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My neighbor, Lena Horne
Re “My neighbor, Lena Horne,” by Dan Rottenberg (Editor’s Notebook)—
My only criticism of Broad Street Review is that Rottenberg doesn’t write nearly enough. The piece on Lena Horne gave me chills.
I do have one criticism, though. He wrote that he wouldn’t want to be labeled “a great Jewish writer.” The competition is staggering, and I include him in it. I, for one, would be thrilled.
Alan Richman
Mamaroneck, N.Y.
May 26, 2010
Editor’s comment: High praise indeed, coming as it does from one of America’s leading Jewish food and wine critics.
Thanks for the great reminiscence.
Hilary Hinzmann
New York
May 26, 2010
Wow, that’s quite a story. What a wonderful building. Now tell us about your highly enlightened parents.
Reed Stevens
Campbell, Calif.
May 26, 2010
Very cool. Thank you for sharing your profound insights on racism and your unique memories of Lena Horne.
Lora Englehart
West Chester, Pa.
May 27, 2010
Marian Locks
Re “How Marian Locks changed Philadelphia,” by Anne R. Fabbri—
What a wonderful tribute to a great human person.
Pasquale Cuppari
Roselle Park, N.J.
May 26, 2010
That is a beautiful and poignant tribute to Marion Locks. While I did not know her personally, as a beneficiary of her efforts and achievements in behalf of Philadelphia’s artists, I’ll always be grateful to her.
Susan Howard
Villanova, Pa.
May 25, 2010
Free speech for corporations
Re “Let the corporations speak!” by Dan Rottenberg (Editor’s Notebook)—
Enthusiastic support for free speech across all levels of our society is admirable. For the past 15 years, however, I have witnessed firsthand what our corporate culture has done to the minds of young Americans.
While I suspect that most of your readers were born “BTV” (before television), grew up reading books and developing a sense of right and wrong based primarily upon their five senses (as human beings have for millennia), this is clearly not the case with children weaned on electronic media.
Each generation born since 1950 has become increasingly reliant upon various forms of corporate media to distinguish the difference between right and wrong, and legions of impressionable minds have been imprinted by corporate needs that are multiplying exponentially.
The advent of the Internet has only compounded this problem, so that increasing numbers of young minds are unable to fathom what their instincts tell them, or that their senses hold the keys to their basic survival skills and personal identity.
In 20 years, let’s also remember to discuss what spiritual lessons our grandchildren will be able to impart to their own progeny… and what culture, other than corporate, will remain.
Margaret Chew Barringer
Penn Valley, Pa.
May 22, 2010
My main concern with unlimited corporate campaign spending is their ability to present a point of view in an endless loop. As the Tea Partiers demonstrate, rational discussion and examination of issues and consequences isn’t the point.
I agree that shareholders can have an influence on the corporations they “own.” Perhaps this will be the positive unintended consequence of the Supreme Court ruling: giving shareholders the incentive to use their free speech with their proxy votes.
Bob Rottenberg
Brattleboro, Vt.
May 19, 2010
Free speech should certainly be as unfettered as possible, and, with Voltaire, I will defend to the death your right to hear Osama bin Laden or read Hitler. But corporate free speech is an oxymoron.
You ask whether “if individuals chose to bond together for commercial, political, cultural, charitable, civic purposes, or whatever— should they lose the right to speak collectively?” The key term here is “individuals.” An individual is a morally responsible, biologically based entity; a corporation is, as Ronald Dworkin points out, a fiction in these terms.
An individual can think, speak, respond and, if need be, repent; he or she has material interests, but we also presume a capacity to transcend them in public discourse. That is why we hear our fellow citizens out in the first place: because they can think beyond themselves or at least have the potential to do so.
Imagine a cyborg programmed to make moral calculations based on an agreed-to formula. Would we accept the “decisions” of such an entity? I think not, and for two reasons. We could not debate a cyborg. And the cyborg puts nothing up; it takes no risk.
