[Hip Priest]

I read this cd review in the Telegraph's Saturday magazine this week that mentions that this is the Shostakovich centenary year (he was born in 1906), so that might explain the interest in him:

Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No 1; Violin Sonata
Ruth Palmer (violin), Alexei Grynyuk (piano), Philharmonia Orchestra, cond Benjamin Wallfisch; Quartz QTZ 2045 (CD+DVD), £13·99

One has to admire the entrepreneurial spirit of violinist Ruth Palmer. For most young musicians, a recital disc will suffice for a debut recording, but she has gone out and found the sponsorship to hire the Philharmonia and even the money to make a documentary about the music (on an accompanying DVD). And she has not chosen Mendelssohn or Bruch, but that signature work of the Shostakovich centenary year, his First Violin Concerto.

As such, Palmer immediately sets herself up against the likes of Sarah Chang (EMI), Leila Josefowicz and Daniel Hope (both Warner), all of whom have released recordings of it in recent months. But Palmer’s playing throughout is strongly characterised and, apart from a tendency to gabble in the bravura writing of the scherzo and finale, is technically accomplished.
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It does not quite have the emotional desperation of Hope’s account (my favourite among the three above), but, in collaboration with the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Benjamin Wallfisch, Palmer demonstrates commitment and assurance. As a coupling, there is also a highly wrought account of the Violin Sonata with pianist Alexei Grynyuk. Matthew Rye

On a diffferent note, the Swedish electorate have indeed made a shift to the right and deposed the socialist government. Network Europe are examining what this might mean for the Swedish welfare state.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

I went to the record store to buy something from Comrade Shostakovich but all they had were expensive box sets of all of his work. I just don't have the cash for that at the time. I looked online and found the exact same results. Ah, I'll look again.

Maybe Soulseek has something to offer.

[Hip Priest]

I had the same situation. I'm going to search the charity shops!

It's all happening in Bucharest. First a religious summit and now this:

Events and political meetings have already started in Bucharest on the eve of the 11th Francophony Summit, the biggest event of its kind ever held in Romania. The capital is prepared to host delegations representing the 710 million inhabitants of Francophone countries on 5 continents.

With the meeting of the Standing Council of Francophony, the series of events as part of the 11th Francophony Summit got under way in Romania's capital city, Bucharest, on Monday. The Summit, between September the 28th and the 29th, is this year held for the first time in a European capital other than Paris. The 63 delegations, representing 53 member states and 10 observer states, will be joined by 180 representatives of Francophone towns who on Tuesday and Wednesday will attend the General Assembly of the Francophone Mayors' Association and by a large number of delegates from important international organisations.

17,000 Romanians have been involved in the preparations for this event of an unprecedented extent here in Romania and at the same time the costliest ever: 9 million euros, plus external funding from France, Canada and Switzerland. The guests, among whom over 30 heads of State or Government, will be accommodated in Bucharest's 4 and 5 star hotels. Thousands of policemen will watch over their security and hundreds of doctors in seven hospitals will be on call. The Otopeni International Airport will see a 20% rise in flights.

To ensure the security of the official motorcades, a special lane has been created along the main thoroughfares linking the airport to the Parliament Palace which hosts the events. To help ease the traffic, school pupils and students as well as the employees in the public sector have been given three days off. Bucharest's Mayor General, Adriean Videanu, says that the city is prepared for this event both logistically and in terms of a rich Francophone cultural offer, so that the summitteers may appreciate Romania's efforts and become its friends.

“It is no easy thing to host 63 delegations, at the level of heads of state and members of the International Association of Francophone Mayors. There will be cultural events, meant to highlight both the Francophone values and the relationship between Romania and the Francophone world. At the same time, Bucharest provides a big business opportunity at present”.

