Category Archives: Uncategorized

Just returned by taxi to my apartment, and convinced yet again of Verdi’s greatness, whatever that means. Heard Deborah Voigt, Paul Plishka and etc. in Un Ballo en Maschera. I have always had a soft spot for the unbelievable contortions of operatic melodrama–a kind of game played by operatic composers and librettists, working with a [...]

It appears I am now linked at Terry Teachout’s very serious and thoughtful arts blog, for which I am grateful… I am aware of how presumptuous and odious it is for a lazy, self-satisfied non-composer (such as I, heading out to tan like any serious artist in Central Park today) to lecture hard-working composers on [...]

I woke up early this morning and was productive; I will not make that mistake again. From 10-12 AM I was occupied, in a quasi-professional capacity, listening to the music of young composers. It is fascinating to see all these different ways of throwing notes on paper. Mostly the music felt brackish, unclear, and when [...]

The premier blessing and curse of my life right now is its self-scheduling nature. Today I find myself in a familiar bind: I started practicing around 10, worked, put in fingerings, yadda yadda yadda, and around 1 I begin to feel the first pangs of hunger. I say to myself: “You should eat, you won’t [...]