Sunday Morning Concert

Welcome to the Weekend and Your Sunday Morning Concert.  It is a 3 day weekend for most in the US with tomorrow being the last official day of the Summer season as we celebrate Labor Day.  Rather than feature a single composer's works in today's concert performances, we are celebrating the 'labors' of Dutch Violinist Janine Jansen.  Janine began to study the violin at age 6. Her father and both her brothers are also musicians. Her mother is a classical singer and is a sister of the bass Peter Kooy. Jansen studied with Coosje Wijzenbeek, Philippe Hirschhorn, and Boris Belkin. She is married to Swedish conductor Daniel Blendulf. 

She has eschewed tradition by recording with only five solo strings rather than an orchestra, including her brother as cellist and father playing continuo. In live concerts, she has received standing ovations from enthusiastic audiences, for example at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 2006 concert at Berlin's Waldbühne, with a full attendance of 25,000, and in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008 to a sold-out audience. Jansen has performed on the 1727 Stradivari "Barrere" violin, which was on loan from the Stradivari Society of Chicago.  She currently plays on the "Baron Deurbroucq", also crafted in 1727 by Stradivari, which is owned by the Beare's International Violin Society.  She has begun her own chamber music festival in Utrecht. She has been a member of Spectrum Concerts Berlin since 1998.

Earlier this summer, the 2015  International Chamber Music Festival was held in Utrecht, Netherlands in the comfortably intimate confines of the TivoliVerendenberg Theater.  Janine is joined by a great number of her musical friends to celebrate Chamber Music in June of each year.  The Opening Concert from this year's Festival, recorded on June 24 at the TivioliVrendenberg Theater is posted below.  Janine is joined by friends Gregory Ahss [Violin], Nimrod Guez [Viola], Nicolas Alstaedt [Cello], Rick Stotijn [Double Bass], Andreas Ottensamer [Clarinet], Fredrik Ekdahl [Bassoon] and Radek Barborák [Horn] for a superb performance of Franz Shubert's Octet in F Major.  Over on my tumblr, Janine is joined by Denis Kozhukhin [Piano], Boris Brovtsyn [Violin], Amihai Grosz [Viola] and Julian Steckel [Cello] for their performance of Bela Bartók's Piano Quintet in C, Sz23 recorded on June 26.  

Finally for this Sunday morning, this week's celebration of the au natural beauty of the male form, Naked or Nearly So!, is posted down below for your visual appreciation.  Meanwhile over on my tumblr, your Hottie of the Day! is one hot 'Art Deco Adonis'.  Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with me, see you again tomorrow as we begin another week of Music, Men & More! here on Nichevo.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Pit Stop on a Busy Friday

Well we made it to Friday and I am stopping in in the midst of a buys day to make sure I get a post up today.  Seems like everyone wants a piece of my time today in addition to my weekly chores and errands.  And then there is that little thing called a 9 hour truck night shift coming up at 5 o'clock.  No rest for us wicked folks, eh?   So, as I 'v e not read the news or anything like that, let's just do Music and Men and then I gotta jet off to those who are calling for me.  

Your featured Composer for today is Felix Mendelssohn.  A grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn was born into a prominent Jewish family, although initially he was raised without religion and was later baptized as a Reformed Christian. Mendelssohn was recognized early as a musical prodigy, but his parents were cautious and did not seek to capitalize on his talent.

Mendelssohn enjoyed early success in Germany, where he also revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and in his travels throughout Europe. He was particularly well received in Britain as a composer, conductor and soloist, and his ten visits there -- during which many of his major works were premiered -- form an important part of his adult career. His essentially conservative musical tastes, however, set him apart from many of his more adventurous musical contemporaries such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner and Hector Berlioz. The Leipzig Conservatoire (now the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig), which he founded, became a bastion of this anti-radical outlook.

Mendelssohn wrote symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano music and chamber music. His best-known works include his Overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the overture The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and his String Octet. His Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and anti-Semitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his creative originality has now been recognized and re-evaluated. He is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.