Corporations are neither live beings nor cyborgs. They are not morally responsible (or programmed) agents. They are set up to pursue one interest alone, profit, which they do with the single-"mindedness" of a heat-seeking missile. That they have human components does not alter this fact. The concept of the corporate as such excludes the possibility of reasoned discourse, which involves the free exchange of opinions whose individual holders are willing to submit to argument and to accept the consequences.
Political parties do speak for citizens willing to be associated with them, but their ultimate task is representation, and representation (except in a totalitarian state) requires consultation. Party affiliation is in any case a loose affair. It doesn’t commit the individual to any particular position, or bind his or her vote. In this sense, parties are (at least ideally) extended town meetings of generally like-minded individuals. They differ essentially from corporations, however much the latter try to dominate them.
Dan Rottenberg doesn’t wish to be deprived of his right to converse with Exxon Mobil, but does he think that “Exxon” is really listening, or willing— even, in any meaningful sense, able— to respond?
Robert Zaller
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
May 19, 2010
We needn’t wait 20 years to see if free corporate speech threatens democracy. We can clearly see already that what corporate and conservative America have engendered since the ’80s is off the track of equal opportunity for all. Then the executive/ worker pay ratio was 50 to 1; now it’s 500 to 1.
Social democracies in Europe thrive with free electoral TV and short campaigns. But the Foxification of our news media has made a pathetic joke of my academic career of teaching the humanities so that all citizens can think clearly about political issues, whether skewed by unions or big companies.
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
May 21, 2010
Forgotten MOVE victims
Re “The forgotten MOVE victims,” by Robert Zaller—
I’m stunned into silence. The math is astonishing. As a hyperliberal, where have I been? Surely we must retrieve the city’s guilty conscience.
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
May 19, 2010
Evening Without Woody Allen
Re Dan Rottenberg’s review of An Evening Without Woody Allen, by 1812 Productions—
Actually, when you watch this play, you are aware that these stories (at least a few of them) are “dated” and you are aware that these are Woody Allen stories. I’m not sure why that relegates the audience to a group of passive observers.
The cast and the production were minimal, and warmed up as the stories progressed, but always stayed out of the way of the humor while still infusing a creative sense of play to the stories.
Mark Berman
Pennsport/ Philadelphia
May 18, 2010
Lost in the Meadowlands
Re “An artist in the Meadowlands,” by Matthew Green—
Nice article! There are still plenty of dilapidated structures to be found
in the Meadowlands. One of my favorites is the ruins of the old Diamond
Shamrock facility in Kearny. That is a “classic"-looking old industrial landscape. It’s best seen from across the river in Secaucus.
Brett Bragin
Lyndhurst, N.J.
May 23, 2010
Editor’s note: The writer is a naturalist who works with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi works in New York
Re “An artist between worlds,” Robert Zaller’s review of the Utagawa Kuniyoshi show in New York—
This is a fantastic exhibition and an excellent article. I am so pleased that the Broad Street Review published it. I hope many Philadelphians make the trip to the Japan Society in New York to see it.
Shirley Luber
Center City/ Philadelphia
May 19, 2010
Editor’s note: The writer has specialized in Japanese art through the Gilbert Luber Gallery in Philadelphia.
Joan of Arc’s statue
Re “What have they done to Joan of Arc?” by Anne R. Fabbri—
Good job. My sentiments exactly.
You learn in art school that shiny surfaces are not good for figurative work. You need a somewhat matté surface to “read” the form. That’s why chrome is never any good as a figurative surface.
Gilding makes a lot of sense in ceilings and like places, where light is low and the gild makes the surface pop for dramatic effect. It doesn’t make a lot of sense on something visually complex like an equestrian statue.
Strange that someone would have decided to do it in the first place.
Roy Wilson
Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
May 9, 2010
Thank you, Anne! Our Joan of Arc is now fit for Las Vegas. Before the “restoration,” her spotty gold leaf did look like a bad rash, but there are more subtle shades of leaf that would be suitable for a complex equestrian sculpture— or just buffing up and waxing the original bronze would have been best.
