Jeffrey Kahane, with Christopher Taylor on piano, delves three generations back into his family history to the holocaust, and brings us music from that time that was nearly lost in the horrors of World War II. Kurt Weill wrote his Symphony No. 2 in exile, Viktor Ullman composed his piano concerto in the concentration camp…

Jeffrey Kahane returns to challenge us with some more modern music. The program starts with Haydn Symphony No. 98, which I image was supposed to draw the crowd, but didn’t. Jeffrey looks a little shocked when he sees the empty house. He conducts a tight performance anyway. The Toy Fantasy can’t be an easy piece…

We make it back to Dad’s house just in time to prepare for a concert. Gabriela Montero will play the 3rd Rachmaninoff piano concerto, and before it even starts we’re trying hard not compare her unfairly to “Olga“. As it turns out, she has a bit of a rocky night! She gets out of time…

Life has been demanding things other than music reviews lately, but let me say that Sharon Isbin made my first classical guitar concert something I’d love to repeat. I wish this instrument, and this musician, would become more prominent. Fabulous. The program: Ravel Alborado del gracioso Vivaldi Guitar Concerto in D major Rodrigo Concierto de…

Terry Gilliam’s recent movies have disappointed me, but I’m always willing to give him a chance. This time he has finally hit his stride again with a signature over-the-top Gilliam film that nevertheless treads a fine line between perversities in human nature that we can relate to and those that offend us, making us question…

Truly excellent action movie satire, but lasted longer than my enthusiasm for it did. Referred by Mark

A finely crafted portrait of life in East Berlin before the wall came down, this movie is full of tiny details that bring your mind back to sift through long after it’s over. Certified Fresh

author: Isaac Asimov name: Dylan average rating: 4.44 book published: 1964 rating: 4 read at: 02/08 date added: 02/03/08 shelves: review: I wanted to read the three books Asimov wrote in his early twenties first. The most amazing thing to me is how the writing, even as it stretches imagination and creativity with almost shocking…

Peter O’Toole faces old age and death with longing, lust, and humor. It felt really good to laugh through a movie after the heavy film diet we’ve been on. The subject is not belittled at all though, this is the sort of laughing at ourselves that gets us through the hard times. Certified Fresh

Not at all what I expected – I would call this primarily a war horror movie. The gore was nearly too much for me. I made it through because it is a good concept, following both the inner and outer life of a child in a war situation. Certified Fresh