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A pun for any political party

Since you asked, I’m registered Indepedent! 😀

Cutting straight to the root of the problem

Q. What’s the fastest way to tune a viola? Continue reading →

All Concert Roundups Go to Heaven

• Want to know what music sounds like in heaven? Then join the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for Elgar‘s cello concerto as performed by Sol Gabetta, and Liszt‘s – get ready for a shot of irony – Mephisto Waltz. Also Franck, who by inference is in hell with the rest of them. November 29 at Strathmore; November 30 and December 1 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• And! If you’re into interior decorating and holiday gift shopping, the BSO presents their “Symphony Homes for the Holidays,” where you can shop through several fully decorated and stuff-filled historic homes with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the orchestra. November 29 – December 1. [ See it! ]
• Meanwhile, over in National Symphony Orchestra land, the NSO confused me with Syzmanowski, tries my patience with a Mozart piano concerto, and then soothes my fevered brow with Ravel‘s Mother Goose Suite and Debussy‘s La Mer. November 29 – December 1. [ See it! ]
• This week at Strathmore: Retro-modern lounge music, retro-retro pop, and (BLEH! … I mean, what?) smooth jazz. [ See the calendar! ]

If you’d like your concert included in next week’s roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

Music Gifts: The building blocks of music

Man, those luthiers, am I right? So talented! So painstaking in their work! Crafting such beautiful instruments! Neither you nor anyone you know could ever produce anything so beautiful, right?

WRONG! And what’s more, you can have way greater range!

For the second music gift in my annual series, I present: Nanoblocks! Check these out:

They’re like Legos, only tinier. Way tinier. Tiny enough to allow you to reproduce in tremendous detail not only a violin and a guitar but a piano and a drum as well! This is the perfect gift for a) medium-sized children (not small because of the whole let’s-swallow-this-tiny-thing! small children seem to have hardwired into their brains), 2) geeks (also known as the greatest people you’ll ever know).

There’s an entire set available over at Fab.com for what appears to be a sale price of $41. You can also find a few dealers on Amazon selling the set or individuals (that link only shows the piano available solo, but I’ve seen with my own eyes that the violin can be tracked down too). In all cases limited quantities seem to be available, so I’d pounce on this if you’re interested.

Looking for a something with a bit less of a choking hazard? Why not check out the Ain’t Baroque store? Stickers! Magnets! Mugs! T-shirts! Angry violas! Terrible puns! Or in other words, everything you need for your entire holiday shopping list.

THAT’S IT!!!!!

It’s Christmastime, of course! And that is NO TIME FOR ARTISTRY, thank you very much.

Ha… I laugh every time. 😀

On a completely unrelated but potentially interesting note, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is offering 50% off all tickets until midnight for Cyber Monday purposes. Might behoove you to check that out, no?

Hitting notes only a cat can hear

This seems about right.

Concert Roundup: Almost the Holidays Edition

Can you feel it coming? I know I can!

• The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra kicks off their holiday season with a collection of Canadian Tenors, which as far as I can tell is a collection of tenors from Canada. (Rim shot.) They’ll sing a range of pop and classical pieces. November 23 – 25 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• The National Symphony Orchestra counters with their own Pops concert, featuring Broadway and TV star Megan Hilty in a salute to all singers but mostly Frank Sinatra. Evidently she’s been in a stage version of my beloved Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, so already I approve. November 23 – 24. [ See it! ]
• This week at Strathmore: A recreation of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and some pyrotechnic tap dancing. [ See the calendar! ]

If you’d like your concert included in next week’s roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

Music Gifts: Wear your music on your sleeve

Mind you, these dresses are sleeveless, but it can still work.

And now it’s time once again for everyone’s favorite series: Music Gifts! Every week up until Christmas [and other holiday eligible too of course] I’ll be bringing you a music-themed gift for everyone on your musical list. Let’s start with the easiest – the girls.

Yes, I said the girls are the easiest. Trust me. All you need is this:

See? Done. Covered in music notes, figure flattering, a little sexy while still suitably modest. You can get it for $80 over at ModCloth, where you can also find this dress covered in sheet music, which I was going to feature also but it’s out of stock (click anyway if a sheet music dress sounds like your thing; they get stuff back in stock now and again). Either one would be great for a regular concert-goer or someone who works in the music industry – everyone loves the well-themed girl!

Looking for something a little cheaper and/or less exclusively for girls and cross-dressers? Check out the Ain’t Baroque store, where you can find stickers, t-shirts, mugs, magnets, and more, featuring some of your favorite AB characters (cake-eating Beethoven and Yuri the Angry Viola, I’m looking at you).

Are your hands holding you back?

This can be fixed with a simple call to your carpenter. Oh, and you’ll have to hire a nervous guy.

Have you ever played a violin whilst leaping through the air?

In case you didn’t follow, that was a Hot Fuzz reference.