When the trees lose their leaves, I can see both Joan and Rocky from my terrace, as well as the Armenian stabbing himself. I do not look forward to winter.
Arlene Love
Fairmount/ Philadelphia
May 12, 2010
Incredible! Just as marketing genius Martha says: “you can learn something new every day!” From my youthful vantage point in a Fiat 500 dodging Center City traffic, I could only momentarily glimpse the impressive “equestrienne” statue; however, in all honesty, I really thought it depicted Crazy Horse, the famous indigenous American warrior hero. Now I learn that it’s actually a famous French female warrior and now located on what sounds like a subdivision street named after a construction company rather than on ”le grand boulevard de la ville” or even just “The Parkway!”
Remo Fabbri
New Haven, Conn.
May 9, 2010
Thank you, Anne. The statue was sadly mistreated. I think the job of “watchperson” for public art must go to you.
Phyllis Laver
Fairmount/ Philadelphia
May 12, 2010
A flapper Traviata
Dan Rottenberg’s review of La Traviata is a very thought-provoking and meaningful review, and I am so glad you gave our Opera Company the acclaim it deserves for this exquisite production, so rich with superb talent, set design, and costuming (Oh, to borrow some of the gowns and dresses! Dear David Devan, if you are reading this, I would take such good care of them!).
However, I do disagree with your depiction of freedom in the flapper years. I see this period as one where class structure and convention ruled with an iron hand. Specifically, Daisy Buchanan rejected the love of her life, Jay Gatsby, who died living for and protecting her. She chose instead a sadistic killer for one reason: He was exceedingly wealthy. She openly said that a poor boy had been out of the question for a girl from a rich family.
I see the struggles depicted in Traviata as universal, timeless, ageless. And often with tragic consequences.
It was only during this exquisite production, however, that I realized that Traviata was the opera that Julia Roberts wept through in Pretty Woman. And this sweet, dear, gutsy and goodhearted Violetta did manage to get her man! How wonderful!
SaraKay Smullens
Center City
May 11, 2010
Editor’s comment: In Hollywood, yes; in opera and even real life, no.
I’m glad to find such thoughtful reviews of this production’s choice of setting, but why has no one mentioned Partridge’s voice? She certainly looked the part of an invalid, but she belted out the arias with more gusto than could ever be believed for a woman in her physical condition.
Perhaps Partridge is just a bit too wet behind the ears; she just didn’t have the vocal acuity that the role calls for. I was hoping for a bit more finesse— at least enough to clearly make out a few pitches in ”Sempre Libera” without feeling a little embarrassment while waiting anxiously for Act II.
I agree that the 1920s take didn’t work, mostly because the Charleston component of the choreography made a bad first impression in Act I.
Mr. Rottenberg: I’m totally puzzled by your reference to Jesus and your mention (twice) of children born out of wedlock. Were you reviewing the opera, or just commenting on kids these days?
Jeremy Peiffer
Center City/ Philadelphia
May 17, 2010
While I like to see fresh productions of old favorites, I found the sets really unattractive— all those mirrors, all that red. Perhaps it was my seat in the rear orchestra, but the voices didn’t soar, and I found myself for the most part unmoved by music that usually movies me to tears.
Jane Biberman
Washington Square/ Philadelphia
May 19, 2010
Vanishing Orchestra
Re “The vanishing Philadelphia Orchestra,” by Robert Zaller—
Just last Wednesday (May 12), I attended an open rehearsal of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center at which Kurt Masur conducted Beethoven’s First Symphony and Bruckner’s Seventh. The hall was about 75% full – not surprising when you consider it cost only $16!
I have heard few performances to match what the Philharmonic produced in the Bruckner.
Was it the sound of the hall— far more powerful than anything Verizon Hall’s acoustics allow? Was it the brass players themselves? It’s hard to imagine a better-sounding section. The fact that I’d never heard this gorgeous work in concert before?
I don’t know. Probably a combination of all these. But, as much as I love Philadelphia and as much as I love to despise my native New York, everything about this experience gave bragging rights to the old college friend who was hosting me that morning.
