It's a Schorr Thing

NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr claims that his title means little more than "sitting down a lot." But sitting or standing, when he spoke at the Philadelphia Free Library on Tuesday night he proved sharp as a tack - even at 92. He stopped in Philadelphia on his tour to promote his new book, Come to Think of It: Notes on the Turn of the Millennium. Relecting on his career, Schorr remembered names and dates without hesitation. As his familiar radio voice filled the auditorium, he demonstrated experience, intelligence, and sense of humor, truly living up to his reputation as a living news legend.

Schorr spoke extemporaneously and without pomposity about dinners with Henry Kissinger and making Richard Nixon's enemy list. His wit shone through his easy storytelling ability. Only once during the night did his tone take on a weary note: when he spoke of the evolution - or devolution - of journalism. His disappointment with the contemporary media's conflict obsession was evident. Schorr is from the generation of detached, fair journalists that is now out of vogue. He spoke with disgust about news analysts' eagerness for controversy in the presidential debates. He did not dwell on the negative, however, and soon had us laughing again with the story of his first lead, a suicide he witnessed at age twelve.

Schorr revealed the best advice he received as a budding journalist: "The secret to success in the news world is sincerity - if you can fake that, you've got it made." Somehow, I doubt that he's faking it.

Feel the Bern

The Philadelphia Orchestra's tribute to Leonard Bernstein is the amalgamation of the three key elements of any musical performance - tradition, innovation, and humor. I have never seen a better performance at the Kimmel Center.

Last night's Bernstein Festival program had a Romeo and Juliet theme. The first piece was Tchaikovsky's Fantasy-Overture, Rome and Juliet, easily recognizable from the scores of many a cheesy romance film. Working against the cliche, the Philadelphia Orchestra made the piece new. For the first time I noticed the pervading sense of doom throughout. It was like watching a Greek tragedy. Every time Romeo and Juliet's romantic movement appeared it was followed by violence and despair. They don't play that part in the movies.

The next piece was my favorite in the program: Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. I have never seen the orchestra handle a work with such playfulness! During the Prologue - the opening scene in the movie with chases and street dance-fighting - the musicians surprised the audience by snapping their fingers at the appropriate moments. During the Latin movemtn they collectively yelled "Mambo!" The orchestra had more energy than I've seen in a long time. Conductor Chritsoph Eschenbach was practically doing the cha-cha around his stand! I was thoroughly impressed. The performance also enabled me for the first time to appreciate the score to West Side Story as a stand-alone piece. Those repeated forced viewings of the movie in grade school art class made me hate that music, but last night made me love it. The sharp contrast between Tony and Maria's innocent love, and the gangs' corruptive violence was never clearer.

The second act began with the debut performance of composer Jennifer Higdon's Concerto 4-3, performed by the orchestra with string trio Time For Three, all graduates of the Curtis Institute. Although I hardly gravitate towards contemporary, abstract compositions, I can honestly say that I liked this piece. My enjoyment was due partly to the innovative ways in which the trio used their instruments, but mostly to their style. The members of Time For Three were the most physically expressive classical musicians I've ever encountered. They swayed, they bopped, and they kicked. I could hardly look directly at cellist Ranaan Meyer for fear of an outburst of mirth. It was almost music/dance fusion. Meyer particularly took on the look of the musically possessed, grinning fiendishly and bobbing his head near off his shoulders. These young men know how to perform.

The program finished with another Tchaikovsky composition - Francesca da Rimini. The only flaw to the evening was that it came after the dramatic Higdon number, making it seem anti-climatic. The orchestra did beautifully with this piece, which has plenty of its own drama, but I almost felt that the program should be reordered so that the second act began with Tchaikovsky rather than ending with it.

The orchestra is in rare form for the Bernstein Festival (www.philorch.org/bernstein/), which continues through February 8th. Student rush tickets are available before performances for $8 at the Kimmel Center box office. The orchestra also has a special program called Access, designed for young people who are new to the classical music scene. On January 24th they are performing the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, followed by a free Mambo lesson by the Society Hill Dance Academy. I won't be missing that.

Vinyl Odyssey

Today my brother, Phil, and I took a journey to find the best record stores in Philadelphia, and we found some treasures. My generous co-worker, Catherine, gave me a base list, and we started off at A.K.A. Music (www.myspace.com/aka_music) on 2nd St. They have an extensive and well-organized selection of cds, and the staff is completely unpretentious and willing to answer questions. One of A.K.A.'s unique festures is that they educate you while you shop. The walls are lined with displays explaining different musical movements and the major influences behind them. I found an interesting early blues recordings cd. Their record selection was somewhat unimpressive, however, without many rarities.

