Video:

Power of the Individual by Young Cons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiPTNUPlDls&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnationofthizzlam%2E\
blogspot%2Ecom%2F2009%2F08%2Fatlas%2Drapped%2Dsome%2Dthoughts%2Don%2Dyoung%2Ehtm\
l&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDtBLRZgk68&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxYbF-Yzdf0

Kristine Opolais sings Dvorak's "Song to the Moon'' from Rusalka.
(Try the High Quality version by clicking the HQ button.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtBPD95zBYE&feature=related

The Atlas Shrugged movie is reportedly still in the works:



"With 'Atlas Shrugged,' Hollywood may have its first anti-bailout movie"

By Steven Zeitchik

April 01, 2009




Hollywood could soon be going Objectivist.

After decades in development hell, Ayn Rand's capitalism-minded "Atlas Shrugged"
is taking new steps toward the big screen — with one of the film world's most
prominent money men potentially at its center.

Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media is circling the Baldwin Entertainment project
and could come aboard to finance with Lionsgate, which got involved several
years ago.

Rand's popular but polarizing book — it's derided by many literary critics but
has a huge public following — tells the story of Dagny Taggart, a railroad
executive trying to keep her corporation competitive in the face of what she
perceives as a lack of innovation and individual responsibility.

A number of stars have expressed serious interest in playing the lead role of
Taggart. Angelina Jolie previously had been reported as a candidate to play the
strong female character, but the list is growing and now includes Charlize
Theron, Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway.

Although it was written a half-century ago, producers say that the book's themes
of individualism resonate in the era of Obama, government bailouts and stimulus
packages -- making this the perfect moment to bring the 1,100-page novel to the
big screen.

"This couldn't be more timely," said Karen Baldwin, who along with husband
Howard is producing, with film industry consultant John Logigian advising on the
project. "It's uncanny what Rand was able to predict — about the only things she
didn't anticipate are cell phones and the Internet." Baldwin may be on to
something -- love it or hate it, "Shrugged" is seeing a resurgence, with book
sales spiking as debates rage in Washington and around the country about the
government's role in a faltering free-market economy.

The author's final novel offers an embattled railroad company as a metaphor for
a society that Taggart (and Rand) sees as succumbing to socialism at the expense
of individual creativity. Its backbone is a 50-page speech by the mysterious but
major character John Galt in which he lays out the Rand principles of
Objectivism, which argues for an aggressive free market and against government
activism. Let's just say it's probably not on the president's nightstand.

With all the long speeches and with plot points often a Trojan Horse for Rand's
ideas, it's not an easy writing or directing gig, but producers believe they've
got the man who could do it. Randall Wallace, the writer on other crisis-era,
politically themed works such as "Braveheart" and "Pearl Harbor," has written
the latest draft of the screenplay and is also interested in coming on to
direct.(He would follow in the steps of "House of Sand and Fog" director Vadim
Perelman, who had been attached to direct and fell off; we like Perelman, but
would have been quite the transition for him.)

The project would likely land in the $50 million-budget range but could go
higher depending on talent.

Producers are looking to shoot next year, driven in part by the timeliness, as
well as by a clause in the option. A high net-worth individual with whom the
Baldwins have partnered controls the option, but that option would revert to the
Rand estate if production doesn't begin by the end of 2010.

An "Atlas Shrugged" movie has gone through endless development fits and starts.
Faye Dunaway and Clint Eastwood had been attached to earlier versions -- if that
doesn't give you an idea of how far back it goes, we don't know what will -- but
with both Rand and the Rand estate very particular about how the story was
handled, those iterations didn't get traction.

This decade, Howard Baldwin and Philip Anschutz were on board to produce at
their Crusader Entertainment banner, but that effort didn't take flight. The
Baldwins took the project with them when the "Ray" producers split from Anschutz
several years ago and pacted with the high net-worth figure, who is said to
especially like the timeliness of the book's message.

Producers also say that while Relativity and Lionsgate are in the pole position
to finance and distribute, other studio and financier suitors could yet
materialize.

Still, Karen Baldwin praised Lionsgate and Michael Burns, who has championed the
project at the studio, and also said Kavanaugh would be an appropriate partner.
"The subject of the book would seem to fit with the kind of people who are
willing to step up and take big chances," she said.

