I am now half a century old. The birthday passed rather uneventfully in May, but between managing a used record sale at TPR, browsing some estate sales, and dealing with the death of a family member, I’ve become more aware of the passing of time than ever before. Maybe that helped me decide to re-join a gym and continue the occasional 5K and 10K races this year. But what else filled my hours in 2023? Read on, for ten highlights.
Miley: During the height of the pandemic in 2020, I was occasionally accompanied on walks through our neighborhood by a friendly stray cat. The little orange tabby would nuzzle up against my hand if I stopped to sit for a moment or two, then follow along for half a block before running off in another direction.
We would continue seeing the cat around the neighborhood, and when it became clear that kitty belonged to no one, we started feeding it in January. That led to an introduction to the house, which led to buying more cat food, which led to a litterbox, which led to cat toys, which led to us adopting the cat. Miley spends most of her time in our house now, but still enjoys roaming the neighborhood for a few hours each day. Miley is the best thing that’s happened to us all year.
Yuja Wang, “The American Project”: My favorite “classical” album of the year, the centerpiece of Yuja Wang’s “The American Project” is a new piano concerto by Teddy Abrams that dares you not to smile throughout as orchestra and soloist lead one another around corners opening one musical Jack-in-the-box after another of jazz, rock, Hollywood razzmatazz, Latin grooves and classical piano that all come crashing together. Yuja Wang and the Louisville Symphony are working up a sweat and having a blast while doing it. The concerto is paired on the recording with a shorter work by Michael Tilson Thomas that also crosses musical boundaries. I listened to the album at least five times over the course of one week in March.
Carmen: For years, I wanted to add Carlos Saura’s flamenco dance version of “Carmen” to our TPR Cinema Tuesdays series, but until 2023, had no source for a legitimate digital print. Heck, even the Criterion Collection’s Eclipse series DVD of the film has been out of print for years! So when I finally discovered a French distributor has rights to the film, I reached out and was delighted to find we could download a DCP print of the movie for screening.
The movie loosely follows the novel “Carmen” by Prosper Mérimée, and uses music from the Georges Bizet opera. Seeing “Carmen” for the first time, and on the big screen no less, was a transcendent experience. The dance numbers in this film elevated me to another place, especially the confrontational “tobacco factory” dance number. Big thanks to the technical team at Santikos for their help in making this happen!
Touring the Norman Petty studios: Our family vacation this summer took us to the Palo Duro Canyon for the first time, where we hiked the Lighthouse Trail, and then into Clovis, New Mexico where we made a pilgrimage to the Norman Petty Recording Studio, where Buddy Holly recorded his biggest hit records, including “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” and “Oh Boy!” I got to try out several vintage instruments, including the original piano that has been at the studio since the 1950s, the celeste that was used on Buddy Holly’s “Everyday,” and the Univox keyboard that lent its distinctive sound to “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs. Our hosts on the private tour were Kenneth Broad, now 90, who has been caretaker of the space since Norman Petty’s death in 1984, and Maryline Bigham, widow of David Bigham, who sang on some of Holly’s records as a member of the trio The Roses. Buddy Holly’s influence on the sound and style of rock bands cannot be understated, and this was an amazing experience full of history. If you’d ever like to visit, find contact information at this link.
Barbenheimer: We came, we saw, we Barbenheimered. First, there was the IMAX showing of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” on Friday, followed by “Barbie” on Saturday. I think that was the right choice. And I stand by my initial assessment—the movie that I’d want to see again immediately is “Barbie,” but the lingering unease of “Oppenheimer” is staying in my mind longer, as a warning for the future. The film is a reminder that once the nuclear genie was let out of the bottle, the possibility of mutually-assured destruction will remain with us, forever.
YOSA presents Music From The Movies: Have you seen YOSA in concert? These high school student musicians play at an amazingly high level, and with music director Troy Peters, program an amazing variety of orchestral music at their concerts throughout the year, often collaborating with other arts organizations or musicians outside of the “classical” world. In October, YOSA performed a concert of all movie music, and so you know I had to be there! Camerata San Antonio joined the orchestra to rock a thrilling performance of “Urban Legends,” music by Michael Abels from the film “Nope.” And when YOSA played a suite of music by Bernard Herrmann from “Vertigo,” I actually shed a tear, it was so beautiful. Bravo!!
Performing "Clapping Music" at SOLI Open Mic: Each year, Texas Public Radio collaborates with SOLI Chamber Ensemble to produce an Open Mic event that celebrates performance of contemporary classical music (here defined as having been written after 1970). Along with emceeing the event, I exercise my feeble skills each year to play a piece, usually by Philip Glass. But this year, I finally convinced my daughter Samantha to join me, and we performed a piece that requires no instruments at all – Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music.”
In “Clapping Music,” two performers clap a pattern in unison, and then every six measures, one performer adjusts their pattern by one beat, so that the patterns slowly go out of sync and then come back together. It’s pretty tricky, and we got off the beat a couple of times, but we got through it, which is the whole spirit of this amateur event. Maybe you’d like to join us next year? Watch for your chance to sign up in October, 2024!
Killers of the Flower Moon: I watch a lot of movies every year, but most of them are older; of the 20 or so new movies I got to the theater to see, I think Martin Scorsese’s historical epic about the early 20th century cheating and killing of the Osage Nation for their oil rights may be my favorite. The period detail was amazing, Robbie Robertson’s score was modern yet evocative of the place and time, and the performances were top notch, especially Lily Gladstone as the beating heart of the movie and Leonardo DiCaprio as her dim-witted husband who’s trying to snuff that heart out. This was a three and a half hour movie that never felt long.
Stanisław Serafin, 1940-2023: On November 29 my father-in-law, Stanisław Serafin, passed away. Stan earned respect through actions of love. His love amplified everyone else’s—he had a love for God, family, people, pets, and for the world around us. Stan was most at home working in the garden to make the world more beautiful. I do not have even one hundredth of his botanical skill, but there were a few times when he saw and approved of my meager efforts in our own yard, which made me proud. I hope you’ll take this away from his life, to express boundless love that inspires good work, and will make somebody proud. Read his full obituary here.
National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards: Back in February, I produced a five-part series on KPAC 88.3 FM that explored the many ways in which Duke Ellington’s music crossed over between the worlds of classical and jazz. I submitted it to the Los Angeles Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, and was thrilled to be nominated, and overjoyed to win a first place radio award for the series, in the category of Diversity in the Entertainment Industry. The judges’ comment: “The multi-part series about the music evolution of legendary Duke Ellington is a fascinating, well-told radio broadcast that enlightens the listener with some of his little-known history.” I hope you’ll give it a listen!
Other things I enjoyed this year included Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan’s performances in “Maestro,” the amazing thrill of watching Tom Cruise do what he does best in the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie, seeing “Annie” onstage at the Majestic Theatre, visiting Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi for the first time, Sony Classical's amazing box set of Carlos Chávez recordings, hearing pianist Ellen Foreman give her senior recital at TPR, and interviewing one of my favorite Texas photographers, Kat Swansey. Finally, I want to share this amazing video of Les Claypool and Adrian Belew covering a classic King Crimson song, “Thela Hun Ginjeet.” Look at that smile on Belew's face!!! Whenever I needed a pick-me-up this year I would watch this.
What did you enjoy in 2023? Drop me a line through email anytime.
