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Finished the Pessl. It took quite a swerve towards the end. Nearly done with Chromos by Felipe Alfau. He only wrote two novels (the other one was Locos, which I haven't read). This is the second time around for me with Chromos. It's a little bit postmodern in the sense of one story leading to another to another (like some of the works of Calvino or John Barth). Like most postmodern fiction, there isn't a lot of emotional connection, at least for me. This weekend I think I'll tackle Hotel Savoy by Joseph Roth. I'm also making decent headway on Cities of the Plain by Proust.

The Vancouver Symphony has been growing on me. It's not quite where it should be for a city this size, but it is definitely moving in the right direction. I have seen some quite nice concerts. However, I will be moving shortly and will probably not make any of the events next season. I think the only concert where I would go out of my way to come back (if it could be paired with a work trip or something) is James Gaffigan leading the VSO in Shostakovich Symphony 7. Also featuring Philippe Quint in Mozart Violin Concerto #4. I should be able to pick up a Toronto Symphony brochure next week to see what looks interesting. Not sure how interesting it is but Yo-Yo Ma is going to be doing Elgar's Cello Concerto at both TSO and VSO in this upcoming season. I might go, depending on whether there are another other concerts to make it worth my while to subscribe. It looks like a few things of interest here and there at the TSO. Perhaps the most unusual aspect about it is that they are doing quite a few Nielsen Symphonies (3 by my count and apparently all paired with a Beethoven Piano Concerto for some reason). I'll have to decide how many of these to squeeze in.

I caught these guys very briefly on my last trip to NYC. I really should have stayed another 5-10 minutes to pick up their CD, which I presume was the two of them as a kora duo, but I was feeling particularly rushed. Well, I'll see if lighting strikes twice on my next trip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWBrchn09yY

Just read Michel Tremblay's Stories for Late Night Drinkers, which is a very early work of his. Rather than being an investigation of working-class Montreal (like most of his later novels and plays), these are short, fantastic fables sort of in line with the unsanitized version of the Grimm fairy tales. They're ok, but I think his other work is better. I've checked out The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant, which I hope to get to by the end of the month. I'm about halfway through two novels: Molly Keane's The Rising Tide and Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Calamity Physics started off pretty strong, but it's dragging on me as I find myself losing interest in the main character and her travails (being in high school and trying to fit in with the popular crowd and dealing with this film teacher who has sort of adopted them all). Maybe the problem is that as the teacher's life begins spiraling out of control, the whole book is getting just too melodramatic, though maybe that is appropriate after all, since almost nothing is as dramatic as teenagers and their status games.

But there's a very good Vancouver jazz scene. Even at this distance I know about Cory Weeds and club dates like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsBApFh2f9E The Cellar Door has shut down. Cory may return with a different venue down the road. It's a matter of perspective, but I don't consider Vancouver to have a good jazz scene, certainly not a thriving one.

Probably a tie between Sonny Rollins and Vijay Iyer at 5-6 times, then Dave Brubeck and Rudresh Mahanthapa at 4 or so times. Von Freeman is somewhere in the mix between 4-6 times. Joshua Redman 4 times (twice with the SF Jazz Collective). I've probably seen Jason Moran 3 or so times, but once was as a sideman. I don't keep great records on this, and I also don't go out nearly as much as I used to. And virtually no one tours Vancouver.

I'm almost certain that I have this as well, but the Brilliant version sans the DVD.

Judge Dee and the case of the giant carrots? I'm sure it's a mandrake root, but why it wants to steal a pearl is a bit obscure to me.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. This was a fun book. I read it in a day and a half. I think the best way to think about it is DaVinci's Code if it was tackled by a group of programmers from Google. Certainly some implausibilities, particularly towards the end, but still entertaining. Now I am in the middle of Lee Siegel's Love in a Dead Language, which is one of those convoluted postmodern books (think John Barth) with the footnotes disagreeing with the main text. It's droll, but not as fun as Penumbra. Still, both of them beat the snot out of Proust for pure entertainment.

I saw the Emerson String Quartet last night. This is their first tour since replacing the long-time cellist with Paul Watkins. They played Mozart, Bartok and Beethoven quartets, with a very nice minuet? from Haydn as the encore. It was a fine concert, though my favorite time seeing them was several years back in Chicago when they played Dvorak's 12th quartet.

I borrowed them and sort of skimmed them. I basically agree with the reviews that the first 3 sets are pretty good and the last one goes downhill pretty fast. Partly because some of the events in the downfall of Widmerpool just seem ludicrous when put on screen, but more critically some of the actors involved were replaced between these series. At least that's what I recall.

Do you mean you "got" a physical copy, or you got in on the pre-order price? I almost pre-ordered a copy and am kicking myself a bit. On the other hand, sometimes Amazon just cancels pre-orders in these cases where the price and availability change radically. But not always... I bought one from amazon.it when the price dropped in mid December (paid € 48.43 on Dec. 17 and had it delivered a few days after x-mas). amazon.it says it will ship in between 10 and 13 days from now ... not sure what that means, but it used to say "not available" unti recently, so I assume it will be back: http://www.amazon.it/French-Music-Ansermet/dp/B00DT2322E/ prestoclassical has a highter price but has it in stock right now: http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Decca/4807898 So for those following this set, Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk say it will be back in stock towards the end of Feb. and they are processing orders for the Ansermet again. Pricing seems fairly comparable between the two site, so not really worth cancelling my order and shifting it over. I do wonder if that jerk seller trying to sell it for 300 pounds got any response (or a response fit for publication).

