Weekend update
I enjoyed seeing P this weekend. We had a lovely time, and although I would have braved the Saturday crowds to see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin, the timing of things and his own preferences kept us in Virginia (where we did manage to catch a few Yoshino trees in bloom nonetheless).
The Friday-night concert was a complete joy.
Here's what Stephen Brookes had to say in the Post:
Bach Collegium Japan
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If there are doubts that the Bach Collegium Japan is one of the world's most astonishing baroque ensembles, they were dispelled Friday night in a Library of Congress performance that was beautiful, riveting and ferociously intense.
The Collegium specializes in authentic performance of baroque music, using the period instruments and techniques that have become virtually standard -- and often fussily academic -- in concert halls everywhere. But there was nothing stuffy about Friday's performance.
Harpsichordist and artistic director Masaaki Suzuki brought such penetrating focus to this sound that every shred of affect was burned away -- leaving nothing but pure music in its wake.
And what music. The all-Bach evening opened with the Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, a lyrical and wonderfully inventive set of dances.
Pixie-esque flutist Liliko Maeda turned in a bravura performance on the one-keyed wooden flute -- perhaps the prettiest, most unforgiving instrument -- negotiating the finger-snarling passage-work with spirit and enviable nonchalance.
That was followed by the searing Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D Minor. The harpsichord can be hard to love -- Thomas Beecham compared it to "two skeletons copulating on a tin roof" -- but in Suzuki's hands it became an instrument of transfiguring power, with a virtuosic and unrelenting performance.
That was hard to top, but Ryo Terakado and Natsumi Wakamatsu tried, and their reading of the Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor was fiery and intense. The unforgettable performances were topped off with an account of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 that, like everything else on the program, raised the bar on Bach performance.
P, who is vanilla, expresses a good deal of curiosity about my little proclivities, so I answered his questions. He'd even be open to observing an evening at the club during a future visit, as I assured him that it's perfectly fine to stay clothed and not play. If anything, I'd say he has subbish tendencies. Whether he'd ever try anything, I don't know. If so, I may be recruiting some "helpers" someday.
Speaking of subbish tendencies, I see my coworker is reading the Taken In Hand Web site again -- and spending quite a bit of time reading articles there, too. Apparently the first time I noticed her interest in that site (a couple of months ago) wasn't a fluke.
Yesterday was more relaxing, although I didn't get nearly enough done. I did go with mizbuffy to see Mrs. Henderson Presents. It was beautifully crafted, written, and acted. We laughed, we cried. Dame Judi Dench is such a gorgeous woman. We should all age so well.
The Friday-night concert was a complete joy.
Here's what Stephen Brookes had to say in the Post:
Bach Collegium Japan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there are doubts that the Bach Collegium Japan is one of the world's most astonishing baroque ensembles, they were dispelled Friday night in a Library of Congress performance that was beautiful, riveting and ferociously intense.
The Collegium specializes in authentic performance of baroque music, using the period instruments and techniques that have become virtually standard -- and often fussily academic -- in concert halls everywhere. But there was nothing stuffy about Friday's performance.
Harpsichordist and artistic director Masaaki Suzuki brought such penetrating focus to this sound that every shred of affect was burned away -- leaving nothing but pure music in its wake.
And what music. The all-Bach evening opened with the Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, a lyrical and wonderfully inventive set of dances.
Pixie-esque flutist Liliko Maeda turned in a bravura performance on the one-keyed wooden flute -- perhaps the prettiest, most unforgiving instrument -- negotiating the finger-snarling passage-work with spirit and enviable nonchalance.
That was followed by the searing Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D Minor. The harpsichord can be hard to love -- Thomas Beecham compared it to "two skeletons copulating on a tin roof" -- but in Suzuki's hands it became an instrument of transfiguring power, with a virtuosic and unrelenting performance.
That was hard to top, but Ryo Terakado and Natsumi Wakamatsu tried, and their reading of the Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor was fiery and intense. The unforgettable performances were topped off with an account of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 that, like everything else on the program, raised the bar on Bach performance.
P, who is vanilla, expresses a good deal of curiosity about my little proclivities, so I answered his questions. He'd even be open to observing an evening at the club during a future visit, as I assured him that it's perfectly fine to stay clothed and not play. If anything, I'd say he has subbish tendencies. Whether he'd ever try anything, I don't know. If so, I may be recruiting some "helpers" someday.
Speaking of subbish tendencies, I see my coworker is reading the Taken In Hand Web site again -- and spending quite a bit of time reading articles there, too. Apparently the first time I noticed her interest in that site (a couple of months ago) wasn't a fluke.
Yesterday was more relaxing, although I didn't get nearly enough done. I did go with mizbuffy to see Mrs. Henderson Presents. It was beautifully crafted, written, and acted. We laughed, we cried. Dame Judi Dench is such a gorgeous woman. We should all age so well.