| My music blog |
[Nov. 29th, 2009|01:43 pm] |
|
I now have a blog specifically for music, focussing on the records I restore for my website, as well as what I’m listening to and so on www.damians78s.gramophile.com Damian |
|
|
| Time passes - records come and downloads go |
[May. 7th, 2007|10:53 pm] |
Time whizzes by - less than 3 weeks of teaching until half term, when a number of classes finish lessons for the exams.
Damian's 78s
I'm still working on a bunch of 78s, including Sir Georg Henschel's recording of Beethoven's 1st Symphony (the only recording of Henschel conducting) Hamilton Harty's recording of Elgar's Enigma Variations and a collection of recordings by Sir Henry Wood, Sir Dan Godfrey, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Landon Ronald and others (not all Sirs). In the meantime, as they're easier to do, I've been working on some early LPs for light relief. Today's new download on my site is a 1953 account ofRimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade, with Franz André conducting L'Orchestre Symphonique de la Radiodiffusion Nationale Belge. I bought the LP recently,because I'd already transferred André's accounts of Franck's Psyché and De Greef's Four Old Flemish Folksongs. This recording of Scheherezade is distinguished by a noticeably French sounding orchestra, excellent sound from Telefunken and a sparkling reading of the score. Sadly, André is not one of the big names of the classical catalogues, which means his performances are unlikely to see CD reissue on a large scale. Also sadly, the solo violinist is not named on the record - I assume it's whoever was leader of the orchestra at the time. If the names and provenance of this performance don't grab you, try it anyway and have a listen - it's worth it.
In other news, the BBC recently hosted a Proms conference. One of the talks was about Henry Wood's recording career, and David Patmore used part of my remastering of Wood's recording of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony to illustrate his talk. In fact I get occasional emails from various parts of the globe about my site. A recent one from Australia is from the nephew of the late Arthur Jacobs, who wrote the definitive biography of Henry Wood.
Damian |
|
|
| LLGFF ending |
[Apr. 6th, 2007|10:31 pm] |
Final thoughts at the LLGFF.
We went to 2 more screenings to round off the festival.
Tuesday 3rd April 6.10pm Studio - "The Connoisseur", a BBC Wednesday play from 1966, dealing with the goings on at a public school, modelled on the time spent at Eton by the author Hugo Charteris. Given the period at which this was made, references to sexuality were oblique, but not so much as you might think. It was a very well-written, acted and directed piece. Stars included Richard O'Sullivan, Ian Ogilvy and Derek Francis. After the screening, the director Waris Hussein talked about the play, and about his work. Hussein was a name I already knew well, as he directed the first Doctor Who story, "An Unearthly Child". In fact he directed 10 out of the first 20 episodes of Doctor Who, though 6 of those episodes now exist only as audio and a few stills. Given the restrictions in terms of cost, studio space and time, Hussein created very atmospheric work - I could certainly see the similarities of directing style between this and Doctor Who. Festival programmer Brian Robinson warned us before hand that it might feel a bit studio bound - it didn't, but I'm used to watcdhing studio productions from that era. Hussein is little remembered these days, because so much of his work is in television - but he's an excellent director, and directed such notable items as "Edward and Mrs Simpson" and "Henry VIII and his Six Wives". He has worked with such luminaries as Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, Ian McKellen, John Gielgud. In Henry VIII he directed Lynne Frederick - she fell for him, but he was older than her. She went and married Peter Sellers, and it didn't go well. Hussein fell in love with a man. He was a highly entertaining speaker at this event - one of his rare public appearances outside of Doctor Who conventions!
"The Connoisseur" will be available for free viewing in BFI Southbank's Mediatheque from June or thereabouts, so if you're in the London area, it's well worth watching.
Wednesday 4th April 8.30pm Odeon West End 2 - "The Picture of Dorian Gray". This was the closing night gala of the LLGFF, and the world premiere of this film. Director Duncan Roy had a festival hit a few years ago with "AKA", and this new film was a modern adaptation of Wilde's original version of the novel as published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. I'm aware that there are people out there really didn't like this film - there's one particularly damning review on the IMDB page. But it was very well-directed and acted, though not easy or comfortable viewing. One or two parts where a little awkward - the use of flash screen captions drummed points home perhaps a little too strongly, though the "AIDS" one perhaps conveyed well Dorian's reaction on seeing the creator of his artwork suffering from the effects of this illness. I also found that Wilde's well-known aphorisms somehow jarred in the context. David Gallagher in the title role was excellent - he's best known in the US for his role in the soap 7th Heaven, which apparently gives little indication of his acting ability. I hope that he gets other roles that challenge him as this one did.
