Even with filter,s I still receive spam comments. Some of it's so oddly written, that it's oddly amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world.
It's enormous!
I sometimes wonder what the spammers think they're saying.
- It's enormous that you are getting thoughts from this post as well as from our arguement made at this place. [Getting thoughts? I'm getting a headache!]
- At this moment I am ready to do my breakfast, afterward having my breakfast coming again to read further news. [Take you're time. We'll be right here.]
- I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here. [I understood as little as you wrote right there.]
- Hello Dear, are you tryly visiting this web page on a regular basis, if so then you will without doubt take pleasant expereience. [Why, thanks ma'am, I -- hey, wait a minute. This is my site!]
Some might consider all the attention paid to the post about this little postwar toy peculiar.
"Lumbering along" still a thing
The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along rstill brings in the highest volume of spam comments. Who knew that a cheap little Japanese toy could mean so much to so many?
- The sector hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren't afraid to say how they believe. All the the time go after your heart. [We'll try to keep Sector Seven entertained.]
- Peculiar article, totally what I wanted to find. [At last I connect with my true audience -- seekers of the peculier.]
- With having so much written content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? [On this subject? You've got to be kidding.]
It's back
I was afraid that a certain misused word had finally run its course with spammers. Then I received this:
- Your method of describing everything in this piece of writing is truly fastidious, all be capable of without difficulty be aware of it.
And that's it for this month. Without difficulty you, too, can be aware that when it comes to spam -- it's enormous.
For the month of February 2018, some of the contributors to #ClassicaDay feed wanted to celebrate film. The Academy Awards are held in February, so it was a good time to share examples of classical music influencing film scores (and vice-versa).
There are many ways to look at that intersection. Some classical composers also wrote for film. Some film composers wrote classical works for the concert hall. Some classical music has become famous primarily because of its use in a film, and some film scores have been expanded into classical works. Here were my selections for week one of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore. I only post on the week days, and there were only two in the first week.)
John Corigliano (1938 -) - Violin Concerto No. 1, "The Red Violin" (The Red Violin, 1997)
The movie "The Red Violin" traces the history of a violin from its creation in 1681 Cremona through its auction in 1997. John Corigliano, working closely with violinist Joshua Bell. The score mirrors various styles of classical music and won an Academy Award. In 2003 Corigliano reworked the material into a concerto for violin and orchestra. He also created a set of caprices for solo violin from the score.
John Williams (1932 - ) - Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra (1985)
John Williams is justly famous for his many classic film scores. Less well-known are his classical compositions. Some, such as Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, are repurposed from film scores. Most, though, are entirely original. Over the years, Williams has written at least ten concertos for different instruments, including one for tuba.
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) - Score to "The Master and Margarita" (1994)
This massive film was the nineteenth -- and final -- film score Schnittke composed. The 204-minute film was only shown in Russia. Complicated rights and political issues prevent its distribution. The only part of the film to become public was Schnittke's soundtrack.
Elmer Bernstein (1922 - 2004) - Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra
Bernstein studied with Aaron Copland, Roger Sessions, and Stefan Wolpe. Although best-known for his film scores, such as "The Magnificent Seven," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "The Great Escape." He also composed many classical works. His guitar concerto was written for Christopher Parkening.
Nino Rota (1911-1979) - Concerto for Harp and Orchestra (1947)
One of the most famous Italian film composers, Nino Rota also had a distinguished concert career. He composed ten operas, five ballets, and many concertos for various instruments.
George Antheil (1900-1959) - Score to "Ballet Mécanique" (1926)
Avant-garde composer George Antheil was also a successful film composer, with almost 30 scores to his credit. His most popular concert work was originally conceived as a film score. The Ballet Mécanique was written for an experimental film by Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy.
Arnold Bax (1883-1953) Score to "Oliver Twist" (1948)
British composer Arnold Bax is best known for his orchestral tone poems and symphonies. Yet he had a film career as well (albeit a short one). His score to "Oliver Twist" was the second of three films he wrote music for.
