I’m going to just say it, Diana Damrau, both in terms of voice and acting portrayal, is the single best Queen of the Night in history. I don’t care what anyone else says. Her “Der Hölle Rache” is flawless. I mean, absolutely, cannot-be-improved-upon-in-your-face perfect. It starts at 2:09 into the video if you want to…
Reuters just published an awesome article about songwriter Franke Previte, who lives in New Jersey, and wrote the hit songs “Time of My Life” and “Hungry Eyes” for the movie Dirty Dancing. The copyrights have turned out to be a lottery ticket for the composer, providing him with a substantial stream of profits upon which…
Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina by Il. Padre G. B. Martini One of my all time favorite pieces of music is Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina (translation: Lord, My God, Assist Me Now), by Il. Padre G. B. Martini, or Giovannia Battista Martini, who lived from 1706-1784 and was a mentor to Mozart. Personally, I…
From the time I was a kid and had only a few thousand dollars in the bank, I have wanted a Bosendorfer Strauss model grand piano, probably in a 7 foot size (which is comparable to a Steinway & Sons Model B semi-concert grand). Yet, the list price is $111,080 plus you’d be looking at sales tax of roughly $8,331 for a grand total of $119,411. The time value of money opportunity cost of buying a Bosendorfer Strauss grand piano, then is enormous.
