Welcome and make yourself comfortable. The second act starts now, I hope you enjoy the contents. And remember: The more you learn, the more you learn! Best regards.

17 June, 2009

Truisms: JENNY HOLTZER´s TRUISMS ABC


A POSITIVE ATTITUDE MEANS ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD
BOREDOM MAKES YOU DO CRAZY THINGS
CONFUSING YOURSELF IS A WAY TO STAY HONEST
DECENCY IS A RELATIVE THING
EATING TOO MUCH IS CRIMINAL
FREEDOM IS A LUXURY NOT A NECESSITY
GOOD DEEDS EVENTUALLY ARE REWARDED
HIDING YOUR EMOTIONS IS DESPICABLE
IDEALS ARE REPLACED BY CONVENTIONAL GOALS AT A CERTAIN AGE
JUST BELIEVING SOMETHING CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN
KNOWING YOURSELF LETS YOU UNDERSTAND OTHERS
LISTEN WHEN YOUR BODY TALKS
MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT FIT TO RULE THEMSELVES
NOTHING UPSETS THE BALANCE OF GOOD AND EVIL
OFFER VERY LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF
PEOPLE ARE NUTS IF THEY THINK THEY ARE IMPORTANT
RELIGION CAUSES AS MANY PROBLEMS AS IT SOLVES
SEX DIFFERENCES ARE HERE TO STAY
TALKING IS USED TO HIDE ONE'S INABILITY TO ACT
USING FORCE TO STOP FORCE IS ABSURD
WORDS TEND TO BE INADEQUATE
YOU ARE A VICTIM OF THE RULES YOU LIVE BY

YOU CAN'T EXPECT PEOPLE TO BE SOMETHING THEY'RE NOT



04 June, 2009

Summertime

George Gershwin  was an American composer and pianist. (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) 
Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are universally familiar. 
He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother Ira Gershwin. 
George Gershwin composed music for both Broadway and the Classical Concert-Hall, as well as popular songs which brought his work to an even wider public. Gershwin's compositions have been used in numerous films and on television, and many became jazz standards recorded in numerous variations. Countless singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs. 

Gershwin was named Jacob Gershowitz at birth in Brooklyn on September 26, 1898. His parents were Russian Jews. His father, Morris (Moishe) Gershowitz, changed his family name to 'Gershwin' sometime after immigrating to the United States from St. Petersburg, Russia in the early 1890s. George Gershwin was the second of four children.  He first displayed interest in music at the age of ten, when he was intrigued by what he heard at his friend Maxie Rosenzweig's violin recital. The sound and the way his friend played captured him. His parents had bought a piano for lessons for his older brother Ira, but it was George who played it.  Gershwin tried various piano teachers for two years, and then was introduced to Charles Hambitzer by Jack Miller, the pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Until Hambitzer's death in 1918, he acted as Gershwin's mentor. Hambitzer taught Gershwin conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestra concerts. 
At the age of fifteen, George quit school and found his first job as a performer. 

In 1924, George and Ira collaborated on a musical comedy Lady Be Good, which included such future standards as "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Lady Be Good". 
Also in 1924, Gershwin composed his first major classical work, Rhapsody in Blue for orchestra and piano. Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band , which combines elements of  Classical Music with Jazz-influenced effects. The piece received its premiere in a concert entitled An Experiment in Modern Music. Two audio recordings exist of Gershwin performing an abridged version of the work with Whiteman's orchestra: An acoustic recording made June 10, 1924, this recording includes the original clarinetist, Ross Gorman, playing the glissando . And an electrical recording made April 21, 1927.

Gershwin stayed in Paris for a short period, where he applied to study composition with Nadia Boulanger. Finally, growing tired of the Parisian musical scene, Gershwin returned to the United States.
His most ambitious composition was Porgy and Bess (1935). Gershwin called it a "folk opera," and it is now widely regarded as the most important American opera of the twentieth century.

"Summertime" is the name of an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin. The song soon became a popular Jazz standard. Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period. It is sung multiple times throughout Porgy and Bess, first by Clara in Act I as a lullaby.

Summertime 
And the livin’ is easy 
Fish are jumpin’ 
And the cotton is high 
Oh your daddy’s rich 
And your mamma is good lookin’ 
So hush little baby 
Don’t you cry 
One of these mornings 
You’re goin’ to rise up singin' 
Then you’ll spread your wings 
And you’ll take the sky 
But till' that mornin' 
There’s a nothin’ can harm you 
With daddy and mammy 
Standin’ by

Listen and Watch in a Film version of Porgy and Bess http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tElL6kWwmv4&feature=related
Now, listen to the powerful Billie Holiday versionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4PSju9HYwU&feature=related