Nationalism and music


'Nationalism is the chief force impelling our civilisation to its doom' - Bertrand Russell
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Comments

billoo said…
too right, bob...sickness and unreason, i think Nietzsche called it.

best,

b.
11:49 pm
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Untold story of the counterculture's Islamic connection

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For many children of the sixties a 'journey to the East' was a mandatory rite of passage. As a result one of the lasting impacts of the counterculture was the assimilation into Western culture of esoteric religions. The embrace of Vedanta and Zen Buddhism is well-documented, as is the music that it produced ranging from the Beatles' Indian period to John Cage's 4' 33". Less celebrated is the counterculture's engagement with the esoteric strand of Islam known as Sufism, an involvement that also produced important but overlooked music. Given the current preoccupation with Islam it is puzzling that more attention has not been paid to the green shoots of Sufism - a tradition with a benign history - that appeared in the West in the late 1960s. Earlier this year the film Blessed are the Strangers directed by young director Ahmed Peerbux premiered. But this film is selective in its coverage of 1960s Sufism, so this post attempts to fill in some conspicuous and
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Requiem for my vinyl

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As I move deeper into retirement an impending move to a very nice but smaller property means I have reluctantly decided to part with my collection of 600 classical LPs and turntable. There are several reasons why this LP collection dating from the 1970s and 80s will be of particular interest. Regular readers will know my musical passions, and these are is reflected in the eclectic classical repertoire which has a particular focus on British music - Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Tippett, Rubbra, Finzi etc. Most of the discs are from 'quality' labels, DGG, Lyrita, Decca, Argo, Philips, EMI, Archiv, Hyperion, Conifer etc.  But what makes the collection unique is that every disc is in mint condition. All were bought by me and have never been out of my hands. I am fastidious about replay quality, so when buying noisy pressings were rejected until a flawless copy was provided. Typically the discs in the collection will have been played less than five times. They have only been played on
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Berlin Philharmonic's first woman conductor

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In 2005 the appointment of a woman music director by a major American orchestra caused a storm of controversy . So, it is surprising to find that it was back in 1930 that the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was first conducted by a woman, and even more surprising to find she was an American. But the story doesn't have a happy ending. Despite receiving critical acclaim, Antonia Brico found doors closed to her when she returned to the US, and was forced to form her own orchestras to continue her conducting career. She is seen above conducting in New York in 1945. (Image credit Dr. Ralph Weizsäcker ). Antonia Brico was born Wilhelmina Wolthus in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 1902, and emigrated to California with her foster parents in 1908. She attended high school in Oakland where she gained experience as a pianist and conductor. She went on to study liberal arts at the University of California, Berkeley , and also worked at the San Francisco Opera as an assistant to the director,
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