"Your Mind is Blank and Empty"

Or: how to review a performance of a piece you've heard too many times.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

No that is not my head. I have hair.

When you leave off the inherent challenges in being  compensated for one's creative work, the lot of the professional classical music and/or opera critic is a pretty good one. We get to hear a lot of performances, of operatic and orchestral masterpieces that have survived into the fairly small club that is known as "the repertory." Occasionally we experience delicious rarities, epicure works by composers that we've heard of but have never seen played live. And finally, we occasionally get to hear and write about something new and genuinely innovative.

Reflection: The Cool Kids

or...You Can't See...Everything!
by Paul J. Pelkonen

"Vhat do you mean vhe missed der recital?"
Arnold Schwarzenegger as "Mr. Freeze" in Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin.
Image © 1997 Warner Brothers.

So I saw a New Yorker column today about Radu Lupu and how he's the pianist that all the "cool kids" (not the words used in the article) are going to go hear in recital tonight. (He's playing at Carnegie Hall this evening.)

For a moment, I felt bad because I'm not going to be there. I'm scheduled to hear tonight's New York Philharmonic concert with Lorin Maazel leading the Shostakovich Fifth, along with the Tchaikovky Romeo and Juliet and Chain 2, a Lutoslawski piece played by soloist Jennifer Koh. Yes, it's the second night of the run, but I had another social engagement the night before

And then I sat and thought, and started to write this.