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Month: February 2016

What are the best minimalist pieces to listen to for those new to the minimalist style?

By: | Post date: February 24, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Music

Some good answers here. There are two answers to the question. The wrong answer (though the one I prefer) is: what are some not very minimalist pieces, which I will enjoy listening to as someone unfamiliar with the style? The answer to that includes some of my favourite 20th century pieces: Most things John Adams […]

Does Bach’s Chaconne in D Minor sound better in other transcriptions than the original composition on violin?

By: | Post date: February 20, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Music

IMO no. Part of the emotional point of the Chaconne for me is that it sounds hard to play. Keyboard versions in particular don’t register with me. (No, I haven’t heard the Busoni yet.) I’m a bit more ok with Lute/Guitar versions, they sound more idiomatic. Answered 2016-02-20 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/Does-Bachs-Chaconne-in-D-Minor-sound-better-in-other-transcriptions-than-the-original-composition-on-violin/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]

Classical Music: Does everyone play the same notes in the orchestra while playing a symphony, or do composers write different notes for each instrument in the orchestra while creating their music?

By: | Post date: February 20, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Music

Almost always different notes. Even Unison  passages mean that different instruments play the same note in different octaves. Exceptions are so rare that this is the only one I can think of (though there are bound to be others). In Berg’s opera Wozzeck, right after Wozzeck kills Marie, Berg has an “Invention on a Single […]

What should I look out for when migrating to Australia, specifically Melbourne?

By: | Post date: February 19, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Australia

So. You here yet? [EDIT: two weeks time, I see. Do please let us know how you find things!] Things to look out for: a touch of Dutch cafe , in Berwick. Outskirts of Melbourne, but they have a bunch of Dutch food and books, should you feel homesick. I may have accidentally translated Het […]

What is your personal experience with obtaining a linguistics degree?

By: | Post date: February 19, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Academia, Personal

My story is common to that of many people who did a PhD out of hope and idealism, and got crushed by reality. This is not to discourage you to do linguistics as such, but to keep your eyes open. And read people like Rebecca Schuman at Slate. So. I was always interested in languages, […]

What things do people from Australia miss most when they go abroad?

By: | Post date: February 17, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Australia

I lived in Orange County, CA, 1999–2002. Tell you what I missed. Yes, this will overlap with Vadim Berman.   Food. Vadim begged not to get started, I will. Yes, it’s my fault for not cooking; I did myself permanent damage through three years of  US takeout. In particular: Lamb Subtle pasta sauces Human-sized portions Coke […]

Why was the Columbo series so successful?

By: | Post date: February 9, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Culture

When I told a colleague years ago that I loved Columbo, his response was a snort: “Columbo. He’s all shtick.” And yes, that’s why Columbo was so successful. Not because of the innovative inverted story telling; that’s just a convention. Not because of the cleverness of the crimes: the cleverness was variable, and much of […]

Are Northern Italians really as “German-like” as they are portrayed?

By: | Post date: February 5, 2016 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Countries

My experiences when I was actually in Italy did not quite fit the stereotypes. We were embraced by the owners of a Florentine trattoria the way I would have expected in Sicily; and the Passeggiata in Desenzano del Garda was pretty much the volta I remember from my upbringing in Greece.  Taormina, on the other […]

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