I have two of Mendelssohn's works for you today.  Down below you will find Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings in E Flat Major, Opus 2o with a performance by L'Archibudelli and The Smithsonian Chamber Players, on period instruments. Vera Beths, Jody Gatwood, Lisa Rautenberg, and Gijs Beths, Violins. Steven Dann and David Cerutti, Violas. Anner Bylsma and Kenneth Slowik, Cellos.  While over on my tumblr, join YoYo Ma, Emmanuel Ax and Itzhak Perlman for Mendelssohn's Piano Trio Number 1 in D Minor, Opus 49. 

Finally on this Friday I have some seriously sensuous Fantasy Fuel posted down below to inspire your desire and on my tumblr your Hottie of the Day! is putting on a 'Floor Show'.  Thanks for hangin' in til I got here, see you again for the Sunday Morning Concert.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Medical Matters, Music and Men!

It has been a long day already, but a good one.  I had my quarterly checkup at the VA first thing this morning.  Surprisingly enough the checkup really was full of good news.  All my numbers have improved from last time, some dramatically lower like the blood sugar and cholesterol.  I even lost 8 pounds.  (yea!  me!)  I discussed my hypoglycemic episodes which we both agreed were caused by low appetite while at the same time not decreasing my dosages that work to control my blood sugar.  My doctor also said that with the passing of my Mother, it is natural to have an intense grieving period that could last up to 3 months.  If my appetite, periods of despondency and overall mood have not improved and symptoms of depression, etc. persist, then counseling would be the recommended course of action.  Thankfully that is covered under my VA Benefits now so that will be a no cost item.  I may take a few sessions just to be on the safe side anyway.  

I also discussed that lump on my back with the doctor and she said it was a blocked glandular cyst.  The cyst is not something I need to worry too much about unless it becomes infected or inflamed, then it would need to be surgically removed.  This could be done on an outpatient basis, so again no biggie and it, too, is covered under my benefits.  The doctor agreed with how I have modified the taking of my medicine, judging the necessary dosages needed or not needed by the result of testing my sugar.  She also prescribed a portable blood pressure machine that I picked up today.  That way I can monitor my blood pressure as well as my blood sugar.  We discussed what range the readings for each should fall between before action of some kind needs to happen.  This adds a layer of security to my peace of mind.  The last thing I want is to have another stroke or sugar related incident (too high or too low).  I have all the tools necessary to monitor and regulate what I need and to take appropriate action if needed.  All I gotta do is stick with the program as outlined, and I should be fit as a fiddle for a long time to come.  Any rumored predictions as to my early demise were, are and will be greatly exaggerated!

I then went to work my 11-2 lunch run, however it turned into a n 11-4 shift instead. This was due to the auditors doing their audit thing, so I had to stay over a couple of hours to help out.  Once again this is no biggie, but the five extra hours so far this week will look great on the pay check!  So it is all good there too!

Now on to the good stuff.  Your Tuesday Musical Moment features the Music of Franz Schubert with his Octet if F Major, D 803, Opus posth. 166, for clarinet, horn, bassoon, string quartet & double-bass.  Today's performance is by the Berlin Philharmonic Octet. Saschko Gawriloff & Rainer Mehne, violin. Wilfried Strehle, viola. Peter Steiner, cello. Rainer Zepperitz, double-bass. Gerd Seifert, horn. Hans Lemke, bassoon. Alois Brandhofer, clarinet.  You may also hear Schubert's String Quintet for 2 violins, viola & 2 cellos, in C major, D 956 over on my tumblr.  

Once again we have Art to complement the Music, and it is hard to tell which is more beautiful than the other.  Your Tuesday's Temptations this week are a set of sultry, sexy sensations waiting for your inspection and appreciation.  Each portrait evokes it own erotic response from each and every viewer, cruise on down the page while being serenaded by Schubert.  Additional temptation can be found in the Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Wing Nuttery and Other Interesting Things

