Well, dear readers, it is late and therefore I must write these here notes in a hurry. So, I am sitting here like so much fish, continuing some Charles Munch listening, namely the Walton cello concerto in a brilliant recording and Gregor Piatigorsky on cello. I wonder if Piatigorsky ate Jell-O whilst playing the cello? I have several recordings of this fantastic work, but none are better than this, both sound-wise and performance-wise. And, of course, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is not exactly chopped liver or pickled herring. I personally fell like pickled herring at the moment, but that’s another story for another day, a pickled herring day. Today is for other stories, for example, the tale of The Randy Vicar and the 8 Ball. That one’s a corker. Anyway, I love the Walton cello concerto but then again I love mostly any Walton music. I did manage to watch a motion picture yesterday – in fact, I watched three of ‘em. Amazing. And I didn’t doze off either. Back in 2012 there was a series of six TV movies (although I have no idea where they were aired), which had one thing in common – they were all purportedly giallos. Now, I do love some of the early giallo films like Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Cat ‘O’ Nine Tails, both Dario Argento movies and both ushering in the giallo craze. But long before those there was Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace, which is the real start of the giallo although I don’t think that moniker existed back then. Argento ultimately kept getting more and more violent, extremely so, and I don’t care for those even though they’re considered classics. But there are giallos by other directors that I like very much – most have music by Ennio Morricone, always a plus. Anyway, one of the six movies showed up on Prime for free, entitled Tailor Made Murder. It starred a potpourri of actors from everywhere – U.S., lots from Italy (natch), and Malta, which is where all six were shot. No stars, really, so in this one the lead is Rob Estes. It’s directed by Lamberto Bava, who knows from giallos as daddy was Mario Bava. It wasn’t so great, but I enjoyed it for what it was. Acting is sub-par – leading lady is very beautiful but is dubbed poorly (everyone is speaking English, but since there is a lot of dubbing, I’m guessing they were too hard to understand). I didn’t really consider it a giallo – it doesn’t have that style. The reveal at the end should come as no surprise.
Then I found another one, this one entitled Visions of Murder, which was the first one shown. This one definitely has the giallo style and therefore it was more entertaining. The nominal U.S. star is Craig Bierko. All six movies run the exact same time – 93-minutes. Villain isn’t a surprise (maybe it is to some), but at least we get the giallo tropes, which is part of the fun. Then I found a third one, called Souvenirs, starring no one I’ve ever heard of. This one was about a serial killer but had zero giallo vibe – more like a Lifetime movie vibe. It was directed by Edoardo Margheriti, who, like Lamberto Bava, is the son of a well known Eyetalian genre director who also did quite a few giallos – Antonio Margheriti. This was the least of them.
I wanted to see the other three, but the titles are completely different from what’s on the imdb – but through clever sleuthing I found the three and thankfully all are free – two on YouTube and one on Tubi. So, that’s tonight’s viewing. The music is all by the same guy – some of it is very good, some not so good. Prior to all that, I got about seven hours of sleep, got up, answered a few e-mails, did a few things, made a roast beef sandwich on an onion roll, and then one lox, bagel, and cream cheese. Very good. After that, it was mostly movie viewing and then having a very good Caesar salad from the Cheesecake Factory – I was quite hungry, and it really hit the spot and hopefully it will fully digest before I hit the road to dreamland.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll choose more songs, start gathering sheet music, I’ll do a little writing, and then I’ll have an early supper with Robert Yacko. After that, I’ll come home and watch one of those giallo things, then I can listen and relax.
The rest of the week is more of the same, some meetings and meals, and the usual things, plus an opening night on Friday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven, do whatever needs doing, choose more songs, gather sheet music, write, have an early supper, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: Who are your favorite violin and cello soloists? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall ponder playing the cello whilst eating Jell-O..