Author Archives: Neil Kurtzman
Why You Should Not Buy A Fine Art Printer
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st February 2012A recent article in Digital Photography extols the virtues of using a high end printer to make display quality prints from equally high quality digital cameras. Actually, it just describes several top of the line printers. It doesn’t give a good reason for owning one. The reason is that there isn’t any good reason. Printers…
› Read the full entry
Andrea Chenier Act 2 Duet
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th January 2012Here for no other reason than it’s beautiful is the second act duet from Giordano’s most performed opera. It’s not as well known as the duet for the the same characters that concludes the opera, though it contains almost the same material. It’s taken from the Dec 28, 1957 performance of Chenier at the Met….
› Read the full entry
Symphonies with Quiet Endings
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th January 2012Beethoven set the standard for boffo , exuberant, and loud symphonic endings, After him most composers followed his example most of the time. But not always. I picked four examples of great symphonies that end softly. I’ll take them in chronological order. Brahms’ third symphony written in 1883 has a lot of vigorous music in its last…
› Read the full entry
More on Cholesterol Screening in Children
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th January 2012I’ve written here about the recommendation that children be routinely screened for lipid (cholesterol, etc) levels. I pointed out that there was no scientific evidence that such screening would convey a health benefit. An opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association reaches the same conclusion. The robust evidence that high levels of…
› Read the full entry
Recording of the Week – The Maltese Tenor
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th January 2012At first I thought that this album featured Humphrey Bogart. Then I thought it was about a small dog. At last I realized it was tenor Joseph Calleja’s (born Jan 22, 1978 – yet another January birthday) newest album of arias and duets. He’s from Malta and some PR person had a goofy idea for…
› Read the full entry
The Photos of Robert Cahen – Marilyn Horne
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th January 2012Another January birthday anniversary is that of Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934). This incomparable singer set the standard for mezzo-soprano singing for most of the second half of the 20th century. She was one of those few performers whose artistry defied description; you had to hear her to believe that a human being could…
› Read the full entry
The Photos of Robert Cahen – Placido Domingo
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th January 2012To mark the 70th anniversary of Placido Domingo’s birth (January 21, 1941), here are eleven photographs of the great artist taken by Robert Cahen. There is little to say about Domingo’s career that isn’t self evident. He’s had more roles than Parker House. He’s a tenor; he’s a baritone; he’s a conductor; he’s an administrator. He’s…
› Read the full entry
D’amor sull’ali rosee
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd January 2012If a knowledgeable opera goer were asked to name the most demanding and beautiful bel canto aria written for the soprano voice “Casta diva” from Bellini’s Norma or “Bel raggio lusinghier” from Rossini’s Semiramide or perhaps “Regnava nel silenzio” from Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor might head the list. But to my ears nothing is as beautiful and…
› Read the full entry
The Photographs of Robert Cahen – Part 2
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th December 2011The photos below were all taken by Robert Cahen for the San Francisco Opera. They were given to me by Mr Cahen and are used with his permission.
› Read the full entry
Faust in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 10th December 2011After several shows of non-standard opera the Met telecasts returned to most standard of standard operas – Gounod’s masterpiece Faust. This performance (Dec 10, 2011) was the 737th time the company has presented this work which was once such a staple at the Met that it earned the house the sobriquet of Faustspiehaus. This new production staged…
› Read the full entry