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) - Score to "The Battle of Stalingrad" (1949)
Although best known for his ballet scores, His "Sabre Dance" has been used in countless films, TV shows, and commercials. But Aram Khachaturian also wrote original film music. "The Battle of Stalingrad" is one of 22 film scores that he composed. It won the Stalin Prize in 1949.
What is the Tender Trap? It's what happens when someone places the tender of a toy or model locomotive backward because it "looks right that way." Usually, to do so, they have to ignore the connectors that are specifically designed to work only when the tender's facing the right way. So to insist on placing the tender backward, ignorance isn't enough -- you have to deliberately ignore the evidence in front of you. Examples of toy and model locomotives with backward tenders are ubiquitous. So much so that it has to be something really unusual to add an example to this series.
But this is a new one, even for me.
What's wrong with this picture? Plenty.
I think this is the first time that the locomotive's backward as well. This turn of the century penny toy has a simple eyehook and pin coupler system. One end has an eyehook, the other a pin. The pin goes through the eyehook.
In this case, I give the person a partial pass on the tender. It looks symmetrical. Unless you examine the couplers carefully, it's difficult to say which end is the front.
Not so with the locomotive. It has an obvious front (that's where the smokestack is), and an equally obvious back (that's where the cab is). The front has no coupler at all. The back has an eyehook.
In this shot, both pieces are shown properly oriented. Why was this so
hard to do in the lead image?
So why place these two pieces this way? It makes no sense to me. Here's the way it should be displayed.
And here's why this stuff is important. The seller has all kinds of information about these pieces. But they didn't even put them in the right order. Why should I trust anything they have to say about an object they so clearly don't understand?
The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them. Below are all the pages to the string trio series. Each movement was written in four 10-minute installments. It's interesting to take a look at the entire project together. I calculated the playing times for each movement. I've written about 1'20" of the first movement, 1'45" of the second, and almost a minute of the third.
That changes things a little. Initially, I thought when I had reached the double bar in the third movement, I was almost done. It may turn out to be the middle of an ABACA rondo, instead.
I still like the idea of a compact work, but it needs just a little more. As I revise this, I'll be looking to expand the outer movements to about two minutes each, and the middle movement perhaps to three.
(click on the images to enlarge)
As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.
I'm a regular contributor to the #ClassicsaDay feed on Twitter. At a speech in Poland on 7/6/17, the President said, "The world has never known anything like our community of nations. We write symphonies." The next day #WeWriteSymphonies appeared on Twitter, citing all the non-Western -- and non-white -- composers who do indeed write symphonies.
To celebrate composers of color, I used both hashtags in my feed for the month of September. Below is an annotated list for the third week of posts.
Dorothy Rudd Moore (1940 - )
Dorothy Moore is one of the many American composers who studied with Nadia Boulanger. She is one of the co-founders of the Society of Black Composers. Her opera "Frederick Douglass" premiered in New York City in 1985.
Julia Perry (1924-1979)
Perry studied with Luigi Dallpiccola in the 1940s and won a Guggenheim Fellowship. She also studied with Nadia Boulanger and spent several years working in Europe. Her compositions incorporate African-American folk music traditions into an adventurous neo-romantic style. Her catalog includes 12 symphonies.
Jeffrey Mumford (1955 - )
Mumford studied with Elliott Carter and Lawrence Moss. His style is modern and complex in structure.
Diedre Murray (1951 - )
Diedre Murray is a cellist and composer known to both the jazz and classical worlds. Most of her classical scores, including her opera "The Running Man" are heavily influenced by jazz idioms.
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Adolphus Hailstork (1941 - )
Hailstork has served as composer-in-residence at both Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University. His music combines African-American motifs with an accessible, almost impressionistic classical style. Hailstork's catalog includes three symphonies, two operas, and several orchestral and chamber works.
I found a Line Mar Match Box Construction Set from the 1930s, complete and with instructions. The box claimed the set made 100 different toys. I decided to test that claim -- one toy at a time. You can read all the posts for the Line Mar construction project at 100 Toys.
076. Buggy
I guess this could be a buggy. I thought it was a little low-slung, though. To me, it's more of a wagon. But whatever it is, this toy's impossible to build as depicted.
