Monthly Archives: November 2022
Julius Reubke
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th November 2022Frederich Julius Reubke (1834-58) is one of music’s saddest tales. Born in Hausneindorf, Germany, he was the son of an organ and piano builder. After the conclusion of his initial musical training, he moved to Berlin and the entered its conservatory. On the recommendation of conductor Hans von Bülow, Liszt agreed to teach the 21…
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The Excitement of Soccer
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th November 2022The US soccer team held England to a scoreless tie in an —— (fill in your own adjective) game that held those fans still awake to the backs of their seats at a FIFA World Cup 2022 match. That the entire world save the USA is enthralled by the game is the full measure of…
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California to Finish Vote Counting Before Any Other State
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st November 2022Wackos of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your minds. California’s Secretary of Election Returns, Sus Domesticus, declared today that the state would finish counting its votes before any of the other 49 states. Speaking to an audience of preschool students he went on to say “I effing guarantee it.” Not only…
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A Few Opera Riots
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th November 2022The most fully realized riot in all opera is the one that ends the second act of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger. It’s a gigantic free for all involving everyone in the neighborhood including nine of the meistersingers. Beckmesser starts a serenade full of errors that are marked by Hans Sachs striking his cobbler’s hammer. “David wakes…
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Madama Butterfly Powerpoint Presentation
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th November 2022Below is a link that will download a PowerPoint presentation I gave before last night’s performances of Madama Butterfly by the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. To use it download all the files and put them in the same folder. To hear the sound excerpts click on the sound icon on the slides that are associated with music. They are…
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La Traviata in HD – 2022
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th November 2022Verdi’s “poor sinner” was on the Met’s HD roster for an unprecedented fourth time today. Michael Mayer’s overstuffed production remains a motley melange of confused early to mid 19th century costumes speckled across a unitary set. But nobody goes to La Traviata because of the sets and costumes. It’s Verdi’s glorious and emotionally apposite music…
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Anger
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd November 2022The intensity of a person’s anger is usually inversely proportional to his knowledge of his hostility’s source. You’ve likely noticed the superfluity of people angry over complex issues they’re sure they understand, but whose emotional overload overwhelms whatever capacity for reason they may possess. Hyperbolic anger seems to be at an all time high. This…
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