Quoted at 7:20 from the video below, People and Power: Iran: Inside the Protests. It’s an excellent summary of the progression of the student protests since mid-June.

Original source: iran88 on Twitter.

“Many of Vivaldi’s compositions reflect a flamboyant, almost playful, exuberance. Most of Vivaldi’s repertoire was rediscovered only in the first half of the 20th century in Turin and Genoa and was published in the second half. Vivaldi’s music is innovative, breaking a consolidated tradition in schemes; he gave brightness to the formal and the rhythmic structure of the concerto, repeatedly looking for harmonic contrasts and innovative melodies and themes. Moreover, Vivaldi was able to compose nonacademic music, particularly meant to be appreciated by the wide public and not only by an intellectual minority. The joyful appearance of his music reveals in this regard a transmissible joy of composing; these are among the causes of the vast popularity of his music….”

This fine performance is from:

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Julia Fischer, Violin, with The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields).

Enjoy!

I still remember that the original album cover had a red sticker across the front, warning purchasers that at high volumes, the canons used in the Overture finale might damage a stereo system. Of course I didn’t believe that but it turned out to be true; I remember replacing the stylus twice and blowing one speaker before I learned my lesson and kept the volume down.

These days, I have sort of a love-hate relationship with Tchaikovsky’s music, probably from the over-exposure certain melodies have gotten in American culture. Our tendency to extract sound-bites from orchestral music and grind the same ones repeatedly into movie soundtracks, commercials, and elevator music is an unfortunate one, because the sound-bites become what many people think of as “classical music.” A piece of music like the 1812 Overture – despite the fireworks cliché it has become – has a lot more subtle beauty and melody than you might have ever been exposed to.

With that in mind, here’s Part One of the full 1812 Overture from YouTube, performed – according to the poster’s notes – in Leningrad by The Leningrad Philharmonic and Leningrad Military Orchestras during a celebration of Tchaikovsky’s 150th birthday. For fun, try following the opening melodies and their variations (from the beginning to about the three-minute mark) through the entire piece. If you do that, you’ll have learned one of the best ways to develop an appreciation for classical music. Finding the recurring melodies and their variations is a technique you can use when listening to even the longest and most complex symphonies.

Here’s Part Two, the part most often associated with Fourth of July fireworks in America. The first use of canons outside the concert hall occurs at about 2:50. At the five-minute mark begins the canon finale … and – you guessed it! – some fireworks.

Happy Independence Day!

White…

And blue….

More here:

Red, White, and Blue

Happy Fourth of July!

Discovered on Dominik Deobald’s blog here:

Did You Know?

Repairs are forthcoming in the form of a Big Dig in my front yard, and my bank account will shrink (or my debts will grow) by $5,700 in the process. Not exactly something I was expecting to be doing as summer moves in, but it is what it is and it has to be dealt with. I’ll just have to develop a fondness for my new copper pipes, or maybe think of them as a form of art — which, in a way, they are. I may chronicle the experience in photographs and post them here, so if you’re into things like that … stay tuned!

The title of this article describes how I feel, and you may find the article a lot more interesting than my plumbing problems:

Going Buggy

It flew off my roof before I could get my camera out; in these shots, it’s perched on the front peak of my neighbors house.

Click the picture for a wider version; something about those eyes…. you know you’re being evaluated as potential snack when those things turn toward you.

This isn’t a great shot, but it’s the only one I’ve ever gotten of the bird in flight. That wingspan has to be six to eight feet, maybe more. Can you say pterodactyl? Those dangling “fingers” are a nice touch, eh?

Happy Spring!

Well, not exactly. I took a break — not a blogging break … but a break from spending sooooo much time in front of computers. And, oh, what a relief it has been!

I’ll be back shortly…. Stay tuned!

So I guess that makes this my first iPod Touchpost!

More later … stay tuned….