La forza del destino

'Abbado's land cascades down a steep slope into the Mediterranean, and you have to negotiate a series of crazily angled wooden walkways, designed by him, to get to his beach and the pier for his yacht' - Tom Service in today's Guardian.

'He was actively interested in politics, particularly in Italy. He organized a concert at La Scala to oppose the Italian Fascist Party prior to an election. Eventually he became aligned—in the minds of journalists in particular—with the Italian Communist Party, even though he was never a party member'- biography of Claudio Abbado (seen above) on eNotes.com
Stockhausen, chaotic music and communism here.
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Happy birthday to the paradoxical Dalai Lama

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David Munrow - more than early music

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'David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London transformed our view of medieval music. The impact of their performances far surparssed any that had gone before: by demonstrating how medieval music could sound normal, they created a niche for it in the concert hall and on record that it has never lost' ~ From Daniel Leech-Wilkinson's notes for Music of the Gothic era May 15 2007 is the thirty-first anniversary of the death of David Munrow. His contribution to the acceptance, understanding and performance of early music almost defies summary. He was born in 1942, and learnt the bassoon and recorder as a child. Between school and university he travelled and taught in South America , and started the collection of ethnic instruments that were to give him, and the world, a new perspective on early music making. He read English at Pembroke College , Cambridge, and was encouraged by Thurston Dart to take an active role in the music-making of that most musical of cities. ...
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