Blog and roll.

More voices have been added to the discussion of last night's Roméo. Sieglinde (to whom, happy anniversary) had the harshest words initially, but softened somewhat overnight. JSU draws attention to the general nervousness of the evening, and hopes for improvement with Dessay's arrival. Wellsungs Alex and Jonathan also had pointedly critical comments well worth reading. (A&J also helpfully provide links to Associated Press and New York Times reviews online, so do pay a call.)

Meanwhile, due to a combination of unlikely, unpredictable and unfortunate production issues -- and yes, let's face it, human error -- I was gently informed today that two-thirds of my feature on conductor David Robertson did not actually make it to the printed page in the new issue of TONY. (By afternoon, the error was being referred to in the office as "the perfect storm.") Everyone was duly apologetic; everyone tiptoed around me for most of the day. I'm positive I strained a few muscles exercising diplomatic skills well above and beyond the norm.

Now, truly -- in what I personally came to refer to as the "sulphur lining" of this sorry tale -- I'm genuinely glad that this happened to a piece I wrote myself, as opposed to a contribution from a freelancer. That would be an unbearable phone call to make. But the really sad part, on the other hand, is that this was a piece I actually cared quite a lot about; David Robertson is an artist I admire rather intensely, all the more so after spending a morning speaking with him about music, art, and what is genuinely good about the St. Louis Symphony, and in American society.

As a way of making amends, TONY is going to put the entire article on the new, improved company website tomorrow -- a big deal, actually, since the whole site is actually being relaunched tomorrow with a big splash. Before now, as followers of Vilaine Fille have surely sussed, most features don't reach the site until they're buried in the archives six to eight weeks after publication. I'll update with a direct link when the time comes. [Update: The time has come, and the piece is here, free of charge and no registration necessary.]

On the bright side, my other article in the new issue -- an interview with Ville Valo, charismatic and funny singer for the Finnish glam-goth "love metal" band H.I.M. that appears in the pop section -- made it to the printed page with no difficulties. And in the classical section, Marion Lignana Rosenberg's review of the new Naxos CD by Ana María Martínez is well worth reading. [Update: One feature of the new TONY website is that articles like these two will be available online immediately -- but you'll have to register in order to get them. The H.I.M. feature is here, and Marion's CD review is here.]

I don't usually spend this much time boosting what's in the mag, but I'm still cheering myself up, okay?

Playlist:

Johann Sebastian Bach - Goldberg Variations - Simone Dinnerstein (as-yet unreleased demo)

Eleanor Sandresky - A Sleeper's Notebook (One Soul)

The Ramones - Weird Tales of the Ramones (Sire/Rhino)

Comments

[JSU]

Thanks for the link...

How's the Bach?

[Steve Smith]

It's pretty outstanding, actually. I previously only knew Dinnerstein from an ardent, driven performance of Rochberg's Piano Quintet at Weill earlier this year. Her Goldbergs, played on a modern piano, are clean and elegant, and flexible in a way that's expressive but in no way idiosyncratic.

She has a lovely range of touches and tones, and she's exceptionally well recorded here -- the resonant space around the instrument gives the Aria something of a celestial halo. (That may sound funny, but I think the whole of the performance probably works on some metaphysical level for her, since she made a specific point of recording it during her pregnancy.

I haven't really looked into Angela Hewitt especially, but to give you a ball park figure, Dinnerstein clocks in at 78 minutes, as compared to the 38 minutes of Gould I and the 51 minutes of Gould II. (I'm guessing this probably means she takes every repeat, as opposed to selective repeats, but I don't have a score here and there are no liner notes with this CD-R.)

BTW, Dinnerstein will play the Goldbergs at Weill on November 28, and I'm increasingly thinking that I might need to be there.

[David]

I just saw this blog on Simone Dinnerstein and her Goldbergvariations. It is truly an amazing recording and her life performances since than have, despite the superb recording, matured even more (hard to believe hearing her recording). Her recording will now be released by Telarc in combination with a promo-tour through the US and Europe. Her career seems to be really taking off and I would like to keep in touch if you have any further updates on her career.
David