written after being forced to listen for hours to the nonstop yapping of the brainless goddam dogs in this neighborhood:
there is a reason
the guard of Hades is not
a three-headed cat
30 April 2014
29 April 2014
fun stuff I may or may not get to: May 2014
Theatrical
Shotgun Players present Daylighting: The Berkeley Stories Project, written by Dan Wolf (based on real-life stories from Berkeley residents) and directed by Rebecca Novick, 22 May - 22 June at the Ashby Stage; more information here.
Cutting Ball Theater continues its run of the American premiere of Samuel Gallet's Communiqué No. 10, translated and directed by Rob Melrose, through 25 May. And the Hidden Classics Readings Series closes out its season on 4 May with Rabinal Achí, an ancient Mayan play translated by Dennis Tedlock and directed by Lakin Valdéz. More information on the Gallet is here and on the Hidden Classics reading is here.
Symphonic
The Berkeley Symphony closes its season on 1 May with a concert featuring the local premieres of some new music (Salonen's Nyx and Saariaho's Adriana Songs) and some very familiar music (the Beethoven 5). Joana Carneiro conducts and mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm is the soloist in the Saariaho, which is drawn from her second opera, Adriana Mater. The San Francisco Symphony will be playing the Salonen about a year from now, so this is a rare chance to hear a new big orchestral piece twice, with different ensembles. More information on the Berkeley performance may be found here.
The San Francisco Symphony presents Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Brahms 4, Lemminkäinen's Return by Sibelius, and the Bartok Violin Concerto No 2 with soloist Christian Tetzlaff, 14 and 16 - 17 May (details here); Tilson Thomas also conducts works by Fauré, Schubert, Grieg, Litolff, and Debussy, along with the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 1 with soloist Yuja Wang, 22 - 25 May (details here); and Charles Dutoit conducts the Poulenc Gloria, the Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, and the Fauré Requiem with soprano Susanna Phillips and Hanno Muller-Brachmann, 29 - 30 May (details here).
New Music
Check out Volti (under Choral) for new music by Ted Hearne (the SF Symphony's New Voices composer for next season), Melissa Dunphy, and Kireke Mechem.
Also check out the Berkeley Symphony (under Symphonic) for local premieres of works by Salonen and Saariaho.
The Center for New Music presents Hoods, a "chamber opera mash-up of the Red Riding Hood and Hekabe stories" by Carolyn Chen on 23 May; details here. ("Hekabe" is a more authentic transcription of the name of the woman usually known as "Hecuba.")
They also present Wild Rumpus Music on 3 May in a program of "reinterpreted and reinvented materials" featuring music by Lee Weisert, Eliza Brown, David Lang, Asha Srinivasan, and Daniel Wohl; more information here.
Baroque Music
The San Francisco Symphony presents Ton Koopman leading two Bach-related programs: first by J S Bach and C P E Bach on 1 - 4 May (details here) and then only by J S Bach, including the Missa Brevis, on 8 - 10 May (details here).
The San Francisco Symphony also presents violinist Christian Tetzlaff performing Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin on 11 May; details here.
Vocalists
San Francisco Performances presents mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and pianist Warren Jones on 3 May at the Nourse Theater, with a program of songs by Poulenc, Ferré, Brel, Coward, Porter, and the DeSylva/Brown/Henderson team. More information here.
The San Francisco Symphony presents baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky with pianist Ivari Ilja in an all-Russian program that includes the Shostakovich Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buanarroti on 25 May; details here.
Choral
Volti presents a new piece by Ted Hearne, who was recently named the San Francisco Symphony New Voices Composer for next season, along with works by Melissa Dunphy and Kirke Mechem. That's 17 May at St Mark's Lutheran in San Francisco or 18 May (at 4:00) at the Marsh Arts Center in Berkeley; more details here.
Chora Nova presents an all-Zelenka concert at First Congregational in Berkeley on 24 May. More information here.
The Lacuna Arts Chorale performs works by J S Bach, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn, Hindemith, and Distler on 16 and 18 May at St Luke's Episcopal Church (at Clay and Van Ness in San Francisco); more information here.
Cinematic
The San Francisco Symphony plays along with Disney's iconic Fantasia (as well as its lesser sequel, Fantasia 2000) on 31 May and 1 June; more information here.
This year the San Francisco Silent Film Festival moves from July to late May – 29 May to 1 June, to be exact. This year's programs look exceptionally enticing; they have great stuff every year, but this time they seem to have a higher than usual percentage of things I haven't already seen on DVD. They have great live music at all the performances, which are held in the ornate Castro Theater. Get more information, including the schedule, here.
