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[DERBRUCER]

Off to finish dinner.  The mac and cheese looks very good; how it tastes will be discovered soon.

And there's enough to feed an army!  

Actually enough to feed most of the hungry of the east coast, plus the starving Armenians, should any still be left from my childhood.

der Brucer (but it was quite good!)

[Dan (the Man)]

For post number 5000 - here is Miss Judy Garland!  

Thanks to HHW and all the wonderful people here!

Get Happy!!!

I am a piker.  And a humble one at that.  Congrats to Jrand!

[Dan (the Man)]

Tonight, courtesy of Actor's Equity, I will be seeing Brooklyn.

"...courtesy..."?!?

[DERBRUCER]

Does anyone else remember the HOOKED ON CLASSICS LP's?

Right next to "Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music " and the "Switched On" series, particularly Switched on Bach by Wendy Carlos.

der Brucer (who will NOT admit to owning 101 Strings albums)

[Dan (the Man)]

I think I will play some LP's tonight.  DR's - which artist or group do you have the MOST recordings by?

Dave Matthews Band.  I got every single commercial release of theirs plus quite a few concert ootlegbays.

In second place, it's probably Ella Fitzgerald.

[Dan (the Man)]

I don't think anyone mentioned Windham Hill pianist George Winston.  I'm actually listening to his Vince Guaraldi CD right now.  His December recording is a holiday classic.

[Jrand73]

Yes, TOMofOZ and derBRUCER those are the ones!  LOL....

[JoseSPiano]

Tonight, courtesy of Actor's Equity, I will be seeing Brooklyn. I knew I could get a discounted ticket but free is even better. Especially after reading the reviews. It will be interesting to say the least. I hear there is good talent in a not so good show.

Report later.

Any chance those AEA tickets could go to a non-AEA member?  -I don't think the AFM offers freebies... Ah, well..

[JoseSPiano]

DRJOSE didn't you say that you and  friend Steve might be getting closer...as the saying goes?

 

Next week New York...

(cue the tinkling piano music...)

[JoseSPiano]

Has any DR heard of Pennario or Bushkin?

Bushkin -

Pennario - I still have Pennario's LP of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and the Preludes, and I think the Concerto in F, somewhere in my storage.  It was part of my "buy every recording of the Rhapsody In Blue that I can afford" phase when I was 14.  I don't think many of his recordings have made it to CD - but, then again, I have really looked, so...

However, the one thing that stands out in my mind is his rendition of the Third Piano Prelude.  The open "vamp" measure sound more like a slightly Viennese waltz than the slightly Latin-rhythm notated.  It always bugged me... and still does.  

[JoseSPiano]

I think I will play some LP's tonight.  DR's - which artist or group do you have the MOST recordings by?

I just found 5 Glen Campbell LP's in my collection!

Even though my collection is currently "out of sight", I know I have all but one of Billy Joel's CDs (the Russian one is the omission).  -And I have a bunch of Billy Joel on LP too.  Then there's The Manhattan Transfer (I'm sure DR George can beat my tally), Take 6, James Taylor, etc...

Now, if we're talking classical artists... Hmmm...

OH!  I forgot to mention two pianists in my earlier listing:
-Murray Perahia - Some truly effortless sounding virtuosity.  And what a comeback from his hand accident of a few years ago.
-Alicia de Larrocha - The True Grand Dame of Spanish Piano Music.  And her Mozart ain't half bad either.

[S. Woody White]

Right next to "Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music " and the "Switched On" series, particularly Switched on Bach by Wendy Carlos.

der Brucer (who will NOT admit to owning 101 Strings albums)

And he's hidden them very well.

Wendy Carlos has had an interesting career.  Starting as the first person to successfully release an album recorded on the Moog synthesizer, she proceeded to synthesize Hayden, Beethovan, even Bacharach.  I think what she's composed herself is more interesting, such as "Timesteps" (included on the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange) and "Sonic Seasonings," a highly environmental piece released before New Age became popular.  She's since gone on to work with scales other than our familiar "well-tempered" Western scale, along with a large variety of other interests.

[S. Woody White]

(cue the tinkling piano music...)

I'd have suggested chase music, but whatever works!  

[JoseSPiano]

No one has yet mentioned Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition as a solo piano work.  I'm far more intrigued by this, on repeated hearings, than I've ever been by Ravel's orchestral transmogrification.

Yes, you're permitted to look the word up.

I almost gave a recital of the Pictures while I was in college.  Almost.  They just would not stick in my memory.  And some of them are just plain hard!  -And you can tell Moussorgsky had a very large hand-span from his writing!  The "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks" has some very "awkward" passages.

My favorite recording has to be Horowitz's live one from one his Carnegie Hall recitals.  He uses the "alternate" octave/bell line for the finale, "Great Gates of Kiev".  Even though the sound is not pristine, the electricity is still evident.

Schott publishes an edition of Pictures edited by Vladimir Askenazy which includes the aforementioned alternate octave passage in the appendix/notes.  -Which, if I'm remembering correctly was actually pasted over in the Mussorgsky's manuscript.  And there are two color pages of some of the original paintings that inspired the cycle.

