I mentioned a
few months ago that Gabriel Prokofiev (see pic) had
recently written a string quartet. I very much wanted to hear it, but
I was only recently able to locate a copy of the CD (performed by the
Elysian Quartet, and including several remixes). It was worth the wait.
Even though Mr. Prokofiev said that the medium of string quartet "wasn't a first choice", he's written a powerful, expressive piece. It's a little uneven to my ear (I'm still warming up to the first and third movements) but the strong parts are strong indeed. It somewhat resembles a Bartók quartet in that it has driving rhythms and makes considerable use of a variety of tone colors (sul ponticello, col legno, and others)--but it doesn't come across as an attempt to sound like Bartók, nor anyone else. Gabriel Prokofiev has a distinctive voice of his own.
The second movement mates sinuous melodies to percussive effects. The fourth movement is more dancelike, but it took me more time to come to appreciate; a repeated sagging glissando motif irked me when I first heard it. I know that some of my favorite music didn't appeal to me at first listening--but knowing that doesn't make it any less effort to get over the initial hump with each new piece. I am subject to thinking "I don't like this, and I don't want to like this (because liking it would be tantamount to saying I'm wrong in my current estimation of it)"--typical human stubbornness. Ed Laliq's remix helped me out here. After I came to like the remix, the movement it's based on was in turn more accessible.
The five remixes are all over the map stylistically. I like the ones by Laliq and Boxsaga the best (the former being more rhythmic, the latter more melodic). The (unprecedented, to my knowledge) step of including remixes with a string quartet recording is not a gimmick; the remixes do complement the original work.
The recording (by Gabriel Prokofiev himself) is more close-miked than usual for a classical CD, but not excessively so. I think the direct, clear sound works well for this music (and I imagine facilitated the making of remixes).
I commend the Elysians for commissioning the piece in the first place, and for giving it such a spirited performance. And I'm happy to hear that Gabriel Prokofiev said he's "keen to start on the next piece for them".
Reviews, etc. of Gabriel Prokofiev's string quartet here, here, and here.
Coming back to the subject of getting to appreciate new music--
I have great sympathy for reviewers who have to comment on premiere (live) performances. How can you come to terms with intricate new music on one listening? I accept that other people can do it better than I can, but even so...
Thursday 07.29.04
When I first learned about DNA in school, it didn't sink in just how recent a discovery it had been.
Wild, to know that heredity is a digital code. And to think, as I read today in an obituary for Francis Crick,
At the time, Crick later said, only a small number of people "even thought it was interesting."I was visiting a friend at the Salk Institute a few years ago and had a chance to be introduced to Dr. Crick. I told my friend no, don't introduce me, I imagine the guy has had zillions of 1-minute conversations with people who are in awe of his work, he probably doesn't need to have another one. I just smiled at Dr. Crick, and he smiled back.
His car's license plate read
AT GC . It
doesn't get any cooler than that.
Wednesday 07.28.04
Behold the scorpion I found on my living room rug last night:
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yes, it is an inch ruler in the photo
Tuesday 07.27.04
Amr Mohsen's case (see this journal's entry for July 17, below) has taken a new turn. According to a DoJ press release,
Amr Mohsen was charged with soliciting to commit the murder of the federal judge who was hearing his criminal case--the Hon. William H. Alsup--in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 373, solicitation of arson in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 373, and attempted witness tampering in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1512.A related affidavit is interesting reading; the FBI says they got another inmate to wear a wire and talk with Amr while the FBI watched through a one way window. The favors that Dr. Mohsen allegedly wanted the other inmate to arrange aren't very nice.
The DoJ's press release reminds us that
An indictment simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Amr and Aly Mohsen must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.Good luck, Amr.
update: court documents related to Amr Mohsen's case here.
Sunday 07.18.04
From an article in today's New York Times:
Electrical engineers often compare the flow of electricity to a river: amperes are like the river's speed, while watts are the amount of water flowing by each second.Nope. The river's speed is like the electron drift velocity. Amperes measure how much charge flows by each second. Watts measure power, which is neither of the above.