The SF Jazz Center presents guitarist Marc Ribot playing along to Chaplin's The Kid on 29 May; more information here.
Jazz
Cal Performances presents the Marcus Shelby Orchestra in a tribute to Duke Ellington. The first half includes Ellington standards, featuring Faye Carol and violinist Matthew Szemela, and the second half includes actors from the California Shakespeare Theater, helping present the Ellington-Strayhorn Shakespeare suite, Such Sweet Thunder. That's 2 May; more information here.
The SF Jazz Center presents violinist Regina Carter paying (and playing) tribute to her southern grandfather, 1 - 4 May (more information here); they also have The Bad Plus 8 - 11 May, with their version of The Rite of Spring on the 8th and 11th (more details here).
Chamber Music
Cal Performances presents cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han demonstrating The Unfolding of Music with sonatas by Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Debussy, and Britten; that's at First Congregational Church on 3 May; more information here.
Talking
Cal Performances presents statistician Nate Silver on 4 May; more information here.
City Arts & Lectures presents soprano Jessye Norman in conversation with Michael Tilson Thomas on 13 May; details here.
Shotgun Players present Daylighting: The Berkeley Stories Project, written by Dan Wolf (based on real-life stories from Berkeley residents) and directed by Rebecca Novick, 22 May - 22 June at the Ashby Stage; more information here.
Cutting Ball Theater continues its run of the American premiere of Samuel Gallet's Communiqué No. 10, translated and directed by Rob Melrose, through 25 May. And the Hidden Classics Readings Series closes out its season on 4 May with Rabinal Achí, an ancient Mayan play translated by Dennis Tedlock and directed by Lakin Valdéz. More information on the Gallet is here and on the Hidden Classics reading is here.
Symphonic
The Berkeley Symphony closes its season on 1 May with a concert featuring the local premieres of some new music (Salonen's Nyx and Saariaho's Adriana Songs) and some very familiar music (the Beethoven 5). Joana Carneiro conducts and mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm is the soloist in the Saariaho, which is drawn from her second opera, Adriana Mater. The San Francisco Symphony will be playing the Salonen about a year from now, so this is a rare chance to hear a new big orchestral piece twice, with different ensembles. More information on the Berkeley performance may be found here.
The San Francisco Symphony presents Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Brahms 4, Lemminkäinen's Return by Sibelius, and the Bartok Violin Concerto No 2 with soloist Christian Tetzlaff, 14 and 16 - 17 May (details here); Tilson Thomas also conducts works by Fauré, Schubert, Grieg, Litolff, and Debussy, along with the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 1 with soloist Yuja Wang, 22 - 25 May (details here); and Charles Dutoit conducts the Poulenc Gloria, the Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, and the Fauré Requiem with soprano Susanna Phillips and Hanno Muller-Brachmann, 29 - 30 May (details here).
New Music
Check out Volti (under Choral) for new music by Ted Hearne (the SF Symphony's New Voices composer for next season), Melissa Dunphy, and Kireke Mechem.
Also check out the Berkeley Symphony (under Symphonic) for local premieres of works by Salonen and Saariaho.
The Center for New Music presents Hoods, a "chamber opera mash-up of the Red Riding Hood and Hekabe stories" by Carolyn Chen on 23 May; details here. ("Hekabe" is a more authentic transcription of the name of the woman usually known as "Hecuba.")
They also present Wild Rumpus Music on 3 May in a program of "reinterpreted and reinvented materials" featuring music by Lee Weisert, Eliza Brown, David Lang, Asha Srinivasan, and Daniel Wohl; more information here.
Baroque Music
The San Francisco Symphony presents Ton Koopman leading two Bach-related programs: first by J S Bach and C P E Bach on 1 - 4 May (details here) and then only by J S Bach, including the Missa Brevis, on 8 - 10 May (details here).
The San Francisco Symphony also presents violinist Christian Tetzlaff performing Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin on 11 May; details here.
Vocalists
San Francisco Performances presents mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and pianist Warren Jones on 3 May at the Nourse Theater, with a program of songs by Poulenc, Ferré, Brel, Coward, Porter, and the DeSylva/Brown/Henderson team. More information here.
The San Francisco Symphony presents baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky with pianist Ivari Ilja in an all-Russian program that includes the Shostakovich Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buanarroti on 25 May; details here.
