Helvacioglu: Eleven Short Stories - Prepared Piano Goes to the Movies

Eleven Short Stories
Erdem Helvacioglu 
Innova 

Turkish composer Erdem Helvacioglu embarks on a fascinating project with this recording. He writes in the liner notes, “Eleven Short Stories is inspired by the works of film directors Kim Ki-Duk, David Lynch, Krzystof Kielowski, Theodoros Angelopoulos, Jan Campion, Anthony Minthella, Ang Lee, Atom Egoyan, Darren Aronofsky, Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu and Steven Soderbergh.”

Using a prepared piano, Helvacioglu conjures up sonic impressions of various types of movies – as they might be interpreted by these directors. That’s not to say that Helvacioglu’s arranging soundtrack themes. Rather, he creates soundscapes that convey the emotions he’s after.

And there’s not a one-to-one correspondence between a certain director and an individual track. Part of the listener’s task is to listen to make sense of the sounds not only in terms of the stories they’re telling, but also what director’s style (or styles) it might be told in.

Helvacioglu’s tonal palette is wide-open, and imaginative. Some of the sound are distinctively pianistic, while others seem otherworldly. Throughout it all, though, there’s a clear underlying structure that gives each story its own internal logic.

Eleven Short Stories is an engaging release for anyone interested in the sound of the new – and the more you’re familiar with the directors that inspired these works, the deeper your appreciation of Helvacioglu’s accomplishment.

Men's 4-Miler Training, Part 3

I'm chronicling my efforts to get back into running after a long absence. To start, I'm participating in the Men’s 4-Miler Training Program offered by the Charlottesville Track Club. 

Now we’re at the point where I’m starting to feel like I’m challenged. This time we covered a full mile, still 60 seconds running and 30 seconds walking. I really shouldn’t be feeling it – I’ve run longer distances before. 

But that was pre-illness. 

This is the level where I am now, and so one mile is the distance I had to push a little to complete. We’re still just making circuits around the track, but I understand that changes next week. Fortunately, where I run at home I have a lot of hills, so transitioning to uneven terrain won’t be that bad. 

Folks how are used to reading real racing blogs, such as Ken's Milestones  have probably noticed the absence of times, paces and other data in these posts. There's a reason for that -- right now, they're still rubbish. When I have something to talk about, I will!

CCC 028 - Samuel Zyman

Samuel Zyman isa  prominent Mexican composer, as well as a respected and valued member of the Julliard School of Music. And he's the next installment in our ongoing  Consonant Classical Challenge.

Zyman blends Mexican musical traditions with classical forms to create works that sound fresh and original. Yet because he uses traditional instruments in traditional ways, his music has a familiarity to it that an audience can immediately grasp.

Samuel Zyman has written for both orchestral and chamber ensembles. His quintet "Musica para Cinco" presents the essence of his blended style of composition.




Zyman seamlessly incorporates the musical language of Mexico into his compositions. Encuentros demonstrates that ability. Although the work has a Mexican "sound" to it, there's more going on here than mere pastiche. Zyman develops his themes carefully, creating a solid "classical" composition.



 Samuel Zyman has composed several works for flute. Some feature the flute in a chamber ensemble, but there are some works for flute and orchestra as well, including two flute concertos. This is a movement from his second concerto. As you can hear, it's an exciting engaging work that shouldn't sound too outre for elderly concert-goers (but should definitely seem like a welcome breath of fresh air to younger ears).



Samuel Zyman is probably better known to Mexican than American concert-goers, and that's too bad. For orchestras that are wringing their hands at what to do about dwindling audiences that lack diversity, Zyman seems an obvious choice. He's a talented composer whose musical language speaks not only to the regular concert-goer, but to those of Latino background as well.

Recommended recordings 

 The Other Conquest (La Otra Conquista): Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998 Film)

Illinois State University Wind Symphony - Maslanka: Symphony No. 7 ; Samuel Zyman: Cycles ; Matthew Halper Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble

Canto de Estío

Pearls Before Lio 2

There was an interesting convergence in two comic strips this past Sunday. Stephen Pastis has long been a character in his own strip, Pearls Before Swine. And, as I've noted before, he (or rather the cartoon version of him) have made cameos in other strips, usually as the butt of the joke. (click on images to enlarge)

Lio's featured the cartoon Pastis at least once before (Pearls Before Lio). There are all kind of subtle things going on here. First, no one in Lio talks -- or uses word balloons of any kind. The fact that Pastis does so marks the character as one coming from outside the confines of the strip. Second, he final gag has Pastis's head stuck on a duck's body. A reference, perhaps, to Lil' Guard Duck, another character from Pears? Third (and the point of this post) the unhappy Pastis threatening to complain to the strip's syndicate.

What makes this doubly interesting is that in Pastis' own strip on the same day, the cartoon Pastis also threatens to complain to the strip's syndicate. Coincidence? Or is there some kind of subtext here?

Lessons from York - 2B What We Didn't See

A UMD Industrial Rail O-gauge hopper car. Well worth the $10 I paid for it.

The Impact of Practicality
(part 4 of a 4-part series)

There were many things Dad and I saw – and didn’t see at the recent Train Collectors Association Eastern Division toy train meet.in York, PA. In part 1 and Part 2, I talked about what we saw in abundance, and why. Part three I mentioned an item seemed to have disappeared. But there was another item that I didn’t see  for a different reason.  It was one I was actually looking for – and couldn’t find because it was too well-designed.

In the 1990’s, operating O-gauge layouts were on the rise. More people were getting into the hobby, and looking for rolling stock to put behind the new locomotives that Lionel, MTH, Atlas and others were offering. All of these companies also made freight cars, but at around $40-$50 a piece, it was difficult to put together a train of any length.

An Atlas Industrial Rail hopper car. This one was a little pricier -- $20.

Enter UMD (United Model Distributors). They came out with a line of basic, good-looking rolling stock to meet the need. Their Industrial Rail series did well – and it was eventually purchased by Atlas, who continued to put out the cars with new graphics (they even expanded the line).

Although Industrial Rail cars were great for operators, they weren’t especially valuable. While new ones sold for $30, I could usually pick up an older UMD car (in the original box) for $10-$15. It was a great way to expand my rolling stock fleet.

The UMD hopper car with original box.

Industrial Rail pieces were never plentiful at the York meet. One time a vendor had several – but that was because an operating layout had been dismantled, releasing stock back into the market. This time, though, I didn’t see any Industrial Rail pieces.

Why?

Some pieces – even older UMD stock – has been showing up on eBay, but they’ve been selling for about $30 with $10 shipping. That’s far more than I want to spend.

But the sellers are getting those prices. So are Industrial Rail pieces disappearing from York because they're selling online?

The Atlas hpper car with box. A little bit fancier,
but in essence the same.

I don’t think that's the total answer. Most of the Industrial Rail pieces on eBay have been coming from a large hobby retailer. And once an item sells, the retailer places a duplicate up for auction. In other words, they’re selling off their old stock, one piece at a time. And only certain models are sold.

I think the majority of UMD Industrial Rail pieces don’t show up because they’re still in use. Most operators that would use Industrial Rail pieces are in their 50’s and 60’s. It might be another 10 years before that group begins breaking up layouts as they move to assisted living or liquidate estates.

I’ll keep my eyes open, but I will be very surprised if I see any at the fall meet.

Part 1A - The Impact of a Specialized Product on its Core Audience


Part 1B - The Impact of an Aging Demographic

Part 2A - The Impact of Faux-Collectability