George and Ira Gershwin:  Slap That Bass

George and Ira Gershwin: Slap That Bass

As I deal with the current dystopia I encounter every morning on NPR, I keep thinking about the song “Slap That Bass” by the Gershwin brothers. “Dictators would be better off if they zoom-zoomed now and then,” they write. I couldn’t agree more. “Zoom zoom, zoom zoom,...
Joni Mitchell:  Big Yellow Taxi

Joni Mitchell: Big Yellow Taxi

Of all of today’s jaw-dropping political insanities, the fact-free, capricious dismissal of climate change strikes me as the most destructive and short-sighted. We can’t lose time, we can’t blame it on China, we can’t just tweet it away. I’ve been thinking obsessively...
Tchaikovsky: A Tear Trembles

Tchaikovsky: A Tear Trembles

One tiny step for mankind: I finally finished the program for NYFOS’s Tchaikovsky concert next January. It had been about 82% done for several months, and I kept swearing I just needed a weekend to polish it off. But the longer I looked at the playlist, and the more I...
Rob Schwimmer: Holding You in My Arms

Rob Schwimmer: Holding You in My Arms

At the Thursday performance of Rodgers, Rodgers, and Guettel I met a man I had only heard about: pianist, composer, and thererminist Rob Schwimmer. Rob is a close musical associate of Adam Guettel’s, and a friend of Michael Barrett’s. He was very warm to me after the...
Leonard Bernstein: Take Care of This House

Leonard Bernstein: Take Care of This House

I had planned a different Leonard Bernstein tune to finish out my most enjoyable stint as “Song of the Day” blogger, but the events of last week compelled me to swap out my initial choice, so: some other time. Politics and musical theater have always gone hand in...