The next day, just to rub it in, we walked in perfect weather along Riverside Park just south of Columbia University. I had never before fully appreciated how that beautiful park so successfully integrates the West Side Highway into the landscape. It was enough to make any Philadelphian who has watched the city waterfront ruined by I-95 weep with envy.
New York 2, Philadelphia 0.
Dan Coren
Queen Village/ Philadelphia
May 16, 2010
Fear of Kindle: update
Last September I wrote a couple of BSR pieces on the future of newspapers and e-publishing. (See “Fear of Kindle.”) Somebody recently started a discussion of that subject on the Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine website, and the editor, Sheila Williams, mentioned that she now subscribes to the New York Times on her Kindle for half the cost of the print edition. She figures the annual saving subsidizes her Kindle. People who live outside the New York area might save even more.
You can read the Times for free on the web, of course. But you can carry the Kindle around and read it anywhere you’d read a newspaper.
Sheila has said Asimov’s has added more than 3,000 subscribers via the Kindle— a significant boost in the magazine’s circulation. And the number is still growing. These electronic subscribers seem to be new readers, too: She hasn’t seen any reduction in print readers.
In the past, science fiction magazines used to be distributed through newsstands and most other magazine outlets. Today, they’re only sold in bookstores. Many science fiction readers don’t even know SF magazines are still being published. Kindle owners are finding them because the magazines pop up when people check the Kindle “fiction magazines” category.
Tom Purdom
Center City
May 15, 2010
Stephen Miller’s Conversation
Re Patrick D. Hazard’s review of Conversation—
Well, it’s a pleasant surprise to learn, through the wonder-working powers of Google, that an old colleague, whose feisty personality I usually enjoyed, has written a nice appreciation of my book— nice in the 18th-Century sense of discriminating. He might enjoy taking a look at my more recent book, The Peculiar Life of Sundays. He can check out what I’ve been doing with my life by looking at my author’s page on Amazon.
Stephen Miller
Reston, Va.
May 13, 2010
Frank Lloyd Wright
Anent Patrick D. Hazard’s ”The trouble with Frank Lloyd Wright”—
Yes, architects make mistakes. But I believe it was I.M. Pei who observed that architects must live with their mistakes, whereas doctors get to bury theirs.
Gresham Riley
Old City/ Philadelphia
May 16, 2010
From Schubert to John Adams
Re “From Schubert To John Adams,”—
I, too, attended the Adams-Stravinsky-Andriessen concert. And while I have no argument with anything Tom Purdom says, I do think he omits what might be the most important feature of this concert: the audience.
The opportunity to see two stellar representatives of today’s music— the composer John Adams and the pianist Jeremy Denk— packed the Perelman Theater. At intermission and after the concert, wherever I went— the hall itself, the lobby, the lines for the restrooms— I heard a susurrus of people excitedly saying things like “Isn’t this fabulous?” At least for my companions that afternoon and for me, indeed it was.
Dan Coren
Queen Village/ Philadelphia
May 18, 2010
Robin Roberts remembered
Re Robert Zaller’s tribute to Robin Roberts—
Two comparable Phillies come to mind: Chase Utley of today’s era and Richie Ashburn of Roberts’s era.
When I researched my book, Philadelphia Originals, Bill Lyon, the Inquirer’s wonderful sportswriter, was kind enough to alert me to the sports columnist Red Smith, who covered the Phillies before moving to New York.
Smith covered the 1950 season, in which the Brooklyn Dodgers won 14 of 17 games to close within a game of the Phillies with one to play. In the last game of the season, with the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Ashburn threw Cal Abrams out at the plate. Roberts walked Jackie Robinson to fill the bases with one out and then got Carl Furillo to pop up and Gil Hodges to fly out to complete the inning, and the Phillies won the pennant in the tenth on Dick Sisler’s three-run home run.
Smith’s summary: “The tallest, steepest, swiftest, dizziest, dare-devil, death-defying dive ever undertaken by a baseball team came off with a rich and fruity climax yesterday when the Phillies toppled headlong into the World Series.”