This is another case where the illustrator drew the dowel lengths as they should be for aesthetics, rather than their actual lengths.
The two dowels that secure the handle assembly to the frame might look as drawn -- if the holes were offset. But they're not, and so I could only insert them about halfway (as shown at left).
And note the overhang of the long dowel. There simply isn't a dowel of the right length included in the set. The handle and the securing dowel are the same lengths as the axles.
As always, I tried to position the finished build to come as close as possible to the image shown in the instruction sheet. But there's no disguising the over-sized dowels.
To fully appreciate the music on this release, you should read the liner notes. To appreciate Thomas Tallis' artistry, you just have to listen.
This release features Tallis compositions written for the nascent Church of England. The music reflects the latest scholarship, which shines new light on Tallis and his catalog.
The text for Se lord and behold is now believed to be written by Queen Katherine Parr in 1544. It was set to an early version of Tallis' Gaude gloriosa.
The liner notes go further into the origins of the work, and the historical evidence behind the current view. The release also includes later version of Gaude gloriosa dei mater for comparison.
The third major work on the album is a setting of the Litany, also from 1544. It's definitely music of its time. The cantor asks the Lord to not only take away the congregation's sins, and protect His servant Henry VIII, but also to deliver them from "the tyranny of the bishop of Rome and all his detestable enormities.(!)"
Though the text is somewhat heavy-handed, Tallis' music remains sublimely buoyant and beautiful. Also included are some shorter Reformation hymns for voices and instruments.
Alamire has a rich, full ensemble sound that's well-suited to this music. They're recorded in a large space that lets the sound decay in a satisfying fashion. Fretwork performs to their same high standards as well. Lines are cleanly executed, and there's a wonderful warmth to the ensemble's overall sound.
The musicological and historical content of this release is important. But what really makes it is the of the music and the of the performances.
Thomas Tallis: Queen Katherine Parr and Songs of Reformation Alamire; Fretwork Obsidian CD716
For the month of February 2018, some of the contributors to #ClassicaDay feed wanted to celebrate film. The Academy Awards are held in February, so it was a good time to share examples of classical music influencing film scores (and vice-versa).
There are many ways to look at that intersection. Some classical composers also wrote for film. Some film composers wrote classical works for the concert hall. Some classical music has become famous primarily because of its use in a film, and some film scores have been expanded into classical works. Here were my selections for week one of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore.
László Lajtha (1892-1963) - Symphony No. 3, Op. 45 (Murder in the Cathedral, 1948)
(Murder in the Cathedral, 1948) By 1947 Lazlo Lajtha was director of Music for Hungarian Radio, the Budapest National Conservatory, and the Museum of Ethnography. In 1948 fellow countryman Gerog Hoellering invited him to London to write music for T.S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral." It was the second of Lajtha's four film scores. Lajtha wrote his third symphony based on the score. Because he had spent too long in the West, when he returned in 1949 he was stripped of all titles and his career was sidelined for over a decade.
Hugo Alfvén (1872–1960) – En Bygdesaga (A Country Tale) Suite from the film "Mans kvinna" Op. 53 (1944)
"Mans kvinna" is a love triangle set in an agrarian community in 1700s Sweden. The film was directed by Gunnar Skoglund, and only enjoyed moderate success (and only in Sweden at that). The film was the third of five film scores Alfvén wrote over the course of his career. Alfvén's orchestral suite from the score proved more popular than the film.
Franz Waxman (1906-1967) - the Song of Terezin (1965)
Like many Jewish composers, Waxman was forced to leave Germany when the Nazis rose to power. In Hollywood, he became one of the most successful film composers, with over 150 films to his credit. His score for Sunset Boulevard won an Academy Award. Although Waxman's output of concert music was small, it was significant. His work "The Song of Terezin" set poems by children imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
Howard Blake - Symphony No. 1 - Impressions of a City (1967)
British composer Howard Blake is best known for "Walking on Air," from the film "The Snowman." Although he got his start as a film composer (with a recommendation from Bernard Hermann), Blake has written a considerable amount of concert music, including eight concertos. His work "Impressions of a City" is a single-movement symphony completed in 1967, while Blake was assisting Laurie Anderson writing music for "The Avengers" classic TV series.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - Score to "Stricken Peninsula" (1945)
Vaughan Williams' best-known film score is "Scott of the Antarctic," which he later turned into a symphony. His score to "Stricken Peninsula" had a different fate. The 1945 British propaganda film told the story of reconstruction of Italy after the war. RVW's score for the film was lost. Painstaking reconstruction of the score involved transcribing it from the film's soundtrack. This work has made the score available for concert performance.
