Monthly Archives: July 2019
Die Winterreise in Santa Fe
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st July 2019Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly and pianist Michael McMahon performed Franz Schubert’s towering depiction of self pity, Die Winterreise, at today’s Music at Noon series of the Santa Fe Music Festival. The song cycle is as great a piece of vocal writing as anything by Mozart, Wagner, or Verdi. Of course, there’s a lot more to…
› Read the full entry
Rachmaninoff and Schubert in Santa Fe
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th July 2019The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival presented Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque in G min and Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata as part of its Music at Noon series. A full house was in attendance for the 45 minutes of music that constituted the lunch hour program. The trio was played by pianist Wei Luo, violinist Jennifer Gilbert, and cellist…
› Read the full entry
Hilde Zadek
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th July 2019Hilde Zadek (1917-2019) had one of the most interesting lives of the past century. Interesting has its downside. For example, in medicine about the worst that can happen to you is to be an interesting case. Born in Bromberg when it was in Prussia (today it’s in Poland), she grew up in Stettin which like…
› Read the full entry
The ESRD Program and Single Payer Medicine
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st July 2019In 1972 the nephrology community convinced congress to pay for the treatment of patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Thus, the federal government assumed fiscal responsibility for chronic dialysis and kidney transplantation. We sold the program by telling congress that it would save lives (true) and that it would not be very expensive (decidedly…
› Read the full entry
Drinking Songs
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st July 2019Opera and alcohol are frequently paired. Accordingly, here are some drinking songs. I’m using the term loosely. Most would fit under this appellation, but some do not and not all the selections are from operas. They are presented in no particular order. If randomness works for quantum mechanics, it’s OK here. First is likely the…
› Read the full entry
Psychiatric Diagnoses Are “Scientifically Meaningless”
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th July 2019A new study, published in Psychiatry Research, has concluded that psychiatric diagnoses are scientifically worthless as tools to identify discrete mental health disorders. Lead researcher Dr Kate Allsopp, University of Liverpool, said: “Although diagnostic labels create the illusion of an explanation they are scientifically meaningless and can create stigma and prejudice. I hope these findings will…
› Read the full entry
Viva Rossini!
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th July 2019During his active phase as an opera composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1968) was the most popular composer of operas throughout the Western World. After his premature retirement from the stage at age 37, he was eclipsed in popularity first by Verdi and then by Puccini. For a while the only opera of his to be regularly…
› Read the full entry
Women Physicians Make Less Than Male Doctors
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th July 2019Medscape is a web publication geared towards physicians. They have examined the disparity between the income difference between men and women physicians. The latter make less. This is similar to the differences in earning noted in other occupations. They issue an annual physician compensation report. The 2019 report is here. According to their 2019 data…
› Read the full entry
