Happy New Year

Tonight's sparring

Today's Graffito

It's in the book!

The Gerard Hoffnung post of December 7 has put me in mind of this by Johnny Standley, offered here for your enjoyment.

Young Szell

I recently picked up this record of George Szell conducting the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 1951. It's quite different from the Szell recordings that I have with the Cleveland Orchestra and of my memories of him conducting at Severance Hall. The lyricism is still there, but it's lighter and  more athletic. Think of a Bach Brandenburg concerto being conducted by Christopher Hogwood v. Herbert von Karajan. 

Rim shot

Today's blizzard.

Recalling Hoffnung

Yesterday evening I went down to the woodshed to resupply my stock in the house. The usual gang of deer were in the yard, ignoring me and munching on twigs. 

When I arrived at the shed, I startled a doe who had wandered in searching for hay. It's a pretty tight entrance so she bowled me over and crashed into the fencing around the chicken yard. This sent her bouncing back into me. She responded by running back into the fencing with the same results. The third try was the charm and she ran off with her friends unharmed.

I'm very glad that it was a doe and not a buck, the fencing has been repaired, and I am resisting the urge to compose a song about the experience called "Kevin got run over by a mule deer".

The episode did bring to mind this by Gerard Hoffnung, which I share here for your enjoyment.

This evening's listening

Gustave Holst "The Planets" 

Yes "Close to the Edge"

Sometimes ya just need something big.

Kilroy was here

 One of what is now an irregular series of irregular bread posts.