Ideal Chrastmas Program-letter to Chris

Walberg is the arranger of the music. The conductor's name who unfortunately selected so many Walberg arrangements for this event is Jack Lanz.

As for the Christmas program I would organize, thinking of the ideal, turning to the programs that were aired on Public Television, KCET, years ago when it existed (before it was revealed that the CEO was earning millions/year and no one wished to donate to the greedy pig's wages). Several years in succession before Christmas they broadcast Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Gidon Kremer on solo violin  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbwVJVNvMh4 

KCET would follow that up with a performance from Germany of Bach's Christmas Oratorio  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHA-tJGOXtk

Then for New Years they would play Carl Orff's Carmina Burana  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRjyxr1ysKw 

Thereby, I would get my sacred/secular fix for the year.

If I was organizing a practical program my selection would include nice arrangements of interesting and popular seasonal pieces. Jack Lanz made the mistake of choosing many arrangements by the same mediocre arranger, Walberg. A composer like Bach writes with infinite variety. Lesser lights get in compositional ruts. If you choose a variety of arrangers the ruts remain invisible; however, with the repetition of a single arranger the ruts become a painful disturbance.

Colburn Concert

Absolutely fabulous all 20th century concert tonight by the Colburn kids at the Ambassador Auditorium: Avro Part, Fratres for String Orchestra and Percussion, 1991: Witold Lutoslawski, Concerto for Cello, 1970, and Copland, Symphony No 3, 1946.

Benjamin Manis, cello was fantastic, quite a contrast to the ho-hum "saws" I've been suffering through lately.

The conductor, Robert Spano, from the Atlanta Symphony, was a miracle. I was sitting in the 2nd row and could see everything the cellist and conductor were doing.

Letter to Chris about the 2015 Christmas Program

Excellent! You ask the best questions.

Your question: "Do you like the music for the Christmas rehearsal?"

For the Presbyterian Church's "Christmas 2015: What Shall We Give Him" concert out of 15 compositions eight are arranged by Mack Wilberg. My criticism focuses on him. Christmas programs in general; however, tend to be filled with the necessary musical schlock unless it's a performance of Handel or Bach.

Wilberg arrangements cast the violins and violas in their extreme upper range so they hover in the heavens above the range of the choir. In addition, he challenges them with unusually difficult  and fast technical passages wondering without warning from one complex key to another. I mean, what is the point in giving musicians an unnecessary headache  in writing continually in keys with 5 or 6 sharps, or flats.

Meanwhile, he writes a dreadfully boring parts for the cellos and basses where their only challenge is keeping alert to quick key changes.

Looking at the entire range of Mozart String Quartets (I have fun playing the cello part along with the recording) you can see that the early quartets have a simple cello line, but after Mozart travelled to Vienna and wrote the "Haydn" quartets for Haydn (in the original manuscript you can see that Mozart was very careful writing these because there are many revisions, unlike his many other compositions which show none because they just flowed out of him fully formed) you can see an enlived cello line due to the senior master's influence.

So, my conclusion is that Wilberg in his maturity, unlike Mozart, alas has not experienced a beneficial progression. Maybe he was not lucky enough to meet a "Haydn."

Also, if I remember correctly, I opine that the few great composers writing for orchestra most often seem to write interesting parts for every individual member of the ensemble. Their music not only is a delight for the ear, but also for the fingers.

Conclusion: I'm playing as a volunteer for a seasonal program that may delight and inspire many. No one is twisting my arm.

Comment on Ana's Facebook post

Ronald Walcott I'm really getting pissed off by Facebook's "Change of Status" flag, which this post is NOT. This post should read something like, "Ana shared a Link." 
Now a comment for Ana. When people share an eye catching post and then force nerds like me to spend time figuring out details it's an imposition. First the painting is by Bo Barttell and titled "The Box." Second, if you click on the paining it opens to a heard-it-all-before-edubabble article by Jinnifer Miller. And finally we find out that this article is two-year-old "news" reviewed in the NY Times on Dec 15, 2013. http://www.procrastinatortimes.com/.../culture... In my nerdy opinion, Ana, you as an active artist should show respect for another artist be at least naming him. And further, it would be helpful to warn viewers that you are bringing back very dated stuff.

Mairtin O Cadhain 1

Is not the word "appropriate" the most disgusting word in the entire English language?  It means no more than that snobby people do not like unsnobby things.-Alan Titley;  Introduction to The Dirty Dust: Cre na Cille by Mairtin O Cadhain

"She's pretty funny...for a woman: The changing face of ladies and laughter" on Monday, September 14 at KPCC's Crawford Family Forum.

KPCC asked me for my opinion in a survey. Here is exactly what I sent them.