All in all, an excellent festival, with good food at various South Bank eateries! The only sad news is that programmer Jonathan Keane is leaving the LLGFF - he's been a huge positive influence on it, and I hope they are able to replace him with someone just as good. |
|
|
| More on the LLGFF |
[Apr. 3rd, 2007|11:23 am] |
More on the LLGFF
Although we were both too under the weather to go and see Royston Tan's "4:30" on Tuesday, we've managed to order the DVD of it.
However, in the last few days we've been to 5 screenings at the festival:
Saturday 31st March, 4:15pm NFT 1 - A Summer Day
A French film dealing with the effects on a community of the death of one of a pair of friends. Not very gay, but with some hints.
Saturday 31st March, 6:15pm NFT 2 - Cut Sleeve Boys
A UK film about a group of gay east Asian men. Wonderful, funny, and uplifitng, and notable for a fabulous series of appearances from John "Ebb-On-Knee" Campbell as Diane - he's such a star, though I haven't spoken to him in ages. Official site for the film is here.
The film was preceded by two shorts:
My Crazy Life - a mainly animated piece about the life of Enzo Ybarra, and the trials of attending the prom at his high school.
Peking Turkey is a Canadian film about a man bringing home his non-Chinese gay partner to Christmas dinner with his family - and announcing that they're going to marry! Very funny!!
(Saturday's films were delayed by a systems collapse at the Box Office, but Brian Robinson, one of the programmers, kept us entertained, and the second film wasn't delayed by too long.
Sunday 1st April, 6.30pm NFT 1 - Sparkle - described by festival programmer Jonathan Keane as "straight night at the LLGFF", this is one of those films with a straight central story, but with a "queer sensibility" and a few gay characters. Liverpudlian Sam comes to London with his cabaret-singer mother, and with his cheeky charm works himself into being PA and lover to the glorious Stockard Channing. He also falls for her daughter and nearly screws things up completely. He ends the film as not such an "arrogant little shit" as he started. There's a wonderful performance from Bob Hoskins as a very shy and introverted man who adores Sam's mother, and is the brother of the father of Channing's daughter(!) It's a great reminder that Hoskins is a damn good actor, not just in the "geezer" roles he often ends up playing.
Monday 2nd April, 6.10pm NFT 3 - Rag Tag
This is a very low budget film about two black British men who have loved each other since childhood, though parted for 10 years - and turbulently reunite as adults. Some of the actors are inexperienced, and it was a first feature from the director. However, it's a very touching and powerful film despite the flaws. Funny in places, and sweet, and featuring a screen rarity, kisses between two black men.
Monday 2nd April 8.45pm NFT 1 - Glue
A brilliant first feature from young Patagonian director Alexis Dos Santos. The full title says it all - "Glue - Historia adolescente en medio de la nada". It's an isolated area, with not a huge amount to do, but the brilliant young cast do a great job conveying the awkward adolescent fumblings as two boys and a girl get it together now and again. Watch for more from Dos Santos!
Obviously, after getting home on Saturday, we watched the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who - brilliant start! |
|
|
| Holidays approach and LLGFF arrives |
[Mar. 25th, 2007|02:38 pm] |
Ok, it's been another 5 weeks since I updated. So much happening. Saw Rufus Wainwright at the Palladium - awesome, especially Martha Wainwright's Stormy Weather, and a surprise appearance from Lorna Luft. Dave took me to see the Puppin Sisters at UCL Bloomsbury Theatre on my birthday, which was excellent.
This week the LLGFF started. As usual we're seeing a whole bunch of stuff at it, so we've been to 3 programmes in the last 2 days.
Friday 23rd March, 6.30pm NFT 1, Crazy Boys, a programme of shorts:
Ass Ass/ You Are Fucking Hardcore - a short music video, fun!
Miss Popularity - 1950s information film style clips, with a modern voiceover
Mister Nude Punk America - strange, Dave hated it, but it kind of grew on me. Intended as a celebration of homopunk, so it featured all sorts of unusual gay guys: a bunch of can-can guys, painted pink, two gay clowns, a guy in a rabbit suit, and so on. Lots of feathers thrown around, plenty of masturbation, and it concluded with the Internationale. Went on too long, though.
