Saturday, 6 September 2008

CD: Classical review: Schoenberg: String Quartet No 2; Webern: Langsamer Satz; Berg: Die Geheime Gesangstimme, Sch�fer/Petersen Quartet

This is a rummy disc in some slipway, even though the Petersen Quartet are a fine young supporting players and soprano Christine Sch�fer is a hugely experienced interpreter of the music of the Second Viennese school. Their performance together of Schoenberg's Second Quartet is a model of musicality, even if the voice is set a bit also far forth in the recorded balance and Sch�fer's delivery of the two settings of Stefan George texts verges on sprechgesang at times. The Petersens also make an first-class job of Webern's early string quartette movement, composed while he was a pupil of Schoenberg, and still peeling the trappings of recent romanticism.












But Alban Berg's contribution to this phonograph record is much more problematical. Die Geheime Gestimme is the title given here to the last movement of Berg's Lyric Suite, whose suppressed text, a setting of George's translation of Baudelaire's poem De Profundis Clamavi, was only discovered half a hundred after the composer's death. It is debatable whether the composer ever envisaged its being sung in a performance of the quartet, or whether its inclusion in one copy of the score was just some other strand in the web of allusions that branch through his works. Whatever the truth, it is hard to believe that he ever so imagined it would be sung as a self-contained piece, as it is here. Including just the final motion of the Lyric Suite makes even less sense when the running time of the disc is under 45 minutes, and the whole work, fifty-fifty the two alternative versions of the finale, could have easily been accommodated. The sleeve notes are shoddy and their English translation is poor - Berg's work becomes the "Lyrical Suit".







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Thursday, 28 August 2008

Katie dips toe into fashion design

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Entertainment Headlines

� Eva Longoriahttp://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/'s baby desperation

� Eastwood filming All Black movie

� Pamela Anderson geological dating a imperial - account

� Madonna turns 50 (+photos, video)

� Review: Our Street in Auckland

� William Shatner signs off on new television autographs

� Siennahttp://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/'s mum defends daughterhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/http://www.stuff.co.nz/'s kinship

� Batman star escapes charges in household row

� DMX arrested after missing

Monday, 18 August 2008

Baywatch - Baywatch Babes Fury At Dress Sale Lie

LATEST: Former BAYWATCH beauty DONNA D'ERRICO has goddamned reports she is selling her wedding party dress on eBay - because she gave it away years ago.

The actress hit out after an online account claimed she had pose mementoes from her marriage to Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx up for auction.

It was claimed the items included a keyring once owned by the rocker, a trinket box containing 11 of his guitar picks, and a personalised Christmas ornament.

But D'Errico, who split from Sixx in April 2006, insists she is not behind the cut-rate sale on eBay - because she cleared out the items ages ago.

She says, "I am not selling anything. The items presently listed on eBay ar things I had tending away some time ago."





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Friday, 8 August 2008

Conor Furlong - Eternal

Anyone can buoy release a record these days. The bedroom-based artist is the biggest success out of advancing engineering over the last decade, and Dubliner Conor Furlong has been keen to take advantage.


Entirely written, arranged performed and produced by the emergent songwriter, Furlong even took the clip to burn the CD-R promo copies of debut album 'Eternal'. In all parts of his career, the hands-on approach has clearly been adopted.


Such allegiance to his cause is commendable, in time such solely performed and produced albums always fix alarm bells ringing. You're either about to hear a work of nonsensical genius, or one which is in need of bringing more cooks to the broth.


And when the final cut from 'Eternal' robert Burns out, you're left leaning towards the latter. Fresh ears could only have got benefited this, a debut which, though pointing to some future potential, operates almost exclusively in one gear.


Air, the folk-electronica of excellent British artist Merz and Moby circa 'Play' are all evident here. Having begun his carer in music as an acoustic guitar-carrying singer-songwriter, Furlong has stirred more toward electronica-based material, bathing his debut in lush, classically influenced delicate beats and synths, all combed over with a tender monotoned vocal.


Like much of Moby's 'Play' (particularly the running 'Porcelain') Furlong's dabbles in electronica receive a spacy, chilled-out, brave new universe quality to them, throwing up images of Ibiza comedowns at dawn.


The difficulty, however, is that many of the songs ('The Astronaut', 'I'm In Love with Girls Aloud') sound foetal and uncompleted. Certainly there's not enough going on to sustain interest and as each track bleeds into the next, the lack of variety grates.


Saying that, Furlong has an ear for melody, and when he meshes his new love for electronica with his folkier roots, he begins to stumble paydirt. Seven songs in, 'So, You Think That You're A Star' is head and shoulders above anything else here; Furlong's vocal sounding more inside the song, more division of the material, rather than working over it.


'World That I Dream Of' too shows a outspoken move forrard, but a lack of imagination to the melodic landscape returns to queer. 'Until the Stars Burn Me Out' rectifies this somewhat, simply by this stage we've heard the same thing seven or eight times.


There's enough here to stylemark Furlong as one to watch over the coming years, just for now he may require a bigger bedroom with some cohorts in tow.


Steve Cummins





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Tuesday, 1 July 2008

Amy Winehouse punches crowd member

It appears the media love Amy Winehouse but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of being praised for her stunning voice, the singer is forever being exposed for her excessive drug use and irresponsible behaviour in public.
The latest incident has occurred at a concert in Somerset where she appeared to throw a punch at a member of the audience at the end of her Glastonbury Festival set, police said.
Winehouse was seen climbing down to the pit in front of the Pyramid stage, to meet fans where she then scuffled with an audience member mid-song.
It was unclear what sparked the altercation at the large music festival in southern England but what was clear was that something definitely roused the singer in front of the 80,000 fans.
But despite the rambling banter between songs about her husband being released from jail in 2 weeks, Winehouse, dressed in a blue sequin dress seemed to show no ill effects from her early week diagnosis of emphysema.
Performing for an hour, she sang all her hits including �Tears Drying On Their Own�, �Back To Black� and �You Know I'm No Good�.
Founder Michael Eavis told the BBC Winehouse had appeared to lash out after being touched by a fan.
No complaints of assault were about the incident and a spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police has stated there would be no investigation.

Thursday, 19 June 2008

Springer Break in Bev Hills

Mr. Chow isn't exactly toothless, crossdressing hick central -- but that doesn't mean the people stuffing their faces inside the ritzy restaurant don't love themselves a little Jerry Springer.
Jerry Springer: Click to watch





See Also

Monday, 9 June 2008

Blossom

Blossom   
Artist: Blossom

   Genre(s): 
Techno
   Other
   



Discography:


Just A Dream (Maxi Single)   
 Just A Dream (Maxi Single)

   Year: 1998   
Tracks: 4


Heartbeat   
 Heartbeat

   Year: 1996   
Tracks: 15


Heart To Heart (Maxi Single)   
 Heart To Heart (Maxi Single)

   Year: 1996   
Tracks: 3




 





Aggie is booted off Dancing on Ice