The Rand involvement on earlier versions -- along with the verbiage-heavy
sections -- is probably why there hasn't been a Rand project on the big screen
in 60 years, not since Gary Cooper played Howard Roark in Warner Bros.' "The
Fountainhead." With some big-time entrepeneurs potentially coming board, there
now may be a lot less shrugging and a lot more shooting.


http://www.riskybusinessblog.com/2009/03/with-atlas-shrugged-hollywood-may-have-\
its-first-antibailout-movie.html

http://orpheusremembered.blogspot.com/2009/01/immorality-of-concerto-of-delivera\
nce.html

Rare book "Saphira" with illustrations by José Manuel Capuletti on eBay.

I'm fine with that opinion, though I'd like to know what he thinks
_Atlas lacks as literature. _Atlas_ does have arguable weaknesses as a
novel that are perhaps the inevitable result of constructing the plot
to handle so much philosophical exploration. _Atlas_ is not a novel of
deep psychological exploration that attempts to portray fully living,
breathing, complex, "believable" characters. Several minor characters
simply seem to be mere placeholders for certain concepts.

Box Office Mojo: Are you one of the men of the mind?

Vadim Perelman: Yes. [Pausing] I am. That's my way in [to Ayn Rand's novel]—where I am right now and where I started, I had to be [a man of the mind]. That's what my mom told me when she read Atlas Shrugged—because she knows I have to have a door to get in [to adapting a literary work] and that's what she said: "look at your life." To [live under communism and] have no hot water and come to Hollywood with 14 dollars and not a single contact [and succeed]—that's only due to my individualism and my entrepreneurial spirit. I mean, I'm not changing the world. But maybe I am.

Box Office Mojo: Would you go on strike?

Vadim Perelman: If I was feeling victimized—yes, I would.

Box Office Mojo: How does having survived a childhood in Soviet Russia affect your work?

Vadim Perelman: I left with my mother when I was 14. That was 1977. [The communists] were letting [some] Jewish people out for public relations—also because there was a wheat shortage. I remember that [U.S. President Jimmy] Carter and [Soviet dictator Leonid] Brezhnev struck some sort of deal and I remember thinking: we are worth a couple of loaves of bread. It kind of made me who I am. There was a lot of death in my family. That definitely has an effect on my work; it made me stronger.

Box Office Mojo: How did you get the job to direct Atlas Shrugged?

Vadim Perelman: [Producer] Geyer Kosinksi came to me. We've always wanted to work together—we'd had a meeting about a project years ago—so I knew him.

Box Office Mojo: In making Atlas Shrugged, do you want the approval of Miss Rand's heir, philosopher Leonard Peikoff?

Vadim Perelman: As always, it's very important to me that the author of the novel be pleased. Andre [Dubus] loved House of Sand and Fog. Laura [Kasischke] loved The Life Before Her Eyes. I'd like to think that Ayn Rand would be pleased. I don't know Leonard Peikoff, but I feel like I know Ayn Rand and I think she would like it.

Box Office Mojo: What are your thoughts on the novel as literature?

Vadim Perelman: It's a great and important work because it has affected so many people but it doesn't fit into the standards of prose—it's purely mechanical plotting and writing—and I'll give you an example. Every [character] pretty much says exactly what is on their mind—what Ayn Rand wants them to say—the characters don't seem to act independent of the author's voice. I wouldn't call the Bible an example of great literature, either, but it's very influential. But none of that matters to me in making a film and my objective is to make a great film out of Atlas Shrugged. It is an honor to be chosen to do this and I don't take it lightly. I have nothing but the greatest respect for Ayn Rand as a thinker and as a writer.

Box Office Mojo: Composer James Horner scored both House of Sand and Fog and The Life Before Her Eyes. Will he score Atlas Shrugged?

Vadim Perelman: Yes. I would like for him to score everything I do.

[...]

Box Office Mojo: Is money—as Ayn Rand wrote in Atlas Shrugged— the root of all good?

Vadim Perelman: I have a great quote from Ayn Rand that I actually believe: "If there's a more tragic fool than the businessman that does not realize he's an extension of man's highest creative spirit—it's the artist who thinks that the businessman is his enemy." That should be on the masthead of your Web site. So, that answers your question—and that's from Atlas Shrugged.

