Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Now, That's Retro


A package from Sony waltzed across my desk this afternoon, bringing with it the new recital disc by the strange and wonderful German soprano Simone Kermes. (I haven't spun it yet, but it goes right to the top of the pile; although I haven't reached the levels of Kermesomania that some inhabit, anything she does is automatically of interest.) The package included a couple of CDs in the familiar jewel case, a robust press release, and something else. Something big, flat, and shrink-wrapped.

Honest to God, I didn't know what it was.

My first guess was a wall calendar, my second a video laserdisc. It was my editor who sussed it out: "It's vinyl," she said, and she was right.

We opened it together and shared a little Proustian moment, savoring the gleaming black plastic, the perfect circular center, the broad bands offering visual cues to the different tracks. And it was 1978 all over again.

2 Comments:

At 9/24/2009 9:53 AM, Anonymous kate mayer said...

I was wondering if you have heard of Rudolph Budginas, a Lithuanian-born Pianist whose amazing performance I just saw, and whose CD I picked up right after. I believe he lives in California's Central Coast and is currently touring the US to play at many local high schools to bring musical awareness and interest to the students. He incorporates his classical training, his own jazz arrangements and sense of humor to connect with the audience. In his performance he jazzed up pieces like Claire de Lune and Moonlight Sonata as a soloist and with a jazz accompaniment. To see video clips of Budginas performing you can go to http://tiny.cc/djJ57and http://tiny.cc/gpKLU, and for a complete tour schedule for interested readers, you can go to www.rudolfpiano.com.

 
At 10/01/2009 11:00 AM, Blogger Paula said...

Didn't you receive the Phoenix Edition CD of Joseph Martin Kraus' LA PRIMAVERA? She rocks the house. I'm with Steve.

 

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