Celebrity Series of Boston Blog

Way to go, Green

Congratulations, Celtics!

Rubinstein by Picasso

 

Just for fun, a little item from our archives: Rubinstein as sketched by Picasso in 1958. Distributed as promotional material for Rubinstein's recitals during the 1960s (nice of Picasso not to move Rubinstein's face around). A summit meeting of two people each known by only one name. To be a fly on the wall . . .

National Donut Day

It's that time of year after our performance season ends and before the next one has begun (we'll be in this odd purgatory for a while). Rest assured, we are hard at work on AileyCamp Boston (final performance August 7 at the Tsai Performance Center, thank you) and getting ready for 2008-2009. It is at times like these that a performing arts staff member's heart turns to donuts . . .

I'll start with the Mass Media take - it's National Doughnut/Donut Day and here is MSN City Guide article to prove it: Great Donuts: A Baker's Dozen. Ugh, a "best of" article. These pieces are only about getting us all riled up by paying inadequate attention to our local experience, like some inane talk radio argument. What I dislike about them most is how well they work on me . . .

My personal favorite in the Boston area is Ohlin's Bakery in Belmont. They don't have a web site (they are SO old school), but here is their Yelp page (I wonder if they know they have a Yelp page). I recommend going between 6 and 8 am for a little honey-dipped slab of heaven.

In the spirit of cheap non-journalism, I invite your donut recommendations, local or otherwise.

MSN's article is redeemed by it's fanatical author, Brett Stetka, with his donut obsessed blog, The Blognut.

The origin of National Doughtnut/Donut Day can be traced back to a fund raising effort in 1938 by the Salvation Army, though you won't find a reference to it on their web site. That's too bad, because I wanted to ask them why National Doughnut/Donut falls on the first Friday in June and not during the frigid winter months when we are all covered up and can rationalize the extra fat as a bulwark against the cold is beyond me. I'm not going to press the issue, they probably have more important things to focus on.

Return to the world of the posting

This is one of those, "I-am-back-I'm-sorry-here-is-what-I-have-been-up-to," blog posts, or at least a variant of the type. The difference with this one is that I will not bore you with excuses or details (I have my writing to bore you with). I just want to acknowledge that a page of Mark Morris Dance Group related info has been greeting regular readers for quite some time, and while I can't promise I won't put up a similar bulletin board in the future (actually, I can promise you I will), I pledge to feel a nagging guilt throughout the page's life and I will not enjoy the 12-course meals, sumptuous desserts, manicures, pedicures, cruises, inner tube trecks through Bhutan, extended massage therapy, weekends at the Rolfing Institute, jaunts down Parisian thoroughfares, hikes in the Swiss Alps grind of critical business that takes me away from you, gentle reader..

So how have you been?

Princeton Record Exchange lives

Barry Wiesfeld's Princeton Record Exchange is going strong despite the hard times in the "brick and mortar" record business. My theory: people love to browse and people love to hold it in their hands, then walk out with it. The New York Times (no less) parts the curtains of this musty sub-culture:

"'A lot of people who come here are obsessed,' said Mr. Weisfeld, a resolutely low-tech guy wearing an incongruous orange Yahoo! cap. 'I’ll give you an example. One year, we got a very bizarre collection, world music, international music, whatever you call it, very unusual stuff. We let our customers know, and we sold 500 of the 1,000 in three days. They’re not people looking for Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ or something by Billy Joel.'"

Of course, Mr. Weisfeld does have a web site, the man's not crazy.

Read "Serious Dinosaur" Thriving in Download Age, in The New York Times

Jose Canseco Composes Opera About Steroids

Who says there are no second acts? Read about La Anabolica.

Peterson vs Groulx

Oscar Peterson (left) and Lionel-Adolphe Groulx (right)

There is controversy afoot north of the border in Canada. It seems a battle is raging to rename a Montreal subway station in honor of jazz great - and noted Canadian - Oscar Peterson. Trouble is, the station is already named after another noted - if more than a little controversial - Canadian, Lionel-Adolphe Groulx, a Roman Catholic priest, historian, nationalist, traditionalist - and many say, racist and anti-semite - who died in 1967.

More on this as it develops. And feel free, gentle reader, to let us know if we are behind in our reports.

Full disclosure: I'm considerably more familiar with the accomplishments of Mr. Peterson than any of Mr. Groulx's. From the perspective of right-hand technique alone, Peterson seems like a shoe-in, but then, I'm not Canadian. Was Groulx's pedal work especially prodigious...?

Thanks, once again, to Soho the Dog for the heads up. Speaking of which, dig this.

Aaaand a link to the article would be nice...

BUSTED!

Received this righteous blast this morning from a patron on our e-mail list.

"Your message states 'It might seem a little like United Kingdom month at the Celebrity Series, what with the Camerata Ireland, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards , and The Chieftains all scheduled. Even the bluegrass family band Cherryholmes is known to do a bit of Irish step dancing in their show.'
HOWEVER, IRELAND IS NOT PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM!"

Oh, Maureen, you are so right. I was a fool when I wrote that Ireland is part of the UK - forgive me Paddy Moloney!  - and I'm a red-faced fool now. Thank you for calling me out. I only hope the good folks at O'Connor's will still serve me my bangers and mash with a smile.

No matter what I said, Cherryholmes does do some mean Irish step dancing, which is extraordinary when you consider they are originally from California (which is not part of the UK, by the way).

Dragoon Guards: new name, no horses

The show that we have been calling "The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the Band of the Coldstream Guards" will now be called:

"Pipes, Drums and Dancers of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and The Regimental Band, Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards"

No, I'm not kidding. Hey, they have been accruing traditions and names for quite some time now. Relax, you can buy a ticket without having to say their entire name.

In case you missed it, the new name highlights the fact that the show will include highland dancers.

Also, there will be no horses in the show. Think about it, it's in Symphony Hall.

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards troops headed for Afghanistan

Lest you think the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards that the Celebrity Series is bringing to Symphony Hall on March 9 are some kind of trumped up, pseudo-warriors who took a few piping lessons and are now posing as soldiers, note this article from The Midlothian Advertiser describing recent deployments to Afghanistan of Scottish troops. Among the troops being deployed are 120 soldiers from B Squadron of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. They are the real thing.

I know, it shuts me up, too.

You can read about the new CD by the unit's Pipes and Drums on the regimental web site. You can get tickets to the Pipes and Drums Boston performance here.

Note: The eagle facsimile on the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards cap badge (pictured above) represents the eagle of the 45th Infantry(that's the French infantry) captured by a the Scots Greys at The Battle of Waterloo. Yes, that Battle of Waterloo. Believe me now?