--- Monart Pon <monart@...> wrote:
> No clue yet as to the composer for the music or if the Concerto of
> Deliverance will be depicted, but the sriptwriter reportedly said:
>
> "'It's not very good literature...but I have respect for her.'"´

I'm fine with that opinion, though I'd like to know what he thinks
_Atlas lacks as literature.  _Atlas_ does have arguable weaknesses as a
novel that are perhaps the inevitable result of constructing the plot
to handle so much philosophical exploration.  _Atlas_ is not a novel of
deep psychological exploration that attempts to portray fully living,
breathing, complex, "believable" characters.  Several minor characters
simply seem to be mere placeholders for certain concepts.

Yes, I know, _Atlas_ is romantic realist fiction.  The characters
aren't supposed to be "believable".  They are supposed to be
larger-than-life dramatic characters illustrating heroic themes, thus
showing us people as they can be and should be, but usually aren't.
Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that Ayn Rand can be let off the hook
so easily.

Even heroic characters can be examined psychologically in a way that
makes them come alive in a convincing way for the reader.  To some
extent Ayn Rand achieves this, and to some extent she doesn't.  Or, at
least, that is my personal experience.

So, if Perelman is objecting to characters that lack psychological
complexity (which is what I suspect), we may have to acknowledge that
he is correct.  The most important thing I see in that quote is that he
respects Ayn Rand.  That's what is important here.


eudaimonia,

Mark



      
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know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now. 
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No clue yet as to the composer for the music or if the Concerto of Deliverance
will be depicted, but the sriptwriter reportedly said:



"'It's not very good literature...but I have respect for her.'"



     Exclusive: Perelman on Atlas Shrugged

* By Heather Huntington *

/The/ House of Sand and Fog/ director talks about finally getting the
project out of development Hell./

Best known for /House of Sand and Fog/
<http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie/223516/house-of-sand-and-fog>,
writer/director Vadim Perelman
<http://www.reelzchannel.com/person/157599/vadim-perelman> is about to
come out with another book-to-movie adaptation, /The Life Before Her
Eyes/
<http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie/248226/the-life-before-her-eyes>,
which he was showing at last week's AFI Dallas International Film
Festival. But even though the drama, which stars Uma Thurman
<http://www.reelzchannel.com/person/103332/uma-thurman> and Evan Rachel
Wood <http://www.reelzchannel.com/person/204164/evan-rachel-wood>, opens
next week, it is hardly the most exciting project Perelman has on his slate.

As it turns out, Perelman has written an adaptation of /Atlas Shrugged/
<http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie/254346/atlas-shrugged>, Ayn Rand's
1957 novel about a female railroad magnate, Dagny Taggart, who is
struggling to keep her company afloat. The 1000+ page exploration of
Rand's philosophy of objectivism has been considered both off-putting
and monumentally influential to its readers.

However, the real story behind /Atlas Shrugged/ is the difficult (to say
the least) journey it has had making it to film. In fact, /Atlas
Shrugged/ is often cited as the quintessential example of a movie that's
been stuck in "development Hell," with various versions supported by
various investors and studios, with various writers and directors
attached nearly since it was published.

But somehow, Perelman's adaptation seems to be the one that may get off
the ground. "I wrote a script that they all liked for the first time,"
he says. "I was really true to the book and they said that I solved it,
finally. Not my words. I didn't feel I did, but they really liked it a lot."

What's most interesting is that Perelman managed this even though he
isn't much of an Ayn Rand fan. "It's not very good literature," he and I
agreed, "but I have respect for her."

Rumors abound as to who will play the lead roles in the movie, although
at present names like Angelina Jolie
<http://www.reelzchannel.com/person/137804/angelina-jolie>, Russell
Crowe <http://www.reelzchannel.com/person/154133/russell-crowe> and Brad
Pitt <http://www.reelzchannel.com/person/66843/brad-pitt> are all
supposedly attached. And it seems as though there will still be time for
things to change.

But at present, Perelman is cautiously optimistic. "Now I'm doing a
rewrite, a polish, as they say," he says. "And they seem to want to get
it done."

