Well, dear readers, continuing on from where we left off looking back at this year – once we closed L.A. Now and Then it was more Kritzerland shows (although we took off July), and then we began preparations for the ALS benefit and that took up quite a bit of time. The best news was getting Hayley Mills for the show. As most who’ve read Kritzer Time know, I was very smitten with both Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap when I was a budding teenager of thirteen. So, fifty-five years later we finally met and she was just a delight – charming, smart, funny, and we got along splendidly. And I saw her again in November when she came back to see her son performing at the Roxy. The ALS show was terrific, although the ALS folks did absolutely nothing to promote their own event, which lost a little money rather than make money, but as we finally got them to admit, that was their own fault and had nothing whatsoever to do with us – we delivered what we always do – a great show with great performers and we had some amazing ones.
We did Kritzerland releases sporadically but I was very happy with the titles and the quality of them. Meanwhile, other labels seem to follow our lead and cut back a little except when they didn’t, so I’m afraid the glut continues – not as rabidly as before, but to give you an example, in years past (until about three years ago) all the other labels were done releasing stuff by the first few days of December. We therefore had that entire month to ourselves, but not anymore – it’s actually ridiculous – there are something like five or six releases already coming. But I also think that sales are down for all labels, as I predicted they would be when I saw what was happening about four or five years ago.
I decided on what the new book would be and made lots of notes on that, and then had the rather surprising events that led to Unsung Sherman Brothers – what a treat issuing that CD was and I cannot tell you how happy it made Richard Sherman. To have all that never heard material finally out in the world was something really very special. And then we did our fund raising event for Calabasas High’s theater department. We also did The Brain from Planet X’s ten-year anniversary concert and it was really great – fully staged with our full band, we even had costumes, and best of all we had original cast members Alet Taylor, Barry Pearl, and Cason Murphy back with us (Barry did the show in New York). Mixed into all of that were many, many meetings and meals and even a tiny bit of relaxing, I did watch some movies, and I reacquainted myself in a major way with some of my favorite classical composers, most especially Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Villa-Lobos, Vaughan Williams, and various others.
And I also booked stuff for 2017 – of course we’ll be doing our Kritzerland monthly shows, and I may direct an act for someone, I’ll be doing some musical theatre master classes at LACC, I’m directing Dial ‘M’ for Murder at the Group Rep Theater (opens in June but we rehearse starting in late April), I’ll be doing a semi-staged reading of a new musical (not new, but never done) sometime in the first three months, and then we’ll be working on the show right up until we actually do a full production of it at LACC in September. It’s a very exciting project in many ways. And depending on how things go, there could be another musical revue next year, as well. And that’s just what I know about at the moment.
Yesterday was another six hours of sleep. I did the usual morning things, including trying to figure out just how many young folks we’ll have in the Kritzerland show – so many want to do it this year and I really hate disappointing anyone, but right now there’s a potential of fourteen kids – but not all are getting a solo – some will be duets and maybe even a trio. I’ll try to lock all that down by the end of this week, as I then have to figure out all the material and get it to everyone so they have plenty of time with it.
Then I went to Du-par’s and had a small Caesar and their mac-and-cheese. I got really full and couldn’t even finish it. Then I picked up a couple of packages and came home. I had some telephonic conversations, I listened to more Sibelius – this time the legendary mono recordings of Anthony Collins – he was only the second conductor to do a complete set of all seven symphonies with the same orchestra – he would have been the first but someone beat him by a few weeks or so, but those recordings that beat him to the punch never had much life in terms of sales or even being known. The Collins recordings were beloved by all and this giant 11-CD best of Sibelius classic recordings box has them in good mono sound and I quite enjoyed his versions – his interpretations are of the no-nonsense take no prisoners variety and they worked for me. There were actually three versions of my favorite Sibelius symphony, the fifth. The Collins is very good, and there’s on other mono in there I haven’t listened to yet, but the stereo version, recorded in 1959 by conductor Alexander Gibson, is kind of terrific – I really was amazed by how great the recording itself was, and his interpretation is along the Barbirolli lines but even a little smoother – I’ll return to it often, I think. I also got the set by Maurice Abravanel with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, originally on Vanguard Records. I thought his version of the first symphony was really good, one of my favorites, actually, in very good sound. I’m still making my way through them – the fourth was excellent, but I’m afraid the fifth was a no-go for me – the brass, which is so important in this symphony, is virtually non-existent, especially in the final movement, and it just kills it. But I’m looking forward to the others.
I also listened to one of those Everest CDs mastered directly from the original 35mm elements – they are spectacular, and this one with Malcolm Arnold’s wonderful third symphony (conducted by his very own self and much better than his Lyrita version) and Vaughan Williams’ ninth symphony with Boult conducting (also better than the other Boult performance I have) – amazing sound and performance and it includes the spoken introduction to the Vaughan Williams – he was expected to be at the recording session but he died just hours before. There’s something really special about the recording, probably for that very reason.
I did sit on my couch like so much fish and fell asleep for a bit, then listened to an RCA Living Stereo SACD of Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique. I don’t love the music but I can certainly admire it from afar, especially the orchestration and writing for strings – the recording is something completely other – 1954 stereo that is so incredible it puts most of today’s recordings and the way they’re engineered to shame. I also listened to the SACD of Tchaikovsky’s sixth, Pathetique – it’s filled with big themes, but I just don’t respond to anything but the first movement, which Chaplin kind of appropriated for his film, The Kid. Again, the sound is just spectacular.
I ate some cashews, and dear reader FJL and his ever-lovin’ Skip’s nice birthday chocolates from Godiva arrived and I had a few nibbles of that.
Today, I’m going to Doug Haverty’s for more discussion of the Kay Cole packaging. At my behest, she took some more photos and sent us the six she was okay with – they were much better and exactly what I was looking for. She and I chose the exact same two photos as our favorites of the six and I think she feels as I do that one of them is just kind of perfect. Even if Doug goes with the other one, the one I love will definitely go on the inlay or somewhere. I just like it for its energy and joy. The others are more contemplative and that works, too. Doug will do a couple of versions and we’ll see which feels best. But it does look we’ll be able to announce it in the next couple of weeks. I’ll eat, hopefully pick up some packages, work on the Kritzerland show, and then relax.
Tomorrow I’m probably lunching, and maybe even dinnering, too, Friday is a lunch with dear reader Jeanne, and we’ll see what the weekend brings, but what I know it’s bringing is no more work for two weeks – I have fourteen days of ME time and no one is going to usurp it, let me tell you. And of course we have our annual Christmas Do to Do.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a packaging meeting, eat, hopefully pick up packages, work on the Kritzerland show, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have looked back at all the positive and lovely things that happened this year, and to not dwell on the non-positive irritants, which is not productive. And we’re all about productive.