Today’s a good day to share something beautiful. This is my new hardingfele, a nine-string fiddle that’s the national instrument of Norway. Hardanger fiddles were developed in the 17th century, and (despite being branded “the devil’s instrument” during the Haugean religious revival) they quickly became the most important instrument in Norwegian folk music. Typically, they […]
I mentioned a recent vulpine obsession; as a result, my readers may have to endure a few fox-themed posts. We’ll begin with Leos Janáček’s masterpiece, The Cunning Little Vixen. As an opera, The Cunning Little Vixen is extremely difficult to stage. (So I’m told. I’ve never actually produced an opera.) The New York Times, for […]
When I returned to Denver after my winter holidays, this apocalyptic “War and Peace” mural was one of the first things I saw. [What is wrong with you, Denver International Airport?] We definitely need an antidote to terrifying thoughts of tyranny and war, so I’m happy to share a few snapshots from the Denver Art […]
Shortly after I arrived in Bolivia this summer, I was lucky enough to hear my sister perform at Teatro Municipal, a grand old nineteenth-century theater in La Paz. Accompanied by the young musicians of Encuentro de Jovenes Músicos Bolivianos, she and her husband played the world premiere of Jordan Grigg’s “Concerto Semplice” for Two Violins. […]
Consider yourself warned. The following post is a mere bagatelle, nothing but opera and fashion and confectionery. If you’re on the prowl for meatier fare, now is the time to prowl on.
You know how a conversation with an old friend always seems so easy? There’s a certain fluency that we long for, in that effortless social space where being friends isn’t hard work but just is. As we find ourselves scattered across the globe, our relationships mediated by self-serving Facebook posts, random tweets, or hurried holiday […]
There’s something uncanny about going back home. Surrounded by old furniture, family photos, the forgotten dreams of your misspent childhood, you come face to face with irrefutable evidence pointing to the existence of your former self. But who was that person? I drove home to Fargo last month to celebrate the birthday of a beloved […]
Hayao Miyazaki’s films for Studio Ghibli are always enchanting, and The Secret World of Arrietty is especially so. I watched this film on my birthday, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Unlike many of the fast-paced animated films currently in theaters, The Secret World of Arrietty takes its time, filling the screen with […]