Solid Gold - a brief "erotic fantasy"
Porn-Proof - (can't remember)
Outland - Australian film about a guy on a date not wanting to come out as a gay sci-fi nerd (with particular affection for Doctor Who). The deal-breaker is the joke about "Daleks can't climb stairs".
Saturday 24th March, 2pm NFT1, Made in Britain - a programme of British made shorts:
Summer - 2 young guys on Hampstead Heath, wanting to catch a falling leaf to make a wish. One of them has more than a friendly interest in his best friend. This was lovely, brilliantly shot and acting by its two young stars Jay Brown and Peter Peralta.
What’s Up With Adam? - Adam goes to university, and slowly builds up the confidence to dance with the guy who's obviously interested in him. Somewhat reminiscent of Beautiful Thing, and good fun.
Le Weekend - a French film student comes to London, making a film about his journey. He's straight, he says, but spends the day and night with a guy he meets.
Scarred - a young man with a facial scar from a knife incident poses for an art project for a female friend. An architect she knows sees the project and is interested. Nicely done, with a good twist, though the music perhaps signposts things a little too much.
VGL-Hung! - an average looking guy can't find the right man. An unusual website helps him out. Two plot twists, one fairly obvious, but there's a lovely little spin on it! Produced alongside a Eurocreme porn film, with some of the same guys.
Saturday 24th March, 6.30pm NFT1, Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds A sequel to Q Allan Brocka's Eating Out, seen at the LLGFF in 2004. This was as rude, funny, sexy and outrageous as the first film. Loved it. See its myspace here. The star is Jim Verraros, American Idol finalist, actor and out and proud.
This was preceded by Available Men, a 15 minute short about 2 pairs of guys meeting each other, but getting paired up the wrong way. Rob, a down-on-his-luck agent is meant to meet Stephen, a taxi-driver from Queens who has written a screenplay. Robert, a geeky weedy looking guy is due to have a blind date with Steve, an artist. The confusion seems to have beneficial effects on their lives.
In between the 2 films we had dinner in the newly redeveloped BFI southbank, where the National Film Theatre is. The food was excellent, service very good. The whole venue has undergone a brilliant transformation and feels much more welcoming and relaxed.
In other news, my website www.damians78s.34sp.com is getting updated regularly, with newly remastered old recordings to download. It's proving popular, with each file getting 70-100 downloads in the course of a week. Currently available, Sir Henry Wood (of Proms fame) conducting Spanish music, and Sir Landon Ronald (lesser known now, but as big a name as Wood in his day) conducting Wagner. |
|
|
| Music and hols |
[Feb. 11th, 2007|10:33 pm] |
Half term is here again. Thank goodness. Still haven't won the lottery, so I'm ready for a break.
As ever, it's been a while since I updated this, so very brief news:
Work is tiring and stressful.
It was brightened up a couple of weeks ago by the first meeting of the college's new Gay and Lesbian group. This was something that a number of students spoke to a member of staff about, and now it's happening. The first proper meeting was well-attended with about 25 students and 5 or 6 staff. It was a very positive meeting, and the students were buzzing as they left the room. It made me feel pretty up as well, and helped lift me out of the doldrums through which I've been meandering.
So, in my de-dolrummified state, I've ordered a new computer, bought some shelves for my computer/office/music room and got my webspace sorted out. I'm using my webspace to follow up on my use of yousendit. For a year now I've been semi-regularly posting my remasterings of various 78s and early LPs to yousendit and sharing them with the denizens of rec.music.classical.recordings newsgroup. Having the files available for whatever period on my webspace gives me much more control, and has garnered positive feedback so far. At the moment My Site has a range of early orchestral and vocal recordings, including some wonderful German operetta stuff from around 1930 (check out the Three Musketeers marching song by Benatzky - rousing stuff)
One week from now ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ged74 and I will be at the Palladium enjoying Rufus Wainwright's "Judy Garland 1961 concert". Excited!!!
In other news - only about a month and a half till Doctor Who, and a little less than that to the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
Keep an eye on my website - regular changes at least weekly.
D. |
|
|
| Music and stuff |
[Nov. 26th, 2006|05:54 pm] |
OK, I know it's been a long time again. Busy, tired and stressed, etc.
Over the past year I've been busily working on transferring some of my old 78rpm records to the digital domain, using DC6 and Click Repair and my lovely stanton turntable (as noted sometime about a year ago in a journal entry). I've been putting some of these transfers briefly online via yousendit, for the benefit of other enthusiasts at the newsgroup rec.music.classical.recordings (accessible through Google groups).