*Vadim Perelman's next movie, /The Life Before Her Eyes/, opens on
Friday, April 18, 2008.
*

*
*

*http://www.reelzchannel.com/article/574/exclusive-perelman-on-atlas-shrugged
*

Vadim Perelman to direct 'Atlas'

Jolie to star in Lionsgate's Ayn Rand adaptation

While Lionsgate needs to get a final script before formally committing to a start date with Perelman at the helm, the move puts the company in a strong position for an early 2008 production start, just a shade over 50 years after Ayn Rand's famed novel was first published in 1957.

Pic will be produced by Howard and Karen Baldwin and Media Talent Group's Geyer Kosinski.

Perelman will work from a draft of the script penned by "Braveheart" scribe Randall Wallace, who managed to boil down the Rand manifesto of 1,100-plus pages into a 127-page script. The drama revolves around what happens when great industrialists and thinkers go on strike and the world grinds to a halt.

Wallace will remain involved, and in a recent meeting with Perelman, the pair traded Russian dialogue. Perelman was born in Kiev, while Wallace has picked up the language researching his Catherine the Great pic "The Mercenary"; Rand was born in Russia. Perelman has brought his own take that will be incorporated into Wallace's script.

Perelman's latest film, the Uma Thurman-Evan Rachel Wood starrer "In Bloom," premieres at the Toronto Film Festival. It's his first since his 2003 breakthrough, "House of Sand and Fog."

Jolie starts work in early fall on the Clint Eastwood-directed "The Changeling" for Universal, Imagine and Malpaso. She would like to follow with "Atlas Shrugged," long a passion project for her.

The correct link should be
http://www.technoccult.com/archives/category/music/

A Tesla coil is made to play music. Suggested names given for the instrument,
"Zeusaphone" or "Thoremin".

https://webmail.shawcable.com/en/mail.html?sid=CZ5cKacKAyU&lang=en

June 18, 2007 - It looks like the latest push to get a film version of Atlas Shrugged into theaters was another false start. Angelina Jolie, a fan of the renowned novel, was set to star in the role of the main heroine -- a tenacious and strong-willed railroad executive. The book was adapted into screenplay form by Randall Wallace (Braveheart), and production was set to begin this year.

Now, however, Jolie tells Cinematical.com that work on the movie will be put on hold. "We all feel that it's one of those projects where if you can't do it right, you really can't touch it," explained the actress. "So we have not had all the pieces come together. There's not been a director that's right to come on, or all of those elements."

In spite of the big names associated with it over the years, Atlas Shrugged is just one of those films that has trouble reaching the starting gate. Past attempts have had Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford attached, and at one point a miniseries nearly got off the ground at TNT.

http://movies.ign.com/articles/797/797230p1.html

--- In Concerto_Deliverance@yahoogroups.com, Monart Pon <monart@...>
wrote:
.....

> Is it possible that somewhere in the world today, there is a new piece
> of music that no-one (except the composer and maybe a few listeners)
> knows about, that was created in the name or spirit of "Concerto of
> Deliverance"?

It seems that as presented in the books' narrative one would have to
experience it first without basis and being moved by it one can say that
it is reminiscent of the narrative in the book and evokes a sense of
deliverance or of the spirit being delivered from artificial immobility
or paralysis.

>If such a music exists, how would we come to know about
> it, hear it, appreciate it, and praise it, if it so deserves?

Good fortune?

>How does innovative music that doesn't easily meet traditional
expectations come
> to pass the test of time (its own time and for times to come)?


Those who hear it making an effort to expose their friends of like
resonance of spirit to its sounds so that they too can appreciate it ...
how much of our likes and dislikes are directed from previous experience
and how musch from a spontaneous resonance coming from within?

>
.....

TC

>
> Monart
>

Yes ...

