Day 122: Symphony No. 7 in A major (Monteux)

My listening post this evening is with the TV series Grimm in the background, a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to my left, and a fresh page of a note pad to my right. (If you’ve never seen Grimm, you owe it to yourself. It’s a great cop show set in Portland, Oregon. It’s like a … [Read more…]

Day 50: Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major (Monteux)

I have a love/hate relationship with Fall. On the love side, I dig the cooler temperatures, the lower humidity, and the snap in the air. As Fall progresses (at least, here in Michigan) I enjoy the changing colors on the trees. October is my favorite month, partly because of Ray Bradbury’s incomparable book Something Wicked … [Read more…]

Day 32: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Monteux)

My office this morning while I blog is New Beginnings restaurant. My breakfast is a Mexican chicken all white meat omelette with jalapenos inside and enough Frank’s RedHot and Tabasco sauce on top to make my eyes water. Yummy. I first encountered Pierre Monteux (1875-1964) – and I do mean the first; I didn’t run … [Read more…]

Day 14: Symphony No. 1 in C Major (Monteux)

This morning’s conductor of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major is a fellow I had never heard of before, Frenchman (Pierre Monteux), on an Italian record label I’d never heard of before (Memories Reverence). And those two reasons are precisely why I chose this no-frills box set. And I do mean no frills. There … [Read more…]