The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them. This string trio series is a bit of a departure. I'm still flash composing, with a 10-minute time limit to write as much as I can. Instead of starting over each week, I'll be attempting to pick up where I left off from the previous week for my 10-minute session.
This is the fourth and final part of the last movement. When I limited myself to just a 10-minute block of writing, the sketch didn't progress very far. Doing flash compositions in installments has forced me to think differently as I write -- which was always one of the goals of this project.
In this case, I reached something of a milestone. Apparently, my subconscious had a three-part movement in mind (ABA). This week I finished up the middle section and started on the recap of A. Of course, it's not an exact repetition -- that would be boring. But it does contain the essence of the opening A section material. It's a simple matter now to finish the movement.
(The grayed area is where I stopped the previous week.)
Next week, I'll post all of the finished pages I have for this work. Seeing them all together should be of interest, I think (at least to me).
As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.
I'm a regular contributor to the #ClassicsaDay feed on Twitter. At a speech in Poland on 7/6/17, the President said, "The world has never known anything like our community of nations. We write symphonies." The next day #WeWriteSymphonies appeared on Twitter, citing all the non-Western -- and non-white -- composers who do indeed write symphonies.
To celebrate composers of color, I used both hashtags in my feed for the month of September. Below is annotated list for the second week of posts.
Kenneth Amis (1970 - ) Concerto for Tuba
Amis is a tuba player with the Empire Brass and is on the faculty for the Boston Conservatory and MIT. Most of his works are written for brass instruments or wind ensembles. His Concerto for Tuba is an important addition to the tuba's repertoire.
Olly Wilson (1937 - ) Voices
Olly Wilson has had a long, successful career in academia, with stints at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and U of C Berkley. As a composer, he's received a Guggenheim Fellowship and won the Rome Prize. Wilson's received commissions from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
Alvin Singleton (1940 - ) Somehow We Can
Singleton has served as the Atlanta Symphony's composer in residence and enjoyed a number of important commissions. His music has been characterized as a blend of minimalism, Messiaen, and modern jazz.His 1994 composition for string quartet, "Somehow We Can" is a good example of his style.
Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) Afro-American Suite
She was a granddaughter of slaves, born in Virginia. over time she would become one of the most prolific composers of color, and a professor at Virginia State University. Most of Moore's works are choral and have elements of Negro spirituals. Her Afro-American Suite is one of her most-performed orchestral compositions.
Rosephanye Powell (1962 - ) Non nobis, Domine
Alabama native Rosaphanye Powell specializes in choral compositions. In addition to short SATB compositions, Powell has also written large-scale oratorios and cantatas for choirs, soloists, and orchestra. Her work "Non nobis, Domine" takes traditional Latin texts and presents them in a contemporary style that speaks to modern audiences.
I found a Line Mar Match Box Construction Set from the 1930s, complete and with instructions. The box claimed the set made 100 different toys. I decided to test that claim -- one toy at a time. You can read all the posts for the Line Mar construction project at 100 Toys.
075. Platform Truck
This was an interesting industrial model. I can imagine something like this being trundled through a factory or a machine shop. I wonder if the platform raised and lowered on the original prototype?
The build itself was pretty simple. There were a fiew discrepencies between the illustration and the model, of course. The illustrator drew dowels that were exactly the right length.
In reality, the choices were more limited. Only one length of dowel extends the width of the truck body -- it's used for both the axels and the handle, with a little overhang on each.
This is the first time I've heard the music of Georg Schumann -- but not the first time CPO's released it. This recording is the fourth of G. Schumann's music. Previously, CPO's released his first symphony, a disc of lieder, and one of chamber music.
