1:09 PM

I finished correcting
tests and homework.
Sheesh. It is a lot of
work. That’s not really
me in the picture. I
just thought it was
kind of a funny pic.

At the beginning of each
term, I seem to obsess
about one composer in
in my private thoughts.
This term, it’s Schubert
for some reason.

I know that many students
relate to Schubert. (Alright
many is a relative term but
I do see that some students remark
on their homework how much
they like Schubert’s unfinished
Symphony on the listening).

For some reason I have been playing through his Impromptus and Moments Musical. This AM I treated myself to his Sonata in Bb. First I listened to the recording while I corrected papers. Then for positive reinforcement for getting that done, I let myself sit and play through it at the piano.

Schubert’s melodies continue to have a specific charm. And I always like it when he jumps to an odd chord, usually at a surprising third relationship.
I watched some more
of Bernstein’s Young
People’s Concerts last
night. I watched the
one on “American Music.”
I found it embaressing
how he dismissed the
influence of
Native Americans
and “Negroes” on
American music.

Granted it was 1958,
but I expected more
of a composer of
his abilities.

He discussed jazz
but left African Americans
entirely out of the
discussion.

I found an essay of
his from 1959 where
he did a bit better and mentioned Scott Joplin (academics
seem to love Joplin because he doesn’t involve improv?) and also (gasp) the blues. Eileen thinks I’m being too hard on him and sort of reading back into the pre Civil Rights era. She’s probably right, but I reserve the right to be unreasonable.

I teach about racism and American music. After listening to Bernstein’s televised comments from 1958, I am more convinced than ever that people benefit from understanding the impact of racism on the history of music (and even the present).

I’m putting all these pictures
on the right because
I’m still trying to figure
out WordPress (how
it wraps around pics
for instance, ahem).

I burned an audio
CD of proust’s beginning
chapter for Eileen to fall
asleep to when
she can’t find anything else.
This is a great chapter. He talks
about falling asleep and waking up and not being sure exactly where you were in time and space. I love this chapter. It’s called “overture.”