Wreath Interpretations (12/14/22)

Okay, this is at least the second time I’ve attended/posted about this. The 40th annual exhibit at The Arsenal (Fifth Avenue/64th Street, just inside Central Park) is on display until December 30 (with holiday closings). 

This year’s display featured 30+ wreaths (sort of). Some were traditional; some were paintings implying a wreath. Some of my favorites included Bath Sponge Bubble Wreath (nylon-net scrubbies with transparent glass ornaments) and Abundance (very pretty, using acrylic yarn and various plastic snack bags fashioned into flowers). 

One wreath was created with Mardi Gras beads—it was colorful, shiny, and fun! I also liked Measure for Measure (I’m guessing it’s a reference to Shakespeare in the Park), which used wooden rulers arranged in a spherical shape. 

Christmas Beetle – Tierra Frági had knitted yarn bugs on a knitted yarn wreath, while Spotted Lantern Wreath had a striking combination of colors and patterns referencing the summer infestation of bugs here in NYC this past summer. 

Another favorite of mine was Silent Night, which used CPAP components in a clever red-and-green wreath motif. African Jewels by the Well featured handmade clay beads, etc., on an embossed copper background, while Party Animals had top-hatted collage animals inside a wreath of discarded mylar balloons found at Rockaway Beach. (I’m not making this up, you know.) 

How to Save a Life was a rather large wreath made of discarded/expired AED pads plus an AED machine. It was an oval wreath design. Next to it was a woven-straw wreath surrounding a bottle cap. Wreaths come in all shapes and sizes. 

Be Happy was a wreath of smiley faces. A smiley face in the center with sixteen smiley faces around it with a ‘thought bubble’ for each. A little too smiley for me. 

One more of my favorites was one that featured writing implements and notebooks, erasers, binder clips, index cards, etc., all placed on a bicycle wheel. In the center was a card that said, “DREAM BIG AND DARE TO FAIL.” That said it all for me.

 Oh, some (but not all) were for sale, ranging from $75.00 to $2,800. I'm happy to glimpse them for free.

Again, the exhibit is on display until December 30, though it is closed on holidays. I’m guessing Christmas, yes; not sure about Hanukkah. If you’re in the neighborhood, it’s a fun little side trip.

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The Orchestra Now (12/11/22)

Schumann, Strauss & Sibelius

Good news, bad news. The concert was still free, and it was played very well. Alas, their usual cheat sheet (dates of composers, date of composition, premiere date, running time of each work, etc.) was not to be had. 

Schumann – Overture to Genoveva
Strauss (Richard) – Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo
Sibelius – Symphony No. 2 

From the program notes (written by orchestra members), Schumann’s opera is not often performed. The overture, though, is in the symphonic repertoire as a concert-opener, which is how it was used here. It opened quietly and then slowly built in dynamics and power. It was pleasant to listen to but I was not overwhelmed. 

Because I had to do more digging than I usually do for the most part for these concerts, I learned that the opera Intermezzo is performed. Rarely. In fact, I don’t think it’s ever been performed at NYC’s Metropolitan Opera. The four Interludes are, however, regularly excerpted. The first three were relatively subdued, with quiet endings. The fourth had a little more oomph. The second (or third—or both) featured piano and harp, and the conductor had those players stand for a solo bow during the applause for the work. 

The Sibelius symphony was in four movements. I only know this because I read the program notes. It was not listed anywhere else in the program, which I would have expected. The first movement had a three-note motif that was fairly easy to follow in its repetitions and permutations. The second was calmer and quieter. The third, referred to as a Scherzo in the program notes, was indeed lively and fun to listen to. The fourth, Finale, had a grand, sweeping theme that was repeated several times, lifting us, indeed, to a lovely finale. 

As I said, the music (conducted by Zachary Schwartzman) was great to listen to. I just wish I had a little more basic information at my fingertips. Then again, maybe they really wanted to have me focus on the music. At any rate, I enjoyed the concert, and I look forward to The Orchestra Now’s return to Symphony Space in the spring.

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Across a Crowded Room (11/19/22)

Okay, this is at least my second iteration of this event. If memory serves, this is essentially a summer writing series. The participants—composers, lyricists, book writers—are paired together randomly at the beginning of the writing seminar. Across a crowded room. The result should be a twenty-minute musical theater presentation—either a self-contained snippet, or part of a larger work—to be shown at the 11/19/22 performance I attended. 

