Envision Liberty
  • Home
  • Contact
  • About
  • Envision Liberty Recommends...

Rachmaninoff Prelude in g minor - Op. 23 No. 5

06/28/2009

1 Comment

 

This is a fun piece for me.  As an amature pianist this is a piece that I have recently tried to conquer.  With a piece like this, you don't learn it, you try to conquer it!  It takes some real skill to play and it is one of those pieces that when it is played right I sigh and say, "perfection."

I don't plan on normally putting two versions of the same piece on the same post everytime but I think this really emphasizes how the same piece can be interpretted so differently. 

For a long time, my favorite was the one from Gilels.

It is slower than many of the others and he is a touch heavy footed on the sustain pedal but he maintains a real musicality that I can really hear. I appreciate the secondary melodies in the middle section.  Listen for it, you'll think there is another hand on the keyboard.

Personally, I prefer it a little slower so I don't miss all everything that is going on.

Gilels' playing in such a Soviet style, the Russian is just oozing out of him!  It's fantastic.  Very serious and passionate.

But then... I found this recording of Jozef Hofmann.  Please fight through this recording and listen to it.  It's from 1923, but if you can fight through the noise you will be rewarded by a true master.  It is playful and fast and I can't get enough of it.  He uses A LOT less pedal which helps the notes to have some space, but you don't miss the legato.  It's big when it needs to be big, but it has a subtle side which is genious. 

The end of the piece is very quiet but Hofmann sets it up beautifully by not being so serious in the begining.  When Gilels plays the last few measures I feel a little bit like it was just an add-on to finish the piece.  When Hofmann plays it I actually feel like it came from an earlier section.  Much more cohesive. 

I hope you enjoy both of the pieces.



1 Comment
 

Why Republican's Lose (And Secretly want To) Part 2

06/28/2009

3 Comments

 

I outlined in my last blog two general reasons why Republican's lose.  Why would they secretly want to lose?  Allow me to touch on a couple reasons why I think this is the case. 


A little background for you.  Dennis Prager, a commentator and radio host I respect says that there are two parties in America.  The "hurtful" party and the "stupid" party and he belonged to the "stupid" party.  Of course the stupid party is the Republicans.  While I am a registered Republican I am a Republican only because it is the party that is the closest to classical liberalism (what we now call modern conservatism).  But we can be rather stupid. 


Like the Union Generals in the Civil War, Republican Leaders ALWAYS hesitates and loses any kind of advantage or momentum.  Usually this is because a small number of them hold the party hostage by making back room deals with snakes to lose any advantage.  (Think John McCain, our last Presidential Candidate, on any number of occasions.)

I also think a lot of Republican Leaders actually believe in big government.  They know in their hearts that if Democrats win, even though the country loses, Republicans Leaders win.  More government means more power for them too.   They have two years to rile and complain about the "evils" of big government knowing that they will continue to get all the spending they want to keep power.  It's great!

My proof is that when Republicans got into power they did some really good things (that got Bill Clinton re-elected).  The party started falling away from their principles.  George Bush, other than some tax cuts and the War on Terror is the greatest Democrat President since FDR.

In my opinion, Republicans are also political cowards.  Deep down inside they don't want to be held responsible for anything.  As long as Republicans are in the minority they don't have to take any heat for the problems of this country.  Everything is the Democrats fault... blah blah blah at nausea.


 So I'm calling them out!  Stop thrusting the John McClains and the Mike Huckabee's of the world on us!!  These people will NEVER win the presidency.  But beyond that the party needs to act as if they are in charge.  Something my party handles horribly!   


One advantage Democrats have, of course is a main stream media as an arm of the Democrat Party -Is Chris Matthews leg still tingling? - but I don't care.  The advantage Republicans have is the truth, but they act like they don't.   


As an example, the Cap and Trade bill that just passed the House won BECAUSE EIGHT WEAK WILLED Republicans voted for it.  It passed by one vote.  This would never happen in the Democrat Party.  I don't care about party discipline necessarily, but this is a bill that is the potentially the highest tax increase in history.  Anyone who believes in classical liberalism would spit this legislation out of his mouth!  


 - Think men, think!




3 Comments
 

The Last Words of David (Randall Thompson)

06/28/2009

5 Comments

 

This is one of my very favorite choral pieces of all time.   It is brilliant in its emotion and power.   

There are two versions of this piece.  SATB and TTBB.  I really prefer the TTBB version and the Turtle Creek Chorale is absolutely  stunning!  Hearing the tenors sing "Alleluia" over the "Amen’s" at the end gives me  chills.  Listen to this; you will want to hear it again and again! 

The other version is also TTBB and is absolutely gorgeous! It is from Wayne State  University in 1965.  It is a little slower and deliberate and the piano is a little better  balanced in the recording. 

I would reccomend listening to a great SATB version.  Go to 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBnLIzZuNNM  and listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing it.  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is so  big and lush it was really built for a piece like this.  Sometimes I worry because the  choir is so big little things like consonants and dynamics can be difficult.  This is an  impressive performance.  Not only are the dynamics spot on but you can understand every word.  It is really good.  The organ really adds an element that is missing with  just the piano. 

