While there is music there is hope


That Washington Post article can be read via this link. Keep hope alive by supporting Ali Keeler's musical celebration of our pluralistic, diverse society via crowdfunding site LaunchGood. As David Montgomery explains: "Their music is far from political. It’s all about beauty and faith and peace and devotion..."


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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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Bruno Walter's 1938 Vienna Philharmonic interpretation of Mahler's Ninth Symphony still has the power to move and enlighten, despite the technical limitations of the recording. Similarly Wilhelm Furtwängler's Berlin Philharmonic concert recording from 1949 of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony still reminds us that beauty is more powerful than hatred, again despite considerable technical limitations. Today, blowing 866 million euro on a not quite acoustically perfect concert hall is the go-to solution for saving classical music, which means a celebrity conductor can  throw his batons out of the pram  when he is not rewarded with a blinged-out new hall. So why, given these contemporary priorities, can great recordings from the past touch us so deeply when heard through the technology equivalent of a tin shed concert hall?  The answer lies in the little-understood but vitally important process of listening . There is no such thing as perfect sound , or historic sound, or bad
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I put a spell on you

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Thanks go to all those who responded to the post about disposal of my LP collection and turntable . I am pleased to report both have now been sold. It is doubly pleasing to report they have been sold to the same purchaser who is a composer. So having been such a valuable resource for me, the collection and turntable will continue to be a resource for another generation. Technology has many benefits ; but in forty years time there will definitely not be a similarly advantageous market for personal virtual libraries of streamed classical music .  Header advertisement is currently appearing in eBay's free marketplace Gumtree. New Overgrown Path posts are available via RSS/email by entering your email address at the top of this page. Any copyrighted material is included for critical analysis, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s).
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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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