But I thought I'd post the info on the latest batch here too, in the slim chance of anyone who reads this being interested. The most recent of these recordings is from about 1930-31, so they're all well out of copyright (at least in the UK)
"Having finally got replacement styli a few weeks ago I've been fairly busy.
As usual, I've been focusing on those British conductors who some of you admire.
They're all up on yousendit, with the usual 7 days 100 downloads proviso.
(NB - NO LONGER AVAILABLE. CHECK Damian's 78s FOR OTHER DOWNLOADS)
Firstly, a couple of recordings conducted by Sir Landon Ronald.
From HMV D542, recorded Jan 29th 1921 with the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra, 2 excerpts from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.
Act 3 prelude(matrix number HO 4721-1af, 3-0597)
Liebestod (mtx HO 4720af, 3-0598)
From HMV E461, recorded Jan 21st 1927 with the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra, 2 excerpts from Bizet's Carmen.
Prelude to Act 1 (mtx BR 936-1A, 6-830)
Prelude Act 2 (Dragons d'Alcala) (mtx BR 937-2, 6-831)
Next Dan Godfrey conducts the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra on a 10" UK Columbia, 5577, recorded 1929, released in November of that year. They play Edward German's "Three Dances from Henry VIII", spread across the two sides (with a join in the middle of the 2nd movement), matrices WAX 8236-2, 8235-2.
Then there's more from my expanding range of Percy Pitt recordings, all with the BBC Wireless Symphony Orchestra (though later pressings credit it as
the BBC Symphony Orchestra), and some years into his very successful inaugural tenure as music director for the BBC. ("Percy Pitt of Covent Garden and the BBC" as a 1930s biography has it)
Firstly, the Nutcracker Suite. In the 1890s and early 1900s, Pitt was London's celesta player of choice for this work, and it was when Hans Richter
finally got over his dislike of Tchaikovsky and agreed to conduct it that he met Pitt, and began a working relationship that proved particularly fruitful in the years when they both worked at Covent Garden.This is Pitt's recording on Columbia 9260-62, recorded on June 29th 1927. The suite is, as usual, spread across 6 sides, but is, unusually, not presented in score order.
Side 1 - Ouverture Miniature, Side 2 - Marche, Side 3 - Danse de la Fée Dragée & Danse des Mirlitons, Side 4 - Danse Chinoise & Danse Russe, Side 5 - Danse Arabe, Side 6 - Danse des Fleurs (abridged).
I don't know if Pitt harked back to earlier days and played the celesta himself, or if it was left to one of the BBC percussionists. It's a lovely recording of the suite, though, and the final movement has a glorious account of the harp cadenza, played by Sidonie Goossens (who died in December 2004, aged 105).
Whole suite (13.4 MB)
And if that's too much download in one go, here are the individual movements:
Side 1 - Ouverture Miniature
Side 2 - Marche
Side 3 - Danse de la Fée Dragée
- Danse des Mirlitons
Side 4 - Danse Chinoise
- Danse Russe
Side 5 - Danse Arabe
Side 6 - Danse des Fleurs (abridged)
More from Pitt - Columbia 9114, recorded Feb 22nd 1926.
Glazunov's Concert Waltz in A (matrix WAX 1313)
Puccini - Le Villi - Witches Dance (La Tregenda) (matrix WAX 1314)
And then Columbia 9101, also recorded Feb 22nd 1926, two excerpts from Rimsky-Korsakov's "Le Coq d'Or".
Russian Dance (matrix WAX 1311-2)
Bridal Procession (matrix WAX 1312-1)
And I've finally started on my Sir Hamilton Harty records.First of all, one of his early acoustically recorded discs, recorded in 1919, when he seemed to spend a lot of time in the Columbia studios accompanying singers and violinists.
Saint-Saens - Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op.28 - Columbia L1335, matrices 76558-1, 76559-1. The solo violinist is Daisy Kennedy (wife of pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch), and Harty conducts an unnamed Orchestra.
Then some early electrical recordings by Harty with the Hallé Orchestra, generally recorded in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester.
Russian music from Columbia 9908, recorded June 24th 1929.
Mussorgsky - Khovanchtchina - Prelude (matrix WAX 5053)
Rimsky-Korsakov - Flight of the Bumble Bee (matrix WAX 5059)
British music from Columbia L1986, recorded May 2nd 1927
Purcell - Trumpet Voluntary (matrix WRAX 2660-2), with Alex Harris, trumpet; Harold Dawber, organ.