Well it seems that the Wing Nuts were out seemingly in droves this week with absurd pronouncements bursting forth left and right.  Let's start with Mission America Wing Nut Linda Harvey, who in a column pushing her new book Maybe He's Not Gay, makes the outlandish claim that all gays are closeted heterosexuals in a new quacky WorldNetDaily column.  Where is a straight jacket when you need one?  Not to be out done, a Republican congressional candidate in Chicago believes God controls the weather and that tornadoes, autism and dementia are his punishments for the gay rights movement and abortions.  With two previously failed runs for office, Susanne Atanus jumped way off the deep end in an interview with the Daily Herald proving to one and all that she has a rampant case of diarrhea of the mouth.  She was roundly chastised by Republican leaders who called for her to end her candidacy.  Illinois Republican Chairman Jack Dorgan said in a separate statement "The offensive statements by Susanne Atanus have no place in the modern political debate, and she has no place on the ballot as a Republican. Her candidacy is neither supported nor endorsed by the leaders of our party, and she should withdraw from the race immediately.”  Is common sense breaking out in the Chicago GOP?

Republicans don't hold all the Wing Nut cards however, as Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto ( a Democrat?!) in her brief to the current court case challenging Nevada's ban on Marriage Equality linked Gay Marriage to bigamy and incest.  Has she been listening a little too much to Linda Harvey and Susanne Atanus or what?  Not all Attorneys General are certifiably insane however, as Virginia's newly elected Democratic Attorney General Mark R. Herring said he would support gay couples who have filed lawsuits challenging the state's ban and will not defend the ban in court.  Heretofore a bastion of Republican Conservatism,  Virginia has turned the corner and seems ready and willing to progress beyond the rhetoric and anti-Gay animus so prevalent before now.

There was some good news in the Marriage Equality realm as retired Methodist Minister, the Reverend Bill McElvaney, announced Sunday that he will officiate at the weddings of same-sex couples, telling WFAA in Dallas, "I think we need to speak out about this. We are long overdue in the United Methodist Church." Reverend McElvaney was pastor of the Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas for 40 years, a congregation that includes a sizable LGBT community.  The Reverend could lose his credentials and his retirement if the Methodist Church wants to be vindictive in the matter, however he says he is "too old to worry about such things".

Meanwhile, in response to the machination in the Indiana House of Representatives I told you about yesterday, Andy Markle, a gay Republican running for state representative in Indianapolis, announced he is leaving the Republican Party.  In a Facebook post Markle wrote "As an openly gay male and a conservative, I find it deplorable that the state would choose to take such extraordinary measures to disenfranchise me and my fellow LGBT brothers and sisters. In an era where my party declared that it was the party of "small government" and "less intrusion", it has been confirmed that it is not the party of small government or less intrusion."  Markle joins GOProud founder Jimmy LaSalvia in denouncing Republican extremism causing them to disavow their previous ties to the GOP.

Moving on to more Wing Nuttery, whack jobs Mat Staver and Matt Barber of the Liberty Council praised Russia, Uganda and Nigeria for their anti-LGBT laws, respectively, in a recent "Faith and Freedom" radio broadcast.  "[These nations are] rejecting this notion that you can take the institution of marriage and radically redefine it by sanctifying what every major world religion and thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology have long held: that homosexual behavior and conduct is both immoral, unnatural and self-destructive to the individuals engaged in the behavior," Barber noted in the broadcast.  Staver and Barber are in lockstep with the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer who has said the Russian law should not only be supported, but celebrated, too.  These fine 'Christian' men have obviously been partaking of the same hallucinogen.   Either that or they all hail from the same province on the Planet Hate.

While we are on the subject of the Russian Propaganda Law, there is a hilarious parody that has been posted on You Tube by some of Broadway's best and brightest.  The parody, citing the homosexual propaganda law, has the Russian government outlawing theatrical performances which prompts the  Russian Broadway community to respond.  I have posted the video below for your amusement and entertainment.

Your Musical Moment for this Friday features a piece of Music I heard on the local classical music station while I was making my way home from work last night.  Kurt Masur conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra featuring Maxim Vengerov on Solo Violin in their performance of the Violin Concerto in E Minor, Opus 64 by Felix Mendelssohn.  You may also want to listen to Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings in E Flat Major over on my tumblr.  Hot on the heels of today's Musical Moment is this week's salute to Bears, Cubs and Cougars in this edition of Furry Friday.  Be sure to check out the Hottie of the Day! also to be found on my tumblr.  Thanks sharing part of your Friday with me, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!