In the Renaissance era, the lute was the most popular instrument in the Western world. It became the symbol of the magic and power of music. The lute was the instrument of kings and queens, playing the sublime music of great composers. The lute was heard in the theatre in the incidental music of Shakespeare's plays.Please enjoy J. S. Bach's Lute Suite in E Major BWV 1006a, performed by Evangelina Mascardi, playing the Baroque Lute:
Stalin and the Soviet regime hailed Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 as a heroic celebration of the USSR. In reality, it damned the cruel communist regime that crushed the human soul and murdered millions.
He said: “The rejoicing is forced, created under threat. It’s as if someone were beating you with a stick, saying ‘Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing’, and you rise up, shaky, and go marching off, muttering, ‘Our business is rejoicing.’ Stalin liked it because he thought Shostakovich was glorifying him, not realizing the composer’s true intent! (How Shostakovich Survived to Protest Stalin’s Anti-Semitism)
If you're like me and you don't automatically "get" classical music, here is a read-ahead to orient you to the historical context and what each of the four movements are about: Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5
There is also a two-minute YouTube video that captures the time quite nicely: Shostakovich's 5th Symphony
I have enjoyed a live performance of this symphony, and it is indeed emotion and moving. I hope you enjoy and appreciate it.
The [Perry Mason] theme music is one of the most recognizable in television. Composer Fred Steiner set out to write a theme that would project the two primary aspects of Mason's character—sophistication and toughness. "The piece he came up with, titled "Park Avenue Beat," pulsed with the power of the big city and the swagger of a beefy hero played to perfection by actor Raymond Burr," wrote the Los Angeles Times. Described by Steiner as "a piece of symphonic rhythm and blues," the Perry Mason theme heard at the opening and end credits became the composer's best-known work.
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| Photo from the Department of Defense |
I was in the midst of the final days of packing up the last family homestead in preparation for an early-September move when Warren and I decided to get married.