Although I like the organ and MoTab really sang well, I have to say I prefer the two  male performances.  I'd love to hear what you think.

The Last Words of David
5 Comments
 

Why Republicans Lose (And Secretly Want To)

06/27/2009

3 Comments

 
This was actually going to be the name of my blog.  I think it’s kind of catchy, don’t you?  Well I did a lot of research and spoke to all kinds of consultants who said I should be more “positive” in my message.   So after much consideration and debate with my board of directors (me and my 3 other personalities) I came up with Envision Liberty.  Sounds positive and uplifting, right?  The problem is Envisioning Liberty isn’t real liberty, is it?

It’s at this point that I feel a little bit like “Professor” Harold Hill standing before his Boy’s Band.   There he was, hog tied about to be strung up before the town if the band can’t pull off the miracle of playing the Minuet in G using his “Think Method.”

“Think men, think!”  Envision Liberty.

I must now get back to my point.  This is certainly not an exhaustive study of why Republican’s lose (and secretly want to.)  It is more of a dialog between me and the ten other people who might come across this blog.  There are two major reasons:

1.       In national politics, it is the party (ideas) with the most energy that win EVERY TIME!!! 

Need examples?  Let’s look at presidential races (which are the clearest indicator of national sentiment at any given time) during my lifetime:  

1976 – Carter v. oh, yeah… Ford was the president???
1980 – Reagan v. The Peanut Farmer
1984 – Reagan v. Ferraro – oh, right… who was the presidential candidate?
1988 – Bush v. Shorty
1992 – Clinton v. No New Taxes
1996 – Clinton v. The Pineapple
2000 - Bush  v. The Wooden Prophet
2004 Bush v. JFK
2008 – Obama v. Grandpa 

Every single one of the winners won ultimately because of energy.  It is the perception that one candidate has more passion about their ideas and strategies for the country (even if they are wrong, vague and unconstitutional!) that gets Joe Sixpack who doesn’t care about politics three and a half years out of four to vote one way or the other.  It is the Energy stupid!  

Democrats, Progressives, Liberals, and Leftists have a huge advantage in this regard.  It is so much easier to get excited about really awful change than really good constitutional government.  Every crisis… no, every incident whether it is a crisis or not is cause for more power to centralized government.  This leads me to…

2.       The religion of Democrats, Leftists, and Progressives is Leftism and Progressivism.

Whether they admit it or not, this is how they approach politics. Republicans aren’t “wrong,” they are “evil racist, fascist pigs!”  Democrats hold faith in government schools, global warming, and government healthcare like Bagdad Bob held faith in Iraq's million man army.  

And like Bagdad Bob the left is always much more committed to their crazy ideas becasue it is a matter of faith.  For example, we should have many nuclear power plants to help create energy and defer our reliance on oil.  This is a no-brainer.  It is safe and efficient energy.  Every global warming nutball should love the idea.  But it is a matter of faith that anything nuclear is the devil.  Since leftists worship the sun and wind they want to use solar and wind sources for power.

I could go on and on but here is the bottom line.  There will always be a large group of human beings who hold security more important than liberty.  And there will always be a small group of individuals and groups who are willing to step in and take advantage of that. 

An oversimplified and imperfect example of this is Germany in the 1920’s and 30's.  People were looking for security over liberty and they got Hitler.  I’m not saying our country is destined for Nazi like Fascism.  I am saying that we must fight to keep the Government as small and unobtrusive as possible.  The natural state of most men is to be dominated by a loud and powerful few.  It is a fight of wills to keep those few from dominating more of our lives.

In the words of Harold Hill, “think men, think!”
3 Comments
 

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Envision Liberty is a Think Tank that focuses on liberty in America and great music. 

    Archives

    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    August 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    October 2009
    September 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009

    Categories

    All
    America
    Antibig Government Rally
    Atheism
    Banking
    Bass
    Beethoven
    Cambridge Singers
    Canada
    Children
    Choice
    Choir
    Choral
    Christianity
    Christian Music
    Concerto
    Decisions
    Dennis Prager
    Duty
    Easter
    Economics
    Evil
    Forest Hill Bridge
    Freedom
    Free Markets
    Future
    Gilels
    God
    Government
    Grateful
    Happiness
    Hofmann
    Homeschool
    Home School
    Independence Day
    India
    Individual Versus Collective
    Islam
    Jesus Christ
    Jew
    John Rutter
    Liberty
    Mitt Romney
    Music
    Muslim
    My Music
    Parenting
    Piano
    Politics
    Principles
    Rachmaninoff
    Reagan
    Religion
    Revolution
    Road To Serfdom
    Robert Shaw Festival Singers
    Rush
    Sacred
    Sacred Music
    Sharia Law
    Tenor
    Tolerance
    True Religion
    Vespers
    Why Republicans Lose


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.