hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: Official business
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-business.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Friday, July 02, 2010. I had the pleasure of breaking the news that Camden's Symphony in C has appointed a new president. Krishna Thiagarajan - I asked him several times for the correct pronunciation of his last name - comes to the Symphony from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). And his work has appeared in Symphony. And on the websites Phawker, Broad Street Review, and NewMusicBox...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: The humidity of other planets
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2010/07/humidity-of-other-planets.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Wednesday, July 28, 2010. The humidity of other planets. This month has been one of my busiest ever, I think. Late June and early July had me bartending at a furious pace during World Cup soccer matches, after which I immediately segued into a titanic, non-arts-related writing assignment. So, from Sunday, a preview of the Philadelphia Orchestra's presentation of Planet Earth Live. Also, a feature on Red KoolAde. Showcase, p...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: May 2010
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Thursday, May 27, 2010. A first: a short piece. In Washington City Paper. Made possible by a colleague and former editor who landed there after a paper here in Philly went belly-up (only to emerge in a different form. Sans arts coverage). I used to pick up WCP on trips into DC from the Shady Grove Metro station, and I may have more bylines there in the future. Yes, I know I don't live in DC. I'll make it work. My apologies ...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: Late entry
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2009/12/late-entry.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Wednesday, December 16, 2009. A little info on the most recent item to land on my Top 10 for 2009, Kyle Bartlett's "The Lost Child." I wasn't familiar with "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser," the Werner Herzog film that was a point of inspiration for Bartlett's opera; it's now on my Netflix queue, hopefully to arrive soon. As Ana, Barlett convincingly expressed fear, doubt, anger, confusion, curiosity and rapture. After the ...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: Wrapping up '09
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2010/01/wrapping-up-09.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Monday, January 04, 2010. The Best Music of 2009. Rundown hit Phawker on New Year's Day. It contains my write-ups of albums by Dirty Projectors and John Vanderslice, as well as Vol. 1 of music from the TV show "Glee.". Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest. Muse - The Resistance. John Vanderslice - Romanian Names. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast. Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster. The girl was everywhere this year,...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: Reflection/anticipation
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2009/06/reflectionanticipation.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Wednesday, June 10, 2009. Some thoughts on Friday's concert by The Crossing. Thrilling and exhausting gestures in John McCabe's Scenes from America Deserta. Wordless glissandos, dense layering, lots of sibilance and chattering syllables. Busy rather than stark. Much more tumultuous than expected for something intended to evoke a desert. Two calmer pieces to cool things down. Paul Fowler's Potter's Clay. Exact quote from con...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: June 2010
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Monday, June 28, 2010. The twin passions of my adult life - new music and beer - have cropped up in my writing once again. Though it's late in coming to this forum, you can find my preview of Saturday's Garden State Beer Festival here. I was unable to attend; I was busy serving, rather than consuming, beer during the World Cup soccer matches. In other weekend news, The Crossing. And their performances have been consistently...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: Momentum
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2010/05/momentum.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Monday, May 17, 2010. In short, the Xenakis was furiously committed, dizzying, and over far too soon. It was a thorough working-out of the possibilities of register and timbre, with a very compact and economical marshaling of instrumental forces. Full disclosure: I'd never heard Xenakis performed live, and it was a visceral, unforgettable experience. To the Philadelphia music community: more, please. And on the websites Pha...
hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com
Hotbed of Intrigue: December 2009
http://hotbedofintrigue.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html
Controversies in and critiques of arts and culture in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Wednesday, December 16, 2009. A little info on the most recent item to land on my Top 10 for 2009, Kyle Bartlett's "The Lost Child." I wasn't familiar with "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser," the Werner Herzog film that was a point of inspiration for Bartlett's opera; it's now on my Netflix queue, hopefully to arrive soon. As Ana, Barlett convincingly expressed fear, doubt, anger, confusion, curiosity and rapture. After the ...
kvpoe.blogspot.com
Whimsical, yet relevant...: March 2009
http://kvpoe.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html
Friday, March 27, 2009. Now comes the part that most people are interested in: the ring. (I promise this is the last engagement-related post. But I had a good title for it so I had to! Jon's mom gave him her engagement ring on the sly when we were out in Idaho a few weeks back, and he has since (obviously) passed it on to me. One of my favorite things about it, aside from the fact that it belonged to Jon's lovely mother, is that it's an "illusion" setting. What is an illusion setting, you might ask?