--- In Concerto_Deliverance@yahoogroups.com, "Technotranscendence"
<neptune@...> wrote:
>
> Sadly for the rest of you and probably myself, I am now a member of
this
> group.  You can easily avoid reading my posts by deleting them.
>
> Anyhow, when Monart told me of this project -- well, via Starship
> Forum -- I immediately thought the Concerto has already been
written and
> it's Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1.  Do any of you think there's an
> existing piece of music -- not one by JMC -- that comes close to
being
> what you think is the Concerto of Deliverance?  (I'm not talking
about
> what Rand had in mind.)
>
> Later!
>
> Dan
> http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/MyWorksBySubject.html
>
> "In my own view, the important achievement of Apollo was a
demonstration
> that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our
visions go
> rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited." --
Neil
> Armstrong
>

Greetings - Is this indeed active right now? TC

.--- In Concerto_Deliverance@yahoogroups.com, Monart Pon <monart@...>
wrote:
>
>
> http://www.variety.com/VR1117950446.html
>
> http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Angelina-Jolie-Confirmed-For-Atlas-
Shrugged-3459.html
>
> http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/733/733946p1.html
>
> http://www.hecklerspray.com/angelina-jolie-to-star-in-movie-of-
gigantic-atlas-book/20064982.php
>
> http://www.bestsyndication.com/?
q=092106_angelina_jolie_star_in_atlas_shrugged.htm
>
>
http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/hollywood/article_dis
play.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003155760
>
> http://www.premiere.com/article.asp?section_id=5&article_id=3125
>
> http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/15577859.htm
>

Watch this video of:


“Morpho Towers--Two Standing Spirals” is an installation that consists
of two ferrofluid sculptures that moves synthetically to music. The two
spiral towers stand on a large plate that hold ferrofluid. When the
music starts, the magnetic field around the tower is strengthened.
Spikes of ferrofluid are born from the bottom plate and move up,
trembling and rotating around the edge of the iron spiral.

http://www.kodama.hc.uec.ac.jp/spiral/

At first I assumed that it was a video of a real machine, as was claimed
in the accompanying text:

"This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the
Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of
Engineering at the University of Iowa. Amazingly, 97% of the machines
components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of
Bancroft Iowa, yes farm equipment! It took the team a combined 13,029
hours of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this
video but as you can see it was WELL worth the effort."

Then I noticed the skips, as if from splicing or looping, and wondered
if that was just due to clumsy editing, or if the video was of a CG
machine. But if it is CG, it's a dazzling display of synchronized programming.

In any case, Raphael and Doug, I, too, like the video for what it is: a
pleasing, captivating, visual pattern of movements, in concert with the
musical patterns being heard. Something like Disney's  Fantasia?  Real
or CG music machines, videos of them might become another art form?

-Monart

Rafael replied to Monart:

> Thanks for the nice music and nice animation. Very imaginative!
>
> Rafael
>
> --- Monart Pon <monart@...
> <mailto:monart%40starshipaurora.com>> wrote:
>
> > A video of an unusual music machine. Is it real or CG?
> >
> >
> >
>
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1887775976718496336&q=fantastic+machine&\
hl=en
>
<http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1887775976718496336&q=fantastic+machine\
&hl=en>
> >
I would have to agree with Rafael.  I found a higher res version of it here:

http://www.thevideosense.com/video/Fantastic-Music-Machine/

CG has my vote if you were really asking, Monart.  To me the giveaways
are that triple-ricochet balls at the beginning never miss; the sound
coming off the short lengths of cable is pitched too low for the length
of the cable at the beginning; seemingly all the balls are recaught
throughout the whole thing;  the circular vibraphone bars are too long
for their pitch [the length of the shortest bar is less than half that
of the longest bar and that makes me suspicious since there are 40 some
bars, but I couldn't find the actual lengths of bars in my reference
books--suffice it to say that the shortest bars look to be almost as
long as the longest bars of a real vibraphone and would be pitched much
lower], they light up when struck, the ball launcher has no visible
mechanism for controlling the direction of the launched ball [the
blunderbuss style opening would be better suited to catching, not
launching]; and the camera fly-through is a bit too CG looking for me.

But wow what a visually fun treat!  The animation is superb.  I loved
the look of the cascading balls on the circular vibe!

Best Regards...

--
--- Douglas Wagoner
--- Composer - Conductor
--- dwagoner@...
--- [www.douglaswagoner.com]

Hi Monart,

Thanks for the nice music and nice animation. Very imaginative!

