Sunday Morning Concert: "The Gourmet Blend of the Week"

Welcome to the Weekend and your Sunday Morning Concert.  I really excited about today's program as it blends some of my favorite elements together for a marvelous and magnificent concert experience.  Naturally there is a story behind the reason for my excitement, or I would not be Uncle Gerry, right?  So let me tell you all about it.  

The other evening at work a lovely young women comes strolling up the aisle to my register saying: "It is so wonderful to Classical Music as I walk through your store".  This of course led to a discussion of our shared love of Classical Music in general, the Cello in particular and my blog/tumblr.  The lady was a Cellist with the Brazos Chamber Orchestra and she really made my night with our conversation.  In honor of our mutual love of the Cello and Classical Music I embarked on a search for something really appropriate for today's concert footage.  I think I found the perfect blend for program today.  

In 2011, after meeting as teenage Classical Musicians, and idea was conceived to fill a concert arena with only the sound of their two instruments.  That bit of creative genius began a series of events that leads to this morning's concert presentation.  The two musicians made a trip to one of their hometowns where they met with another friend.  This meeting produced the concept for their first You Tube video which went viral with over 3 million views in the first weeks it was up.  I am talking about the amazing duo of Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, the two drop dead gorgeous Cellist of 2Cellos and their video of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal.  

In 2013, after a whirlwind of activity that included touring with Elton John and appearances on Ellen, the Tonight Show and a great number of Classical venues across the world.  These two guys have damn near perfected the blend of the Classical with the Avant Garde for a truly unique concert experience for young and old alike.  As they say, their audience is form 7 to 77, no one is excluded.  This morning I therefore bring you their celebration of success with the self described "Concert for the Whole Life" in an exciting, unforgettable and emotional evening at the beautiful Roman Colosseum in Stjepan's hometown of Pula, Croatia. The concert took place on 3rd of July, 2013 and is posted down below.  Be ready to Rock the House as this concert will bring you to your feet and keep you there.  Over on my tumblr is the Red Bull Documentary "From Pula 2 Pula" telling the story of Luka and Stjepan's journey from "zero to hero" that culminated in the concert footage down below.  

As for your Sunday dose of Male Art, I delved into my archives for these classic photos from my earliest days on the internet in this week's edition of  Naked or Nearly So! posted down below.  Over on my tumblr you will find the Hottie of the Day! who is "Wet, Blond and Beautiful".  Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with me, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Saturday Evening Concert

Welcome to the Weekend and your somewhat delayed  Saturday Evening Concert.  I have really enjoyed our focus this week on the Grand Masters of the Cello and this evening's historically significant concert will tie the week together uniting the past Masters with a new generation of up and coming Grand Masters of the Cello.  We began the week with the legendary Pablo Casals and tonight Casals spirit and his Cello will join us for a very special presentation.  

When Amit Peled was a boy of 10 living on a kibbutz in Israel, he heard his first recording of a Cello.  He had recently taken up the Cello to impress a girl and had been given a cassette tape.  He put the tape in the boom box and for the first time heard the wonder of Casals.  Now a 40-year-old cellist, Mr. Peled is practicing and performing on the very instrument that dazzled him in late 1983—an unlikely circumstance that has made him believe in destiny.  That cello, which Mr. Casals played more than any other, recently had its first thorough restoration in decades at the urging of Mr. Peled and the widow of Pablo Casals, Marta Casals Istomin.

Last November Mr Peled, who is currently the principle Cello instructor at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, embarked on a 19 date tour with Casals Cello.  For Amit, the tour offered audiences the chance to hear his playing as well as the rejuvenated sound of the Casals cello, which he calls “Pablo.” But it is also an opportunity to burnish the legacy of Mr. Casals, who was admired as much for his verve as his virtuosity.

“The whole thing about Casals is how to make a [musical] phrase alive,” says Amit, who  doesn’t try to imitate Mr. Casals but rather tap into the essence of his style: “It’s spontaneous, it’s sincere, it’s honest, it’s taking risks.”  Casals inspired Amit to take some risks. At 22, Amit left Yale University, where he had a full scholarship to a three-year music program, after just one year.  He left to move to Cape Cod and study under Casals’s pupil Bernard Greenhouse. Amit, who eventually got his bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston, spent three years learning from Mr. Greenhouse. He fondly recalls days spent practicing, walking on the beach and sipping afternoon Manhattans with his octogenarian teacher as Casals LPs spun on the record player.  He never imagined that he would one day be responsible for his hero’s famous instrument.

