Friday Miscellanea

Quote of the week: "Zen enriches no-one."

-- Thomas Merton

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It often surprises me, which item in the Friday Miscellanea sparks the most comments. But I suspect that this week, it will be this one: The connections between Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and fascism. Here is the argument presented by Rafael Andia:

It will help a lot to recall the context of the 1930s, that very unsettled time in European history, with the Spanish Civil War, the spread of communist ideals through many European capitals, especially among artists, and the rise of Fascism in Italy and the Nazi party in Germany. At the time, no-one had any idea of how history would play out with the occupation of France and much of the rest of Europe, the subsequent destruction of Germany, the defeat of Italy, and the entirely new post-war reality with the triumph of Anglo-Saxon democracy and capitalism. None of this was evident in the 1930s. Stravinsky was also an admirer of Fascism in the person of Benito Mussolini, as was Ezra Pound. Rodrigo, it seems, was caught on the horns of a dilemma.

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The New York Times reviews the farewell concert of the Emerson Quartet: The Great Emerson String Quartet Takes Its Final Bow

It did not take the Emerson long to set the formidable technical standards that we take for granted among chamber musicians today. “After five minutes of playing,” the critic Bernard Holland wrote of that Bartok concert in 1981, “one began to assume perfection. There were no disappointments.” There are none to be heard, either, in the Emerson’s recorded legacy, which, with all its vitality and its security, Deutsche Grammophon ensured defined the sound of a quartet in the digital age. Hearing them now is to be confronted with persistent excellence, an enduring commitment to quality that any musician would be proud of.

Emerson made their bones with performances of all six Bartók quartets in a single concert. But for me what made them a great quartet was their live recording of the Shostakovich quartets:

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Health issues: ‘When I tried to play, my hand spasmed and shook’: why musicians get the yips

From another musician, I learned that my experience was not unique. This trusted colleague speculated I might suffer from musician’s focal dystonia. I was embarrassed that I had never heard of it. I soon discovered that I might have a disorder that has plagued some of the world’s most famous musicians. The 19th-century German composer and pianist Robert Schumann was thought to have dystonia, based on his letters to friends, and used a weighted contraption to strengthen a rogue finger. In his diaries, Glenn Gould, known for contorted body postures at the keyboard, described symptoms in his left hand and arm as if writing the definitive dystonia textbook. And Leon Fleisher, after years of misdiagnosis and a right hand frozen into a claw (he played the piano with one hand), brought worldwide attention to dystonia in musicians as never before.

Thank god I don't have this problem. I'm just lazy and don't practice enough.

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 Some sad news from Slipped Disc: FIRST WOMAN PHD IN CLASSICAL GUITAR DIES AT 63

The classical guitar world is in mourning for Lily Ashfar, an Iranian student of Andres Segovia at USC who was the first woman to breach a closely guarded macho instrument. Lily was 63 and had been ill for some time.

She received her doctorate from Florida State University in the midst of an international career. Her Hemispheres album has iconic status.

Lily is being buried in northern Iran.

The correct spelling is Lily Afshar. 

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 Daniel Barenboim: In our orchestra, Israelis and Palestinians found common ground. Our hearts are broken by this conflict. You may have to register to read the article. The project, co-founded by Barenboim and Edward Said, of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra united players from many countries in the Middle East including both Jewish and Arab musicians. The ideals were laudable and if music alone could bridge these kinds of gaps, I'm sure that it would have been successful. But while it has been a genuine success in the musical world, in the wider context, sadly, it has not been.

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And finally, Car drivers torture NZ city with Celine Dion songs

Car drivers armed with a playlist of Celine Dion songs have been plaguing residents of a small New Zealand city for months on end with loud, late-night "siren battles".

The beloved Canadian singer's melodies lose their charm when blared at high volume as late as 2 am, say the sleepless residents of Porirua, north of Wellington and home to 60,000 people.

"It's a headache," Porirua Mayor Anita Baker told AFP on Thursday.

Siren battles have erupted in parts of New Zealand for at least seven years.

Local media have reported on contestants -- often people with family links to Pacific Island nations -- using large siren-type speakers on cars and even bicycles to drown each other out with their powerful systems.

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The first, obvious choice of envoi is the Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo. Here in a performance by Pepe Romero:

Next, Emerson with the String Quartet No. 8 by Shostakovich:

Lily Afshar playing Albéniz:

Finally, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra: