Various Thoughts About My Work
(and a few other
things)
by
Bruce Duffie
First
posted in March, 2017, with additions
from time to time
On editing
my interviews...
As you may
or may not be aware, my full-time employment
from 1975-2001 was with WNIB, Classical
97 in Chicago. Except for four
hours overnight during the week, and four hours
on Saturday afternoons, the programming
was exclusively classical music in its great
variety. In addition to my regular duties
as announcer, I also gathered interviews with various
musicians for use both on the air and in selected
magazines and journals. In all (through about
2005), I did over 1600 exclusive interviews.
A few guests I met twice, and very rarely even more times.
While it was not the original intent
of the management to include atonal or cutting-edge
repertoire, I was able to add that material on my
weekend overnight shifts, and part of those programs were
the interviews with composers and performers of
new music.
Preparing
and presenting these interviews on webpages
is very different from editing sections
for use on the radio. What sounds
good to the ear may not look good to the eye.
Hence, various changes need to be made in order
for the resulting impact to be virtually the
same.
Let me state
here that it is my purpose and duty to
render the thoughts and ideas of my guests as
completely and accurately as possible.
It is also my feeling that I should make the
guests look good. I have a genuine
interest and overwhelming love of my subject,
and always tried to solicit ideas from my guests
in response to my own inquires and proddings.
Occasionally, I would ask a question which
was purposely ambiguous in order to allow the guest
to have the freedom to answer in whatever way he
or she chose. This would, however, come after at
least a few questions which would indicate to the guest
that I, as the interviewer, knew what I was talking about,
and that I was interested in knowing what they had to say.
As to the actual
editing, when doing it for the radio,
I would always try to select sections that
showed my guest to their best advantage.
I would also make sure to end the section on
a positive note.
Let me inject
here that when WNIB was going off the
air on its final day, I chose an opera that
ended with a positive sound in a major key
— Turandot
— and the final piece of music at 12 Midnight
— Lyric for Strings
by George Walker
—
was also a chosen because of its aural
impression, and the fact
that it ended quietly in a major key.
My first thought was to use Adagio for Strings
by Barber, but that piece was so associated
with the movie Platoon
and other works and dates, that I desired
something more unique and somewhat unknown with
the same feeling. To read more about the
final broadcast, click HERE.
When editing
the spoken words for visual (print)
use, certain mannerisms and repetitions
become really annoying, and when something
is annoying, it detracts from the overall impact.
So the phrases ‘you know’
and ‘I think’, and the interjection
‘well’ were almost
always dropped. I also usually removed the
phrases ‘kind of’ and ‘sort
of’ in most instances since they diminished the
thought and derailed the impact. My
guests were strong and vibrant, and there was no reason
to veil them in any kind of namby-pamby cloak.
In speech, sentences would often begin with the word ‘and’,
so I would either drop the word, or simply connect the
thoughts into one sentence. Parenthetical material,
which is meant to amplify or clarify ideas, makes for tricky
reading, so I would often re-order the sentence to get the
thoughts together.
I hope you
notice that in all of the instances I
never changed any ideas of my guests, nor did
I put words into their mouths. Their
thoughts are what has come through... at least that
has always been my hope, and what I strive to accomplish.
On the rare occasion that my guest would not
answer my question directly — or at all!
— I would change my question in the print
edition so that my guests could answer in the
way they saw fit. If there were any digressions
or extraneous portions, those were usually omitted,
and any glaring errors were either fixed or explained.
Again, those instances were very rare.
I did change
English-English to American-English,
but mostly only in spelling. ‘Labour’
became ‘labor’,
‘theatre’
became ‘theater’,
‘programme’
became ‘program’,
‘organisation’
became ‘organization’,
and references to a group
became singular rather than plural.
‘The audience don’t care’
became ‘The audience
doesn’t care’. This adjustment, by
the way, is only in the text of the interviews.
The biographical boxes and reprints of obituaries
were almost always left intact.
People whose
first language is not English will often
become quite proficient with English
vocabulary, but will continue to use their original
structure patterns. Whereas in
English we put the modifiers first
— a lovely blue sky — others might
speak about ‘a sky blue
lovely’. Those quirks
have often been fixed, though not in every instance.
It always was
my intention to present these conversations
as something to learn from and
enjoy. The transcripts are not of the ‘legal
stenographic’ kind.
My guests were not on trial. I was a guest
at their concert venue or in their hotel,
or they were guests in my home or studio.
I always treated them with kindness and respect, and
allowed them to express themselves without fear of any
kind of accusation or derision.
It is special
to be able to do it at all, but I have managed
to do it quite well in both the audio
medium and the printed renditions.
Not to toot my own horn, but most people seem to think
I am pretty good at both. I have found
it necessary to look not only at the big, overall
picture, but also the smallest details.
I’m sure there is nothing new or
extraordinary about this, but keeping that in my
mind as I edit goes a long way to strengthening the impact
of each interview.
I
know these interviews are
generally long, but they are what I
have, and I want to share what is there.
In a radio broadcast, people have to sit
there until it is over... or go away and miss
whatever comes next. On the printed page,
readers can interrupt their journey and (hopefully)
come back at some point to pick it up again without
missing a beat.
Occasionally
I will update the pages with new photos
and links. So even though a date at
the bottom might indicate the page was uploaded
before others, that is why later interview
links can appear. I do not do this chore
very often, so there may be links which could
be on a page, but are not. However, as long as there
is the possibility of additions or corrections, things
might get improved!
On that thought,
it always pleases me to be able to include
links to other interviews within each new
one that is posted. In most cases, these
are names that are brought up by the guest, or appear
in the biographies or obituaries. Only
occasionally have I introduced them in the course
of asking questions, and in each case, the reference
was, I hope, relevant and logical.
I freely
admit to being a cheerleader for
my topic and my guests. This is not
a bad thing since I am not a news gatherer, but
rather a feature reporter. Because my interviews
were Features rather than News, some of the basic
rules and formats did not apply. For instance,
the old adage for news gathering is to ask these
questions: who, what, where, when, why,
how, huh? That last one (which I have added)
is usually where I got the best and most interesting
responses.
[A brief related addition, posted on
November 5, 2019] Regarding my webpages,
several times I have received requests to
place advertisements. In all cases I have
declined, and despite my tight financial situation,
I hope to be able to continue to say a resounding
“NO!”
to any and all inquiries of that sort.
= = = = = = = = = = =
The following
list appears on a couple of the interview
pages, but since people continue to
ask, here is the answer . . .
I
have done interviews with several musicians
who were born in the Nineteenth Century.
My guest with the earliest birth-date
(March 10, 1892) was soprano Dame Eva Turner.
However, composer/administrator
John Donald
Robb (June 12, 1892), though three
months younger than Turner, was nearly two
years older at the time of our conversation.
Hence, a clarification is needed when I
am asked who my oldest guest was! Next
in birth-order is composer Paul Amadeus Pisk
(May 16, 1893), followed by composer/pianist
Leo Ornstein (December
2, 1893),
and lexicographer Nicolas Slonimsky
(April 27, 1894).
Then come mezzo-soprano Sonia Sharnova
(May 2, 1896), composer/critic Virgil
Thomson (November 25, 1896), and composer Vittorio Rieti (January
28, 1898).
The order continues with composer/pianist
Ernst Bacon
(May 26, 1898), followed by composer Marcel Dick (August
28, 1898), conductor
Werner Janssen
(June 1, 1899), and
composer Alfred Eisenstein (November 14,
1899). The remaining four are composers
Elinor Remick
Warren (February
23, 1900), Otto Luening
(June 15, 1900), and
Ernst Krenek
(August 23, 1900), and finally publisher Hans Heinsheimer (September
25, 1900).
The rest of
my guests were born in the Twentieth Century.
Perhaps, if I have the opportunity, I
might interview someone born after January 1,
2001, and thus have conversations with people
born in three different centuries and two
different millennia! Though there is no
clerical error involved, and it is not my intent
to pad my statistics, somehow the film Mr. 3000 comes to mind.....
= = = = = = = = = = =
Many of my
guests are mostly or completely unknown,
and in an odd way, that pleases me very much.
If someone who is little-known becomes more-known
through my efforts, then I have succeeded in
bringing forth something special to the composite
knowledge of mankind. A lofty statement, certainly,
but when one thinks about it, each of us is asked to
push our tiny segment forward, and my task seems
to have been to enrich the musical world through discovery
of interesting items. Yes, I have also presented
some of the best-known and most popular figures, but,
as John von Rhein mentioned in a Tribune article about the
station, he admired my collection of ‘oddball’
composers and performers. Many times,
after doing a program featuring one of them, I would
get a call or two asking why this person was not
better-known. The callers would remark to
the effect that the music or performing artistry
just presented could certainly stand up against the output
of the well-knowns.
Editing these
interviews from a quarter-century ago
or more, I often find interesting sidelights
and tidbits that either amplify ongoing ideas,
or give new insight into little-explored or
un-spotlighted areas of the subject. It is
truly amazing that these thoughts would be found
in the most remote places and come from such unlikely
sources. This is why I do what I do, and I
hope that others both enjoy and are enlightened by
it all.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Despite the
fact that my early exposure to great music
was on radio (mostly WEFM, the station
sponsored by Zenith in Chicago), and
that I built up a huge collection of recordings
on LP and open reel tape, and that I made my living
at another station (WNIB, Classical 97, also
in Chicago), I maintain — and
have said openly many times — that
the real place to hear great music is live in a
concert hall or opera house. The collision of
these two worlds becomes the so-called ‘pirated’
performances. Usually
operas, these gained wide circulation
amongst the cognoscenti, and in my teens and twenties
I found a number of people who traded copies
of various things with me. However, once I became
a professional radio announcer, I was very careful
NOT to use any of this material on the air. First
of all, the sound quality was often poor, and even though
those of us who obtained these performances understood
this, the casual listener would not be expected to
be aware of the reason(s) for presenting something in
poor sound. Besides that, broadcast rights were
very tricky, and I did not want to involve the station in anything
which could have caused legal problems. It is a thorny
issue, and the musicians I have spoken with have not come
to any kind of consensus about it. Many of them collect
copies — not just of themselves
but of others, both past and current — even
while decrying their use and existence! I remember
specifically one top record executive remarking on
the Texaco Opera Quiz that he does, indeed, collect
them, but would immediately bring suit against anyone who
tried to distribute copies of one of the artists on
his label!
These days,
though I am not involved in the day-to-day
broadcasting activities, I am posting
interviews with my guests and illustrating
the webpages with photos of the artists and
their recordings. I find things on the internet,
but try not to use any copyrighted material,
and I eschew the placement of images of pirated
recordings on my sites. The commercial
recordings are fair game, especially since I am
giving them free publicity, but usually not the broadcasts
and in-house items which seem to abound.
= = =
= = = = = = = =
A few
random thoughts.............
Whoever named
the Butterfly committed a spoonerism.
I think that every time I see one flutter
by, no matter what the articles on its
etymology say.....
Technically,
I was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, on March
11, 1951. My mother’s
doctor was at Elmhurst Hospital, so that is
where she went to deliver me. My father,
however, always insisted I was born in Evanston,
since that is where we lived at the time.
With the myriad suburbs surrounding most major
and minor cities, I wonder how often this kind
of thing happens... It is pleasing
to me that I am exactly — to the
day — 100 years younger than
Rigoletto.
Another Verdi opera, Don Carlos also
had its premiere on March 11, but in a later year (1867).
I also share that date with composer Carl Ruggles
(1876) , and band leader Lawrence
Welk (1903). A quick Google search just now
also revealed many others, including Shemp
Howard (1895). [Related story... I met Michael
Fine when he was producing one of the recordings
made by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I inquired
if he was related to Vivian Fine, whom I
had interviewed. He said no. I then asked if he was related
to Irving Fine, another composer, and he said no. Finally,
I asked if he was related to Burton Fine, principal
violist of the Boston Symphony. Once
more, the answer was no. He then volunteered that
he was related to Larry Fine of the Three Stooges.]
More March 11 birthdays... Astor Piazzola
(1921), Mercer Ellington (1919), and Henry Cowell (1897).
When I interviewed Geraldine Decker,
we had a great laugh that she, also, was born on March
11 (1931).
They left out
the letter ‘D’
from the name Arizona.
I’ve never been there, but
I know it’s quite arid in the
South West...
There are
three major musical works in three different
languages, all of which the public quite
often mistakenly adds the word ‘the’
before the name. To wit:
Messiah, Pagliacci, and Winterreise. Each one is named
as just shown, NOT The Messiah,
nor I Pagliacci, nor Die Winterreise. [Note that the
title of the TV Game Show Match Game
also lacks the article. More about that
program later on this webpage.]
What is with
this overwhelming compulsion to cite the
excrement of the male cow?
English is not the easiest of languages… It can be
understood through tough thorough thought though.
General observation... Regarding professional sports, we,
in the Twenty-First Century
are just like the Ancients.
We
take delight when our city’s
hired gladiators defeat any other city’s
hired gladiators. [GO CUBS!]
= = = = = = = = = = =
[September
1, 2017] While there have always
been doomsayers and other prophets predicting
the end of time, in the past twenty years,
there have been three distinct events which
many people truly believed signaled the End
of Days. Obviously, they were wrong,
but it is interesting to make note of them...
(1) Y2K. In anticipation of the numbered-year
leaving the
1900s and moving to the 2000s, the hue and
cry was heard all over the world that
the computer systems could not handle that change,
and all our electric and electronic grids would
fail, and we would be destroyed. Much time
and effort was put into correcting the problem, which
apparently worked.
(2) One version of the Mayan Calendar simply stopped
on December 21, 2012, and many
people felt this was to be the last day of
Earth. Another version (which carried on for
many more years) was later discovered, but that
did not seem to prevent a few people from weeping and
wailing and gnashing their teeth.
(3) On November 2, 2016, the Chicago Cubs won the World
Series.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[December 26,
2017] A number of people have asked
me about how I selected which interviews
would be used on the air, and when they
would be presented. These days, on the WNUR
series — and also on the
late (and hopefully lamented) series on Contemporary
Classical Internet Radio — there
really is no rhyme nor reason for selection. Programs
were prepared, and now the ones which exist
are simply repeated after two or three years, and
usually in a different month. HOWEVER, in
my quater-century at WNIB, I was very careful and rather
ingenious about timing. Fairly early on,
I stumbled onto the use of ‘round birthdays’. This
simply meant that when a composer or performer had a
‘round birthday’ — 50, 55,
60, 65, 70, etc. — they got a show. Every
five years each one would come up, and a few of the
early interviews aired several times. These
programs were in addition to any promotional use
— such as when one of their works was being
presented in live performance in the Chicago area, or
in conjunction with a new recording. The advantages
of this system meant I did not have agonize over who had
been done and who might be neglected, and so forth. It
also was completely color-blind and gender-blind. There
are only 366 possibilities, and everyone has one whether
they like it or not. It also suited my style, in that
I celebrated life and not death. Yes, I mourned and
eulogized my guests when they passed away, but I did not, thereafter,
mark their dates of death with special progams.
What brings
all this to mind is a brief article in
the newspaper, which is reproduced at right.
Since I am not doing fresh interviews
any more, I wondered just how well I did during
the time I was gathering them, from 1978-2006. So,
I counted up just the composers, and of the 496
names, 62 are women (12.5%), and 15 or 16 are African-American
(approximately 3%). The discrepency
is a man named Roque
Cordero. He was included in the series of recordings
of music by Black Composers issued on
Columbia LPs, but in our interview he told me
quite forcefully that he did not like that label. He
insisted he was Panamanian, not black. There
are probably others — both in general and
on my list — who dislike or even disown
one category or another, but that is for another
discussion. As to other minorities, I cannot accurately
compute them for various reasons. First, I am often
unaware of their background. A name might come
from a few generations back, or perhaps have been lost or
changed through marriage or assimilation. Further,
I have met a number of composers who belong to countries
other than America. How should I count them? Are
they to be lumped into a vague category of Minority-Citizens?
Then, to discount the entire exercise, it is not my
desire nor intent (nor responsibilty!) to ascertain any kind
of pedigree. My interest is their music, and their
ideas about its creation and presentation. Beyond that,
I truly do not care. Their race or sexual orientation
or any other factors are not my concern. As long
as they are part of the Classical Music community, I accept
them as such, and will give them their shot (as I like to
say). In truth, I consider all these kinds of
labels both insulting and unnecessary. We are all people,
citizens, musicians, etc. Naturally, I do not want to
purposely include or exclude anyone, and without really paying
much specific attention to the matter, I think I have been rather
fair and equitable. Looking at the numbers mentioned
above, I assume that this percentage also holds for the performers...
though the women will have a higher resulting-number
since they account for nearly all of the sopranos and mezzos!
As to conductors — which are even more
neglectful of the distaff side — there are
14 women in my group of 224 interview guests, which is
6.25%, plus six African-Americans.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[January
6, 2018] During this Holiday Season,
I was listening to some old favorites, including
The Typewriter, a novelty piece
by Leroy Anderson. It occurred to me that it
might not be too many years until that device,
which was once ubiquitous, would not be even recognized
by most of the populace. In musical terms,
it would be like mentioning the Ophicleide or the Serpent...
Just a note regarding
soft timbre... Throughout musical
history, usually the brighter and louder
instruments have won the battle. However,
the actual idea of being ‘loud’
is, ironically, soft-pedaled!
There are two significant instances
where the idea (and nomenclature) of being ‘loud’
was dropped. One of the
early hammer-struck keyboard instruments
was the ‘fortepiano’
or the ‘pianoforte’. Forte
means loud, and piano means
soft, so it was literally the ‘loudsoft’
or the ‘softloud’, indicating
its ability to be both, contrasting to the plucked-instruments
such as the harpsichord and
the virginal. Quickly, the name was
abbreviated to simply ‘piano’,
as we know the instrument today.
So, the idea of being
‘loud’ was dropped. The same
thing happened to the box which actually turns
electrical signals into sound, namely the ‘loudspeaker’.
We all know it as
a ‘speaker’, which,
again, drops the idea of being loud. [You
may insert here any and all puns involving
the word ‘allowed’.]
= =
= = = = = = = = =
On the subject
of things that are obsolete, I have
wondered for a long time if the slide rule
was the object which went the fastest from
being absolutely necessary to being completely useless.
Everyone who did any kind of mathematical
computation needed one, and relied on it in
every instance. But as soon as the electronic hand-held
calculator came out, the slide rule was immediately
pushed aside, never to return to any kind of use...
except as a relic of a bygone age.
Of course,
we can always look back even farther in
time to the abacus . . .
Chinese type
(5 plus 2) above; Japanese type (4 plus 1)
below
Noting the
two different systems shown, today, one
might think of the rivalry between Mac
and PC, and realize that such dualities
have existed for centuries. Recently,
there was the debate between VHS and Beta video
tape systems, between 45 rpm and 33 rpm records
in the late 1940s, and cylinders vs. lateral-cut
78 rpm discs at the turn of the Twentieth Century.
There was no real problem with the introduction
of electrical recordings in 1925, since reproducers
in the home could accommodate both. The only
real need for new equipment was at the production end,
and the record companies invested in the new system.
The same could not be said for the introduction of
stereo in the mid-1950s. There, the home consumer
had to be persuaded to purchase new equipment, and this was
not even a decade after everyone had to abandon their 78 machines
in favor of the LP players. A similar upheaval in the music
industry was seen with the advent of cassettes and CDs.
A story I heard
many years ago (and have repeated in the
hopes it was mostly or completely true)
involves the size and playing-time of the compact
disc. It seems that one of the people who
were calling the shots at the time of its creation
was a Japanese man who knew that his countrymen simply
adored the Beethoven Symphony #9. So,
to accommodate that piece of music, the CD needed
to hold about 74 minutes of sound. The story
may or may not be true, but it makes a good legend, and I
simply choose to believe it.
[August 31, 2019, and inserted here
to keep the topics together] Thinking
again of 78s, here's the famous image of our old
friend Nipper, and a couple of tidbits about its
origins . . . . .
His Master's Voice (HMV)
is a famous trademark in the recording
industry, and was the unofficial name of a major
British record label.
The trademark image comes from
a painting by English artist Francis Barraud
titled His Master's Voice. It was acquired
from the artist in 1899 by the newly formed Gramophone
Company, and adopted as a trademark by the Gramophone
Company's United States affiliate, the Victor Talking
Machine Company. According to contemporary Gramophone
Company publicity material, the dog, a terrier named
Nipper, had originally belonged to Barraud's brother,
Mark. When Mark Barraud died, Francis inherited Nipper,
along with a cylinder phonograph and recordings of Mark's
voice. Francis noted the peculiar interest that the dog
took in the recorded voice of his late master emanating from
the horn, and conceived the idea of committing the scene
to canvas. The incident took place at 92 Bold Street, Liverpool.
A different source relates a cautionary
tale for artists about getting and keeping
the copyright for art...
When Barraud painted Nipper curiously
searching for his master's voice in the
phonograph's horn, not only was the artist turned
down for a copyright for the image, but he was also
rejected by the Royal Academy, and various magazines.
The Edison Bell company responded that "dogs don’t listen
to phonographs."
Barraud eventually sold another
painting, with a Berliner brass horn, to
one of the company's managers, where it caught
the eye of the Emile Berliner, the company's founder,
who commissioned another copy AND bought the rights
to it! The famous image went on to become the trakemark
of the Victor Talking Machine Co. Victor was Berliner's
partner, and the image ultimately survived Victor's
merger with RCA in 1929. It was printed on record labels,
letterheads, novelties, and catalogues for decades,
but Barraud, the original artist, only received two
payments of £50 each.
Here are a few more details about
the dog, and the original painting (shown
below, which depicted a cylinder machine, and
not the flat-disc machine we all know)...
Nipper was born in 1884
in Bristol, England, and died in September
1895. He was a mixed-breed dog and probably part Jack
Russell Terrier, although some sources suggest
that he was a Smooth Fox Terrier, or "part Bull
Terrier". He was named Nipper because he would
"nip" the backs of visitors' legs.
Nipper originally lived with his owner,
Mark Henry Barraud, in the Prince's Theatre
where Barraud was a scenery designer. When Barraud
died in 1887, his brothers Philip and Francis took
care of the dog. Nipper himself died of natural causes
in 1895 and was buried in Kingston upon Thames in Clarence
Street, in a small park surrounded by magnolia trees.
As time progressed the area was built upon, and a branch
of Lloyds Bank now occupies the site. On the wall of the
bank, just inside the entrance, a brass plaque commemorates
the terrier that lies beneath the building.
On 10 March 2010, a small road near to the dog's resting place
in Kingston upon Thames was named Nipper Alley in commemoration
of this resident.
In 1898, three years after Nipper's
death, Francis Barraud, his last owner and
brother of his first owner, painted a picture of
Nipper listening intently to a wind-up Edison-Bell
cylinder phonograph. Thinking the Edison-Bell
Company located in New Jersey, USA, might find
it useful, he presented it to James E. Hough, who
promptly said, "Dogs don't listen to phonographs". On
May 31, 1899, Barraud went to the Maiden Lane offices
of The Gramophone Company with the intention of
borrowing a brass horn to replace the original black
horn on the painting. Manager William Barry Owen suggested
that if the artist replaced the machine with a Berliner
disc gramophone, that he would buy the painting. The image
became the successful trademark of the Victor and HMV record
labels, HMV music stores, and the Radio Corporation of America,
after the acquisition of the Victor company in 1929. The trademark
was registered by Berliner for use in the United States on
July 10, 1900.
Francis Barraud said, "It is difficult
to say how the idea came to me beyond the
fact that it suddenly occurred to me that to have my
dog listening to the phonograph, with an intelligent
and rather puzzled expression, and call it 'His Master's
Voice' would make an excellent subject. We had a phonograph
and I often noticed how puzzled he was to make out where
the voice came from. It certainly was the happiest thought
I ever had."
The slogan "His Master's Voice",
along with the painting, was sold to The
Gramophone Company for £100 (equivalent
to £10,628 in 2018) – half for the copyright and
half for the physical painting itself. The original
oil painting hung in the EMI boardroom in Hayes, Middlesex,
for many years.
The two cartoons below reflect our
'progress' as we firmly embrace the Twenty-First
Century, and amplify my remarks vis-à-vis
the typewriter . . . . .
[Another observation, from May 11, 2020]
Future generations may wonder why something
called a "compact" disc held more material than
a "long playing" record!
Next is a cartoon from
2017 (below-right), which was originally placed on this
page on September 27, 2021. The other cartoon (on the left, and
probably from a couple of decades ago) just seemed appropriate,
and was added January 30, 2022.
Statement seen: "Classic LPs are
going for record prices!!!!"
Next, yet another vinyl gag [added to this
page on July 16, 2022]
= = = = = = = = = = =
[June 29, 2018]
Alert observers might notice that
as of the end of March, 2018, many of the
links to my interviews which appear in Wikipedia
articles have a slightly different format.
Specifically, my name has been removed
from the line. For several years, it was <<<Interview
with (name of guest) by Bruce Duffie, on (date
of interview).>>>
Because someone complained that I was spamming,
and felt the only reason for these links
was my own self-promotion, that person urged the
removal of all of these links. A discussion
was launched, and several Administrators weighed
in with their opinions. Fortunately, enough
of them saw the importance of the interviews themselves,
and the complainant was admonished to cease the
battering, and even urged to apologize (which did
not happen). After about a week, the discussion
was formally closed, and the upshot was that I removed
my name from many of the links, and am not including it
in future postings. However, a number of the old-style
links remain, so there might be a bit of confusion since
they are not uniform. For anyone who cares to read it,
the entire discussion is reproduced HERE.
[Updated information about the
above item] Since I had "corrected"
many of the links (to remove my name), another editor(s)
felt this was wrong, and undid some of those corrections...
thus replacing my name in the link. One editor
contacted me about the removals, and I showed him/her
the discussion (linked above). Since I don't go back
to old Wikipedia pages very often, I do not know whether the
changes have been made to a few or many of them. It is
unimportant... as long as the link itself is there, I am satisfied.
[Further updated information
about my involvement with Wikipedia] In August
of 2021, another editor started deleting my links. Upon
inquiry, he stated that I had no rights to use the images
of record covers. I explained that record companies
sent me promotional copies of their material in hopes that I would
use it on the air, and also (where possible) show their images. I
even checked this out with one President of a major record company,
but this did not stop him from saying he would continue to delete my
links. Despite having been praised as "an asset to Wikipedia" by
several Administrators (shown above via the link), I knew that he would
see anything I added or deleted from Wikipedia. So, I have simply
withdrawn from any further involvement. My hope is that he has
lost interest in me, and that my earlier links would be left intact.
I say all this to (a) let you know that no further interviews
will be linked, and (b) tell why some links might disappear from existing
pages.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[January 3, 2019]
In reading some of the comments about
my interviews, a couple people have noted
that a few of my questions tend to pop up with
regularity. While this is certainly true, I
do hope that in each case the inquiries come naturally,
and at an appropriate place in the conversation.
I never worked with a specific list of questions,
and always tried to discuss the specific strengths of
each guest. However, since all were involved in so-called
Classical Music, there were bound to be common points
of interest and expertise. To look at it another
way, when you eat at my restaurant, each meal on the menu
will be unique, but many will have some ingredients in common.
Since all are being prepared by myself as chef,
there will be some resemblances and similarities. I
hope this does not discourage anyone from sampling my cuisine.....
It is also
interesting to see how various people respond
and react to the same question(s). Continuing
the metaphor, there will certainly be differing
opinions from various people to the same item
on my menu. Observing those reactions should
not, necessarily, cause me to change the recipe.
Perhaps having a few condiments on the table
will allow for each person to season the dish to their
own taste, but this can only happen when a certain stability
is built into the process. Once again, my goal with
the interviews is to allow each guest to express their own
views, and I trust that a few similar questions will get
a variety of responses.
= = = = = = = = = = =
A few years ago, I met
a fine baritone whom I had known on the
stage for a long time. Warren Fremling
has performed in local and regional productions
over the years, and has had a significant impact
each time. Lately, he has been an invaluable
help to me by proofreading my interviews before
they are opened to the public on my website. I
am grateful to him for pointing out not only mistakes
(of which, fortunately, there are few), but also for occasionally
suggesting better ways of expressing the ideas. As
I have mentioned, I never change the focus nor direction
of the words my guests use, but by tightening and sometimes
re-gathering thoughts, their objectives are made more clear
to readers. In several cases, Warren has suggested slight
changes which bring these thoughts into sharper focus, and
for that I am eternally grateful.
In our exchanges, he also
has provided me with further insights into
the world of professional singing, and his most
recent gift to me was a clear and succinct explanation
of the various voice-types, and how they can be viewed
by experts and novices alike. With his
permission, it is reproduced here...
There
are two things that
decide this. The first is color.
Richness in the middle voice is revealing.
The second, and much more reliable,
is the location of the bridge or passagio. A
mezzo’s bridge is a-kin to a baritone’s. It’s on
the D, a ninth above mid-C (a baritone’s being
an octave lower, obviously). I’ve diagrammed
voices according to their interest and comfort
to the listener’s ear – not what the singer does,
but what is natural to the instrument. A soprano
or tenor sound like this: \/ - the bottom
is light and the voice sounds more interesting and
easier as the voice ascends. The mezzo and baritone
sound like this: () – the voice is fattest in the
middle. We have some of the low notes of the contralto/bass
and some of the high notes of the soprano/tenor, but you
can’t live there. The middle is where we’re most
at home. The contralto/bass is the exact opposite
of the soprano/tenor – the voice gets fatter and more beautiful
with the descent.
|
= = = = = = = = = = =
[February 4, 2019]
As the the shortest month of the
year rolls around once again, I am reminded of
the one word which I simply gave up trying to pronounce
correctly. I made an effort, but it simply
was too awkward to do both correctly and smoothly at
the same time. I could say Feb-ROO-rary, but it
required slowing down the enunciation to the point where
it was simply untenable. [You may insert any kind
of joke here, regarding it not being a ten, or even a nine,
but perhaps a two or three at best...] Imagine, if you
will, a car on the highway, and for some unknown reason it
just slowed to a crawl. It would certainly look strange,
to say nothing about impeding traffic and being hazardous.
This is not to say that an announcer mis-pronouncing
a word on the radio could be hazardous in any way, but you
get my drift... So if any tapes exist of my work where
I say the name of the second month, you will hear a firm and confident
FEB-you-air-ee. I know it is wrong, and I knew it at
the time, and I make no excuses.
I am sure I made other mistakes,
and, indeed, I was corrected on a few
occasions. But by and large, I was complimented
by members of the public on my accuracy and
stylistic manners. It was especially
nice to hear that I had pronounced the name of a person
or location properly from someone who was from
that particular locale. I want to say, however,
that when someone called to make a correction, my
first task was to ascertain if that person on the telephone
was accurate! There were a few occasions
when a caller would berate me and give a different
version of the way to pronounce a name, and when I checked with
a known authority, I found that my own rendition was correct,
and the caller had been wrong. It reminds me
of the sign which famously hung in the City News Bureau for
many years, which screamed, “If
your mother says she loves you, check it out!”
On that particular subject,
I remember one evening when we aired a
syndicated broadcast of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
The announcer (who shall remain nameless)
proclaimed the conductor to be Esa-Pekka Sa-LOH-nehn.
Well, I had interviewed the Maestro,
and, as usual, had asked him to do a station
break, in which he said his name. His pronunciation
was SAL-oh-nehn. At some point during the
evening, I must have said his name myself, and pronounced
it his way, and immediately received a phone call screaming
at me for my stupidity. “If
the announcer on the Los Angeles Symphony broadcast had
said it one way, that MUST be the accurate way!”
I tried, very calmly, to explain, but
the caller simply slammed the phone down. The
next evening, I brought in my interview tape and played
the station break. I have no idea if that caller from
the previous night heard it, but at least I settled the matter
for anyone who was listening . . . . .
= = = = = = = = = = =
[April 22, 2019] Consider,
if you will, the following scenario...
Bill opens a small restaurant that features
Fine Dining. He is successful, and over the
course of forty-five years, the eatery becomes well-known
and highly-respected. After spending his adult
life maintaining this establishment, he decides to
retire. As it happens, the location he originally
chose -- which was, at the time, perfectly good but
not very popular -- had become very desirable. So
Bill closed the restaruant and sold the location to Bonney,
who brought in her own staff and opened a shoe store. It
immediately attracted business, and became very competitive.
Now when one thinks of the
history of the restaurant vis-à-vis
the ongoing story of the shoe store, it should
be obvious that aside from the physical location,
there is no connection whatsoever. Right?
Perhaps, the historical account of each one
should have a mention of the other as being at the same
address, but that's certainly all the crossover interest
there would be.
With that in mind, I ask you
to look HERE.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[June 28, 2019] Following
up on my remarks about diversity (above,
with the date of December 26, 2017), much has
transpired in the short time since then. While
I do not — and did not — go into
the political area when conversing with
my musical guests, it has come to my attention that
the Music World is, nonetheless, very much involved
in such social matters. For example, the
editorial in Opera Canada of Summer, 2019, discusses
the “central debate about
how to keep the art form relevant for an audience which
no longer passively accepts the racist, misogynist
and sexist tropes of yesteryear.” It
goes on to discuss the “challenges faced by
women singers portraying some of the standard repertoire’s
iconic roles... many of which are mired
in stereotypes we find unacceptable in the
#MeToo era.”
My reason for bringing this up
is to point out that in several of my interviews
— which date from 1978-2006
— I specifically ask the question
of my female singer guests. To wit: “How
do we keep these Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Century characters relevant to women (and
men) today who have gone through world wars, and social
upheavals, and other developments of our times?”
This is not to just pat
myself on the back for being so forward-looking,
but to show that my own curiosity was such that
it became imperative to inquire about these ideas,
and to ask how they resonated with audiences far
removed from the original mores and strictures.
Of course, in the theater, the
production team can (and often does) re-set
the action to a later era, or even to the present
day. That is, again, a discussion for
another time and place, but it does move the ideas
in ways that can provoke or amuse. There is
also the need to remember that it was only in the early
Twentieth Century that the classical musical public
abandoned its craving for anything and everything which
was new. Until then, while there were performances
of older pieces, it was the newest and latest symphonies
and operas which were anticipated with genuine eagerness. Once
this trend was lost, the oft-repeated repertoire began
to show signs of losing its immediate contact with concert-goers,
and from there it is the famous ‘slippery
slope’.
In any event, I just wanted to
call attention to my own small attempts
to make inquiry when possible, and to show that
my own feeling is that opera can remain a viable
and exciting living breathing art form.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Music Joke... Question:
What are the names of the Three
Bears? Answer: Smokey Bear, Yogi
Bear, Jacques Ibert
Second Music Joke... What
if we discover that’s what
it really is all about? [Reference:
Hokey Pokey]
Third Music Joke... Question:
What is the voice-range of the
quarter-hour? Answer: People
often say, "It'll be tenor fifteen minutes!"
Fourth Music Joke...
A woman is on trial for beating her husband
to death with his guitars.
The judge
asks, “First offender?” She replies, “No, first
a Gibson, then a Fender.”
Musical variation on an old joke... If
Mezzo-Soprano Shirley Verrett
married Tenor George Shirley,
she’d be Shirley
Shirley!
Continuing with a bit of music humor,
for those who wish to look at a slightly risqué image,
this R-rated item
is the photo of a sculpture depicting the realization of a
very old (music-related) joke. While it is nothing more
bold than what one would see at a museum, remember, no one is forcing
you to look. So, by clicking the link you implicitly agree that
your viewing is voluntary, and no complaints can be made.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[August 29, 2019] I
stumbled upon this item just now, and thought
it would be fun to post it here. For
those who do not read music, or for anyone interested
in seeing a nifty connection between this tune and
the main thrust of my website, click HERE.
Lest you think it is only one
or two goofballs at a single establishment
who would make such an error, consider the fact
that the government of the former DDR (East Germany)
issued two postage stamps in 1956 to mark the 100th
anniversary of the death of composer Robert Schumann.
They were the same portrait of Schumann, used
for two denominations, but the music in the background was
by Franz Schubert! These are the top two stamps in
the illustration below. Soon, the error was discovered,
and a new version of the stamps (with music by Schumann)
was issued, as seen in the bottom two in the illustration.
There have been other philatelic
mistakes, but most have been caught before
the stamps were available to the public for use
as postage. This is not about printing errors,
such as inverted images, or mistakes in colors or perferations.
Rather, place names have been mis-attributed
and people have been wrongly identified. But
those shown below are the only foul-ups I know which
involve music or musicians.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[September 19, 2019]
The following is from an essay about
the (missing?) "A" in Neil Armstrong's famous
first statement when he stepped on the moon,
which was posted on the website "The Conversation"
7/16/19.
----------------------
When we talk, we formulate a thought, retrieve words from memory
and move our mouths to produce sound. We do this quickly, producing,
in English, around five syllables every second.
The process for listeners is equally complex and speedy. We hear
sounds, which we separate into speech and non-speech information, combine
the speech sounds into
words, and determine the meanings of these
words. Again, this happens nearly instantaneously,
and errors rarely occur.
These processes are even more extraordinary when you think more
closely about the properties of speech. Unlike writing, speech doesn’t
have spaces between words. When people speak, there are typically very
few pauses within a sentence.
Yet listeners have little trouble determining word boundaries in
real time. This is because there are little cues – like pitch and rhythm
– that indicate when one word stops and the next begins.
But problems in speech perception can arise when those kinds of cues
are missing, especially
when pitch and rhythm are used for non-linguistic
purposes, like in music. This is one reason
why misheard song lyrics – called “mondegreens”
– are common. When singing or rapping, a lot of
the speech cues we usually use are shifted to accommodate
the song’s beat, which can end up jamming our
default perception process.
[October 18, 2019] When
I was a teenager in the mid 1960s, I actually
did some work with computers... designing flow
charts and writing code in FORTRAN. The lines
were then put onto punch cards, which then ran through
the computer to execute the (very simple) programs. I
didn't stick with it, though, and only came back to computers
via a Memorywriter (a word-processor) which the radio
station had, and used for awhile to publish the WNIB Program Guide
in the late 1980s.
My reason for mentioning this at all
is that some time back then I saw the famous saying
which is reproduced below. Recently I remembered
this saying, and looked it up via a Google search.
The many presentations varied a bit, but
had the same basic content. Besides the signs and
posters there was a tee-shirt, a coffee mug, and even one
going so far as to use faux nazi stationery.
In any event, here is one rendition for
your enjoyment.................
In the same Google search, I spotted
the following item, which probably should
be posted in every office................
[March 23, 2021
(yes, a year after the item which follows)]... This
next image actually belongs with both the items above and
below! .................
= = = = = = = = = = =
[March 24, 2020] During the
coronavirus pandemic, I happened upon this article,
and felt it was significant enough to share. Perhaps it should
also be posted in every office, along with the item
shown directly above (about the rising cost and increase
of stupid questions), as an antidote to the situation .
. . . . . . . . (!)
Obviously, there is nothing funny
about the coronavirus, but there is some humor
to be found in the actions of a few individuals .
. . . .
[April 22, 2020] Current version of
old joke: Why did the chicken cross the
road? To maintain her social-distancing!
[November 9, 2020, and Covid is still the #1 topic
everywhere... *sigh*]
[April 17, 2021... as it all still drags on] My
local grocery store has gone too far.
They’ve put a big X on the floor to show where to stand
in line at the register.
I’ve seen
enough Roadrunner cartoons... I’m not falling for that.
[October 30, 2021]
Do we even need Halloween anymore?
I’ve been wearing a mask and eating candy for 14
months…
= = = = = = = = = = =
[June 24, 2020] We owned a Smart Car (shown on
right in the photo above) for about five years. It was really very
comfortable, and fun to drive around
town. Our other car was a mini-van, which
we used for transporting larger items, and took on longer
road trips. One day, when our Smart Car was
parked in a lot that was full, the owner of the white Smart
Car asked if she could use the ‘other
half’ of our space. The
result looks as though our cars are kissing! In
the spirit of admonishing a couple who are showing too
much PDA (public display of affection) to “Get
a room!”, a passer-by shouted, “GET A GARAGE!!!”
= = = = = = = = = = =
[September 12, 2020] As
people who have read my interview with Charles
Nelson Reilly know, one of my guilty pleasures
is watching re-runs of Match Game. The
ones I like best are from the 1970s, with host Gene Rayburn,
and panelist Richard Dawson, who was there until 1978. Of
course, Reilly was there throughout, and he truly made
the show funny. One of the other regular panelists,
Brett Somers, said that a fan had declared that the program
should really be called Charles Nelson Reilly's House
Party, alluding to another program actually called Art
Linkletter's House Party. One week, Raymond Burr
was in the lower-middle position of the six panelists.
My reason for mentioning all of this is that on one
episode that week, there were two questions relating to music!
The first one went something like this... Tough
Teddy said, "Our school was soooooo tough... [audience shouts,
"How tough was it?"] ...it was so tough that the the school
orchestra kidnapped the janitor and put him in the _______." [The
panel and contestants were to fill in the blank at the end of the
sentence, and when they matched, it scored a point for the contestant.]
The more popular answer was "Tuba", given by the contestant
and four of the panelists, but Reilly (and one other panelist)
said "Drum". This was what the writers were going for,
since there was a commercial product called "Janitor in a Drum".
The second musical question was, "Pat Pending (!) invented
a juke box for people who hate music. You drop a quarter
in the slot, and it ______s the record." The obvious answer
(which won the game for the contestant) was "breaks" (or smashes).
[November 2, 2020... amazingly this goes
with the Match Game item above!] I
continue to enjoy these re-runs, and now they have
added the evening series Match Game PM. Each
week had a stand-alone game which was edited a bit to
get through the entire game in one segment. (The weekday
edition just played for the time allotted, and games spread
over to the next day when necessary - which was most of the
time!) Anyway, there were two music questions in recent
PM programs... The first was "Lawrence _______". The
panelists gave Lawrence of Arabia, and Lawrence Welk, then
Reilly chimed in with, "I know this is an old reference, but
Lawrence Tibbett!" Rayburn acknowledged that he knew of
"the famous baritone", and began singing the Toreador Song from
Carmen, but the audience was not impressed. The third
response from the polled audience was Lawrence Olivier. For
the record, Lawrence Welk was chosen by the contestant, and won
the top prize. The other question was more obscure. The
question was "_______ foxes." The panel suggested sly foxes,
and, being theater people, Little Foxes (the play by Lillian
Hellman). I don't remember the third choice, nor which was the
winning item. I was engrossed in the fact that while Somers and
Rayburn were trying to remember which actress starred as Regina on
Broadway, and which one was in the film, Reilly screamed, "AND BRENDA
LEWIS STARRED IN THE OPERA REGINA BY MARC BLITZSTEIN." I
was so proud of him at that point. For the record, it was Tallulah
Bankhead on Broadway (1939), and Bette Davis in the film (1941).
The opera premiered in 1949 at the 46th Street Theatre, with
Jane Pickens as Regina, conducted by Maurice Abravanel.
Lewis sang Birdie, but then moved to the title role when
the opera was revived in 1953 at the City Centre Opera.
[December
2, 2020... a couple more related items] Two
more questions come to mind, and both relate to music
in the nude. (!) A well-endowed lady volunteered
for the All-Nude Orchestra. Unfortunately, she
played _________. The contestant responded with Cymbals,
and some panelists also said that. But after all six
made their contribution, Rayburn said that his answer was the
Accordion! [Huge laugh from the audience.] On
another episode was this question... A man complains to
the conductor of the All-Nude Marching Band, "I don't mind playing
in your ensemble, but do I have to walk in front of the _________???"
Again, the contestant said Cymbals, but a couple of the
panelists said Trombone!
[December
27, 2020... one more item!] This is from
the third version of the program, the Match Game-Hollywood
Squares Hour. This incantation of the
program only lasted one season (October, 1983 - July,
1984). Rayburn returned as host of the Match Game
portions, and Jon Bauman (who had been Bowzer with Sha Na Na)
hosted the Hollywood Squares segment. Bauman dressed
normally, in a suit and tie, with regular hair, not all greased
up. However, he did occasionally refer to his Bowzer
character "from a previous life," and sometimes showed his
famous open-mouth fists-in-the-air pose. Anyway, on one
segment, there was this (musical) question: "When well-endowed
Wanda played her accordion, Lady of Spain became Lady
of _______." As it happened, one panelist (Mark
Russell) gave away the punch line by saying that the title became
Lady of Pain, and they had to throw out the question before
the contestant had a chance to respond. For those who are
interested, see my interview with accordionist Robert Davine.
On another
program, the question was "George was always tired
when he got home from work because he was a ________ salesman."
I don't remember any of the other responses,
but Bauman said "Anvil", and promptly started singing
the "Anvil Chorus" from Il Trovatore. (Remember
that Bauman had attended Juilliard!) Rayburn also
joined in, but no one else seemed to respond to their rendition.
*sigh*
[January
16, 2021... though the date of my posting is not really
relevant since all the Match Game programs are
re-runs from 45 or more years ago!] Another couple
of musical questions... "George knew his son would
be a musician because his head was shaped like a __________."
The contestant said Violin, and the six panelists
said Drum, Grand Piano, Heart - which is an Organ (the panelist
made that clarification!), Triangle, Tuba, and Reilly said
a G-Clef, and drew a very respectable image on his card. The
last panelist (Joyce Bulifant) noted that it was quite an ensemble,
and Rayburn pointed out that there were seven different excellent
responses. [The following was added on November 27, 2021,
but placed here for obvious reasons] On another program,
there was a different set of seven responses. The question
was, "Ugly Edna was the center-fold of Musician's Monthly
because her legs looked like a ___________. The contestant
said Violin, and the six celebreties said Baton, Tuba, Piano Legs
(Reilly), Cello, Slide Trombone, and a Pair of Bassoons (Patti
Deutsch).
Another question was, "When
Joshua wanted to destroy the wall in Jericho, his
trumpet wasn't enough, so he used a _________." The
contestant and one panelist said Tuba, another panelist
said Piano, one said Bulldozer, and the other three said Hammer.
Rayburn lamented that four of the six panelists just
didn't understand the question! Though there were
no 'right' or 'wrong' answers, he often would gently deride them
when there was one (or more) obvious answer, and the contestant
or panelists would completely miss the joke.
[February 12,
2021] Yet another "Audience Match" question
was, "Bella _______." Dawson rightly said that the
audience often mis-spelled their responses, and that
despite his name being Bela, they might have said "Lugosi,"
which, indeed was the number-one answer. Incidentally,
other questions on the program often used the character
of Count Dracula, and Rayburn spoke the quote in an accent quite
close to Lugosi's. Again, I forget what the number two
response was, but Reilly's (third position) response was,
"Bella figlia dell'amore," which is the opening phrase
of the Quartet from Rigoletto. Rayburn then began
singing the phrase (correctly). It's just another reason
why I love that show.
[March 21,
2021... yet another one to SPRING up... ! (Sorry
for the pun. I just wanted to SEASON this line.)]
Rose phoned her psychiatrist. She said,
"My husband is on the roof! He thinks he's a ________"
The contestant said Cat. Three panelists said
Bird, one panelist said Weather Vane, and another said TV
Antenna. Reilly said FIDDLER ! (Get it?
Fiddler on the Roof!)
[January 23, 2022] One
more re-run just seen... The question for the big
money was "______ toast". One celebrity response was
"French" (which was the $500 (top) audience response, and the one
the contestant chose). The next celebrity response was
"White", and then Reilly said, "I'm going to give a Nellie answer.
MELBA!" He had to explain who Nellie Melba was, and that
she was a famous opera singer. It turned out that Melba Toast
was the $100 audience response.
[February 19, 2022] From another
re-run of Match Game 75... The tuba player said, "I
don't think that new conductor likes me. In the middle
of my solo, he started __________ing in my tuba!" While the
celebrities were writing their responses, CNR asked, "How far was
the tuba from the conductor?" (Some laughter from
the audience) Betty White asked, "And what was the trajectory?"
(More laughter) CNR continued, "How old was the conductor?
All those strings to get across..." (Much laughter)
The contestant's response was, "Tinkling". Rayburn then
pretended to be on the podium looking at the orchestra, pointing to the
violins, then the cellos, then the basses farther away, and, "Waaaay
in the back are the tubas." The celebrity answers were a bit
boring... Allen Ludden said "Blowing", Brett Somers said, "Barfing",
CNR said "Eating lunch", Dolly Martin said "Expectorating", and Betty
White said "Pouring Water." Richard Dawson was the only one who
matched the contestant with "Tinkling".
[March 7, 2022... I just keep
watching the progams, and they keep serving up the music
questions] On a PM show, the question was: A Marching
Band member said, "I learned a painful lesson today. Never
stop fast when there's a ______ player behind you." The contestant
said Tuba, but all six celebrities said the 'right' answer, which
was Trombone!
From another (regular weekday) show
from 1978... Jack said, "This t-shirt craze is really
wild. I saw a girl with an entire orchestra on her front.
She had the biggest ________ I ever saw!" The contestant
said Cymbals. The celebrities said Tubas, Instruments, Bassoons,
and Maracas. CNR said Kettle Drums, to which Rayburn commented
that when they were upside down they'd look... (he never bothered
to finish the sentence since everyone was laughing). By this
time, Richard Dawson had departed for Family Feud, and Bob Barker
(host of The Price is Right) sat in the lower-center seat that
week. He said Boobs, to which the audience loudly booed. He
then said, "This audience is the pits... like orchestra pits!" and
the audience continued to boo. After everything settled down, Rayburn
said that in the office, they all thought the answer would be Bongo
Drums. Yes, there were more boos from the audience. It's
really a fun show...........
[March 17, 2022... and the shows
just keep coming along!] A Match Game Limerick: A
kinky young pianist named Twist/Played piano with only his
wrist./When he got on his knees/And banged on the keys/He said,
"I'm bound to be ________." The contestant and four on the
panel (including CNR) said Kissed. Dawson said Hissed (which
was my answer), but Bobby Van had the best response, which was
LISZT !
Another question from another show...
A stripper said to the night club owner, "I want a new
dressing room! The musician next door just poked a
peep hole through the wall with his __________." The contestant
had the best answer, which was Trombone, but none of the panel
said that. CNR was away doing a Broadway show, so Gary
Burghoff sat in his seat and said Drum Stick. (He had actually
worked as a jazz drummer, and was seen in M*A*S*H playing
a drum solo (which was not overdubbed!). Other responses were
Piccolo, Horn (which matched), French Horn (which did NOT match),
and two said Instrument.
[August 19, 2022] From a very early program
in the series, since Rayburn was called the Host rather than
the Star... A music teacher said to Dumb Dora, "You don't
play a _________ by blowing on it." The contestant and five
of the panelists all said Piano. CNR was the only one who said
Violin.
[October 17, 2022] Here's yet another pair
of questions... They call Oscar the Orchestra Leader "The
Ostrich" because when the band plays bad, Oscar sticks his head in
the _______. The contestant and three panelists said Tuba. Arlene
Francis said Pit, and CNR said Toilet. [The contestant had matched
one in the previous round, so only 5 panelists responded.
The other question was an Audience Match. Slide
_________. Brett suggested Rule, Betty White said Projector,
and Richard Dawson made a joke of Slide, Kelly, Slide (the
1927 silent film), but then opted for Trombone. I was amazed that
Trombone did not show up as any of the audience's responses. The
third most popular response ($100) was Home, the second ($250) was Projector,
and the top one ($500) was Rule. I don't remember what the contestant
picked, but it was not Trombone..... *sigh*
[November 18, 2022] A baritone asked a tenor,
"How do you hit those high notes?" The tenor replies, "Before
each performance, my wife _______s my shorts." The contestant
and four of the panelists said starches. Patti Deutsch said heats,
and clarified that it was because the theater was cold. CNR said
lights. Dawson then remarked that if she lights the shorts, only
dobermans would hear the high notes!
[March 18, 2024] Each year there are some 'new' additions
to the re-run rotation, and now the syndicated version (without a date attached)
is being seen. One show from 1980 had this item... Old Oscar the musician
is really old. He played his first duet with ________. The
contestant said Beethoven, and when Rayburn asked why she had come up with
that, she said it was the only song she knew. However, she soon started
saying "Jesu joy (of man's desiring)" which some audience members shouted
was by Bach. The panelists' responses were Brahms (Robert Walden),
Bach (Brett Somers), then CNR said he had The Definitive Answer: Gabriel,
because he blew his horn! Judy Landers then said Eve, Bill Daily said
Lawrence Welk, and Marcia Wallace said, "That good little tuba player, Noah!"
CNR then chimed in that Noah would have played the Double Bass, since
everything on the Ark came in pairs!
= = = = = = = = = = =
I am proud to say that a quotation from my interview with
Maria Tallchief was used as the text with the animation
in this Google Doodle.
To see the video, and read about its creation, click
HERE.
= = = = = = = = = = =
[December
20, 2020] A couple of images for the season
. . . . . The first one is not new, but does involve
some wonderfully appropriate critters!
On
the other hand, it has been a very tough
year . . . . .
= = = = = = = = = = =
The following panel contains two separate jokes.
Do NOT try to make them into one idea.
They just happened to be inspired by the
world situation . . . . .
All of his reminds me
of an actual musical chord, concocted by Nicolas Slonimsky,
which he calls The Grandmother
Chord (shown immediately below)...
From the interview,
here is how he explains its derivation...
Technically, it is a mathematical problem because you
have to use all twelve different notes and all eleven different intervals.
It's not so easy; if you start by just trial and
error, you won't get anywhere because you will either
repeat a note or repeat an interval! But I also found
that musically it's very easy. Jocularly I say that great
adventures always have very elementary fundamental principles,
and this principle is extremely simple! Using a convergent system
of intervallic progression, the first note of the scale, let's
say C, then the last note of the chromatic scale, B. Then
the second note of the chromatic scale, C-sharp and the one before
— the penultimate — B-flat,
then D, A, E-flat, A-flat, E, G, F, F-sharp. So it's convergent,
and when it's expanded [sings, alternating between low and high
notes] "da-DAH-dee-DAH-dah-DAH" and developed throughout seven
octaves, then I have my Grandmother Chord.
