Category Archives: Uncategorized
La Traviata in HD – The Rerun
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd May 2012Unable to attend the live telecast of the Met’s performance of La Traviata, I went to the replay on May 2, 2012. The production was first staged by German director Willy Decker last season. Decker sets the action in an indeterminate (but approximately modern) time on a mostly empty stage rimmed by a semicircular wall. There’s some pretty…
› Read the full entry
All of Jussi Björling’s Commercial Recordings on the Web
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd April 2012New posts will resume next month. In the meanwhile visit this site which contains all of the solo commercial recordings made by the great Swedish tenor. There are a few excerpts with other singers, but most of the material is solo.
› Read the full entry
Better Human Beings
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd March 2012“Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.”–Immanuel Kant President Obama’s choice to be the next President of the World Bank is Dartmouth President Dr. Jim Yong Kim. Dr Kim is a physician who is fond of quoting his predecessor at Dartmouth John Sloan Dickey: “The world’s troubles are your…
› Read the full entry
Ernani in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th February 2012Today (Saturday Feb 25, 2012) the Metropolitan Opera presented Verdi’s Ernani on it’s HD network. There was something about a Spanish setting that set Verdi’s creative fire at conflagration level. Ernani in style and color most closely resembles Il Trovatore, though of course, it’s not as inspired even if its plot is almost as crazy. Verdi was…
› Read the full entry
Robert Cooke Kimbrough, III, MD – In Memorium
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th February 2012Below is an memorial tribute to Dr Robert Kimbrough written by Don Wesson and me following the death of Dr Kimbrough. It was published by both the American Journal of Medical Sciences and the Texas chapter of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Robert Kimbrough died on November 24, 2010. For the past 17 years, he was…
› Read the full entry
The Photographs of Robert Cahen – Simon Boccanegra in LA
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 17th February 2012The following photographs of Placido Domingo and Ana Maria Martinez were taken by Robert Cahen on February 5, 2012. The occasion was a dress rehearsal of the Los Angeles Opera’s staging of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. The production is from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
› Read the full entry
Medical Economics – Two Vignettes
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th February 2012Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Daniel Patrick Moynihan Government provided or mandated medical care appears ready to bankrupt the civilized world. Here are two examples of the mess we’ve created in an effort to make life better. First contraception. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the most oxymoronic name…
› Read the full entry
La Traviata in Lubbock
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th February 2012The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra will present two concert performances of Verdi’s opera on March 2 and 3. Amanda Hall is Verdi’s noble courtesan, Tenor Scott Ramsay is her overwrought lover Alfredo, and baritone Ashley Prewett is his father Germont. Thomasz Golka will conduct the LSO and the Lubbock Civic Chorale.
› 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
- RSS feeds
- Subscribe via email
- Follow Kurtzman on Twitter
- Connect with Kurtzman on Facebook
Recommend this site on Facebook:
Recent Posts
Top Posts New
Recent Comments
- Vinay: I had installed AVG Security add on. I removed that add on and my new tab default page got changed from AVG...
- Operafilly: Ah!!! Another Dessay fan. I adore the lady, but sick or well, I think Traviata does not make the best use...
- Mr. Z: I hate to see the uninformed take apart the idiosyncratic yet talented Madame Dessay. This was not her first...
- matthew: thanx very much mate, your a champion
- asperia: really ? it will be hard to get a ticket i think…
About Neil Kurtzman
Neil A Kurtzman MD is the Grover E Murray Professor Emeritus and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. He has combined careers in clinical medicine, education, basic research, and administration for more than 30 years.› Read the biography
› Archives: Older posts and additional material