I think we discussed Powell a few years back. I think it's unlikely I will read Dance again, but if I did I would stick to books 1-9. I did find them enjoyable and they moved fairly quickly. I am still slogging through Proust (very close to the halfway mark for the entire series) and I just don't think it lives up to the hype. The rewards are so miniscule compared to the effort. I do want to finish, however, and then will never crack this open again (so the volumes will be donated somewhere).

Quite a rant, but one that I find deeply misguided. And one that makes me completely uninterested in ever looking into Robin Holloway.

I'm a big fan of Shostakovich, particularly the string quartets and the later symphonies. I also have a soft spot for the violin and cello concertos. I imagine I'll like Weinberg, as I get to know his work.

The last pieces by Mieczyslaw Weinberg fit into this timeframe. I wouldn't say I am terribly familiar with his work. Pacifica String Quartet put his 6th String Quartet on one of the sets in their complete Shostakovich string quartet cycle (definitely worth seeking out). I believe Naxos has a complete or nearly complete set of the Weinberg string quartets, but I haven't gone through them. I'll try to get to this over the spring. In any event, I saw a review of an interesting concert in Chicago where Gidon Kremer led the Concertino for Orchestra and Weinberg's 10th Symphony. Obviously, that has come and gone, but Kremer is putting out a 2 CD set of Weinberg's works on the ECM label. It's a bit pricey, so I'll wait to see if it comes down, but this definitely looks of interest to me: http://www.amazon.com/Mieczyslaw-Weinberg-Gidon-Kremer/dp/B00GY6Z3LA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391880448&sr=8-2&keywords=Gidon+Kremer It seems Kremer performs fairly regularly in Chicago, though I can't recall catching him. He may perform semi-regularly in Montreal, and indeed will play a couple of concerts next weekend. He only seems to come to Toronto every 3 or 4 years. He's scheduled to play Jan 2015, so I'll try to put a note in my calendar for that.

So I was already pretty excited about scoring the JH version of the 5th (from Archipel) and Larry has just raised the stakes. I am fairly sure I have the Szell, but will check tonight. I should also have the Ashkenazy, but I haven't listened to it in a long while. I don't believe I have Levine, so I will keep an eye out. I do have Leinsdorf and Ozawa versions, which I was actually working my way through at work. So a lot to choose from.

Is this a new one? I will have to check it out.

I know that globalization only works for the rich, but it does strike me that what is being imposed on regular customers is not only against the spirit but possibly the letter of NAFTA, GATT, Trans-Pacific Partnership, etc. I mean these are shitty deals for citizens no doubt, but to be squeezed out from any benefits accruing from them (like being able to benefit from small-scale international shipping) just rankles.

Believe me, not disparaging that set, but I do have a lot of Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and even Sibelius. (I've just never been able to get into Bruckner, Mahler or Wagner, though I have them fairly well represented as well.) I'm making a conscious effort to go through the last few sets I ordered to make sure I have listened to everything at least once. This means a fair bit of Isaac Stern and some David Oistrakh. Not such a terrible fate I guess...

holy smokes! that's insane! how awful. You want insane, the price of "international" shipping to Canada is the same as to Europe. Tell me that's fair when it's being trucked up from Seattle or Buffalo or some such place. It used to be $1 more than domestic shipping. Capitalism works .... for the rich. Seriously. NAFTA This, MF'ers. Oddly enough, the flip side is that if you are a Canadian seller (on Amazon.ca) and you (perhaps accidentally) say that you will ship to the States, then the amount Amazon.ca will reimburse you will come fairly close to covering mailing a CD but nowhere near the cost of mailing a book or DVD. I had to stop offering to ship to the States unless it was just a single CD. I can't even make it work for a CD box set.

holy smokes! that's insane! how awful. You want insane, the price of "international" shipping to Canada is the same as to Europe. Tell me that's fair when it's being trucked up from Seattle or Buffalo or some such place. It used to be $1 more than domestic shipping.

I hear that. The number of CDs that I have upgraded just for sonics alone can be counted on approximately one hand (I did get a few Monk and Mingus sets that had duplicates but also filled gaps and supposedly had better sonics). Now I have been tempted more often for bonus tracks, and of these SHM releases, the only ones I am seriously considering are the ones with bonus tracks. I'm sure some people see this perpetual upgrading/enhancement as a good thing, but I just see it as a deadweight. The dead hand of the past and all that. I hear all these upbeat stories about how jazz is more vibrant than ever, etc., etc., and then I see where are companies putting their marketing dollars (presumably matching what is actually selling) and I despair. Ok, ECM and some of the smaller labels are still putting out new product and, less frequently, new artists, but the majors, no way. Well, I could go on, but really what's the point...

I have to say I think I am through collecting the war horses (maybe I just mean the chestnuts), even when done by great conductors. I basically am only going after sets if there is something quite distinctively different (like a lot of the French repertoire which I don't have, or Russians other than Tchaikovsky). I'm sure this really is a great set, but I'm just not going to get around to most of it. However, I will admit that I was intrigued by the Prokofiev 5. I was pretty thrilled to find what should be the performance on this box paired with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto on this CD from Archipel: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005IMZGUO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hmm -- it sounds like something I would like. Maybe I should read it in conjunction with reading (or rereading) some Flann O'Brien novels. But probably not in 2014...