When Patti Page Left Her Mark On Me

WHEN PATTI PAGE LEFT HER MARK ON ME: A sweet childhood memory of a chance encounter with Patti Page--radiant, with a scent of roses--in front of her parents' home in Tulsa. By David McGee
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Strange Adventures and Alluring Music of Alessandro Stradella

An exhaustive appreciation of Alessandro Stradella, one of the most enigmatic, colorful and gifted composers of the 17th Century, from whom Handel borrowed for Israel in Egypt and whose amorous inclinations led to his assassina...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Winter in Verse

Shakespeare, Keats, Robert Burns, Thomas Campion and Robert Frost reflect on the modds of winter. Plus seasonal-oriented cartoons starring Mickey Mouse and friends and Woody Woodpecker. Bing Crosby makes an appearance too.
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Wonders of the Beggar’s Kingdom

With its 2012 album, The Wonders of the Beggar’s Kingdom, Lithuania's Sutaras went beyond cheery celebrations of its native land’s music and culture and addressed the reality of the outside world where most live in 'uncerta...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Ride Lonesome (1959)

It's back to the old west for Deep Roots Theater, as we present the penultimate film in director Budd Boetticher's 'Ranown Cycle,' RIDE LONESOME, starring Randolph Scott and written by Burt Kennedy. With the 1959 cartoon, 'Pill...
by David McGee
 

 
 

In Her Own Words: Up-and-Coming Illustrator Sairom Moon

Our heralded kids' lit blogger JULES interviews up-and-coming illustrator Sairom Moon, and kicks off the new year by blessing us with a couple of new illustrations from the redoubtable illustrator Elisa Kleven.
by David McGee
 

 

 

‘As long as you can look fearlessly at the sky, you’ll know you’re pure within’

Introduced on stage in 2005, James Whitbourn's Annelies, the first adaptation of Anne Frank's diary into a large-scale choral work, will at last be released on CD on Jan. 22. Here's our preview of the first important recording ...
by David McGee
 

 
 

Man, Dog, Rooster, Love: Brian McGrory’s Shaggy Story

Boston Globe editor BRIAN MCGRORY says his dog Harry and his inherited-through-marriage rooster Buddy have made him a better man. In fact, he crows about all this, so to speak, in a terrific new book and in a new Talking Animal...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Dancing the Dance of Stars and Space

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provides a spectacular image of the bright star-forming ring that surrounds the heart of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1097. Also: Like a ship plowing through still waters, the giant star Zeta...
by David McGee
 

 
 

A Day With Robert Schumann

IN this month's PLEASURES OF MUSIC, an 1884 report by May Byron on A DAY WITH ROBERT SCHUMANN. In this account, the author chronicles a day spent with the arch-Romantic composer, which includes some vivid scenes with Schumann's...
by David McGee
 

 

 

From Earth’s Caves, A Better Understanding of Mars

Dr. Penny Boston is exploring some of the most extreme environments on earth--the Snowy River Cave, the Cave of Crystal Giants--both in New Mexico, n the land where Billy the Kid once roamed--on the educated guess that those re...
by David McGee
 

 
 

What Christmas Is As We Grow Older

Writing in his twopenny weekly, Household Words, in 1851, CHARLES DICKENS penned one of his most thoughtful Yuletide pieces, 'What Christmas Is As We Grow Older,' comprising thoughts arising against a backdrop of great personal...
by David McGee