First off, I had a blast watching nine separate snippets. Were they all hits? No. Were there any clunkers? No. This year’s chore was to adapt a work in the public domain that was also in the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. This criterion was (mostly) met. 

With nine works on display, I will not cover all of them (with myriad writers/composers/performers, etc.). 

Sing a Song of Six Pants was a riff on a Three Stooges episode, here with Mary, Mo, and Curly, all female. An all-female piece followed: It Ain’t Over ’Til the Bat Lady Sings. Trifles followed, which was slightly operatic (except for the men’s duet). Tomorrow was next, with a take on a Frances Hodgson Burnett short story/play, again with an all-female cast. The fifth work was based on a James Barrie play, The 12-Pound Look. It was one of my favorites. The sixth was also based on James Barrie—The Admirable Crichton. Is This Who We Are as Beavers? was a throwback to high school high-jinks. 

And now. A very-long-titled piece decided to throw operetta on its ear. Messrs. Christenfeld and Grunin present an operretic mistake in one act entitled "DOWN WITHTHE SCRIPT!": a musical fantasia on the most unfortunate death of  Mr. Justus Miles Forman aboard the RMS Lusitania. (I’m not making this up, you know.) This was hands-down the crowd pleaser. It had blue cloth representing the rising water—ankles. knees, waist, thorax, and finally … glub, glub. Funny stuff, with funny music. 

A ninth piece followed, but it was pretty much anti-climactic. 

All in all, I had a great time exploring new writing from new pairings of writers/composers/lyricists. This is something I will definitely seek out again.

Interestingly, there was also feedback from a panel of theater insiders. I agreed with almost every one of their comments.

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Chaplin at Essanay (11/12/22)

His New Job (1915); By the Sea (1915); The Bank (1915); Police (1916) 

Four Charlie Chaplin films at Essanay Studios 

What is Essanay, you ask? (Kudos to Steve Massa.) In 1907, George K. Spoor and Gilbert Anderson were the “S” and “A” of Essanay. 

Oddly, His New Job was Chaplin’s first job at Essanay. He was experimenting with his ‘Tramp’ character. He was a wannabe actor being hired for his first film role. 

By the Sea showed Chaplin in an outdoor setting (in California, as opposed to filming in Chicago for His New Job.) The open air of California added a lot of comedy. 

The Bank offered a few more slapstick offerings—including figuring out the combinations and machinations of the vault inside the bank. There was some funny stuff there, more than once. 

Police adds a bit of intrigue. Instead of just regular slapstick, a little bit of subterfuge is added in. 

This was an interesting look at Chaplin’s growth of his Little Tramp character. Not just as he changed, but as he grew the characterization. There was plenty of humor and slapstick but growth, as well.

As always, Ben Model provided pitch-perfect improvised piano scores to all four films. As added commentary from the stage by Steve Massa, Gloria Swanson was in the background of the first film shown. Apparently, Miss Swanson denied ever being in a Charlie Chaplin film. You decide.

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Joseph Jones; Telemann’s Bassoon (11/10/22)

Joseph Jones ~ bassoon; Serafim Smigelskiy ~ violoncello; Robert Warner ~ harpsichord 

Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in C Major – J.F. Fasch (1688–1758)
Largo ~ Allegro ~ Andante ~ Allegro assai
Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in G minor – J.B. de Boismortier (1689–1755)
Allemande ~ Aria ~ Adagio ~ Giga
Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in E minor – J.E. Galliard (1687–1747)
Allegro−Adagio e Staccato−Adagio ~ Allemande ~ Corrente ~ Tempo di Menuet
Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in F minor – G.P. Telemann (1681-1767)
Triste ~ Allegro ~ Andante ~ Vivace 

What does this even mean? Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo? Well, the bassoon is the soloist, supported by continuo (usually a keyboard instrument—here, a harpsichord). But ‘continuo’ can also encompass another instrument—here, a cello. 

That said, in most of these works, the cello was pretty much an equal partner with the bassoon. The bassoon is a fun instrument. It makes those slightly squeaky, burping sounds you hear in an orchestra. But it can be a little more smoother and fun, as was heard in this concert. 

That said, these four Sonatas were very similar in overall sound and interest. The Telemann had movements that were slightly longer than the other three. And the third movement of the Telemann ended surprisingly, which led into the fourth movement. 

Since the Sonatas were so similar, the movements were (without overly repeating myself): Gentle; Bright; Slower; Brisk; Dance-like; Leaning toward mournful. Notably, one movement opened with a harpsichord cello duet, which was a nice change of pace. Well, the rest of my notes are pretty much repeats. 