Rafael

--- Monart Pon <monart@...> wrote:

> A video of an unusual music machine. Is it real or CG?
>
>
>
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1887775976718496336&q=fantastic+machine&\
hl=en
>

http://www.variety.com/VR1117950446.html

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Angelina-Jolie-Confirmed-For-Atlas-Shrugged-3459.\
html

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/733/733946p1.html

http://www.hecklerspray.com/angelina-jolie-to-star-in-movie-of-gigantic-atlas-bo\
ok/20064982.php

http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=092106_angelina_jolie_star_in_atlas_shrugged.h\
tm

http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/hollywood/article_display.jsp?v\
nu_content_id=1003155760

http://www.premiere.com/article.asp?section_id=5&article_id=3125

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/15577859.htm

Baldwins Entertainment has a CD of Concerto
of Deliverance by John Mills-Cockell.

Curious...


-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  Atlas Shrugged and Concerto of Deliverance
Date:  Sun, 04 Jun 2006 17:09:14 -0600
From:  Monart Pon <monart@...>
To:  erin@...



Dear Howard and Karen Baldwin,

I'm pleased to hear that you are producing the movie of Atlas Shrugged.
It will be a great achievement, your movie, very likely to spur on a
significant cultural change.

One important theme of the novel that I hope will be given proper
treatment is the music of the Concerto of Deliverance. It's this music
that Dagny hears (whistled) when she is introduced at the beginning of
the story, and it's this music that helps lead her eventually to Galt's
Gulch, where she hears it directly from the composer. Rand also entitled
one of her climactic chapters (III-6) "The Concerto of Deliverance",
where Hank finally finds his own deliverance.

As Rand described the music:

"She sat listening to the music. It was a symphony of triumph.
The notes flowed up, they spoke of rising and they were the rising itself,
they were the essence and the form of upward motion, they seemed to
embody every human act and thought that had ascent as its motive.
It was a sunburst of sound, breaking out of hiding and spreading open.
It had the freedom of release and the tension of purpose.
It swept space clean, and left nothing but the joy of an unobstructed
effort.
Only a faint echo within the sounds spoke of that from which the music
had escaped,
but spoke in laughing astonishment at the discovery that
there was no ugliness or pain, and there never had had to be.
It was the song of an immense deliverance."


You might be interested to know that a few years ago a musical work was
commissioned and produced (by me) to depict, in musical form, Rand's
description of the Concerto of Deliverance. The work, composed by the
award-winning veteran composer John Mills-Cockell, is an expansive
(79-minute), 7 movement, integrated work that evokes the themes of
freedom, adventure, achievement, and joy - with only a "faint echo" of
pain to be heard.

Positive comments to the musical work, from noted Rand scholars,
musicians, and admirers (like philosopher David Kelley of The
Objectivist Center and novelist Erika Holzer), have included these:

"I love the richness and variety of the composition...references many
different musical traditions...a lovely, layered work...playful...deeply
moving, uplifting...richly evocative and flowing outward."

"Charming and innovative...an integrated work...inspiring
melodies...extremely linear...the rhythm and key changes
constantly...chords are arpeggiated throughout...I'm pleasantly
surprised by this piece's ability to seduce me...it speaks to the
universality of the music that Mills-Cockell is able to capture the
attention of someone so happily entrenched in the early music tradition..."

"Every line and timbre breathes with organic character and
individuality...His sense of tasteful rhythm is unerring...He often
sinks quiet melodies deeply into a multi-layered background texture,
giving the music a richness and depth that reward repeated listening...a
fun, multi-hued treat to hear a master in his chosen medium -- and John
Mills-Cockell is certainly such a master."

I've emphasized here the qualities of this superb work so as to
encourage you to check out the CD at
http://www.concertoofdeliverance.com, where music samples and other info
are available. If you are interested, I'd be pleased to send you a
complimentary copy.

Good luck on your project. I hope you'll succeed where past attempts
have failed.


-Monart Pon

Mysteriously, Grant has unsubscribed from this list, almost immediately
after his last post. I wonder why? I may still comment on his post,
particularly this statement:

[Describing Shostakovich's music:] "Uplifting, certainly not, clearly,
but I don't see a problem with that.  I am not looking to Shostakovich
nor any other composer to uplift my spirits or soul, and why should they?"


- Monart

I was given a brochure for music lessons (excerpts below). The writing
reflects a rational and romantic perspective on music, impressing me
enough to want to take the offered flute lessons. Any comments?