Choral
Volti presents a new piece by Ted Hearne, who was recently named the San Francisco Symphony New Voices Composer for next season, along with works by Melissa Dunphy and Kirke Mechem. That's 17 May at St Mark's Lutheran in San Francisco or 18 May (at 4:00) at the Marsh Arts Center in Berkeley; more details here.
Chora Nova presents an all-Zelenka concert at First Congregational in Berkeley on 24 May. More information here.
The Lacuna Arts Chorale performs works by J S Bach, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn, Hindemith, and Distler on 16 and 18 May at St Luke's Episcopal Church (at Clay and Van Ness in San Francisco); more information here.
Cinematic
The San Francisco Symphony plays along with Disney's iconic Fantasia (as well as its lesser sequel, Fantasia 2000) on 31 May and 1 June; more information here.
This year the San Francisco Silent Film Festival moves from July to late May – 29 May to 1 June, to be exact. This year's programs look exceptionally enticing; they have great stuff every year, but this time they seem to have a higher than usual percentage of things I haven't already seen on DVD. They have great live music at all the performances, which are held in the ornate Castro Theater. Get more information, including the schedule, here.
The SF Jazz Center presents guitarist Marc Ribot playing along to Chaplin's The Kid on 29 May; more information here.
Jazz
Cal Performances presents the Marcus Shelby Orchestra in a tribute to Duke Ellington. The first half includes Ellington standards, featuring Faye Carol and violinist Matthew Szemela, and the second half includes actors from the California Shakespeare Theater, helping present the Ellington-Strayhorn Shakespeare suite, Such Sweet Thunder. That's 2 May; more information here.
The SF Jazz Center presents violinist Regina Carter paying (and playing) tribute to her southern grandfather, 1 - 4 May (more information here); they also have The Bad Plus 8 - 11 May, with their version of The Rite of Spring on the 8th and 11th (more details here).
Chamber Music
Cal Performances presents cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han demonstrating The Unfolding of Music with sonatas by Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Debussy, and Britten; that's at First Congregational Church on 3 May; more information here.
Talking
Cal Performances presents statistician Nate Silver on 4 May; more information here.
City Arts & Lectures presents soprano Jessye Norman in conversation with Michael Tilson Thomas on 13 May; details here.
28 April 2014
Poem of the Week 2014/18
for National Poetry Month, poets writing to poets: James Schuyler on Frank O'Hara
To Frank O'Hara
for Don Allen
And now the splendor of your work is here
so complete, even
"a note on the type"
yes, total, even the colophon
and now people you never met will meet
and talk about your work.
So witty, so sad,
so you: even your lines have
a broken nose. And in the crash
of certain chewed-up words
I see you again dive
into breakers! How you scared
us, no, dazzled us swimming
in an electric storm
which is what you were
more lives than a cat
dancing, you had a feline
grace, poised on the balls
of your feet ready
to dive and
all of it, your poems,
compressed into twenty years.
How you charmed, fumed,
blew smoke from your nostrils
like a race horse that
just won the race
steaming, eager to run
only you used words.
Stay up all night? Who wants to sleep?
It is not your voice I hear
it is your words I see
foam flecks and city girders
as once from a crosstown bus
I saw you waiting a cab in light rain
(drizzle) as once you
gave me a driving lesson and the radio
played The Merry Widow. It broke us up.
As once under the pie plate tree
(Paulonia)
it broke you up to read Sophie Tucker
– with the Times in a hammock –
had a gold tea service. "It's way out
on the nut," she said, "for service,
but it was my dream."
James Schuyler
Schuyler and O'Hara were long time friends; both were associated with what was labeled the "New York School" of poets, analogous to the "New York School" of painters, the action painters and abstract expressionist that the poets hung out with (both men worked at the Museum of Modern Art in New York). Both led messy lives, in the echt gay Bohemian style of their times. Schuyler worked for a few years as a secretary to W H Auden; apparently he found the latter's formal inventiveness and virtuosity intimidating, and part of his reaction was to develop in the opposite direction, towards a less structured poetics (similarly, Beckett's experience as a secretary to Joyce during the writing of Finnegans Wake led him to realize he could only grow in the opposite direction, towards the stripped-down). Both of these New York poets makes subtle, conversational music out of what might look like random detritus until they make the readers see it with their amused, intelligent, enthusiastic eyes, revealing that it is actually the stuff of real poetry.