= = = = = =
= = =
Walter
Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862 – December
22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and
composer. He is best remembered today as long-time director
of the New York Symphony Orchestra and for conducting the
world premiere performances of George Gershwin's Piano
Concerto in F (1925) and An American in
Paris (1928). Damrosch was also instrumental in the founding
of Carnegie Hall. He also conducted the first performance of
Rachmaninov's third piano concerto with Rachmaninov himself
as a soloist.
Damrosch
was the National Broadcasting Company's music director
under David Sarnoff, and from 1928 to 1942, he hosted
the network's Music Appreciation Hour, a
popular series of radio lectures on classic music aimed at
students. (The show was broadcast during school hours,
and teachers were provided with textbooks and worksheets
by the network.) According to former New York Times
critic Harold C. Schonberg in his collection Facing the
Music, Damrosch was notorious for making up silly lyrics for
the music he discussed in order to "help" young people appreciate
it, rather than letting the music speak for itself.
|
Now, ninety
years later, what would be the long-term effect
of even a mere five million listeners (and viewers) of similar
presentations on their computers? I hereby "donate"
all the interviews which
are posted on my website as research materials
to be used as any kind of compendium or supporting material
to a venture such as this.
= = = = = = = = =
[October 16, 2021]
Occasionally, people notice that my name (DUFFIE)
is spelled differently than usual. As a young boy,
I asked my father about it, but he just dismissed it with
a shrug and a throw-away line about an ancestor being a horse-thief.
In any event, when heard and not seen, most people will
assume it's DUFFY. That has never bothered me, except when
necessary... like directing people to my website! There,
the name needs to be spelled correctly.
When speaking with composers,
or others involved with new music, they often asked
if I was related to John Duffy. A
few even thought I was him! John was a composer
himself, who also founded Meet The Composer in 1974,
and ran it until 1996. When John and I eventually
met, I distinctly remember that we both had to carefully write
the other's name when scribbling our contact info. I also
interviewed the violinist Robert McDuffie,
and there is a woman named Duffie Adelson, who ran the Merit School
of Music in Chicago. In college, after we music students
learned about the early Renaissance composer Guillaume Dufay
(or Du Fay, pronounced doo-FYE, or dew-FY, in either case it rhymes
with defy) (1397-1474), I was always called by that name.
What brought all this
to my mind recently was watching baseball games of
the Chicago Cubs. (Yes, even after trading away several
of their best players, I will still follow them, as I have
since I was a kid.) After being with other teams, the
infielder Matt DUFFY signed with the Cubs for 2021. It
always pleased me to hear the TV announcers say his name, especially
when he hit a home run, or made a spectacular fielding play. As
it happened, there were a couple of Cubs games against the Minnesota
Twins. (They don't play each other very often because they
are in different leagues, but now, with inter-league contests,
they do meet every few years.) Until I happened to hear my
family name spoken on the Twins' roster, I was unaware of pitcher Tyler
DUFFEY. Unfortunately, I didn't pay close enough attention
at the time to know if DUFFEY pitched to DUFFY.
After the fact, I e-mailed
the Cubs to find out, but received no answer. So,
I sent the same e-mail to the Twins. Again, no answer.
Finally, I contacted the Cubs Insider, an unofficial
website. Well, you guessed it, I got no response.
That's three strikes, so I'm out. This is too
bad, because it would have been fun to speculate about DUFFIE
watching DUFFEY pitching to DUFFY. Of course, the best
would be if I was at Wrigley Field to catch a homer, or even
a foul ball in this situation! *sigh*
Oh well, as they say,
"Wait 'til next year . . . . ."
[May, 2022] It's now 'next year',
and DUFFY has been traded to the Los Angeles Angels. *big
sigh*
[October 19, 2021] Also
regarding names... The Poet and Peasant
Overture by Franz von Suppé is certainly one of
the more popular items on concerts of light music. It's
from an 1846 Viennese operetta Dichter und Bauer,
to use the original title. For a long time, my interview
with pianist Mischa Dichter
has been posted on this website. Earlier today,
I uploaded my conversation with conductor Harold Bauer.
I just thought it was a nifty happenstance.
= = = = = = = = =
[October 30, 2021]
A friend of mine sent me the following item. It
reminds me of Emily Litella, the malaprop character played
by Gilda Radner in the early years of Saturday Night
Live.
[November 17, 2021]
With all the re-thinking about language these
days, just as we call 8:00 "eight o'clock", perhaps we should
call August "eight o'calendar."
Also,
what is the difference between a thingamajig and a doohickey?
= = = = = = = = =
[November 27, 2021]
The cartoon below could easily have been inspired by
my own work-space... *sigh*
= = = = = = = = =
[December 31, 2021] Three
thoughts as we move from one year to the next.....
A guy walks into a bar on New Year’s Eve and orders a glass
of champagne.
“It’s finally happened!” he exclaims. “I’ve made enough money that
I don’t have to work for the rest of the year!”
-----------------------------
My New Year’s Resolution is to go to the gym more often, get into
grad school, pay off my bills, and learn a new language.
I don’t have a clue how I’m going to get all that done by tomorrow.
-----------------------------
I’m going to stay up on New Year’s Eve this year.
Not to see the New Year in, but to ensure this one leaves.
= = = = = = = = =
[January 8, 2022] First, let me say that I
am NOT a gamer. I don't play video games, and really never have. When
I was in undergraduate school, I played Pinball, which
had flippers controlled by my hands, and a round steel
ball which knocked down targets and banged into bumpers
to accumulate points. It was kinda fun, and I wasted
a bit of time on the machine in the basement of my dorm. Partly,
it was also that we discovered a way to 'cheat' a bit, thus gaining
free games, and allowing us to keep playing for no extra cash.
Later, while working for WNIB,
there was a pinball machine in the coin laundry next
to my 'L' stop, and I'd sometimes go in and play a bit. Being
cheap, I'd put in 50 cents, and play until that was gone.
Sometimes I'd spend an additional 50 cents, but never
more than that amount of money. Usually, that meant fifteen
to twenty minutes, but occasionally a half hour, and sometimes
a mere five minutes.
What brings this all to mind
was an article by Jake Peterson which I just stumbled
on in the Lifehacker website. It was titled,
"Why Do Retro Games Look Better On Old TVs?" The subtitle
was, "8-bit Mario is never going to look great on your 65-inch
4K TV." Here are the opening two paragraphs...
<<<If you
own retro consoles—say, a Super Nintendo or a Sega Genesis—you
have access to some of gaming’s greatest roots. However,
you might find plugging these awesome consoles into your current
TV doesn’t result in the experience you remember from years
past. Games look fuzzy and distorted, and it can be tempting to
think your memory is playing tricks on you. It’s not your memory,
though; it’s your TV.
For retro gamers, the CRT is the
display of choice. Those giant, boxy television
sets that nearly everyone threw out or gave away in favor
of modern flat panels are actually coveted for their ability
to properly display games from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and even part
of the aughts. Retro games are not designed for modern, pixel-dense
TVs.>>>
The article then goes on to explain
the thesis in detail, most of which I do not understand and don't care to
explore further.
My reason for bringing this up is that
since discovering 78 rpm records as a teenager, and
learning of the difference between 'acoustics' and 'electrics',
the old collectors insisted that acoustics sounded better
on outside-horn machines [as shown here on the right, and
also seen above where the dog Nipper is listening to His Master's
Voice]. This means that these records do not sound
as good when played by equipment which has speakers. A variation
of the outside-horn machine was the inside-horn cabinet, which
simply put the horn into the box, and allowed it all to look nicer
in one's living room. In the photo at left, the horn is in the
short chamber immediately below the turntable, and below that is a
larger chamber where records could be stored. When not in use,
it could be all closed up, and was a distinguished piece of furniture.
A photo of two of the greatest singers of that era, Tita Ruffo
and Enrico Caruso, listening to their efforts can be seen on the page
of my interview with George Jellinek. They
only made one record together, on January 8, 1914. That
page also has a self-caricature made by the tenor of the recording
process of singing into the horn.
Acoustic records were
recorded by singing or playing into a horn that looked
like a megaphone, and electrics were recorded by using a
microphone. The date of change from one to the other
is 1925. All records made prior to that date are acoustics,
and after that date they all are electrics. The change
was almost immediate, and generally universal, because it was the
record companies which had to invest in the new equipment, which
they did. Both acoustics and electrics would be playable
on either horn or speaker machines, so it was not that urgent for
the public to get new equipment. It is similar to film, in
that all movies prior to The Jazz Singer of 1927 were silent,
but after that date, little by little sound was incorporated,
and they were called talkies. But the change was more
gradual because it meant that all the movie houses had to invest
in sound reproduction equipment. Other huge changes happened in
1948 with the introduction of Long Playing records, (although a
few 78s were still being made as late as 1955 or so), and again in the
mid-1950s when Stereo came along.
