Highbrow or Lowbrow in music
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David YangIf you think I am going to weigh in on who serves the best lobster roll in Newburyport then you've got another thing coming.
Sarah Darling, the beloved Boston virtuoso baroque violinist, wrote to me last week and asked whether she could play a small solo work on the upcoming NCMF Winter Baroque concert (TICKETS) this Sunday, December 18th, at 3:00. She proposed Thomas Baltzar’s (1630 - 1663) jewel of a piece, his Prelude, which packs more in two minutes than some composers stuff into an entire symphony.
Baltzar was a violinist who emigrated from Germany to England in 1655 where he amazed people with his technical facility and ability to play “on that single instrument a full consort.” Another observed “I saw him run his fingers to the end of the of the violin, and run them back insensibly, and all with alacrity and in very good tune, which I nor any in England saw the like before.” Tragically, like many hyper-creative humans, his flaws were as extreme as his talents and he drank himself to death.
He is interred in Westminster Abbey, a significant recognition of the esteem in which he was held. Nonetheless, his name appears as “Mr. Thomas Balsart, one of the violins in the king's service.”
Come hear Sarah this weekend. I hope to see you there!
David Yang, Artistic Director
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David YangIf you think I am going to weigh in on who serves the best lobster roll in Newburyport then you've got another thing coming.
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David YangWe need beauty in our lives, now more than ever. Here are three gifts.
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David YangWhile I’ve never birthed a baby, I have had a kidney stone. I thought I was dying. And you know what they didn’t have in 1720? Anesthesia!
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