The Flower Duet

This duet, about Lakme and her servant Mallika gathering lotus flowers at the river, is one of the most popular in all of opera. The version that I played this morning features soprano Natalie Dessay
and Delphine Haidan.

Here's a video featuring both Dessay and Haidan.





Here's a link to an npr story from May of 2007 about the "Flower Duet" from the opera "Lakme" by composer Leo Delibes.

Sheherazade in Baghdad

Original posting 10/2008



This beautiful Marko Georgiev photo of Mohammed Ghani Hikmat’s statue of Scheherazade and King Shahryar is from Erica Goode's NY Times story of August 27, 2008. Read the full story called Sheherazade in Baghdad.

Return with us now to the thrilling days of yesteryear!

Dear Mr. Rossini,

I know that you wrote your opera in four acts "Guillaume Tell" about the legendary Swiss 14th century archer, William Tell but here in North America we can't help but think of "A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi Yo Silver!"

You should be proud that your music became the theme for both a radio and a television show that thrilled the imaginations of millions of children and adults.
After all, what's more heroic and legendary than a masked Texas Ranger and a Potawatomi Native American righting wrongs?!

I know what you're thinking...Of course it would have been much more interesting if Tonto had actually been played by a
member of the Potawatomi nation instead of by actor John Todd. Well, who knows? Maybe there will be a remake some day!

But who would replace Clayton Moore as "The Lone Ranger?" Would the producers find a Potawatomi star or just tap George Clooney?

Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"

Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony came it at number 39 on Northwest Public Radio's "50 Favorites" list. It's one of the few pieces he wrote with a programmatic theme. When the 6th symphony was first performed in December of 1808 it went by the title "Recollections of Country Life".

I thought that it might be fun to provide you with a little pictorial journey of our day in the country.

I. "Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country:" allegro ma non troppo


II. "Scene at the brook:" andante molto mosso


III. "Happy Gathering of Country Folk." allegro


IV. "Thunderstorm; Storm:" allegro


V. "Shepherds' song; cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm:" allegretto


Listen to an NPR interview about Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony with conductor
Christophe Eschenbach.

Fingal's Cave

Photos from NK Photograpy

Felix Mendelssohn was inspired to write his "Hebrides Overture" by a visit to Fingal's Cave of the coast of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides Islands of Scotland. Here's a little background on Mendelssohn's visit to the Hebrides Island, a trip that inspired his overture of the same name.




This is a short video of the interior of Fingal's Cave. It's a bit blurry but worth it because you get a bit of a feel for what it would be like.

Festival of Contemporary Art Music

Dr. Charles Argersinger is this year's guest composer at the Festival of Contemporary Art Music held annually in February at the Pullman campus of Washington State University.
Click on this link for an article on Dr. Argersinger in the latest issue of WSU Today.

The Festival of Contemporary Art Music runs through tomorrow. Here is the
schedule of concerts and events.

Washington Idaho Symphony's Young Artists' Concert

Meet soprano Karina Brazas and violinist Emily Christine Holmes, the
Washington Idaho Symphony's winners of their 33rd annual Young Artists' Competition.

Karina, on the left, is completing her final year as a Vocal Performance major at Washington State University through the School of Music. Karina studies voice with Dr. Sheila Converse. She sang the very beautiful and challenging Je veux vivre from Charles Gounod's opera Romeo and Juliet.

Here's a video of that gorgeous aria featuring soprano Angela Gheorgiu.




High school senior, Emily, is a native of Moscow, Idaho and began playing the violin at age four. She was concertmaster of the Greater Palouse Youth Orchestra for two years, and has been a member of the Washington-Idaho Symphony and the Rendezvous Orchestra. In 2007 she won a gold medal for her solo performance at MusicFest Northwest in Spokane. She currently studies with Dr. Meredith Arksey of Washington State University's School of Music. Emily played the first movement of Edouard Lalo's technically demanding Symphonie Espagnole.

This is a piece that you need to see as well as hear. Watch how Lalo has the violinist, in this case Silvia Marcovici, use the entire fretboard.



I thought that the Washington Idaho Symphony sounded particularly good under the direction of guest conductor Travis Hatton, who has a very engaging manner.



Before leading the symphony in Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 Maestro Hatton recommended a biography of Brahms written by Jan Swafford. Johannes is looking mighty fine on the cover of this book!

























Thanks to Cyrus O'Leary's Pies for providing the delicious pies that we enjoyed at intermission and after the concert. I was torn between their pumpkin (which is almost as good as my mom's and that's saying a lot!) the French Silk and the Marionberry. Note caption below. I decided on the Marionberry, an award winning pie with NO refined sugar. Delicious!