[S. Woody White]

I've got a LOT of Mike Oldfield discs, I'm not even going to guess how many.  But I've learned (the hard way) to avoid his vocal stuff, and stick to his instrumentals.

[JoseSPiano]

And there's enough to feed an army!  (I went for making the full batch this time.  But Alton Brown has a recipe for frying the cooled leftovers!)

Is this recipe on-line or in one of his books?

-I've seen deep-fried mac'n'cheese listed on some snack bar menus, but I've never tried it.  Sounds intriguing.  I guess it's like those broccoli-cheese balls that were such the rage at places like TGIFriday's a couple of years ago.

[S. Woody White]

In response to my noting that I'd made enough mac and cheese to feed an army, der Brucer wrote...

Actually enough to feed most of the hungry of the east coast, plus the starving Armenians, should any still be left from my childhood.

der Brucer (but it was quite good!)

So, here's what I put on his plate:

Cook a pound of elbow macaroni in boiling, salted water, according to directions on the package.  Drain well and put the macaroni in a large bowl, stirring in 1 pound (about 4 cups) grated Cheddar cheese until the cheese is melted.  Stir in 1/4 pound butter, 6 eggs (lightly beaten) and two 13 oz. cans of evaporated milk, plus salt and pepper to taste.

(Frankly, you'll have to guess on the seasoning.  Me, I'm not partial to tasting uncooked eggs.  I am partial to a little cayenne, however... )

Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, sprinkle an additional 1/2 cup Cheddar on top, and bake in a 360 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the mixture has set and the cheese on top is "golden brown and delicious."  (Yep, another Alton Brown reference!)

I'm going to hold off on posting that fried mac and cheese recipe, at least until I've actually tried it.

[bk]

Back from a very filling Mexican dinner with my friend Debbie.  Her little daughter, whom I've known since she was born, is now thirteen.  I hadn't seen her since she was eleven - what a difference two years makes.  She's now quite the little adult, and very funny.

[S. Woody White]

The recipe, DR Jose, should be on-line.  It's also on the Good Eats: Family Favorites DVD, the episode titled "Use Your Noodle - For Whom the Cheese Melts 2: Mac & Cheese."  That's the episode where he first introduced his nephew, Elton, as his kitchen assistant.  (You know, the kid who looks like a cute, young verson of Alton, with braces.)

[S. Woody White]

Back from a very filling Mexican dinner with my friend Debbie.  Her little daughter, whom I've known since she was born, is not thirteen.  I hadn't seen her since she was eleven - what a difference two years makes.  She's now quite the little adult, and very funny.

Hmmm...she's NOT thirteen, and you hadn't seen her since she was eleven, but there's a two year difference between how old she was then and how old she is now?

So, that makes her nine these days?

Y'know, there's lots of cosmetics companies that would love to know her secret.


 

[JoseSPiano]

Does anyone else remember the HOOKED ON CLASSICS LP's?

Yes!  And I think I still have the piano sheet music for it too!  -Which, due to copyright restrictions, was not allowed to include "Rhapsody In Blue" (and maybe some other piece) in the published music.  I think I even played it as a solo for a school assembly when I was in sixth grade!

[bk]

SWW: I have NO idea what you're talking about.

[Charles Pogue]

I have some Pennario playing Rozsa.  I also had the privilege to see him perform live at Rozsa's memorial service where he played Valse Crepusculaire from PROVIDENCE and the theme from SPELLBOUND.

[S. Woody White]

SWW: I have NO idea what you're talking about.

I love it when a man acts sweet and innocent.

 

[S. Woody White]

There is an election that still has my interest going.

The two candidates for our local County Council seat, after running a good race, split 17480 votes almost cleanly between them.  The incumbent came in with 12 votes more.

This is a case where a recount is almost mandatory.  In fact, if I were the incumbent, I would have asked for a recount, just to settle any doubts.

[Charles Pogue]

Bk, you have a signed PROVIDENCE??!  Lucky you!

Which Barbara sang on your album?  She who bonded with The Lovely Wife?

[bk]

Yes, that Barbara.  Did a fine job.  I was at the Rozsa memorial, too.

[S. Woody White]

Dog update:

Lexi has rejoined her family, very happily!

Meanwhile, der B and I headed north for another photo session.  This time, we went to meet Jill, a hunting hound of some sort (der B has his notes somewhere, but I can't find them), who was taken in by a very nice family just a day ago.  Other than being very (understandably) disoriented, she's on the skinny side but sweet as pie.  The man who had her before had wanted a hunting dog, particularly for hunting geese and ducks.  Jill didn't understand this, and wouldn't leave his side.  Or maybe she's a vegetarian.

In any case, the family she's with right now (mom, dad, and three kids aged seven to two) are animal lovers, so I hope we've found some more allys in the long run.  (The two-year-old came running at me when I entered their house, armed with a PlaySkool truck.  I just widened the distance between my legs, and he zipped right under.  It didn't take long for that to turn into a game!)

[Charles Pogue]

BK, you were at the Rozsa memorial?  Like ships in the night!  Surely I've told you that it was my single best day in Hollywood before and you never said a thing!  We were, in fact, sitting with Rudy Behlmer and his wife.  We are talking about the one Tony Thomas presided over at the Bel-Air Hotel.