In 1915 Pablo Casals performed a concert at the Peabody Founders Day concert playing his 1873 Gofriller Cello.  In February of 2015 at the Peabody Founders Day Amit recreated the program Pablo Casals played at Peabody on the day of its 100th anniversary, performing on Casals' own 1733 Goffriller cello (February 12, 2015).  That is the concert I have for you this evening .  

The play list is as follows:

Opening remarks by Fred Bronstein, dean of the Peabody Institute, and Ronald Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University. 0:00

Sonata in G minor – George Frideric Handel 4:55

Suite No. 3 in C Major – Johann Sebastian Bach 14:04

Variations in E-flat Major – Ludwig van Beethoven 34:36

Remarks by Amit Peled 45:27

Élégie – Gabriel Fauré 49:43

Sicilienne – Gabriel Fauré 56:19

Papillon – Gabriel Fauré 1:00:06

Aria from Pastorale in F Major – J. S. Bach 1:03:25

Allegro Appasionato – Camille Saint-Saëns 1:07:18

Q&A 1:12:07

Encore: Prayer from Jewish Life – Ernest Bloch 1:19:55 

I believe you will thoroughly enjoy this evening of amazing Music from a beautiful Cello made by the next generation of Grand Masters of the Cello, Amit Peled.  Over on my tumblr, Grand Masters in the making Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic of 2Cellos are in concert at the 2014 Exit Festival.  A couple weeks back I featured an all Classical concert from 2Cellos, tonight they show off their 'Pop' props with an all Electric Cello performance that will definitely rock your socks.  

For your visual appreciation there is this exquisite edition of Naked or Nearly So down below and the 'Sleeping Beauty' Hottie of the Day! on my tumblr.  Thanks for hanging in until I arrived, see you again on Monday for another week of Music, Men & More!  Until next time always, Enjoy!

**  The Wall Street Journal and the Peabody Institute both contributed to this post

Two for Tuesday

It is a slow and mellow morning here in Texas.  A cold front has moved through this morning giving us a chilly but brilliantly sunny day.  Just perfect for curling up with a good book or cuddling by  the fireplace.   The day seems to go hand in hand with the good news out of Hawaii where the Senate is expected to vote on the House amended language to the Marriage Equality bill the Senate passed last week 20-4.  The measure is expected to pass once again and head over to the Statehouse for Governor Neil Abercrombie's expected signature, maybe as soon as tomorrow.  If all goes as planned, Marriage Equality will begin on December 2.  Hawaii will then become state number 16 with Marriage Equality.  Would that not be a great way to celebrate Christmas with a wedding in Hawaii?

Your Musical Moment for Tuesday is a reprise of a play list posted earlier in these pages.  The play list features beautiful music from a concert at the Istrian National Theater in Pula, Croatia by Croation Pop Star Oliver Dragojevic and Cellist Stjepan Hauser on December 19, 2011. Although this is outside my normal genre of Classical Music and I do not speak the language in which Dragojevic sings, I feel the emotion in the soaring melodies and evocative performances of both Dragojevic and Hauser which I am sure you will also.

Then to close out this post I have put together this collection of photographs featuring two men in each photo, most of them intimately entwined or kissing  (or both) in this edition of Two for Tuesday.  Thanks for sharing a part of your day with me, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitching A Change Up

Sometimes I think I get to be too predictable with the items I post in these pages.  So today I thought I would throw you a curve ball on the inside corner instead of a fast ball down the middle of the plate.  Starting with the music, I have an outstanding play list for your listening pleasure today.  The play list is filled with beautiful music from a concert at the Istrian National Theater in Pula, Croatia by Croation Pop Star Oliver Dragojevic and Cellist Stjepan Hauser on December 19, 2011. Although this is outside my normal genre of Classical Music and I do not speak the language in which Dragojevic sings, I feel the emotion in the soaring melodies and evocative performances of both Dragojevic and Hauser from a simple stage set with an electronic keyboard and a cello backed by a grand piano.  I am also sure you will notice the beatific expressions on the faces of both Dragojevic and Hauser as they perform on stage.  Many elements contribute to the beauty to be found in the faces of men.  For some people, they eyes are the thing they notice first, for others it may be the nose or the playful smile.  For your daily dose of man candy for today then, I have gathered quite a few photographs of handsome young men that are all About Face as the focus of the photo.  I will let you decide which elements are most appealing to you in the line up after the play list.  Thanks for the visit, see you again tomorrow.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!