Tag Archives: Eugene Delacroix

falcons: separating the emperor from the kings

Thirteenth-century monarchs were not expected to be accomplished writers, much less scientists, so it is fairly extraordinary that Frederick the Great himself wrote the book that is regarded as the first work of modern zoology: Of the Art of Hunting … Continue reading

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tendencies that ought to be conflicting

In Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past, the snobbish Mme de Cambremer at one point exclaims, ” In heaven’s name, after a painter like Monet, who is an absolute genius, don’t go an mention an old hack without a vestige … Continue reading

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a thurber carnival: happy days are here again

The black, memorable year of 1929. Its 2011, three years since the great recession and the economic needle won’t budge.Employment is worse. And the housing crisis and foreclosures show little improvement. Are we in a socialized version of the dirty … Continue reading

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montaigne: sharing the fuzzy warbles

Beautiful losers. It was kind of a poor man’s version of Maimonides Guide for the Perplexed, drawing on navel gazing problems of then lo-fi culture such as cannibalism, sexual titillation, witch’s spells etc. Prime material for an Oprah book of … Continue reading

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heine in paris: hope amid les miserables

When he died in Paris, his last words were “god will forgive me. Its his job.” Among the thousands of books burned in Berlin in 1933 following the Nazi raid on the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, were works by Heinrich Heine. … Continue reading

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animal farm: all animals are equal but some are more equal…

Is tyranny the fate of our society in collective? An eternal recurrence of Jasmine springs? Like Sisyphus reaching the summit, the earth with all its Gaddafi’s can never be pitched into the abyss; it rolls down the mountain ensuring the … Continue reading

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Sand and Chopin….. etudes of the muse or the ballade of the…vampire

George Sand is often cast as the villain of the piece, though actually, she did wonders for Frederic Chopin by shielding him from the buffetings of the world. Chopin’s connection with Madame Dudevant, the French novelist, better known as “George … Continue reading

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liberated from foursquare classical rhythms

His life was brilliant and brief, much like his masterpieces on the piano. This segment tracks Frederic Chopin in Paris. He had left Poland to spend eight inhospitable months in Vienna before making his way to Paris at he time … Continue reading

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Chopin and the unpredictable mazurka

Chopin’s Polishness went deeper than the color of his passport. From a musical standpoint, in fact, it was of paramount importance because of the way Polish folk music shaped his whole thinking on questions of rhythm and melody. His formal … Continue reading

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the foe of the metronome: Does the right hand not know…

… what the left hand is doing?  Chopin, his life though it was marked by illness, was nonetheless, a success. His life brilliant and brief was much like his masterpieces for the piano. Masterpieces cloaked in the enigma  of his … Continue reading

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