Georg Schumann (no relation to Robert), was the longtime director of the Sing-Akademie in Berlin and composition professor at the Prussian Academy of Arts. He enjoyed a 60-year relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic, providing musicians for choral works, and occasionally original compositions.
So what's my impression of this prominent yet obscure composer? Listening to his 1905 Symphony, the phrase "post-Wagner" came to mind. Schumann meant his Symphony No. 2 to capture the heroic spirit. He does so in a more conservative fashion than Strauss with Ein Heldenleben (written seven years before).
Strauss' tone poem was autobiographical. Schumann's symphony is not. Schumann's themes reminded me strongly of Wagner without sounding derivative. Schumann masterfully develops his motifs in a way that keeps interest and dramatic tension high.
Included are two overtures. The 1906 Overture to a Drama is filled with sharp contrasts, keeping the listener off-balance until the very end.
The Lebensfreude overture is a jolly little work. This is the music of the operetta and Oktoberfest.
The Deutsches Symphony-Orchester Berlin directed James Feddeck does an outstanding job with this music. Schumann gives the orchestra lots to do, and they seem to enjoy every minute of it. Time to seek out those other recordings. I've got some catching up to do.
Georg Schumann: Symphony No. 2, Op. 42 Deutsches Symphony-Orchester Berlin; James Feddeck, conductor CPO 555 110-2
For the month of February 2018, some of the contributors to #ClassicaDay feed wanted to celebrate film. The Academy Awards are held in February, so it was a good time to share examples of classical music influencing film scores (and vice-versa).
There are many ways to look at that intersection. Some classical composers also wrote for film. Some film composers wrote classical works for the concert hall. Some classical music has become famous primarily because of its use in a film, and some film scores have been expanded into classical works. Here were my selections for week one of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 ("Elvira Madigan" 1967)
Mozart completed his 21st piano concerto in March of 1785. The middle movement, an Andante in F major, was used in "Elvira Madigan." This 1967 Swedish film featured other classical selections, such as Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." The connection between the film and the concerto is so strong that many now refer to the work as the "Elvira Madigan Concerto."
Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995) - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 24
Classically-trained Miklós Rózsa maintained what he called a double life throughout his career. Although best remembered for his film scores, Rózsa continued to compose concert music throughout his life. His 1954 violin concerto was written for Jasha Heifetz, who provided input into its composition. In 1970 Rózsa adapted parts of the concerto for "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" film score.
Gottfried Huppertz (1887-1937) Score to "Metropolis" (1927)
German composer Gottfried Huppertz was active primarily in the 1920s and was one of the first full-time film composers. He was classically trained at the Conservatory of Music in Cologne, and also worked as an opera singer and actor. His strong stage experience served him well when composing the score. His score for Metropolis -- as were most of his soundtracks -- through-composed to the original director's cut, with leitmotifs for the central characters and themes.
Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) Score to "Things to Come" (1936)
British composer Arthur Bliss had a somewhat checkered career. His studies were interrupted by the First World War. In the 1920s he was known as a modernist, writing for the stage and the concert hall. By the 1930s he had adopted more of a traditional English style. He eventually became music director of the BBC. His compositions include the ballet "Checkmate," eight film scores, and three operas.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 25 (1931)
Austrian-born Korngold was a child prodigy. His ballet Der Schneemann premiered when he was 11, and his opera Die tote Stadt (written at 23) is still in the repertoire. Korngold fled the Nazis and landed in Hollywood. Most of his 16 film scores are considered classics, such as "The Adventures of Robin Hood." "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk." European orchestras tend to exclusively program Korngold's pre-1934 classical works; American orchestras tend to exclusively program suites of his film scores.
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) - Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78 (Alexander Nevsky, 1938)
The historical drama "Alexander Nevsky" was directed by Sergei Eisenstein. It tells of the 13th-century defeat of the Teutonic Knights by Russian hero Prince Alexander Nevsky. Prokofiev collaborated closely with Eisenstein. In some cases, the score was written to finished footage, in others the film was shot and edited to fit the score. Prokofiev later created a concert cantata from the material.