Somehow I like to think there’s a tie-in between Roberts’s death and Jamie Moyer becoming the oldest pitcher to throw a shutout.
Joseph Glantz
Levittown, Pa.
May 8, 2010
I wanted to share my own favorite Robin Roberts story.
During the early ’50s, my father would take me to a couple of games a year, and afterward we’d wait outside the locker room, so I could get autographs. So I’m nine or ten, and out comes Robin Roberts and I’m running after him, shouting, “Hey! Hey! Can I have your autograph?”
He stops, turns around, and instructs me quite severely that it is impolite to yell “Hey!” at someone. But then he signed my book.
Bob Levin
Berkeley, Calif.
May 10, 2010
A beautiful tribute! Thank you.
Andrew Kevorkian
West Philadelphia
May 12, 2010
Red Grooms at Bryn Mawr
Re Jane Biberman’s review of the Red Grooms show at Bryn Mawr—
Thank you, Ms. Biberman, for this delightful review. I will definitely see this show as a result of reading it.
Nancy Herman
Merion Station, Pa.
May 12, 2010
Crowd control at the Art Museum
Re “The Art Museum’s crowd control problem,” by Vincent Rinella
Wow! Someone is complaining about too many people in a museum! That’s great!
“Art After 5 on Fridays” is a very successful concert series and very well attended. And some of the really special events, like Wayne Shorter or Marie Schneider, are extremely well attended.
Personally as a Philadelphia jazz musician, I’m glad that that too many people are coming to a jazz concert!
We have Sara Moyn to thank for that. She works hard to attract the best local, national and international jazz groups.
I’m also glad the concerts are held in the Great Stairway instead of the Art Museum’s concert hall at the museum. While the sound isn’t as good as in a concert hall, the Great Stairway creates a really cool scene. The experience really helps promote jazz as well as the Art Museum.
Tony Miceli
Philadelphia/ Bella Vista
May 5, 2010
Unfortunately, it looks like it’ll have to be Chris’s Jazz Café or the Kimmel or the Academy of Music. Ortleib’s Jazz House has closed its doors.
Ed Hagopian
South Philadelphia
May 5, 2010
Vincent Rinella replies: Thanks for the update. I much prefer to hear jazz in clubs and am sorry Ortlieb’s is shuttered. To Tony Miceli: I wasn’t complaining about large turnouts in general, but about the Museum’s responsibility to manage them appropriately.
Grofe’s Café Society
Re ”Back to the ‘30s, for one afternoon” by Janet Anderson—
Thanks to Janet Anderson and BSR for throwing a spotlight on the historic occasion of the performance of the Ferde Grofé 1936 ballet music Café Society at the Kimmel. I’d like to explain The Fleisher Collection’s role in this.
Philadelphia Sinfonia conductor Gary White already had the piano reduction from dance historian Sharon Skeel. When they looked to see if performance materials existed, they found them in only one place in the world: at the Free Library’s Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music.
The full score and all the parts— everything needed for an orchestral performance— were sitting on our shelves at 19th and Vine. That we have this at all is an amazing story of the foresight of Edwin Fleisher, the Free Library, and the city and federal governments, all working together to create a WPA Music Project in the years 1935-43.
Hundreds upon hundreds of American and Latin American symphonic works were collected and copied out by hand. Many were performed by established orchestras and by the 33 federal or “civic” orchestras that sprang up around the country. Philadelphia’s— the Pennsylvania W.P.A. Symphony Orchestra— played Café Society in a large orchestral concert version in 1942 at Penn’s Irvine Auditorium. That’s the version we have.
The music in ours, however, strayed from the piano reduction, a common occurrence with music involving stage action, especially when concert versions are made. Fortunately, the composer’s son, thrilled to have this music performed again, granted the conductor complete access to the original sketches at the Library of Congress. Gary White cleared up a lot of the confusing passages and fixed errors. Our old materials were falling apart, so we reprinted a completely new, clean set.
The performance by the youth of the Philadelphia Sinfonia was a rousing success, and we’ll broadcast it on a WRTI “Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection” program in the coming months.