Pat Morrison would have asked provocative questions and come up with riveting comebacks. Your host was pedestrian and mostly predictable (read: boring). If the panel had been all men presenting mostly penis, urination,dirty underwear, or sexual conquest jokes I would have walked out. Same goes for all women. At first a bit funny and soon the evening became tired. Where was  your own Sandra Tsing Loh? At least you would have had one person on the panel who had potential to express intelligence. The cream cheese/panty description, while new for me was truly disgusting.

More Facebook Rant_Letter to WK

WK,

It's not Facebook rules I worry about. 

It's friends who post on Facebook and are not thinking the same as me. I am discovering that they are right and I am wrong because I am expecting Facebook to be something that it is not.

For example cute cat pictures are OK, people in a photo with no names are OK, places with no location provided are OK.

So when I ask who is in the photo or where was the picture taken it is not OK

Also, if someone posts a photo of a poster about some social issue it is not OK for me to start a critical discussion.

The only OK comment:  "God bless you and Jesus,"  "Matthew 9:11" or "You look wonderful," or "Congratulations," or "Good Luck," or "Great Hair Style."  Always positive in five words or less. And NEVER negative.

All these are problems for me. My mind just does not work that way.

I remember something I heard in Poland when I was there, "Put two Poles together and you get three political parties." Yes! Poles have hearts, minds, and opinions. And they discuss issues!!!

When Facebookhen Facebook first started at Harvard University it presented a page where Harvard men were asked to choose which of two photos of Harvard women were more desirable. Then, after the program ran for some time all Harvard women in the system were rated according to their photo. Gradually, Facebook took the same idea to other college campuses.  Facebook has come a long way. I wonder how that would go down today?

rhw

Letter to Dellis About My Facebook Process

OK, to your question, "What am I on about?" I have a friend who says she won't do Google because they ask too many questions. I live in Google. She loves Facebook, but Facebook drives me crazy because I click on something and get loads of unrelated, uncurated content. 

So, in an effort not to stubbornly reject Facebook, like she rejects Google, I am trying to work to understand it. My rant describes a process. If I click on "notification," "message," or "status" I expect something related, not Zuckerberg gibberish!

rhw

Status: more Facebook rant

I'm on an ongoing rant about Facebook. I received an g-mail that Armalyn "upgraded her status." What in this world does a solution in Utah have to do with someone's personal "status?"

In brief the solution in Utah was poster by Occupy Democrats about reducing costs by housing rather than jailing the homeless.  Good idea but.....


Armalyn commented:
Armalyn De La O I am not sure. I didn't update my status about homelessness in utah. Sorry

I wrote back:

Armalyn, of course, my comment was about Facebook, not you. Facebook uses terms like "notification," "Status," in a way I'm not sure about. When I click on "notification," or "message," or "status" I see arbitrary entries with little relationship to each other. For me, a person interested in patterns and connections, I find this unsettling.

Now I see Dellis's name, another friend "liking" the original Utah post. So Dellis, I'm sending this to you in order to try to understand how Facebook breaks.

Facebook Rant to my friend Wilson

Hi,

I'm on a rant about Facebook photos and videos. Here is my comment about the "Elephant" video that you just sent to me on Facebook which I looked at because I received an g-mail telling me that Wilson sent me a video. I thought it might be a thoughtful communication from you so I immediately looked at it. But....

(My Facebook Comment) "Ronald Walcott This is what drives me crazy with Face book. I get a shared video from my friend Wilson, but I have no idea why he sent it, or how he feels about it. It becomes like so many Facebook communications, a communication without heart or soul."

 

Your son does the same thing most of the time. He sends a photo of some people who are unidentified with him included often with a goofy expression.

 

And it seems most people on Facebook do the same thing.  I get photos of people, animals, posters, groups, buildings, etc. and I have no idea who, what, or where they are and why the person bothers to send it out to the world.

 

Yes, I know it's the style of the SELFE. I was at the beach today and I saw so many people taking selfes and making a goofy expression. I find the whole trend very tiresome.

 

I have not heard from you in ages.  I seldom waist my time with Facebook for the reasons cited above so a Facebook "fart" from you does not count.

 

Why don't you send me an email if you feel like it and tell a story about your life.

 

By the way, you son come to California (he may still be here) but didn't find the time to come by, invite me to see him, or AT LEAST, make a short telephone call to say, "Hi, how are you?." What does this tell me?  I can only conclude that I am an unimportant person in his life.

 

I know you are all into the 7th Day Adv. thing, but people who are not are still part of the human race.

Ron

Letter to KPCC

Thanks for sending "theshortlist." I have been reading "Need2Know" for some months. That publication has it's ups and downs, but they almost never fail to include something (an article or a tweet) that makes me smile. 

Reading KPCC's, "theshortlist" for a very short time I ask myself, "Why does KPCC have to be so damn serious and verbose?" If you grind on with boring and repetitious Garrison Keillor who is not funny, and continue with "Car Talk" which I find creepy now that it includes a voice from the beyond, I wonder if you have completely lost your sense of humor?

Ron Walcott