American Idol Second Twelve (Updated)

Ok, I only saw the first six (as Lost wins the second-hour time slot with me). Of what I heard, I’m fairly sure No. 5 Allison Iraheta should advance (magenta hair and all–*grin*), as well as No. 6 Kris Allen (perhaps as wild card, that didn’t seem entirely top-three quality).

Had No. 3 Jeanine Vailes resisted melisma-ing up “This Love,” she could have been good. Why did No. 2 Matt Giraud have to get the raspy quavers in the Coldplay song?

The four judge format (which I thought was a good idea at first) may be making the live show critiques too devastating, spooking the upcoming singers.

UPDATE 9/26: See, whatd’I tell ya? Paula even agreed with me on the four judges thing. A few impressions:

1) Allison Iraheta is a sort of magenta, grunge version of Wynonna Judd.

2) Is Kris Allen a cousin of David Archuleta?

3) Adam Lambert = Mr. Spock + Neil Diamond.

Of Bibles and Bindings

Impressed by the ESV (the relatively new English Standard Version of the Bible) and annoyed with reading it on-line, I recently went Bible shopping . . . on-line. So, I was quite surprised to discover, upon delivery, that The Literary Study Bible (edited by Leland Ryken and Philip Graham Ryken for Crossway Bibles), actually turns out to have a textbook-style, hardback cover printed with the same artwork as the dust jacket. And odd artwork it is . . . a pince-nez, ink well, and quill pen resting on a piece of blank parchment (as if TV’s Craig Ferguson were about to put on John Boy Walton’s glasses and write a letter to the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland). But, a fine study Bible it is. Which goes to show, don’t judge any book, particularly the Good Book, by its cover.

Yet, many must be, since so many different bindings are being offered by publishers nowadays. Or is it important that a Bible you carry around in public makes a statement about you? Does leopard print, hinged aluminum, tire tread, or tapestry fit your style? Faux blue suede, rainbow n’ mountains, or camouflage? Amazing. I don’t get it, isn’t that making a fashion show of one’s piety?

Since I’ve worn out a few inexpensive ones, I do get the concept of a fine quality Bible meant “to last a lifetime.” You know, one of those big ol’ floppy Bibles bound in the luxurious leather with gilt-edged pages (which, remarkably, is only about five-eighths of an inch thick . . . New Testament only?) that an Armani-clad megatelevangelist with a gold-plated, cordless microphone in one hand always seems to be carrying in the other. Oooops, that’s just stereotyping and being judgmental. Now I get it, the moral is . . .

Don’t judge the person by the cover of his/her Bible.

[To visit J. Mark Bertrand’s fascinating blog Bible Design & Bindings, click HERE.]

American Idol First Twelve (Updated)

Originally posted 2-17-09:

Oh, my, do I have a headache! The ol’ second-half, snowballing program deterioration!

So, I guess it should be No. 2 Ricky Braddy, No. 3 Alexis Grace, No. 12 Danny Gokey, and maybe No. 4 Brent Keith as wild card (who looks like a guy I went to elementary shool with all grown up–Is that you, Stewart?).

UPDATE: So, America only got two right! I thought Ricky Braddy had potential and SANG ON PITCH. Oh, well, maybe he’ll be a wild card (it will probably be Tatiana, instead, *groan*). Michael Sarver is likable, but he should watch the Taylor Hicks body language!

So far, Simon seems to dislike Danny Gokey. Could it be Simon looks at him and thinks . . . “Can you hear me now?”

Peeve of the Moment

Sheet music, sheet music, I’m annoyed with the words sheet music. It’s printed music, or score, or (in musical theatre) “the book,” or even “the notes.”

Sheet music is musical notation printed on folded sheets of paper without staples. There is usually a decorative title page, such as these:

So, unless you are playing from actual sheets of music, please call it the score, OK?

Types of Pianists

I have a theory that there are six kinds of pianists, based on three core factors: whether their playing focuses on themselves, the music, or the instrument. So, we have . . .

Hams: Full of technical display. Seek to strike the audience with a sort of friendly awe, as if to say, “Isn’t it great that I can wow you with fingers and fireworks?” Horowitz. Lang Lang.

Eccentrics: Interesting, unique, and convincing interpreters. Provoke the audience to think, “So, that’s how that piece goes–never thought of it that way!” Glenn Gould. Andre Watts.

Knights: Seekers of THE GOLDEN TONE, with a chivalrous, courtly attitude. Obcessed with presenting the piano in its best light with idiomatic literature. Rubinstein. Dame Myra Hess.

Nice so far, then we encounter these pianists:

Protagonists: Hams gone too far. Thorns of life and inner demons. May produce genuine catharsis, when not indulging in silly histrionics. Sviatoslav Richter at his worst. Serkin sometimes.

Prophets: Eccentrics gone off the deep end. Specialize in channeling a dead composer’s CURRENT thoughts about a piece (often on harpsichord or fortepiano). Wanda Landowska. Rosalyn Tureck.

Professionals: Modern knights. They want to be perfect and use the instrument to please everybody. The “not too” pianists: not too fast, not too slow, not too obscure, not too familiar, not too pretty, not too percussive, not too interesting. Ralph Votapek. Emanuel Ax at his worst.

I don’t mean to be harsh about the last three, dismissive of Hams, or awestruck about Eccentrics and Knights. Horowitz could be profound, Landowska right, Hess boring, Serkin courtly, Gould silly, etc.; but, these are useful generalizations.

So, the next time you hear a piano competition, try to identify these six types of pianists–one each usually shows up among the finalists. Heck, with some modification, this might even work for American Idol. Personally, I’m partial to a sort of hybrid eccentric-knight, which of course, might just be another way of saying Pirate!

Special Day

If all days are special, then today must be extra special. Must I ’splain?

Feb. 6 is Rick Astley’s birthday.

Mendelssohn and Haydn

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn’s birth. In fact, the day of this post, Feb. 3, is his actual birthday.

Happy Birthday Felix.

This year also marks the 200th anniversary of Joseph Haydn’s death, which, for classical musicians, is a happy event, an excuse to PAR-TAY by listening to or–better yet–performing great works of music.

But, one must practice first. I must confess to having played little Mendelssohn. I have one of those horrid Schirmer “favorites” albums of assorted piano works by Felix. I’m reviving the “Hunting Song” from the Songs Without Words, Op. 19, No. 3. I’m also looking at the Scherzo in E Minor, Op. 16, No. 2, a somewhat “studenty” piece that I missed doing in youth.

As for Haydn, I’m still making up my mind–I’ve done much by him over the years. He is curiously neglected as a “precursor to Beethoven” among pianists. Full of humor, irregular phrase groupings, and innovative form, he also displays a restless, rustic, and tidgy quality beneath the veneer of elegance. (I hate it when musicians talk like this–sometimes one has to.) The choreographer Twyla Tharp picked up on these qualities for her ballet Push Comes to Shove, primarily set to Haydn’s Symphony No. 82 (The Bear). Here’s an excerpt (which starts with a rag by Joseph Lamb prior to hittin’ Haydn).

Stinker of the Month (2-09)

However far you trudge the road of woe and pity, there’s always a route back to SEE ROCK CITY.

–CAP’N WHOOK