jameskatzenberger.com

So, I have another project that I’m working on during the time I would normally write these blog posts.

There it is.  The experiment is over for now.

test

November 2010, Carbondale, CO

February 2011, Missouri Heights, CO.

April 2011, Carbondale, CO.

Shorter trip.

20110821:

11:15:  Arrive slightly early at airport, miss chance for earlier flight by 10 mins, say goodbye to sleeping and ill child, wish my family the best.

12:05:  Get on plane, lose interest in boarding game, do some of the puzzle, wait.  Sitting next to professional traveler who is a not too large man.

1:30 ish:  Get on next plane.  Observation:  boarding onto flights is a really big deal for people.  I’ve had fun playing *games* with the boarding protocols, but am now concerned for the majority of people at the gate who either seem actually confused or truly want to get on earlier than other people, like it’s a race.  It’s a topic.  For sure.  I’m almost tempted to look for dissertations on the social psychology at play in this group setting.

These are the reasons to get on early:

• Kids and the stuff that goes with them, especially the little, little ones.  Airlines usually provide allowances for this regardless of in which bucket your boarding pass indicates you belong.
• Perhaps irreplaceable but definitely breakable things in a larger carry on.  You must ensure no gate-check.  Guitars are an interesting caveat here.  If you know the plane model and airline, you may also choose to know the size and shape of the overheads.  If you chose knowing over ignorance, then you’ve already figured out where you stand with respect to this reason to get on early.
• You’re a pre-take-off sleeper.  You just want to go to sleep–as soon as possible.  This option doesn’t apply to many, but I’ll allow that if you are this person, then why not?  I just read a comment to an op-ed piece in the NYT about plane sleepers.  The poster commented (as an MD) that people who sleep like that are suffering from an ailment:  sleep deprivation.  See a doctor… I guess.  I’ll be the first to admit that I have sleep dysfunction.  And yes, I sleep on airplanes.  Separate topic.  I’m not avid enough about it though that I would board early just to get to sleep sooner…
• You have issues.  Namely, you know that you’ve got a window seat to sit in and you just can’t stand the idea of getting on the plane after your row neighbors have already sat down.  You’ll have to engage with other humans–maybe even touch them by accident–just to get into your seat.  Worst case scenario:  they are a pre-take-off sleeper.  So you have to wake them up and make them move out of your way.  So indeed, get on earlier to avoid this (maybe).
• You have issues (II):  you want to stare at passengers boarding after you saying with your nonchalant eyes, or simply sit and emanate a sense, that YOU got on before they.  By doing so, you demonstrate dominance.  Careful though, they may throw poop at you.  And if you really were dominant, then you’d have your own plane.
• You want to get a first (or at least early) stab at flirting with the attendants…  etc.  this easily devolves into a glut of ridiculousness (social dominance).  It’s ridiculous in this context anyway.
• Final reason:  you don’t consider other options, such as chilling out and thinking about or doing something that matters.

Maybe people just want to get on fast because it’s ALL they can do to get there faster even if it’s futile.

Then I got to LA:  (see earlier posts for how that goes)

This is to remind me to write about the rest of it.  We saw a lot of concerts and I simply did not keep up with the commentary on them.

This was dubbed “Baroque Evening with Nicholas McGegan”.

What exactly is a baroque evening?   I have a sense of what an evening with baroque music is….

Anyway, after reviewing the summer schedule of concerts, I had pegged this one as one of the potentially best concerts of the season.  Why?  People are getting into it and the musicians are ready.  Baroque music is the best–hands down.  That’s official.  Problem is, we’re all used to the baroque music that has had the party taken out of it.

Program:  Vivaldi, Concerto for violin and two cellos RV 561 (c. 1711). Adele Anthony played the violin.  She was also something like 4 or 5 months pregnant.  This lady simply rocked.  The baby, the style, the virtuosity was all there.  Personality.  I haven’t seen her husband Gil Shaham perform live, so I can’t say with certainty that she’s not quite as technically proficient…  but I’d watch this woman play any day.  She has the passion that makes music fun, elegant, emotive, and the flair of a PERFORMER.  The cellos were good too, but let’s face it, Vivaldi should have called it a “concerto for violin and some nifty stuff for cellos too”.  Of total interest and fun as well was the introduction of Nicholas McGegan as the harpsichordist and conductor.  No chair, (no hair), glasses and EXACTLY the kind of bouncy, nerderific, intelligent ebullience that makes this sort of thing really work.  This guy was there to party.  Rocking those heels, bouncing like a white guy.  It was simply JUST RIGHT.

Handel: My Vengance Awakes Me” from Athalia, HWV 52 (1733) and The Prince, Unable to Conceal His Pain from Alexander’s Feast HWV 75 (1736).  The singer here is named Dominique Labelle.  She was captivating.  Singers are charged with this impossible task:  go up on stage and instead of delivering abstract notions of sound, you need some words and you need to communicate with the audience in that language.  She nailed this.  Intimidating to say the least, but spot on really.  Not perfect by any means, but damn.  A really solid presentation.  You can knock people over and make them dumb with that kind of singing ability.  And she managed to act (a little) there on stage too.  If you bring the words, bring the drama.  It’s what opera is all about and she was reining it in just to save us from overload and imbalance in the recital setting.  I just want to go see her sing in an opera and do something major, like cut someone’s head off or something.  She’s sell it like it was going out of style, I’m convinced.  Well done.

Will finish post later.

I was excited about this concert for two reasons:  Ives’ Unanswered Question (which I like a lot) and a relatively new piece from a composer I wasn’t familiar with: Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Program:

Ives: Unanswered Question (1908),  (Aspen Contemporary Ensemble).  this is not a contemporary piece.  I’m often annoyed at these terms, contemporary, modern, etc…  basically they are a group of players who kick ass and aren’t afraid of tough rhythms, textures and new sounds.

Schumann:  (the dude one):  Gedichte der Koenigin Maria Stuart, op. 135 (1852).  I dont’ remember this piece at all really.  Didn’t stick, probably won’t ever.

Mark-Anthony Turnage:  Eulogy (2003).  Hmmm.  OK, so it’s a bit of an afterthought to a broader notion of viola with ensemble.  This piece was nice actually, but it left me wanting more.  Turnage has some ideas that I think really work and his craft is up to it.  Wanted more.  I know this guy has written some stuff with some real energy in it.  Want that.

Ooops.  Left concert at intermission.  Basically, I was not up for nearly 45 minutes of Dvorak.  (Piano Trio in F Minor, B 130, op 65 (1883)).

Went to see Ives and Turnage and that’s what I got.  The Ives is haunting isn’t it?

Since we are living in the RFV and one of the world’s best music festivals occurs in Aspen every summer…

We bought tickets.  Woo-hoo!