I’m usually not a fan of composer t-shirts, but I had to make an exception here: the fact that this image looks more like Clark Kent than Shostakovich makes some kind of demented sense to me. Hardly matters anyway. Only 0.000002% of Americans will know who it’s supposed to be.
Despite your previous attempts at educating us, my first thought when I saw the shirt was “that must be a famous coder.”
Please don’t let that stop you from giving us a Ruth Slenczyńska lecture this week.
Thanks in advance.
I actually haven’t ever gotten around to listening to Ruth S, although I’m aware of her interesting and harrowing biography. I looked up her story a few weeks ago when she died at age 101. Apparently she released a few recordings in her 90’s, pretty amazing for that age. I think most of her recordings were made in the 1950’s and are well-regarded. She was the last living pupil of Rachmaninov. Just as impressive: she also studied under Aurtur Schnabel and Josef Hoffmann. I’m guessing she might have been their last living pupil as well, although I don’t know for sure. She also played concerts under the direction of Alfred Cortot, certainly the last living person who did that. The “harrowing “ part of her story: she was a forced child prodigy, as in her father beat her mercilessly. She actually fled her home at age 15 and quit playing for quite a few years.
She died on the same day last month
as the magnificent conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, many of whose recordings I picked up throughout my life starting in high school. I probably would have posted something about him, but April and May have been crazy: lengthy cold, then shoulder surgery, now the end of school and a rigorous PT schedule.
Hang in there!
I wish you a hearty rehab. Your hard-driving rock-n-roll lifestyle is no doubt the culprit here. A reinvigorated limb hopefully increases the odds of recording well into your 90’s.
The Nashville Symphony features the Eroica this weekend. I’m an ongoing disappointment to Beethoven, but I have been fairly busy as well.
Appreciate the good wishes. Would love to boast of a wild rock-n-roll cause, but it’s probably just lousy swimming technique. Or just plain overuse. Was thinking of coming up for the Eroica at one point when I thought surgery would happen over the summer. But moved it earlier due to potential rotator cuff damage if left unattended. Much longer recovery time if rotator cuff torn. Luckily it wasn’t.
Bullshit! I’m going to assume the shoulder injury is from all the windmilling you did in the studio when we recorded the Give-Outs album. I warned ya! Repetitive stress injuries are a bitch.
Haha