-Monart

-------

Why take Music Lessons?

We need art  It is our spiritual fuel.  Music is the most direct and
emotional art form, and creating it ourselves is one of the most
fulfilling and expressive things we can do.  Music can calm, inspire,
delight and excite us as it affirms our sense of life.


Even when the joy of music is our main motivation, when playing an
instrument, our minds and bodies also benefit by being challenged in
healthy ways.  Music-making develops:

     * concentration
     * coordination
     * memory
     * problem-solving and analysis skills
     * habits for healthy posture and muscle use
     * inner and outer awareness
     * fine motor skills
     * logical thinking
     * goal-oriented behavior
     * self-discipline
     * skill in dealing with pressure
     * experience working with others
     * confidence and independence




Why play the flute?

While each instrument creates its own uniquely beautiful music, you may
already feel an affinity for the open and expressive sound of the
flute.  If not, call me, and I'll have you listen to some inspiring
flute music!   There is something about the simple design of the flute
that lets flute players feel directly connected to their instrument and
their music.  The flute as an instrument is also one of the most
inexpensive and easiest to learn, and yet has some of the greatest
potential for musical advancement.

------

> Grant A. B. Gilman wrote (7/180:
>
> > [...]
> > It is true that I think pain/torment/angst are all very easily found
> in
> > Shostakovich's music.  However, this statment I made was in referrence
> to
> > this statement by Monart in digest 58:  "Shostakovich did not value
> > philosophy in any way like Rand did, and thus suffered under a
> > totalitarian Russia with little protest until his death in Moscow
> 1975."
> > Taking into context the impact symphonic music had at that time, maybe
> as
> > much or more than movies and tv have today, I believe that if
> audiences
> > perceived this "protest" in the music it was a powerful and inspiring
> > message.  Shostakovich was world famous before Stalin threatened
> > sensorship, so if he could superficially "conform" to the requests of
> > Stalin and thumb his nose at him at the same time, isn't that a form
> of
> > inspiration?
>
>
> Do you mean that Shostakovich (switching to this alternate spelling)
> wrote satirical music in protest of Stalin's regime? If so, what is
> satirical music? Is it music that exaggerates and ridicules something?
> If so, what? Something else musical or something else non-musical
> entirely? How does satirical music sound, as different from serious
> music? Is it suppose to make you laugh, or cry? (Whether at good or
> evil.)
> If most of Shostakovich's music is to be heard as satire against Stalin,
>
> then listeners like me who can't, who hear it mainly as turbulent,
> discontinuous, gloomy, and eerie music, we must not have the requisite
> sense of humor.

Satire is not the concept I would use.  Satire involves some kind of
humor, wit.  You probably got this from my "thumbing his nose" comment,
which is not what I meant if humor is the perception.  I meant more that
Shostakovich got his own way no matter what pressure were brought down on
him.

>
> Besides, while music (non-self-standing music) can be made to mimic
> non-musical objects and events (e.g., in soundtracks to movies or
> cartoons), the mimicry is very, very far from being a one-to-one
> correspondence. Moreover, music -- self-sufficient music, music in
> itself -- is too musical, too sui generis, to be translated into another
>
> form of communication, or to be used to encode messages of political
> protest. How is a listener to hear in Shostakovich's music that he
> "superficially 'conform[ed]' to the requests of Stalin and thumb[ed] his
>
> nose at him at the same time" (assuming that the listener were to
> believe that that was what Shostakovich was doing)?

That "mimicry is very, very far from being a one-to-one correspondence" I
agree with, but I don't understand your perception of this.  The mimicry
is created by EVERY other person to attempt to understand what
Shostakovich was saying through his music.  What he was saying about
himself, his situation, whatever else he may have been considering at the
time he was composing.
However, despite all of those elements that we might know through
musicologists, the music does stand on its own and should also be judged
as such apart from the known or perceived personal history of any
composer.  You are right that without words there is no direct
communication of a specific thing or place or person to the audience.
But, a musician MUST consider what the sounds mean in order come as close
as possible to the intent of the composer.  Not all of what the composer
intends can POSSIBLY be written on the page, it must be interpreted on
hearing.  Some people use musicology, others only use the score, most
combine both in one fashion or another.  Before there was the mystery of
Shostakovich the man, there was the power of his music to the audiences at
the time, and the audiences were all over the world even then!
Shostakovich gained popularity even in America before he died.  Even if
you don't like the music, you can not sufficiently deny that many people
were moved by his music then and now.