You’ll notice that I often say dance-like. That’s because the composers use dance terms as movement names—Allemande, Giga, Corrente, Menuet. Yes, there is a mish-mash.  Corrente = courante, corrente, coranto and corant are some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) Allemande = An allemande (allemanda, almain(e), or alman(d), French: "German (dance)") is a Renaissance and Baroque dance, and one of the most common instrumental dance styles in Baroque music, with examples by Couperin, Purcell, Bach and Handel. It is often the first movement of a Baroque suite of dances, paired with a subsequent courante … (thank you, Wikipedia). I think Menuet speaks for itself discounting a rather ‘blue’ joke? 

Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the concert and learned a little about composers I’d never heard of before.

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Canstruction NYC 2022 (11/9/22)

 I really CAN’t help myself; I’m reporting as CANcertmeister. 

Canstruction is a fun, friendly competition using unopened cans of food to construct interesting sculptures. The exhibition is on display at Brookfield Place (their website is helpful and informative) in lower Manhattan until Nov. 14, from 10a–8p. I have seen this before, and in fact I was more impressed on my first viewing than I was today, probably because of the novelty of it the first time around for me. 

That said, this is NYC’s 30th iteration. Here’s the deal. Teams get together to prepare sculptures. They use unopened cans of food. At the end of the event, everything is dismantled, and every can of food is donated to City Harvest. 

My only complaint is that there was incomplete signage. I’m pretty sure I saw 15 of the 20 entries, but I just couldn’t find the other five. I asked about a handout that might have served as a map; no deal. I later learned that I could use a QR code as a guide. Nope. They don’t know Luddite ’Meister. (Also, the volunteer on duty when I arrived didn’t even offer that option.) Okay, off my complaint soapbox. 

I’m going to try to add a photo of my favorite: PumpCAN Pi. Three others that caught my eye, and my poorly used tablet camera, were: An UnCANny Hot-Air Balloon; May the Food Be with You; and A Meal Fit for a King. I will try to post those photos on Facebook—I’m Uncke David. 

There were literally thousands and thousands of cans of food on display (sometimes thousands in a single sculpture). They also request a donation of a can of food (which I did—tomato soup). Will I go again next year? Most likely, yes. 

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Open House New York 2022 – Day Two (10/23/22)

Here’s my official list: Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (11:00am tour); Lotus Garden (1pm); St. Michael’s Church (1pm–4:30pm); 1014 Fifth Ave. (4pm tour.)

The 11am tour was not a tour (and I was not the only one who asked about it). It was a very interesting 17-minute video about the history of the building in Central Park and the history of marionette performances in NYC from the ’40s and ’50s through to today. After the video, I asked about the scenery on display for a later performance in the afternoon. It was for (if I’m remembering correctly) “Waking Daisy”, an updated version of “Sleeping Beauty”. And, apparently, there is still a puppet-mobile that wends its way through the five boroughs offering free marionette performances.

Lotus Garden is a community garden atop a parking garage at Broadway and 97th Street. Even though OHNY was scheduled for 1pm, I managed to sneak into an early walk-through-talk-through before the rain sprinkles started to interfere. The OHNY gardener who was a part of this particular community garden was incredibly knowledgeable and gave us insights on the garden and her garden associates, even if she disagreed with their particular choices. It was great to hear perspectives about a joint venture.

My next stop (after a break for a beer at Dive Bar, since I was ahead of schedule and it was drizzling) was St. Michael’s Episcopal Church at 255 W. 99th Street. I know this venue very well, since I’ve heard multiple concerts there in the past. The self-guided tour was great, featuring a lot of history about the stained-glass windows. Many were Tiffany (and this was the third building on this particular site of land). One was of St. Faith, the second stained-glass window of St. Faith I saw in two days. They were very different. Even though today was a gray, drizzly day, I have seen most of these stained-glass windows in their full, sunny glory.

My final 2022 OHNY visit was 1014 Fifth Avenue. It has a history dating back to 1906; a six-story townhouse (one of twins, alas, one was demolished) that is squeezed in, mid-block (83rd/84th?), amid the newer co-ops that replaced many of the mansions on upper Fifth Avenue. After years as a private townhouse, for years it was the Goethe-Institut. It no longer is, but the building is still owned by the German government. And even though it’s going through a third/fourth renovation, it will still be a link between Germany and NY/USA, as it will host exhibits/lectures/performances when the renovation is completed.

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