We’ve seen similar stories many times over the years. I’m happy to be in the company of so many dedicated people, past and present. Gary, Sharon, and the Sinfonia deserve all praise for putting this together.
Kile Smith
Curator
Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music
Free Library of Philadelphia
Center City/ Philadelphia
May 11, 2010
What a thrill to discover that Catherine Littlefield lives! As a ballet-obsessed child and teenager (and lifelong balletomane), I was dominated by Catherine Littlefield and her company. I saw them dance everywhere: at the Robin Hood Dell, at Wanamaker’s tiny theater, and at a local movie house that had vaudeville, where the Littlefield Company performed Café Society several times a day for a week. (The film was The Mikado.)
They were fabulous— superior in many ways to any company I’ve seen since: Joan McCracken, Karen Conrad, Norma Gentner and many others.
I’m thrilled to learn that Sharon Skeel is doing research and
presumably writing a book. I’m especially interested in the reference to contemporary film footage. Is it possible to see that?
Ruth Sefarbi
Powelton Village/ Philadelphia
May 5, 2010
Janet Anderson replies: I’m sure Sharon Skeel will be thrilled to talk with someone who actually saw the Littlefield Company and Cafe Society. It really was a very special occasion and a reminder of Philadelphia’s cultural richness.
Just a small correction: The elderly woman in the audience was Jeanne Snow of Nashville, Ind., a dancer trained at the Littlefield school in 1938. She is not Littlefield’s niece although Littlefield’s niece was sitting next to Ms. Snow.
Ann Robins
Bloomington, Ind.
May 23, 2010
Condoleeza Rice at the Mann
Re “Unindicted war criminal to play at Mann Center,” by Robert Zaller—
Bravo. I hope all of the Orchestra members read this in shame.
Karen Mauch
Fairmount/ Philadelphia
May 6, 2010
Zaller states, “No one seriously pretends that Dr. Rice is qualified to perform in public.” I suppose Zaller is unaware that she studied classical piano at the Aspen Music Festival and School and performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra as a teenager. He must have also missed the YouTube videos of Rice playing for the Queen at Buckingham Palace and the New York Times article specifically devoted to Rice’s activities as a concert pianist, including her accompanying cellist Yo Yo Ma— at his request—when he received the National Medal of Arts.
Jim Rutter
South Philadelphia
May 11, 2010
Robert Zaller responds: Condoleezza Rice may have performed with the Denver Symphony 40 years ago, but I doubt that would qualify most pianists to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra today. The other occasions my colleague Jim Rutter cites when Rice performed in public were ceremonial ones. The point of my article is not how well or poorly Dr. Rice plays, but the legitimacy conferred on a war criminal (as I regard her) by an invitation to perform with one of America’s greatest orchestras.
America’s Protestant crisis
Re “A Supreme Court without Protestants,” by Dan Rottenberg (Editor’s Notebook)—
Interesting insight. It now appears that Elena Kagan will be named as the next Supreme Court justice. This will make it six Catholics, and three Jews on the Supreme Court.
Article 6, Section 3 of the Constitution notwithstanding, the Court’s makeup mirrors the attorney configuration of all the leading Philadelphia law firms I’ve worked for, with one exception: the growing numbers of sub-continent Asian associates. So it is not beyond the realm of possibility that in the future we might be treated to a Court with a few Hindi on it. Pass the Pimms cup and drink to that.
Jackie Atkins
Northern Liberties/ Philadelphia
May 7, 2010
Thanks for the laughs. I’m forwarding this to several (Catholic and Jewish) friends.
Bob Levin
Berkeley, Calif.
May 7, 2010
This Lutheran laughed at the Supreme Court editorial. (Although Luther was defacing his own church!)
Kile Smith
Center City/ Philadelphia
May 11, 2010
Soccer team’s fight song
Re “A new soccer team’s fight song,” by Gerald Weales—
As a Philadelphia Union season ticket holder, I feel compelled to advise Gerald Weales that union members don’t seem to share his negative attitude toward our new soccer team’s fight song.