>
> Even if it's discounted, the fact that Shostakovich was a life-long
> supporter of socialism (in action, a Soviet state composer, like
> Albert Speer was a state architect to Hitler's Nazi regime) -- and even
> if music, in some para-musical way, could be used to protest against and
>
> overcome oppression and misery, I would ask again, would not romantic,
> lyrical, rousing, uplifting music -- in bold and clear melodies -- be
> more effective in this encouragement? What's the difference between
> most of Shostakovich's music and most of, e.g., Dvorak's? Dvorak's
> music can be described this way:
>
>     In Dvorak, there exists this "ray of sunshine", for his entire
> vision of the world, and all his music, are based on his belief in the
> beauty of life, and on his acceptance of the universe in thankfulness
> and joy.  --Michael Hoffman
>
> Would this also describe Shostakovich's music? If not, why not? Was he
> threatened with punishment if he did? Or did he choose not to write such
>
> music, punishment or not, because that's not his "cup of tea"?

"would not romantic, lyrical, rousing, uplifting music -- in bold and
clear melodies -- be more effective in this encouragement?"

I find all of these characteristics in Shostakovich's music.  Also,
romantic is a very broad term, so you must be more specific when using it.
  Romantic in music is a label used in a very general sense as a style and
thereby as a time period marker.  The Romantic period in music has
characteristics very different from those with the same label in visual
art and literature.  Shostakovich is more specifically from the Late
Romantic period.  Toward your contrast between Shostakovich and Dvorak,
the latter is representative of the Early Romantic period and died a full
two years before Shostakovich was born.  Both had extremely different
backgrounds.  Also, Dvorak wrote his 9th symphony, subtitled the "New
World", before he had even crossed the Atlantic.
Rousing is definately a word I would use to describe his music, like the
climax at the end of the first movement in the 6th symphony, or the
scherzo of the violin concerto.  Uplifting, certainly not, clearly, but I
don't see a problem with that.  I am not looking to Shostakovich nor any
other composer to uplift my spirits or soul, and why should they?  They
are not writing music for anyone else but themselves, and in some cases
other people enjoyed and paid them to do it while they were alive.  Most
were not recognized till they had long since passed on.  Lyrical qualities
in Shostakovich?  Absolutely.  3rd movement of the 5th symphony, where the
piece begins in the third division of the second violin part (Shostakovich
set it up so that there were 6 different violin parts, 4 viola, 4 celli,
and 2 bass) and grows outward.

>
> Is all music just a matter of taste? Or, is there something objective
> about music that makes it good (or bad or neutral) for your life? Not
> just "good for you" in some subjective, cup-of-tea sense -- but good
> for you regardless of whether you hear it as being good.

So what should it be then?  Should every piece we hear be a product of a
box of specifications?  All based on the same format?  Processed in mass
quantities formulated from the same equation with a few variables each
time?  And how is it that you can decide what is truly "good" for any one
person other than yourself?  Certainly, some qualities make us all similar
in many ways, but how do you know what music is going to be good for every
person?  If someone hears Beethoven's first symphony and thinks it to be
booring, drab, and uneventfull, how is explaining to them the objective
merits of it going to help them let the music enrich them?

>
> Is the goodness of Rand's novels just a matter of subjective taste, and
> just as morally and esthetically insignificant?

The significance of music is that we don't know WHY the sounds that are
produced make us feel and think the way we do.  Why the sounds move us.
However, what we do have the capability of doing is discovering WHAT those
things are that cause these inner reactions to the sounds.  Language is
not a mysterious thing, we understand it and we use it to communicate
generally and specifically.

Grant A. B. Gilman
ggmuze@...
(443)286.2160
Campus Box #214

"When people refuse to consider the source of wealth, what they refuse to
consider is the fact that wealth is the product of man's intellect, of his
creative ability, fully as much as is art, science, philosophy or any other
human value."

-Ayn Rand



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