O'Hara died young, only 40 years old, after being struck early one morning by a vehicle on a Fire Island beach. In this poem, Schuyler contemplates all that is left of the man he knew: his collected poems, which will, more and more as the people who actually knew him pass on, replace the man himself as the reality of "Frank O'Hara." The line between the man and his poetry is particularly blurry in the case of an observational, autobiographical poet like O'Hara. In this poem Schuyler slips back and forth between the two entities, the man he knew and the poems that man wrote: "so witty, so sad, / so you: even your lines have / a broken nose." The "crash of words" turns into a memory of the man diving into the waves (crash there might be an oblique reference to O'Hara's death), and the reckless, enthralling way he lived. As the dead man recedes farther into memory, his influence remains in how Schuyler sees the world: "It is not your voice I hear / it is your words I see" . . . . Schuyler moves towards some memorable glimpses of his friend, ending with a somewhat camp reference to the sort of glam performer O'Hara enjoyed (see his poem Lana Turner has collapsed!); in this case, it's Sophie Tucker with her golden tea service: a useless, beautiful, heartbreaking dream.
I took this from the Selected Poems of James Schuyler, though since Schuyler has also now become his poems, perhaps I should upgrade to the Collected Poems.
To Frank O'Hara
for Don Allen
And now the splendor of your work is here
so complete, even
"a note on the type"
yes, total, even the colophon
and now people you never met will meet
and talk about your work.
So witty, so sad,
so you: even your lines have
a broken nose. And in the crash
of certain chewed-up words
I see you again dive
into breakers! How you scared
us, no, dazzled us swimming
in an electric storm
which is what you were
more lives than a cat
dancing, you had a feline
grace, poised on the balls
of your feet ready
to dive and
all of it, your poems,
compressed into twenty years.
How you charmed, fumed,
blew smoke from your nostrils
like a race horse that
just won the race
steaming, eager to run
only you used words.
Stay up all night? Who wants to sleep?
It is not your voice I hear
it is your words I see
foam flecks and city girders
as once from a crosstown bus
I saw you waiting a cab in light rain
(drizzle) as once you
gave me a driving lesson and the radio
played The Merry Widow. It broke us up.
As once under the pie plate tree
(Paulonia)
it broke you up to read Sophie Tucker
– with the Times in a hammock –
had a gold tea service. "It's way out
on the nut," she said, "for service,
but it was my dream."
James Schuyler
Schuyler and O'Hara were long time friends; both were associated with what was labeled the "New York School" of poets, analogous to the "New York School" of painters, the action painters and abstract expressionist that the poets hung out with (both men worked at the Museum of Modern Art in New York). Both led messy lives, in the echt gay Bohemian style of their times. Schuyler worked for a few years as a secretary to W H Auden; apparently he found the latter's formal inventiveness and virtuosity intimidating, and part of his reaction was to develop in the opposite direction, towards a less structured poetics (similarly, Beckett's experience as a secretary to Joyce during the writing of Finnegans Wake led him to realize he could only grow in the opposite direction, towards the stripped-down). Both of these New York poets makes subtle, conversational music out of what might look like random detritus until they make the readers see it with their amused, intelligent, enthusiastic eyes, revealing that it is actually the stuff of real poetry.
O'Hara died young, only 40 years old, after being struck early one morning by a vehicle on a Fire Island beach. In this poem, Schuyler contemplates all that is left of the man he knew: his collected poems, which will, more and more as the people who actually knew him pass on, replace the man himself as the reality of "Frank O'Hara." The line between the man and his poetry is particularly blurry in the case of an observational, autobiographical poet like O'Hara. In this poem Schuyler slips back and forth between the two entities, the man he knew and the poems that man wrote: "so witty, so sad, / so you: even your lines have / a broken nose." The "crash of words" turns into a memory of the man diving into the waves (crash there might be an oblique reference to O'Hara's death), and the reckless, enthralling way he lived. As the dead man recedes farther into memory, his influence remains in how Schuyler sees the world: "It is not your voice I hear / it is your words I see" . . . . Schuyler moves towards some memorable glimpses of his friend, ending with a somewhat camp reference to the sort of glam performer O'Hara enjoyed (see his poem Lana Turner has collapsed!); in this case, it's Sophie Tucker with her golden tea service: a useless, beautiful, heartbreaking dream.
I took this from the Selected Poems of James Schuyler, though since Schuyler has also now become his poems, perhaps I should upgrade to the Collected Poems.
27 April 2014
26 April 2014
25 April 2014
24 April 2014
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