The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them. This string trio series is a bit of a departure. I'm still flash composing, with a 10-minute time limit to write as much as I can. Instead of starting over each week, I'll be attempting to pick up where I left off from the previous week for my 10-minute session.
This is the third part of the third (and final) movement. This week the sketch arrived at a major cadence point for the movement. And once it arrived, I found it was leading me back to the beginning. I think next week's sketch will see a return to the opening material (at least in some form).
As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.
I'm a regular contributor to the #ClassicsaDay feed on Twitter. At a speech in Poland on 7/6/17, the President said, "The world has never known anything like our community of nations. We write symphonies." The next day #WeWriteSymphonies appeared on Twitter, citing all the non-Western -- and non-white -- composers who do indeed write symphonies.
To celebrate composers of color, I used both hashtags in my feed for the month of September. Below is annotated list for the first week of posts.
Florence Price (1887-1953) Symphony No. 1 in E minor
Florence Price was the first African-American woman to be recognized as a classical music composer. She was also the first composer of color to have their work played by a major symphony orchestra. Her Symphony in E minor was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1932. It was the first of four symphonies she would write.
George Walker (1922 - ) - Sinfonia No. 3
George Walker attended Oberlin Conservatory, the Curtis Institute of Music, and studied with Samuel Barber. Walker was the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. Walker prefers writing sinfonias to symphonies. “Things that are overly embellished, or that are too rich, just don’t suit my temperament. The sinfonias are all extremely concise works," he said in an interview.
H. Leslie Adams (1932 - ) - Piano Etudes
Leslie Adams has served as a music educator, composer, ballet pianist, and church organist. He's most known for his vocal and choral music, but he's written for all genres, including orchestral and chamber music. His Etudes for Solo Piano are some of his most popular works.
William L. Dawson (1899-1990) - Negro Folk Symphony
Trombonist William Dawson played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He would later teach at the Tuskegee Institute. His 1934 Negro Folk Symphony was premiered by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Dawson is best remembered for his arrangement of spirituals (several of which he used in the symphony).
Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) - My Cup Runneth Over
Technically, R. Nathaniel Dett isn't an African-American composer -- he was born in Canada. Dett was one of the first composers of color to join ASCAP. He attended Harvard and studied briefly with Arther Foote. The majority of Dett's catalog features singing -- either solo vocal music or choral works.
Ulysses Kay (1917 - 1995) - Symphony
Although the nephew of King Oliver, Ulysses Kay wrote in a strict, neoclassical style. Kay one the Rome Prize and a Fulbright Scholarship which furthered his career as a composer. Among his works are five operas, the last premiered just four years before his death.
I found a Line Mar Match Box Construction Set from the 1930s, complete and with instructions. The box claimed the set made 100 different toys. I decided to test that claim -- one toy at a time. You can read all the posts for the Line Mar construction project at 100 Toys.
074. Two Wheel Conveyor
All of these models that hang from a string (or wire) were very difficult to build. In the case of this two-wheel conveyor, I had two problems.
The first was a balancing act. The brace holding the wheels are slightly offset from the center. That means I had to compensate for that when positioning the post on the basket's dowel.
It was not easy, and in the end, I only came close.
The second problem was how to shoot the finished toy. The illustration shows the post connected to the wheel assembly with a dowel and two collars. But the illustrated dowel is only as long as it needs to be to hold the assembly.
Not so in real life. The shortest dowel in the set still stuck out quite a bit. I angled the camera carefully to hide the excess. But if you look closely, you can see a little of the dowel sticking out just behind the forward wheels.
Sometimes location matters. Based on the quality of his music, I think Christian Wilhelm Westerhoff (1763-1806) might have had a notable career in Vienna.
Instead, he served at the court of Count Ludwig Wilhelm of Bentheim, one of the minor Hanoverian nobility. Because he remained in the hinterlands, his music remained relatively unknown. Until now.
This is the second release of Westerhoff's music on CPO. It features three of his concertos; two for viola, and one for flute.