A local fan I know went to the away game in Trenton. He reports that construction workers and other union members cheered when 500 Union fans marched through the streets, from the train station to the stadium, singing their battle song.
The Union’s name is a verbal multiple play. It resembles the British-style names (like Manchester United) that most of the league teams have adopted, and it plays on Philadelphia’s historic role as the birthplace of our national union; the fact many of our citizens stuck with the union in its greatest crisis; and our reputation (for better or worse) as a union town.
I’m younger than Mr. Weales so I encountered the union songs in the late ’50s, in the Philadelphia coffee houses. To people my age, they were the ballads of a romanticized former era, like the Spanish Civil War songs that we also sang in the coffee houses. I might feel offended by the Union ballad if I had actually lived in that heroic time, but I belong to the somewhat cynical age group that produced The Boss’s Song Book, an anthology purported to be a collection of the songs the bosses sang as they exploited the workers.
Tom Purdom
Center City/Philadelphia
May 22, 2010
The soccer team had nothing to do with it. The folks you see in the Philadelphia Union commercial are Sons of Ben. Unlike other sports, the team doesn’t spoon-feed fans what to chant. The SoB’s decided on “Union Maid” and made it a staple of part of what we sing— not for its historical significance, but the lyrics and tune are easy to learn and repeat. And taken at face value, they work.
Bryan James
Center City/ Philadelphia
May 5, 2010
What a kick to read my old Pennpal Gerald Weales in BSR print again. (I checked, and it’s only his third appearance in three years!) Surely this prolific Hoosier can give us more slices of his autobio than one tranche a year! Why, at our last lunch together at the White Dog, he briefed me brilliantly on another Hooter, Eugene Victor Debs, a political politesse I hadn’t expected from this Literary Lion.
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
May 6, 2010
New music, open minds
I heartily agree with Peter Burwasser’s assessment of the new music scene in Philadelphia (“So you call yourself a music lover?”). The days when the words “modern music” called up the image of a small dutifully suffering audience enduring post-serial music by humorless arrogant composers are long past.
A case in point is the recently concluded Fresh Ink series at the Perelman Theater. True, the audiences at these concerts were relatively sparse— I’d guess the theater was typically two-thirds full— but they had also obviously come expecting to have a good time and, judging by their enthusiasm, were not disappointed.
A common thread ran through all three concerts: young musicians improvising on a wide range of eclectic material, from Bach to modern pop, often playing their own material.
Perhaps nothing epitomized the scene more than the pianist Simone Dinnerstein’s guest appearance with the Absolute Ensemble, a group that spent the evening using Bach’s Inventions as the basis for improvisations in various styles, from jazz to samba to funk.
Can you imagine Horowitz sitting in with Stockhausen or John Cage? Neither can I. Yet here was one of the top concert pianists of her day taking a shot at improvising because, she said, she wanted to see if she could do it.
To tell the truth, she wasn’t really very good at it. And it didn’t matter. That she was willing to make herself vulnerable and simply join in the fun mattered a great deal, however.
The vitality and optimistic spirit of this series and the ones Burwasser mentions remind me again of the spirit that permeated the musical atmosphere in late 18th-Century Vienna. It’s important to keep in mind that 99% of the music from those days sounds trivial to us today, but the nascent Classical style (with a capital C) was fertile ground for geniuses like Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. I think we’re in a similar period now.
I do disagree with Burwasser on one point. When it comes to musical taste, nobody has any obligation of any kind. If you want to listen to Bach and Bach only, that’s fine with me. But I do think Andrew Kevorkian is missing out on a lot of enjoyment.
Dan Coren
Queen Village/ Philadelphia
April 28, 2010
Vincere and Italian passion
Re Dan Rottenberg’s review of Vincere—
Ah ... passion. The word, left alone without its proper partner, “purpose,” proves to be the undoing of many a fool.
Sad to say, I— passionate Italian-American that I purport to be— speak from experience.
Craig R. Tavani
Phoenixville, Pa.
April 28, 2010
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