Klimt’s Precipice
The iconic painting by Gustav Klimt, called “The Kiss” has been reproduced so many times that we feel we know …
Category Archives: Musings
Singing Praise
I have had the great benefit all my life of participating in choral music – community choruses, church and chapel …
Roman Legacy
One notices, traveling around Europe, that the Romans were everywhere. I have seen the remains of Roman walls, temples, arenas, …
STITCHES IN MIND
For anyone who has collected, or even occasionally seen, needlework samplers from the 18th and 19th centuries, it is always …
On Suffering and “Werther”
A number of years ago I had the good fortune of hearing Alfredo Kraus sing Werther at the San Francisco …
The “Aged P”
How often in one’s life does one get the chance to live out, even test, something one has long loved …
How Not to Stage an Opera
1. Design a set in which, for two acts, there is a pit (disguised as a lake) taking up two-thirds …
Snow
Snow serenity Falling Hiroshige-style, Big grey cities hushed A recent visit to the Art Institute in Chicago allowed me the …
Art and Love
Can there be Art without Love? What makes a great artist? Possessing a greater gift than others, an ability to …
Balanchine Lace
At the Museé des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle in Alençon, France, there are works made of linen and air …
Poets' Sinews 