Saturday, April 23, 2011

Night and Day

San Francisco at night can be a city of multiple contrasts. On Friday April 15th, I was fortunate to attend a jazz performance at the Herbst theatre across City Hall on Van Ness Avenue. Munich native Barbara Dennerlein opened the extravaganza on the Hammond B-3 organ. Her talent was evident as she maneuvered with precision, grace, power and dexterous footwork through her original compositions. She was followed by wily veteran Dr. Lonnie Smith who dazzled the audience with his ultra-modern kaleidoscopic and chromatic harmonies.  I had the good fortune to meet personally fraülein Barbara and purchased one of her autographed CD’s.
After the concert I headed to famous City Lights Bookstore. Considered a landmark of insurgent thinking and anti authoritarian politics it was, back in the fifties, the epicenter of the beatnik movement. Alas! When I arrived it had already closed so I resolved to explore the surrounding territory. The corners of Broadway and Columbus are surrounded by an eclectic variety of businesses. At a glance you can spot Chinese eatery “New Sun Hong Kong”, a branch of Wells Fargo bank, “Tutti Melon”, “Nizario’s” Pizza, “Big Al’s” adult bookstore and the “Condor Club” topless a go go. Throngs of revelers filled the sidewalks and in a period of about an hour I saw drunks, beggars, glittering stilettos and furtive eyes.
Santa Cruz by day can be a delightful experience. I walked through the hilly meadows of  U.C.S C’s campus and the winding paths among the tall redwoods. And then I biked downhill at breathtaking speed. In the afternoon I went to Steamers Lane and Pleasure Point and saw die-hard surfers riding deep blue, frigid and kelp saturated waves.
It was nice experiencing night and day in the northern lands with my son. Only I wished I could have shared these experiences with my dear wife.
Maybe next time. Here’s a song for you darling….

Columbus & Broadway

The Condor Club

Dark Alley

Pleasure Point

Santa Cruz Harbor

U.C.S.C  Meadows

Monday, April 11, 2011

Der Erlkönig

A few days ago I purchased a 4 CD pack at the school library for .50 cents. As I played the third CD, I came upon a piano piece that caught my attention. It is called “Der Erlkönig” which means “The Erl King”. It was written by Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) in 1815. After some research I found out that Schubert’s piece was called a “Lieder” which is a musical arrangement for a single singer and a piano. Schubert’s piece is based on a poem by German writer and polymath Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832). The poem describes the tragic account of a child’s death as his father carries him on a galloping horse.  The child is delirious and hallucinates imaginary beings. The Erlkönig represents the grim reaper.
What caught my attention was the fast playing of repeated chords, which corresponds to the galloping horse. This technique is extremely challenging and it is played by Gerald Moore. The voice belongs to baritone Dieter Fischer-Dieskau and it complements perfectly the intended lieder’s tone. 

The Erl King

Who rides, so late, through night and wind?
It is the father with his child.
He has the boy well in his arm
He holds him safely, he keeps him warm.

"My son, why do you hide your face so anxiously?"
"Father, do you not see the Erl king?
The Erl king with crown and tail?"
"My son, it's a wisp of fog."

"You lovely child, come, go with me!
Many a beautiful game I'll play with you;
Many colourful flowers are on the shore,
My mother has many golden robes."

"My father, my father, and don't you hear
What Erl king is quietly promising me?"
"Be calm, stay calm, my child;
The wind is rustling through withered leaves."

"Do you want to come with me, dear boy?
My daughters shall wait on you fine;
My daughters will lead the nightly dance,
And rock and dance and sing you to sleep."

"My father, my father, and don't you see there
Erl king's daughters in the gloomy place?"
"My son, my son, I see it clearly:
The old willows they shimmer so grey."

"I love you, your beautiful form entices me;
And if you're not willing, I shall use force."
"My father, my father, he's grabbing me now!
Erl king has done me some harm!"

The father shudders; he swiftly rides on,
He holds the moaning child in his arms,
is hardly able to reach the farm;
In his arms, the child was dead.

 This video shows a performance by Russian master pianist Evgeny Kissin (1971- ) without voice accompaniment. Illustration by Alarie Tano (Simon Schmidt).