through its own cycle.
When it comes to future-proofing your investment there's no foolproof method. However, there are some key indicators for good investment which can be directly linked to the strengths and growth of other industries, such as employment.
New figures have recently emerged suggesting that today's 18-year-old will have over 15 different jobs in their life-time, across five different career paths.
How does this affect the property market?
Changes in employment often necessitate changes in location. People relocating for work or in need of temporary accommodation for periods of tenure may require a more flexible arrangement for living circumstances than property ownership. It could be possible that more frequent changes in employment will make home ownership less appealing, putting a greater demand on rentals.
From a landlord's perspective, it is certainly worth giving consideration to such a scenario – and accommodate the changing environment of the rental market.
With people's working lives now taking shape in a variety of formats and arrangements, consideration to different leasing options may be a benefit to both landlords and tenants, who will benefit from flexibility in their living circumstances.
Areas of high employment will generate a high demand for property and will be a key consideration for savvy property investors.
Another consideration for landlords is in relation to both location and type of property. That is, how well will the property accommodate the changing life circumstances of a tenant? Is the property better suited to young, single professionals? Could it easily be changed to accommodate a growing family? And if it is clearly one or the other – singe professionals or family-orientated – is it in the right location to appeal to that particular demographic?
The demand for rental property appears set to remain strong overall. Whether you are expanding your property portfolio, or are eager to enter into the market, understanding where to buy and what to buy is the first step.
Your go-to people at this point are the property experts – the property managers and sales agents who live and breathe property markets and their cycles.


text:
Like Follow Jimmy Fallon got The Rock to admit he's kinda sorta weighing that 2020 presidential run
Maybe the world will go easier on Jimmy Fallon after he got Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to admit that, yeah, he's mulling a run for president in 2020.
Talking with Fallon on The Tonight Show about GQ's recent article "Could The Rock Really Win a Presidential Election?" in which Johnson admitted he's considering the candidacy, Johnson said, "The surge and the groundswell since then has really been amazing."
He followed up by citing the PPP poll that had him beating Trump in a hypothetical election. "I've really been blown away," said the 10-time WWE World Champion. "It's so flattering."
As for 2020, The Rock said, "Three-and-a-half years is a long way away, so we'll see."
THAT'S NOT A "NO." BOOK IT. HE'S IN.
After all, when you have better betting odds to win the election than Jeb Bush and Martin O'Malley, you're already starting out ahead.
Rock/Zuck 2020. Let's go.
Tags2020-PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTIONDWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSONDwayne JohnsonEntertainmentJimmy FallonPOLITICSThe Rock
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