"Maestro"
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My teacher knew him and liked him a lot. I think, we who grew up in the 60s, were fortunate to have known him as a living being. It was a good time to be interested in classical music with some so many interesting characters - Bernstein being one of them. Stravinsky and Copland still were with us. Gould and Rubinstein were living artists. Not to say that now is bad as we have access to so many recorded performances - many for free. I treasure some of the performances of Bernstein as he championed American composers while educating the public on musical matters. There are some works that I learned through Bernstein and those performances remain my favorites.
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I grew up with my mother always playing opera on Sunday afternoons (that might be a reason I'm not fond of opera...). However, that was "music" in my house. It was the "meal," and anything else was either an appetizer or dessert - not the actual substance.
"Young Peoples' Concerts" were a staple as well. He made "classical" music not only accessible, he made it fun and understandable,
(geezer hat on)
Remember when A&E stood for "Arts and Entertainment?"
(geezer hat off)
Were we unusual in that we took an interest in this stuff, relative to our peers? We knew all the music because of Looney Tunes and the Lone Ranger. Do today's youths (I can't believe I just typed that) have any such interest in exposure? Of my 4 kids, only one does. If I say "Brahms" to the other 3, they look at me, smile, and are thinking "That's nice Dad. Let's get you to your room now."
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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I grew up with my mother always playing opera on Sunday afternoons (that might be a reason I'm not fond of opera...). However, that was "music" in my house. It was the "meal," and anything else was either an appetizer or dessert - not the actual substance.
"Young Peoples' Concerts" were a staple as well. He made "classical" music not only accessible, he made it fun and understandable,
(geezer hat on)
Remember when A&E stood for "Arts and Entertainment?"
(geezer hat off)
Were we unusual in that we took an interest in this stuff, relative to our peers? We knew all the music because of Looney Tunes and the Lone Ranger. Do today's youths (I can't believe I just typed that) have any such interest in exposure? Of my 4 kids, only one does. If I say "Brahms" to the other 3, they look at me, smile, and are thinking "That's nice Dad. Let's get you to your room now."
Were we unusual in that we took an interest in this stuff, relative to our peers? We knew all the music because of Looney Tunes and the Lone Ranger. Do today's youths (I can't believe I just typed that) have any such interest in exposure? Of my 4 kids, only one does. If I say "Brahms" to the other 3, they look at me, smile, and are thinking "That's nice Dad. Let's get you to your room now."
Hardly anybody I know in Real Life has any interest in "serious" music (which I consider jazz to be part of). My Russian friend listens to classical music, but that's it, partly because that's who he is, and also because his wife teaches piano. Pretty much everybody else seems to think Led Zeppelin and the Beatles are classical. The fact that I listen to Beethoven and Michael Brecker pretty much singles me out as a weirdo.
I was only joking
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The only thing constant is change. I wonder how many of the great composers, if they were born in todays world, would be creating the same type of music? Or would they be pop artists? Hip hop? rap?
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Were we unusual in that we took an interest in this stuff, relative to our peers? We knew all the music because of Looney Tunes and the Lone Ranger. Do today's youths (I can't believe I just typed that) have any such interest in exposure? Of my 4 kids, only one does. If I say "Brahms" to the other 3, they look at me, smile, and are thinking "That's nice Dad. Let's get you to your room now."
Hardly anybody I know in Real Life has any interest in "serious" music (which I consider jazz to be part of). My Russian friend listens to classical music, but that's it, partly because that's who he is, and also because his wife teaches piano. Pretty much everybody else seems to think Led Zeppelin and the Beatles are classical. The fact that I listen to Beethoven and Michael Brecker pretty much singles me out as a weirdo.
@Doctor-Phibes said in "Maestro":
The fact that I listen to Beethoven and Michael Brecker pretty much singles me out as a weirdo.
I see your Beethoven and Michael Brecker and raise with reading Auden on my lunch break.
Please love yourself.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in "Maestro":
The fact that I listen to Beethoven and Michael Brecker pretty much singles me out as a weirdo.
I see your Beethoven and Michael Brecker and raise with reading Auden on my lunch break.
@Aqua-Letifer said in "Maestro":
@Doctor-Phibes said in "Maestro":
The fact that I listen to Beethoven and Michael Brecker pretty much singles me out as a weirdo.
I see your Beethoven and Michael Brecker and raise with reading Auden on my lunch break.
Yeah, but you are a weirdo
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@Aqua-Letifer said in "Maestro":
@Doctor-Phibes said in "Maestro":
The fact that I listen to Beethoven and Michael Brecker pretty much singles me out as a weirdo.
I see your Beethoven and Michael Brecker and raise with reading Auden on my lunch break.
Yeah, but you are a weirdo
@Doctor-Phibes said in "Maestro":
@Aqua-Letifer said in "Maestro":
@Doctor-Phibes said in "Maestro":
The fact that I listen to Beethoven and Michael Brecker pretty much singles me out as a weirdo.
I see your Beethoven and Michael Brecker and raise with reading Auden on my lunch break.
Yeah, but you are a weirdo
Fair.
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Watched it on Netflix.
It was ... okay.
Cooper was great, the directing was great, the acting was great, the costumes and music were great.
But the story...
So much time spent on his relationships and not enough (as the WSJ review says) on his career. We don't know where he came from, how his ascendency to a world-class conductor happened, and his growth as a conductor and composer.
It was good, it wasn't great, much to my disappointment.
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Do be honest it was never on my watch list. Now there is no chance it will ever be on my watch list.
Will watch Napoleon though if and when the director’s cut and/or long version is ever released on BR. Never in a cinema mind you.
Elbows up!
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It was okay - a pleasant, mostly, way to spend a couple of hours.
Favorite scene was the ballet from "On the Town."
Least favorite scene(s)
- Lenny snorting coke off a platter
- Sweaty Lenny dancing in a homoerotic way with a conducting student.
2 ½ stars. Maybe three, just for Carrie Mulligan's and COoper's performance.
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Loved Hersey Felder's one man play - also titled Maestro from about a decade or so ago. Felder can play the piano (gorgeously) and did a wonderful retrospective of Bernstein's life.
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Do be honest it was never on my watch list. Now there is no chance it will ever be on my watch list.
Will watch Napoleon though if and when the director’s cut and/or long version is ever released on BR. Never in a cinema mind you.
Will watch Napoleon though if and when the director’s cut and/or long version is ever released on BR. Never in a cinema mind you.
Mrs Phibes saw Napoleon in a cinema yesterday. She said it was a lot of fun, but she approached it in much the same way as you would Gladiator or any other Ridley Scott movie come to that.
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Maestro, reviewed by an orchestra conductor: is Bradley Cooper really conducting?
Link to video -
Watching Maestro now. Acting and cinematography Oscar worthy. The story is an insult to his legacy. And boring as hell.
Watching Maestro now. Acting and cinematography Oscar worthy.
Fabulous, isn't it?
The story is an insult to his legacy. And boring as hell.
Sad, isn't it?
It's not really a "biopic," is it? If you knew nothing about him, walking out of the theater, what would you have learned?
- He was gay, or at least bisexual.
- He got the job on a fluke.
- His marriage was troubled, as was his relationship with his kids
- He looks like a pretty good conductor.
- He smoked - a LOT
- Mahler could be cool
- If you paid really close attention, you might learn that he composed West Side Story, Fancy Free...but you have pay really close attention.
- He probably took good care of his wife as she was dying.
Anything else?
