Polarizing Words

At a post-concert reception last February I had the chance to meet a couple who don't often attend early-music performances. In fact, I think it was their first time. In the middle of our conversation the husband used a word which caught me off guard.

A Mystery Solved?

Last week TheStrad.com published an opinion piece which turned a few heads. Early music should be left to period players said Julian Haylock, but for all the wrong reasons. Though his hypothesis is polarizing, the evidence he chooses to support his argument is spotty at best.

Worth a Read

Last week Sara Sitzer wrote an article on Newmusicbox on defining success. Many musicians coming out of conservatories today need to assess what success means to them. Last week I was lucky enough to run a round-table at the Schola focusing on the rationale of a career in music. My reason for the subject was that if we could define why we aspire for a professional music life, apart from the usual 'I like it' or 'I can't see myself doing anything else', then even in our darkest hours we could take what we had learned to find the motivation to continue. In many ways Sitzer's article parallels this activity.

Arnold Full of Surpises on CBC

I stumbled upon a surprising interview of Arnold Schwarzenegger on 90 Minutes Live in the CBC digital archives today. In the interview, host Peter Gzowski asks a few questions which elicit very unexpected responses from the soon-to-be superstar. Granted, the Schwarzenegger in the video (embedded below) was one which I had never known; one which hadn't yet become the Hollywood beacon of ultra-masculinity; whose persona hadn't yet been fixed by the numerous blockbuster feature films. But what is really worth noting is the drastic difference in atmosphere on the show in comparison with a talk show today.