Anyway, it just hit me that
no matter what development comes along, a similar upheaval
probably occurred in the past... *sigh*
[January 13, 2022] Continuing
with the idea of recordings, while preparing to post
my interview with oboist Ray Still, he mentioned
that early in his career he had played on a record called
Classical Music For People Who Don’t
Know Anything About Classical Music, conducted by Robert
Russell Bennett. A bit of searching turned up some
interesting items, which are shown below.
= = = = = = = = =
[January 30, 2022] For
a very special music joke about Mary Had a Little
Lamb, click HERE.
[February 5, 2022] Remember
the old PSA (public service announcement) shown below-left?
Well, I've devised a new one relevant to my topic, shown
below-right . . . . .
[March 5, 2022] Three computer
jokes . . . . .
I heard Reggae music coming from my printer.
The paper was jammin’.
—
I bought a 3D printer, but I didn’t like it.
So I 3D printed a dumpster to throw it in.
__
On Ash
Wednesday I will be giving up spreadsheets for 40 days and
40 nights.
It’s going to be completely Excel
Lent.
= = = = = = = = =
[April 28, 2022] C'mon... we
all knew this was going to happen, right???
[August 21, 2022] As the new
school year begins, perhaps we should re-examine the curriculum
. . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[September 17, 2022] It is
known that I never discuss politics, and rarely post items of
topical interest. However, back in 1987, I had a wonderful
interview with Lord Harewood.
During his lifetime, he was (among other things)
editor of Opera Magazine
and the famous Kobbé's
Complete Opera Book, Director of the Royal Opera Covent
Garden and the English National Opera, as well as several festivals,
and the BBC. He had boundless enthusiasm for opera in general
and Verdi in particular – equating his music with Shakespeare's
plays.
He was also a member of the British
Royal Family. Captain George Henry Hubert Lascelles
acceded to the title of 7th Earl of Harewood on 23 May 1947.
Lord Harewood [pronounced HAHR-wood] was the grandson
of King George V, and first cousin to the late Queen Elizabeth.
With her passing, and the accession of King Charles
III, I wanted to present this small bit of my conversation .
. . . .
BD:
You are first cousin to the Queen. Has your involvement
and interest in the arts engendered more interest on her part?
H:
I don’t think she would put it down first in her list of hobbies
if she were asked to write in Who’s
Who. The one member of the family who likes it a lot
and is very involved is Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.
He likes music a lot, but he is the first person for a generation
who has.
BD:
Permit me to ask one question, and you may dodge it if you like.
Will he make a good king?
H:
[Matter of factly] Oh yes. I think he’s a marvelous
man. He has so many qualities and so many experiences and
he’s so judicious about how he estimates them and how he goes
about them. I think he’ll be extraordinary.
* * * *
*
[September 19, 2022] [This item
by Norman Lebrecht appeared on September 18, 2022, in the column
SlippedDisc, ‘the
#1 Classical Music News Site’.]
In 2016,
Judith Weir received the Royal Command to become the first woman
ever to serve as Master of the Queen’s Musick, a title that dates
back to 1626. No-one proposed, then or now, to modify the term Master
in a manner that made it more gender inclusive. Now she is Master
of the King’s Musick.
She tells the Washington Post: ‘I think most
of us have grown up with, as we knew him, Prince Charles. He
actually is a most unusual lover of classical music. He was a cellist
in his youth, played in college orchestra and really intensely loves
classical music. He’s made some very touching statements when interviewed
about his interests and has made it clear that it’s absolutely top
of the list. I don’t expect there to be less interest in what we musicians
do, and I’m sort of anticipating that there’s a chance for us to
do even more, once he gets over the huge backlog of work he has to
do.’
* * * *
*
In another item, Weir says: ‘“For this funeral
service, Westminster Abbey requested that I set to music the
first seven verses of Psalm 42, “Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks:
so longeth my soul after thee, O God”. The words and music speak at
first of the soul’s great sadness and thirst for God’s reassurance;
but as the psalm progresses, the mood becomes calmer and more resolved,
culminating in consolation, with the words “Put thy trust in God”. The
Queen’s strong faith in, and support of, Anglican worship was an
inspiration for me when setting this psalm to music.”’
= = = = = = = = =
[October 1, 2022] Over the years,
Kathy Cunningham has created several groups of hand-made ceramic
pumpkins. One is pictured below, and more can be found HERE.
= = = = = = = = =
[Thanksgiving, 2022] As we head into
the Holiday Season once again, the Museum of Science and Industry
in Chicago presents their annual exhibit Christmas Around the
World and Holidays of Light. Since 2011, Kathy Cunningham
has been in charge of the USA TREE, which is always a highlight
of the display. This year, she made a set of enamel ornaments depicting
the birds, flowers, and trees of each state, plus Washington D.C., and
the four US Territories. These, along with the set of wooden ornaments
and other items from previous years adorn the tree. Everything
except the crystal icicles and the flags is hand-made, and can be seen
on the various webpages starting HERE. Shown
below-left is a shot of the tree after being decorated by the
Friends of the USA Tree, but before it had been placed into
the exhibit. On the right is a close-up of one of the new
ornaments (front and back) as an example.
= = = = = = = = =
[December 4, 2022] I ran across the
following cartoon a couple months ago, and saved it for Christmastide.
Having grown up as a choral singer, this particular carol appeared
regularly. Like Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall,
it can become repetitious. (!) If I may, allow me to
recommend one (of many) recorded versions for your listening pleasure.
When Joan
Sutherland committed it to disc, she used an arrangement by
Douglas Gamley. Since it only runs 3:10, let me suggest that
you listen to it twice. The first time, just enjoy her lovely
voice. The second time, ignore her singing (as much as possible),
and concentrate on the rest of the sounds. It is the 'arrangement'
which is notable, and can even be used as a teaching-device to demonstrate
the possibilities of making a terrific version of an over-familiar (and
over-repetitive) piece.
= = = = = = = = =
[December 27, 2022] A few months ago,
I ran across some cartoons by a Canadian pianist. I saved
this one (below) for an appropriate time . . . . . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[January 19, 2023] As we head into the
New Year, here's a bit of news that's sure to cause consternation
among lovers of Classical Music... *huge sigh*
= = = = = = = = =
[February 14, 2023] It's Valentine's
Day, which reminds me of a wise-crack I used to say in years when
I was on the air that evening (1975-2001). [Note that when one
hears the term 'VD', it usually refers to venereal disease, which is
now called STD, or sexually transmitted disease.] Anyway, on
Valentine's Day I would, "Wish everyone a safe, happy, and prosperous
V.D." While I was never reprimanded by the management for saying
that, I do wonder if such a phrase might not be decried as unacceptable
in today's socio-political climate. Being on a Classical Music
station, perhaps my listeners were a bit more sophisticated than those
tuned to the Top-40 bubble-gum frequency... (!)
= = = = = = = = =
[March 2, 2023] Throughout my adult life,
I have always encouraged people to experience live Classical Music
concerts. As far back as when I was in junior high school (7th and
8th grades), my growing knowledge and enthusiasm manifested itself in
this quest. Later, I have been quoted as saying that though I made
my living on radio via recorded performances, the LIVE variety was The
True Way.
Some months ago, I saw the following cartoon, and stuck it
in my file for future amusement...
Little did I know that the idea would actually come to pass...
What follows are two news items from a regular daily feed called
Slippedisc. There have, of course, been occasional disruptions
in concert halls over the years, but this seems to be a first. Let
us hope that it is the last...
Here are more details from the following day ...
[April 19, 2024] A little more than a year later, we find
this report . . . . .
[A couple weeks later...] Next, we have an 'official' statement,
and then the perfect input from Stephen Hough, dealing with
his upcoming performance . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[March 14, 2023 (
day) ] A special version.....
= = = = = = = = =
[April 2, 2023] I wonder
if anyone has ever tried speakng the phrase, "Alexa: Klaatu barada
nikto." [Reference: The 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood
Still.]
= = = = = = = = =
[April 30, 2023] With budget considerations
always being discussed, this item should be kept handy . . . . . . .
. .
= = = = = = = = =
[August 8, 2023] Some bad news, and then some
good news.....
= = = = = = = = =
[October 28, 2023] For those who drive
around looking at Halloween decorations, here's a scary group that might
appear on your dashboard...
= = = = = = = = =
[December 31, 2023] As the year comes to a close
. . . . . [12/31/23]
[March 11, 2024] Today I am 73. A quick Google
search of that number presented several items. This one was my favorite
. . . . .
[June 16, 2024] In case I don't make it to 74, at least there
is something for me after my demise . . . . .
= = = = = = = = =
[May 12, 2024] This admonishment (below) was seen on
a bus in Birmingham, England. Whether or not it has anything to do with
the uproar at the Symphony concerts (cited above) is anyone's guess . . .
. .
= = = = = = = = =
[May 28, 2024] While watching the Cubs play Milwaukee on TV,
I heard them introduce a Brewers pinch hitter named Monasterio.
At first I could have sworn the announcer said MONO-STEREO.
*sigh* [The Cubs won 6-3.]
[June 23, 2024] Whenever I see an ad on TV for Capella
University, I always wonder if they have an a cappella chorus.