Westerhoff's style is that of Mozart and mid-career Haydn. The movements are finely balanced between intellectual complexity and emotional drive.
And Westerhoff's music compares favorably to his more-famous contemporaries. His orchestrations have the lightness of Mozart's. And Westerhoff's melodies engage the ear. I caught myself humming along more than once.
The viola concertos are especially attractive. The viola part sounds sufficiently challenging, with plenty of double-stops, harmonics, glissandi, and rapid scale passages. Barbara Buntrock performs quite well. Her playing has a rich, singing tone I found especially pleasing.
Westerhoff's flute concerto is an attractive work as well. No, it's not quite on par with Mozart's concertos, but it does compare favorably. Solo Gaby Pas-Van Riet plays with a joyful energy that serves the music well.
If Westerhoff had moved to Vienna, I don't think he would have supplanted Mozart. But I do think his music would have enjoyed the same success as that of Hummel or Dussek. I'm glad CPO is exploring this repertoire. Christian Westerhoff: Concertos Artists: Barbara Buntrock, viola; Gaby Pas-Van Riet, flute; Osnabrücker Symphonieorchester, Andreas Hotz, conductor CPO
For the month of February 2018, some of the contributors to #ClassicaDay feed wanted to celebrate film. The Academy Awards are held in February, so it was a good time to share examples of classical music influencing film scores (and vice-versa).
There are many ways to look at that intersection. Some classical composers also wrote for film. Some film composers wrote classical works for the concert hall. Some classical music has become famous primarily because of its use in a film, and some film scores have been expanded into classical works. Here were my selections for week one of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore. I only post on the week days, and there were only two in the first week.)
Richard Addinsell (1904-1977) - Warsaw Concerto (Dangerous Moonlight, 1941)
The "Warsaw Concerto" was composed for the 1941 film "Dangerous Moonlight." The story involves a shell-shocked combat pilot who was a piano virtuoso before the war. In the movie, the concerto's written during the Invasion of Poland (hence the name). The producers wanted Sergei Rachmaninoff to provide the music, but he declined. British composer Richard Addinsell provided the over the top score that became popular as a concert work.
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) - Les préludes ("Flash Gordon" 1936)
The 1854 work, Les préludes, was Franz Liszt's third tone poem. It was used in the opening credits (and some action scenes) in the 1936 Universal movie serial "Flash Gordon." Although the Flash Gordon serials enjoyed three times the normal serial budget, much of the soundtrack was culled from other sources. The score includes cues from the Universal music production library, Wagner's "Parsifal," and other classical works.
The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them. This string trio series is a bit of a departure. I'm still flash composing, with a 10-minute time limit to write as much as I can. Instead of starting over each week, I'll be attempting to pick up where I left off from the previous week for my 10-minute session.
This is the second part of the third (and final) movement. After the tutti introduction of the first part, the trio starts to break apart. The viola keeps time while the violin and cello trade ascending and descending lines. Not to worry -- there's a point to it all.
Although I ran out of time this week, we'll be arriving at the cadence point with next week's sketch (I think). The grayed area is from the previous post.
As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.
I found a Line Mar Match Box Construction Set from the 1930s, complete and with instructions. The box claimed the set made 100 different toys. I decided to test that claim -- one toy at a time. You can read all the posts for the Line Mar construction project at 100 Toys.
073. One Wheel Conveyer
This series went on an unexpected hiatus for a few months. November and December of 2017 proved to be exceptionally busy. Plus, the constructions have become increasingly complex. It all added up to missed deadlines.
But we're back on track, and I hope to maintain the weekly post schedule thoughout the remainder of the project.
The one wheel conveyer was an exceptionally difficult toy to construct. The illustration shows all the dowels at right angles to the braces. Reality proved quite different.
If I could have used a single dowel to run through the block, then the model would have more closely resembled the drawing. But that was impossible.
First, I'm limiting myself to only the pieces provided by the set. No dowel of the proper length was included. Second, the small dowel holding the pulley assembly bisects the block. That prohibits threading a single dowel through the other ends -- even if I did have one of the right length.
In the end, I was able to have the piece hold together long enough to photograph -- but only just.