Walford Davies - Solemn Melody (matrix WRAX 2661-1) with Clyde Twelvetrees, cello; Harold Dawber, organ.
And then the ebullient filler to Harty's account of Haydn's Clock Symphony,
Weber - Abu Hassan, Overture (Columbia L2091, matrix WAX 2653-1), recorded Apr 30th 1927
As a random bonus, something by an Italian conductor:
Lorenzo Molajoli conducts the Milan Symphony Orchestra in the overture to Bellini's Norma. This is from 10" Columbia DB 74, recorded around 1930, matrices WB 1552, 1553.
Hope all that gives people something to enjoy!
Damian |
|
|
| Too long! |
[Sep. 26th, 2006|09:55 pm] |
Ok, I know, I know - as a teacher, I had a big long glorious summer holiday and posted nothing on here.
And now that I'm back into the swing of things I'm tired and stressed. Must do better.
On the plus side, Dave and I are going to see "Wicked" this Friday! I just finished reading the novel at the weekend. Looking forward to it! |
|
|
| Stunning |
[Apr. 25th, 2006|08:59 pm] |
Thanks to ged74 for getting tickets for last night's performance at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre. Sir Willard White was performing a tribute to Paul Robeson. I already knew that White was an outstanding bass-baritone - I saw him in a concert performance of Don Giovanni when I was at uni. But in a smallish theatre like this, and delivering a range of Robeson's classic repertoire he was absolutely stunning - it took me an hour to come down afterwards. The songs were interspersed with descriptions of Robeson's life, and White quoting some of his words. He's a man of immense charisma, charming equally in speech and song. And what singing! From deeply felt spirituals, to an incredible performance of the Song of the Volga Boatmen, and cheeky folk songs like No, John. The second half concluded with Robeson's best known "hit" - Ol' Man River from Kern's "Show Boat". And it was thrilling singing, with a hugely powerful climax. Little wonder then that he was given a standing ovation - richly deserved.
The whole performance gave a measure of the respect deserved by Robeson, and likewise for Willard White. I suspect political songs like "Last night I dreamt I saw Joe Hill" proved a hit with the most distinguished audience member, Tony Benn, there with family including his son Hilary (who appeared to be wearing some sort of hoody, albeit not raised - not sure what the powers that be would think of that!)
I hope I can have more evenings in the theatre or concert hall even half as affecting as this one. |
|
|
| This week in life |
[Apr. 14th, 2006|10:07 pm] |
Happy endings
The LLGFF concluded for us with Whole New Thing (LLGFF info on it here). This was an excellent Canadian film about a 13-year old boy who has been home-educated, but is then sent to school to catch up in a few week areas. He's precocious (he's written a fantasy novel) and becomes attracted to his gay English teacher. It was a little uncomfortable at times seeing this youth come on to his teacher, and the teacher though knocking Emerson back where possible didn't do as much as he could have done to keep a professional distance. There were fine performances all round, particularly from Aaron Webber as Emerson.
So, we've had an excellent festival this year - no weak links!
Scary beginnings
Latest classic Doctor Who release came last Friday - Genesis of the Daleks. One of the best stories ever, and a great DVD package with lovely extras, including a documentary featuring Peter Miles and Guy Siner. The story is thrilling and chilling as ever, particularly with Michael Wisher's outstanding performance as Davros in this first story to feature the character.
Through the wardrobe
Dave and I watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on DVD this evening. It's a pretty good film, most of the effects work is stunnning, especially the beavers and other creatures, though one or two of the effects shots a bit clunking. Some changes from the book, of course, and it doesn't seem to have the heart that the old BBC version did. Still, it's a great cast, including the lovely James McAvoy. |
|
|
| Saturday at the LLGFF |
[Apr. 10th, 2006|10:48 am] |
OK, a bit late with this - two classics at the LLGFF on Saturday
12.10pm, NFT 1 - Beautiful Thing. A classic gay themed film from Jonathan Harvey (who also wrote Gimme, Gimme, Gimme). We both enjoy this film anyway, and the chance to see it in a cinema with a like-minded audience was to be leapt at. Jonathan Harvey and director Hettie Macdonald were there for a Q&A afterwards. The film was as wonderful as ever!
2.10pm, NFT 1 - Calamity Jane. The wonderful, classic musical with Doris Day and Howard Keel. I'd never seen the whole thing before, only little snippets, but I knew the songs! It's a great film, though it's 1953 movie musical conventions were unfamiliar to some of the audience, who tittered at some of the more stagey bits of action. The songs were stuck in my head for ages afterwards, including lunch/dinner that Dave and I had at Strada on the South Bank, in the new parade of shops by the Royal Festival Hall.