The Francophony Summit will confirm, Among other things, the continuity of the Francophone tradition in Romania, thus instilling a feeling of pride in Romanians. To Bucharest Mayor Adriean Videanu, the event is also a special challenge:

“This is a challenge because the Francophony Summit is, apart from the size and importance of the event, part of the spirit of the Romanian people”.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

I'm looking forward to giving a listen tonight, after dinner.

[Hip Priest]

I'm just listening to the start of a VOice of Turkey broadcast. This is exciting because I haven't picked them up for a couple of months. Their broadcasts have this very dour, low key piano tune at the start. Weird, and a bit spooky sounding, but an old friend nonetheless.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Never pick up Voice of Turkey. South American stations have be coming in like crazy lately, Brazil has dozens of stations as it turns out. There is one on about 7995 that plays music all day long.

The fall is the best time for reception in these parts, excited about that.

[Hip Priest]

I've had a Brasillian station, but only once, and with poor reception.

There are lots of French and German-language stations but they rarely if ever broadcast in English. My main listening is East European, as you'll have gathered, but there is quite a lot of other stuff aswel.

I haven't heard Radio Tirana (Albania) for ages. I might try and find out what they're up to.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

I'd love to pick up stations from Eastern Europe, but it seems rare for me. Radio Croatia I've heard once or twice, very short reports. This was during the World Cup, they had a lot of talk about that, there is also a Russian station that comes in frequently.

Odd really, I'll be able to pick up a far off broadcast like Radio Tashkent International on a regular, but not a lot of European stations, the exception being the major German one, and Radio Netherlands (which is excellent). Radio Espana comes in often, but with terrible reception.

[!@#$%!]

i have some shostakovich cds. would be happy to share but unfortunately my internet still sucks. you can score them however out of those cd "clubs" like bmg? get your 10 "free" cds and then opt out. he heh.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

i have some shostakovich cds. would be happy to share but unfortunately my internet still sucks. you can score them however out of those cd "clubs" like bmg? get your 10 "free" cds and then opt out. he heh.

Share it when you can!

I doubt BMG has any Shostakovich. I always wanted to join those! Of course my parents would say "no! it's a scam!". I remember when they'd advertise in magazines and they'd have little stamps with the covers of the CD's you wished to order. What ever happened to those?

Oh wait, the internet.

[Hip Priest]

re Shostakovich:

This site looks fascinating (lots of documents etc): http://www.siue.edu/~aho/musov/dmitri.html

You can listen to a couple of things here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/profiles/shostakovich.shtml

[!@#$%!]

ihm.. they have three:

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/browse/artist.jhtml;jsessionid=L01HNS0M5VBDECTI0UZSFEY?pa rtyId=21549

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/product/cd_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=L01HNS0M5VBDECTI0UZSFEY ?productId=38399

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/product/cd_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=L01HNS0M5VBDECTI0UZSFEY ?productId=35773

the search is weird, try the alphabetical as the search box doesn't work well


it's not a scam if you cancel right away. you pay like $3 each per shipping.

go ahead! score! take the money and RUN.

---
ps or stick around for this "members only" item:

http://www.bmgmusic.com/catalog/prod...roductId=60608

[Hip Priest]

Thank you.

From the ever-laudable Bulgaria International:

Dark cloud in the sky

Even a single dark cloud in the sky would be enough to trigger a torrent of Bulgarian folk beliefs. If we add some rain, hails and thunderstorms, lightning and fog, a whole new mythological world will emerge to our fascination.

Bulgarian folk meteorology classifies clouds as summer and winter ones. Summer clouds herald rain and hails. Winter clouds bring snow, freezing cold and ice. The patrons of the two kinds of clouds are two saints from the Bulgarian Christianized pagan mythology. Bulgarian ancient myths recount the story of the primary division of the world between two brother saints. St. Elijah took control of summer clouds, thunder and lighting. That is why he flies above the bright skies and gathers fog and clouds to lock them into the Black Sea. Only he can decide when to unlock them to send dew or summer rainfalls to the earth. In turn winter clouds, ice and snow were controlled by the Winter saint Atanasius.