On our way to South St we picked up two of our friends, Zack and Marissa, and formed a veritable musical pilgrimage group. Our next stop was Relapse Records (www.myspace.com/relapseretail) on 4th St. I was psyched to buy surcharge-free tickets to the Vampire Weekend (http://www.vampireweekend.com/) show at the First Unitarian Church on February 7th. They're XPN's artist to watch, and I love their sound. Just listen to "APunk" or "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" to see what all the hype is about. Now, aside from my ticket purchases, Relapse was a disappointment. They're slection is limited to hard core and metal, which is not my scene.

Our next stop was Repo Records (http://www.reporecords.de/). They had a good collection of indie music, with lost of opportunities to listen to anything you wanted. There also was a basement filled with vinyl. Again, though there were more records than in A.K.A., the records were of a fairly common variety. The vinyl organization, too, was half-hazard, making searching through them almost overwhelming.

Spaceboy Music, a block away, was supposed to be next, but it apparently closed a few months ago. Its replacement - a linen store. Clearly, there is no justice.

We hiked over to Passyunk Ave next for a fulfilling conclusion to our journey. There we found two amazing vinyl stores that made the whole expedition worthwhile. Beautiful World Syndicate (http://www.myspace.com/beautifulworldsyndicate) is hands down the best vinyl store I've ever seen, inside or outside of Philadelphia. Records are the focus, and everything else is secondary. They have a great many rare finds available, and you can even listen to your selections on turntables before you buy them. My brother was thrilled to discover a rare Badfinger record there.

Across the street is Sweet Jane (http://www.myspace.com/ilovesweetjane) , a very unusal store that combines the sale of vintage records and clothing. They only carry vinyl, so this is a store for purists. The clothing contains many quirky pieces, as well. I picked up a red pinstriped ruffled blouse that was very unusual. This is a store I will surely revisit. The owner told me that they are having an event for First Friday in February. She'll have a professional DJ on the store's turntable and her friend will be selling vintage clothing that's usually only available online.

From my experiences today, I would recommend A.K.A. or Repo for cds, but if you're as hardcore as my brother is abut vinyl you should skip Old City and South St and head over to Passyunk. Beautiful World Syndicate and Sweet Jane both should not be missed.

From France to South Africa

I've finally followed through with my desire to join the Philadelphia Art Museum (philamuseum.org). For students it's only $35 for a year, and the benefits far outweigh the meager price. Every member gets not only total access to the permanent galleries, but also free tickets to the temporary exhibits. I was able to catch the tail end of the Renior exhibit, and although it's too late for the rest of you to visit (unless you really hurry over there today), I thought it was still worth mentioning.

The Renoir Landscapes exhibit takes a look, not at the figure paintings for which he's famous, but at his work with natural and street scenes. I had heard negative things about the execution of the exhibit, but I found them to be unfounded. Although it wasn't groundbreaking, the simplicity of the presentation was refreshing. I'm no art afficianado, but I could easily follow the development of Renoir's early technique into full-blown impressionism. That was part of what I liked about it - the exhibit was accessible. Particularly interesting was the focus on the connection between Renoir and Monet, who often painted the same scenes side by side, but with very different results. Monet even appears in one of the paintings on exhibit. There was also a great deal of interesting information about the social change in France during Renoir's life - the rise of the middle class and increase in leisure time - that assisted the viewer in understanding the scenes depicted. I had planned to skip the Renoir exhibit entirely, but I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased that I was able to attend.


In addition, I visited the Museum on Friday evening, so after I finished wandering the Renoir exhibit I participated in Art After 5. It's the combination of live music, good drinks, and galleries open late that happens every friday night at the Art Museum. Usually jazz musicians play, but the first Friday of the month is reserved for world music. My Mom and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Bakithi Kumalo (http://www.bakithikumalo.com/), a South African bassist. He and his band had great energy and even got people to dance. The drinks are a little pricey ($8 for a glass of Chardonnay), but it's worth it to hear a free concert and wander the galleries into the evening. Next Friday Maria Schneider's big band will play, and I'm definitely going to check it out again.

Finally, an alert to an event this week. Tuesday night at 8 pm author Dave Eggers will be reading from his latest work, What is the What, at the Free Library of Philadelphia (www.library.phila.gov). What is the What was chosen as the One Book, One Philadelphia book of 2008. It's the story of a Sudanese refugee, and it's gotten great reviews. The event is free, and sure to be interesting. I'll definitely follow up after Tuesday.