Only one film left to see now - just hope it's not a let down after the 9 excellent things we've seen so far. |
|
|
| Heath |
[Apr. 6th, 2006|10:31 pm] |
Yesterday's LLGFF entertainment was an early one - 6.10pm in NFT 1 for a showing of Brokeback Mountain. Well, you've read all the hype over the past year, and it's true. It's an excellent film, in particular for a stunnningly good performance from Heath Ledger. Such a believable character, even down to his mumbling, which though it makes his dialogue an effort to follow is totally at one with the whole character. The film starts slowly perhaps, but does draw you in, getting you to invest in these characters, to sympathise with them.
Impressed. |
|
|
| 2 for 1 |
[Apr. 5th, 2006|12:34 pm] |
OK, didn't update this yesterday, so there's 2 films from 2 days to talk about today
Monday night, 8.30pm NFT 3, we saw Eleven Men Out. It's an Icelandic film about a footballer who plays on one of Iceland's top teams. Miffed that his magazine profile is only going to be a backpage story, he decides to get on the front page by coming out to the reporter and his team right after a match. He doesn't think too much of the problems for his team, his ex-wife and his teenage son. The team managers are unhappy and he's sidelined - so he starts playing for a little team run by a friend. They get a reputation as a gay team, more gay men join, straight men leave, and they rise up the league winning by default because no-one wants to play them! Things more or less sort themselves out, and he ends in a happier place than he started, and with some sort of resolution for his family. Lead actor Björn Hlynur Haraldsson is rather tasty, in a Colin Firth kind of way. There's some other cute footballers to enjoy, including Iceland's 2004 Eurovision entrant Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson, musical star Marius Sverrison and Ívar Örn Sverrisson and the film is good fun overall.
Tuesday night, 8.45pm NFT 1 - Loggerheads (official site here). This was a stunningly good film, presenting 3 interwoven stories happening around Mothers' Day in 3 successive years. It dealt with a young man, Mark, played by Kip Pardue watching loggerhead turtles in 1999 and falling for George who runs a motel, his adoptive parents in 2000 dealing with the fact that he's run away, and discovering he has AIDS, and his birth mother, Grace, searching for him in 2001 whilst living with her mother who forced her to give Mark up for adoption. The stories were date-tagged at the start, but it took a bit of concentration initially to get clear what was happening when, but each was in a different location, which helped! Each story focussed on just two characters, with helped the viewer empathise with them. It was immaculately paced and shot, with a languid feel to it, and doing a wonderful job of creating emotional involvement, and the acting was excellent. Of other casting interest, Grace's mother was played by (Miss) Michael Learned, best known as Olivia (the mother) in the Waltons. And Mark's adoptive father was Chris Sarandon, Susan Sarandon's first husband and a familiar face from TV and film.
See this film if you get the chance!!! |
|
|
| Sunday Night at the NFT |
[Apr. 3rd, 2006|04:09 pm] |
|
It's a veritable flurry of activity here on my LJ, isn't it. Such is the effect of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Last night, ged74 and I wandered down to the NFT at about 8.30pm, NFT3 in particular (which is a bit cut off and through a side door, thanks to the redevelopment work) to see "Popular Music". This was a film set in the extreme north-east of Sweden, where there's a mix of Swedes and Finns. It's the story of boys Matti and Niila growing up in an isolated town in the 60s and 70s, the way their friendship develops, and how important popular music is in inspiring them. The film is based on the book by Mikael Niemi. It is quite episodic, focusing partiocularly on the boys at the ages of 8 and 15. There is surrealism, humour and a deeply touching emotional heart to the film. The performances are outstanding, especially from Andreas af Enehielm, playing the 15 year-old Niila (though 18 at the time) - he's reminiscent of Vincent Kartheiser, only a rather better actor! And the two 8 year-olds are hugely impressive too. It's a shame that it was shown in the smallest of the NFT's auditoria, as it ought to reach a much wider audience. ged74 and I both rate this as the best so far of this year's festival! |
|
|
| More LLGFF |
[Apr. 2nd, 2006|04:11 pm] |
Saturday, and ged74 and I went to two more events at the LLGFF.
At 4.10pm in NFT 1 we watched Troubled Teens, a programme of 4 short films with related themes. There was a commonality to the bleakness of the settings and the rough trajectory of each was coming to terms with something, then striking out into the world.