Speaking of electricity: Lone Pine has the least reliable utility power of anywhere I've lived. I had this conversation with a neighbor yesterday evening:
| Tommy: | Did you notice the voltage dropped this afternoon? It was down to 90 volts around 1 o'clock. |
| neighbor: | How do you know that? |
| Tommy: | I plugged a voltmeter into the wall. |
Update: I've since heard that the voltage drop was caused by a fire, quite possibly the Foothill fire, believed to have been ignited by a red-tailed hawk that was electrocuted by power lines and fell to the ground (!).
Saturday 07.17.04
Regular readers of this little journal are familiar with the story of Amr Mohsen, whose company I worked for in the early 1990s, who later got in trouble with the law (as I'd written about in April and also last July).
My comments about Amr Mohsen's case get hits from search engine referrals. They also get hits from a Yahoo group for supporters of Amr; my journal is listed under "negative publicity", with the description
This is an ex employee of Aptix, he seem to hate Amr for some reason or another.I wrote to the person who'd posted that, and told him it was a misunderstanding; I'd hoped he would appreciate the difference between deploring an action (e.g., lying) and hating a person.
He wrote back and pointed out that I didn't go into detail or prove why I deemed Amr to be dishonest. He's right; it wasn't my agenda to prove anything. Anyone who wants evidence about how Amr Mohsen did business can read the court's findings that I referred to when I wrote about him here.
Amr's criminal case has been transferred to Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton; a conference is scheduled for July 21.
update: court documents related to Amr Mohsen's case here.
Friday 07.16.04
The Associated Press reported today (my italics):
Filed at 10:45 a.m. ETCompetition for "the most eccentric chess player ever" is stiff. Consider Aron Nimzovich (1886-1935):
TOKYO (AP) -- After decades of evading the public eye and U.S. justice officials, former world champion Bobby Fischer -- possibly the best and certainly the most eccentric chess player ever -- has been taken into custody by Japanese immigration after allegedly trying to leave the country with an invalid passport.
Founder of the hypermodern movement in chess and author of My System. He would stand on his head during chess events and did exercises in the tournament room. After losing a game, he jumped up on the table and yelled, "Why must I lose to this idiot?" He had business cards printed which read, "A. Nimzovich: Candidate for the World Championship of Chess and Crown Prince of the Chess World." He once broke a leg while playing chess. He twisted his leg around the leg of his chair and then, having made his move, leaped up, only to crash to the floor in pain with a broken leg. (Source here.)or Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946), known for (among other things) coming drunk to a tournament and pissing on the floor:
In 1935, an international team tournament was held in Warsaw. Alekhine played top board for France, of which he was a naturalized citizen. However, on this trip he arrived at the Polish border without a passport. When the officials asked him for his papers he replied: "I am Alekhine, chess champion of the world. I have a cat called Chess. I do not need papers." (Source here.)
Saturday 07.10.04
About the Senate's report on the CIA:
...the committee concluded that the intelligence community was suffering from what we call a collective groupthink...I like the phrase "herd mentality" better. "Collective groupthink" makes it sound like something sophisticated happened. Not to mention that collective groupthink is redundant.
Friday 07.09.04
Blast from the past: from an Edmund Scientific catalog, circa 1970, an illustration from the section about materials for making moiré patterns:
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The photo leaves one wanting to know so much more. Why is it called "Jagged Log Major"? What's the weird-looking stuff on the one side of Dali's jacket? And is the tall dude in the back an interpreter, a bodyguard, a chaperone, or just your basic éminence grise?
Wednesday 07.07.04
A well-known (but boneheaded) conservative blogger recently made this entertaining mistake in a rant that he wrote for The New Republic:
Who is our enemy today? What happened three and a half years ago? Who is trying to annihilate Western civilization?He probably meant to refer to 9-11-01, which was 2.8 years ago. The unfortunate event that happened 3.5 years ago was a presidential inauguration.
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