In folklore clouds are also divided into dark and bright ones. When a bright, clear cloud appeared in the sky, peasants rejoiced. They knew that such clouds would bring a penetrating rain and fertility. In folk beliefs bright clouds were inhabited by angels and by God. Unlike them dark clouds triggered fears, as they were known to bring torrential rains, floods and hails. In the contours of the dark cloud peasants saw a horrible dragon with huge wings and sword-like thick tail. When a dragon cloud overtook the village, villagers peered into the sky hoping to see an imperial eagle emerging there. They believed that the mighty bird with a cross on its back, could banish the dragon cloud away form the fields.

Folk songs are the scene of mythical battles with the dark clouds bringing the nature’s elements. The most down-to-earth version of this tale involves a dragon cloud and a village youth. The guy is brave indeed, but his valor has been fuelled by a handsome quantity of red wine. No one dares challenge him. However, a dark cloud heard about the hero and descended above the village bringing a thunderstorm and saying: “Come out good hero, for a battle.” The duel went on for three weeks. Finally, the dark cloud prevailed and dragged the young hero away. Then the youth cried for mercy and promised to pay a hefty ransom. The hero counted on support from his mother who reined over three cities. The son asked her to pledge her three cities to ransom his life. But the mother refused to give her three cities away to the dragon.

In a similar song the mother pledged her three cities to ransom her son’s life. In this version of the tale however, the son is a young dragon. This is probably a more ancient tale preceding the one centered on the human hero. More ancient layers of Bulgarian mythology exhibit the idea that winged dragons are guardians of the fields and the harvest. So, dragons would come out to fight evil dark clouds threatening to ruin the crops. Later these archetypal images of the nature’s elements were Christianized. At that point the tale transformed. The duel now involved the Christian saint Elijah and the mythical dragon. The battle ended up with the dragon’s victory. While Elijah was in his captivity, a severe draught seized the earth. It went on for three years. Then all saints gathered and read in their books how to free the saint patron of fecund rain. So they summoned the stonemasons. The masons broke the stone in which St. Elijah was being held captive. When they released him, the fine, penetrating rain began to fall, bringing rich crops of grain, pears and walnuts. The harvest would then feed new human heroes of tremendous strength – just like the hero who dared confront the dark cloud.

Natural elements have also penetrated some folk songs based on triviality. In one such song ground frost fell in early autumn and destroyed two wheat fields. The landlord was in despair, but the fields did not trouble his daughter. She felt miserable because her sweetheart had been engaged to someone else. In another song fog blanketed the peak of Karluk in the southern Bulgarian mountain Rhodope. A blond girl and a young dark-eyed shepherd were the only ones caught in the fog. They were unhappy because they were not allowed to marry. In this way the man-nature relationship finds diverse poetic expressions in Bulgarian folklore.

[Hip Priest]

At the moment I'm listening to Radio Canada International's Canada Today programme with near-perfect reception. Sleep deprivation, cycle lanes and more are on the aganda. And ice hockey, of course.

It's been a long time since I've caught RCI, so it's quite nice to listen in.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

I know, you know, Hipster, that RCI is my most favorite station.

Ideas and The Arts Tonight are the two stand out programs on RCI. Also, Between the Covers, a programs about books, perfection.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Radio Sweden came in crystan clear last night for the first time ever.

They had a humorous 'Battle of the Swedish Bond Girls" program. Nice little station there, with terrific reception. So terrific that I'm sending them a reception report.

 

Which Swedish Bond girl is your favorite?

[Glice]

I couldn't find the accursed SW radio. I have a feeling it got thrown out at the same time as some other junk. Unless it's in the loft. You know, I might have a look in the loft tomorrow. Not right now, of course, I'm in my nightgown.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Thats a shame.

Still, which Swedish Bond girl!?

[Glice]

Sorry, where are my manners?

The one on the left. Although the one on the right came close.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Yes, the one on the left is wonderful.