Goodboys was a brief UK film about two boys in a reform school, with 2 young first-time actors in the lead roles. Sort of sweet, and showing some potential.
Nights in Love was a lovely Swedish film - and about half an hour long despite the website! Good performances from the two leads, both of whom were rather cute in their own way.
Daniel Falcone's Night Swimming was next up - a tale of a young music fan who sets off with a friend to go to a concert. The car breaks down, and a midnight swim and drink leads to things!
Finally, Beginners, a German film with a bleak inner city setting, about accusations of someone being gay. Daniel is well and truly screwed up - he wants to beat up David for coming on to him while drunk and doped, but it seems it was the other way round. And Daniel is dealing with the fact that he was the hit and run driver who killed his little toddler sister. There's some degree of catharsis by the end.
It was a fine set of four films, though the two non-English language ones were the best.
After pizza, we returned to NFT1 for 8.45pm - the world premiere of "Boy Culture" by Q Allan Brocka - the man who brought "Eating Out" to the festival 2 years ago, introducing the hunktastic Ryan Carnes to a wider audience. This new film was a more mature work, described as a comedy, but with actually more of a drama with lots of humour. There's great character development for all the main players, from X, a high class prostitute (with a strict client limit) who is the heart of the film, his roommates (one of whom he must sort out his feelings for) and one of his clients (the wonderful Patrick Bauchau, seen recently as Chase(Jesse Spencer)'s father in "House"). It was an inspired, inspiring, thoughtful, thought-provoking, moving, and funny film. Brocka certainly knows how to set up one liners!
We're seeing another one this evening, so tune in to this LJ tomorrow for the latest update(!) |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Mar. 31st, 2006|05:16 pm] |
Wednesday night saw ged74 and I attending the opening night gala of the 20th London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
It took place at the Odeon Leicester Square, with an audience of about 1700, making it probably the biggest gay targeted film showing ever. The joys of the evening began even before the program was due to start at 8pm. About 7.40 the cinema organ started and slowly rose into view, to entertain us with glorious songs of the 1930s -50s - Gershwin, Calamity Jane, and a selection from The Wizard of Oz. It's an experience I'd never had before, as it's pretty much died out - but it was immensely enjoyable.
The film itself began after various opening night speeches, including one from star of the film Lisa Kudrow (yes, Phoebe from Friends). The film was Happy Endings, LLGFF info for it here. It was a highly enjoyable film - comedy, but with its dark moments and tension. And some cute men! It's certainly one to see when it gets a wider release.
Cinema was a bit of a celeb fest - though I only spotted Brian Paddick , and Dave spotted Paul Gambaccini (whose name I can't hear without imagining a Radio 2 jingle!)
9 more things to see at the festival.
And the Easter hols have started - woohoooooo!!!! |
|
|
| HIIH Quiz |
[Feb. 18th, 2006|05:49 pm] |
ged74 and I hosted the Halfway II Heaven quiz this week. If you feel tempted, here are the questions.
A few notes to begin with. There are 5 doubles - consecutive questions with (almost) the same answer. The music questions (which will be hotlinked - right click to download the mp3) all relate to the pictures. Each music question asks which picture number is singing it (for half a mark), and to name the singer (for another half mark). The pictures can be seen here.
The music questions are usually followed by a related question. Reply or email with you attempts at answers.
1. Haworth, the Bronte village in the North Pennines has been twinned with which South American tourist resort?
2. What is the well known Japanese word for "empty orchestra"?
3. What is the official name of the bottom 9 miles (15 KM) of the Earth's atmosphere?
4. MUSIC 1. The person heard here singing a number from Romberg's The Desert Song is shown in one of the pictures. Who is singing (picture half mark, singer half mark)? (Not necessarily picture 1!)
5. In what town/city was the original series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet set?
6. How was Eric Hugh Blair, born in 1903, better known?
7. In North America, what sport is played by the New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers?
8. What was the former name of the country Myanmar?
9. MUSIC 2. This is a song from the cast album of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, which was performed live on American TV (CBS) in 1957. Who is singing (picture half mark, singer half mark)?
