The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I waited far too long to read this novel, which is a function of my long to-read list! Junot Diaz's writing is a wild ride. He tells a multi-generational story of a Dominican Republic family living under a fuku, or curse, and they are. If the term "multi-generational" is a turn-off, as it is to me, please take another look at this book. It is set in contemporary Patterson, NJ in an ex-pat DR community, and in the DR over many years. There is a lot of detailed history, both in the story and in in footnotes, of the brutal dictator, Trujillo. All of this is told in a crazy, hip lexicon. Oscar of the title is an over weight nerd finding his way in life and in this crazy family.

Michael Ward-Bergman in Santa Fe

Michael Ward-Bergman did a phenomenal accordian performance at a home in Santa Fe of folk music from around the world. Michael studied piano at the Berklee College of Music, the best jazz school on the planet, and this was evident in his performance. He also used folk percussion instruments, at times with a stereo tape loop that produced extraordinary results! He is in the middle of a 365 day tour, in which he plays a minimum of 35 minutes of music in a concert each day in a wide range of venues, including prisons and hospitals. Part of this journey is to accumulate more folk music of every variety. Michael also plays in concert halls, such as SF Chamber Music Festival's recent performance of Golijov's song cycle Ayre with Dawn Upshaw.

Caroline Goulding Wows Santa Fe, August 2011

Eighteen year old Caroline Goulding gave a passionate performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Santa Fe Concert Association. She displayed extraordinary technique AND great feeling, a rare combination at any age. There was some additional drama in the last movement. She was playing furiously, turned to the concertmaster, and leaned towards him. Hmmm, looks like jazz or rock? Then, they did a split second exchange of violins, and she did not miss a beat. Cool under fire! We learned later that a string had popped off of the bridge of her violin, which no one noticed in her playing. I look forward to great music from her!

A new twist

Mixed media on panel, 10 X 10 inches

Dawn Upshaw & Golijov's Ayre

I heard two SFCMF concerts that featured this year's artist in residence, Dawn Upshaw. I have always been a big fan of Upshaw, in part because of her support of new music, like this. The song cycle, Ayer, was written in 2004 by the Argentine composer Osvoldo Golijov. This is a extraordinary collision of Jewish klezmer, Arab, Sardinian, Christian & Sephardic folk music. It is full of verve, drama, complex rhythms, lament and surprises. The soprano vocals are demanding & wide ranging, from soft lyrical singing to bloodcurdling cries. Upshaw did a remarkably dramatic and genuine performance. This was the first time that I have seen tears in the eyes of the musicians at the end of a performance as they joined the enthusiastic audience in applauding Upshaw.

Christopher Rouse: New Music? Not!

I attended a "New Music" program at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, including this season's headliner commission, Christopher Rouse's String Quartet No. 3. I do not share many people's aversion to new music, in fact, I have commissioned new music. However, Rouse's work was not "new", rather it took us backwards 40 years to the academic compositions of the 1970's that we all had to suffer through. How many different screeching sounds can a violin or cello make? Apparently quite a few, to my horror. In the composer's words: "something akin to a schizophrenic having a grand mal seizure." There was no emotional content or meaning (1970's callling!) One might consider it an intellectual exercise, but there was little intellect involved. Is this 2011 or 1971???

Another

"The Taste of the Campari", June 2011, Watercolor, acrylic, mixed media on panel 10x10 inches.

Notice the new background which employs automatic writing, similiar to what I used in a number of paintings five years ago.