10. How many people watched it? Was it A) 107 million; B) 77 million; C) 47 million; D) 7 Million?
11. What is the name of Britain's Chief Vet?
12. Who is Carrie Fisher's mother?
13. What are young eels called?
14. Which is the only vowel on a standard keyboard that is not on the top line of letters?
15. Which army is headed by General John Gowans?
16. Which plant's name means Lion's Tooth?
17. MUSIC 3. Who is heard here performing a music hall song recorded in the Players Theatre? (picture half mark, singer half mark)
18. From shortly after WWII to 2002, where was the Players Theatre located?
19. In the song, Solomon Grundy was born on Monday, what happened to him on Thursday?
20. Anagram: "CASTRATE ANGEL" (9,4) (Tube station)
21. How many crisps can you make from the average potato?
22. Who lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane?
23. What does the adjective 'murine' pertain to? (e.g. feline = cat)
24. What is the more common term used to denote a temperature of nought degrees Kelvin?
25. MUSIC 4. Who is heard singing here? (picture half mark, singer half mark)
26. Who composed the musical from which the song is taken?
27. In what valley was Falcon Crest set?
28. In which Italian region is Pisa?
29. Which author wrote the "Foundation" series of science fiction novels?
30. How many players in total are on the field at the start of a regular game of Gaelic Football?
31. Which disease is diagnosed by the Wasserman Test, the Hinton test and Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR)?
32. Which disease allegedly killed Lenin, Pandit Nehru, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and Friedrich Nietzsche?
33. Who was the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound?
34. Who is said to rule in a Plutocracy?
35. MUSIC 5. Who is performing this bit of Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado, from a 1960 telecast? (picture half mark, singer half mark)
36. WORDLINK. Which one word can be put either before or after each of these words to make another word or phrase: CHAT, WEST, STRING, FISTED
37. Which comedian's final words were "I've said all I have to say" despite not dying for another two weeks?
38. Which mountain range runs along the west coast of South America for over 4,000 miles?
39. If a wine is said to be "flabby", what does it lack?
40. In the Alien Trilogy, what was the Alien's blood made from?
41. What are Corvettes, Sloops and Brigantines?
42. Which American criminal was named "Public enemy number one" by the FBI in the 1930s?
43. MUSIC 6. Who is heard here in a 1959 recording of excerpts from "Show Boat"? (picture half mark, singer half mark)
44. Which anniversary of Mozart's birth was celebrated last month?
45. Anubis is the god of funerals who transports the souls of the dead to the other world in which ancient civilization?
46. Which country won the African Cup of Nations last week?
47. Which religion features The Four Noble Truths?
48. Which king was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485?
49. MUSIC 7. This is a number from the widely forgotten 1968 musical "The Canterbury Tales" - it ran for 5 years in the West End. Who is singing? (picture half mark, singer half mark) - and he was "amazing" according to the director.
50. What show was he most famous for? |
|
|
| Where have all the days gone? |
[Feb. 18th, 2006|04:58 pm] |
OK, I'll admit it, I've been a bit lax in the journal updating stakes!
Last entry was July 26th 2005 when ged74 and I had just completed our house purchase. For details see his journal around that time. It all went smoothly, garden somewhat tamed, house is ok, but there'll be improvements to make over the next few years (bathroom, kitchen, garden).
At the end of the summer holidays I bought a Stanton STR8-100 turntable and DC SIX audio restoration software in order to start transferring and cleaning up my collection of 78s and LPs. The software is pretty amazing by the way. More on the audio stuff later.
The year at college is progressing adequately, despite hassles with the college production. We were planning to do The Mikado, but the students just don't have the right kind of voices, so we were hunting for something new. I happened to be browsing the 2nd hand records in Oxfam on Marylebone High Street when I found The Canterbury Tales musical. I'd not known that there was a musical of the Canterbury Tales, and there was at least one intriguing cast member, so I bought it, transferred it to CD and passed it round the performing arts staff at work. It includes such wonderful songs as "I have a noble cock". We were all enthused by it, but it took a bit of time to track down the rights holders, Martin Starkie - the original producer and director of the show. The show actually ran 5 years in the West End, 1968-73, but is widely forgotten now. So we secured the performance rights and tried to get started on rehearsing it. It was hard work, and despite suiting our students more than the Mikado, it just didn't come together. I'll save the bitching about the exact reasons for another time. So we've dropped it, and students are going to be doing a showcase of work related to the performing arts studies - if they can organise themselves adequately. We'll see.
Valentine's day was fun this week - Dave and I had independently gone to American Retro to buy cards, and both bought cards in the same range (though not exactly the same card!) I think that's got to be a good sign!
More later |
|
|
| Homeowner |
[Jul. 26th, 2005|03:29 pm] |
We've completed on our house purchase! Just waiting for the estate agents to ring to tell us the keys are available!
Then tomorrow is moving day! |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
