Mariannes Motifs

Krazy Facebook Band Name Meme

My neice sent me this -and instead of doing it on Facebook I am doing it here.  I am just like that - too bloggy for my own good.  Hope my band gets proactive reviews.  Ha ha that's a funny, folks.

‎1- Go to wikipedia and hit random. The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit random. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”. Third picture no matter what... it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use photoshop or similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor) to put it all together.
5 - Post it with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in.

Band Name: Birth of Venus

Album Title: No Guarantee of its Truth

Album Cover:

 

Review: Anna Netrebko - In the Still of Night (Songs by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky)

In the Still of Night (Songs by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky) is a lovely program of Romantic Russian songs.  A real gem I can heartily recommend.

I was lucky enough to win a review copy of this not yet released CD from a Twitter contest held by the publisher's Twitter rep, UMusicClassical.  I received the CD in the mail today (it is available for pre-order now and will be released April 27th) and while my kids splashed around in the bathtub, I popped it in.  Wow - instant relaxation.

This is like the musical equivalent of a box of of gourmet chocolates.  Smooth, sweet, rich, short little pieces one after the other, blending together but each with it's own individual musical flavor.  First of all, Ms. Netrebko's voice is gorgeous.  Rich and operatic, but never strident or screechy.  Daniel Barenboim's piano accompaniment is light and deft, adding to, but not overpowering the voice that is the key to the whole thing.  These are art songs, and they did blend in together on first listening, for me.  I am sure once I hear them a few more times I will be able to pick out more individual melodies but this would be very nice for background music as well.  

The recording is live, so you have some applause, but its very well mixed and I found myself forgetting it was a live recording.  There are two encores.

 

Good Girls Go Bad

I am totally grooving on this new song by Cobra Starship.  It makes me feel like I am in high school again.

Classical Deal: 99 Romantic Pieces for $2.99

Here's a great deal - 99 popular pieces of classical music from the Romantic period for about 3 bucks.  These are DRM free MP3s that will work on any mp3 player, iPod, PC, or burn your favorites on a nice relaxing CD.  This is nice if you want to try different composers and see who you enjoy listening to.

This comes out to about 3 cents a cut - wow.

3 cents a piece for 99 Essential Bach Masterpieces

99 Works by Bach, performed by various artists - only $2.99 MP3 download.  That comes out to 3 cents a track!  These are DRM free MP3s that will play on any MP3 player, iPod, iPhone, Computer, or you can burn them to a CD.

This is fantastic beautiful music, perfect for your evening dinner music, kids MP3 players, etc.  Bach's music is symmetrical, easy to appreciate even for people unfamiliar with classical music, and gives you a wonderful calming or exhilarating feeling depending on the piece.

 

Early Classical Music Free Amazon Download

This is a great one - the whole album is free MP3 download from Amazon right now.  I particularly like track 3 Basse Danse, "La Magdalena."  Wonderful for a lullaby for the kids.

Ben has taken to listening to his MP3 player before he goes to sleep.  He has a really nice one that Grandpa gave him for his birthday last year that has a speaker built in so he doesn't have to wear headphones if he doesn't want to.  I love the way Ben puts himself to sleep.  He is growing into such a nice sweet boy.

Down with the Sickness

Last night after the kids went to bed Jin and I played rock band until the wee hours of the morning.  I particularly enjoyed playing Down with the Sickness, by Disturbed.  I think this song is very cathartic. 

Just in case you need a laugh here is a fan made Alvin and the Chipmunks style version of Down With the Sickness.

What kind of sickness you may ask?  Not mesothelioma.

Wa-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah

Vote for Juliana's Video on Unavision

My co-worker Juliana is in a Univision Contest to be in "Objetivo Fama" (like a Spanish American Idol)

You can listen to her video on the web and vote for Juliana! Here are some instructions from her for those who don't read Spanish -

Now there is 10 videos not 20 and I am still in the contest thanks to your votes so please keep voting and telling everyone you know!!!

Please vote for me every day until May 18^th, 2008, so I can win the contest!> You can watch the video too, just click on it, my husband acts on it…

This also gives you the opportunity to win $10,000. I am the only one representing Georgia on this contest!!!! If I win I get to participate in Objetivo Fama (like American Idol in Spanish). http://www.univision.com/content/channel.jhtml?chid=6&schid=10589&secid=11974

Here is the translation for the information you have to fill out to vote:

Nombre: Name
Apellido: Last name
Sexo: Gender
Fecha de nacimiento: Date of birth
Direccion: Address
Ciudad: City
Estado: State
Codigo posta: Zip code
Telefono: Phone #

On the right side just put NO, so you don’t receive information from them on your e-mail. Then accept (Aceptar) and click on the red sign that says “envia tu voto” Thanks!

Juliana

MET LIVE in HD - Saturday, March 15 - Peter Grimes

MET LIVE in HD - Saturday, March 15 - Peter Grimes

What a goose-bump inducing thought - people all over the world gathering together in movie theaters to watch a live performance of the Metropolitan Opera presented in HD with fantasic theater sound quality. 

List of Participating Theaters

Description of this week's Opera

Peter Grimes (new production) – Britten

LIVE - Saturday, March 15, 2008 (1:30 pm – Eastern Time)

ENCORE – Sunday, March 16, 2008 (3:00 pm – Eastern Time)

Running time: 3 hours, 45 minutes. 2 intermissions

 
Peter Grimes is under investigation for unthinkable transgressions, yet Benjamin Britten’s probing exploration of the nature of guilt and judgment implicates an entire fishing village. Director John Doyle, a Tony Award® winner for his interpretation of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, makes his Met debut answering the challenges of this modern masterpiece. Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey takes on the complex title role. The riveting Patricia Racette plays Ellen Orford, the woman who refuses to abandon him. Featuring what may be 20th-century opera’s most impressive tenor role, Peter Grimes, with its sweeping orchestral beauty, will be an engrossing and haunting theatrical journey.

 Conductor Donald Runnicles; Production John Doyle; Patricia Racette, Anthony Dean Griffey, Anthony Michaels-Moore

 

Mercury Opera Guild featured in Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

My Dad, Art Axelrod, is a board member of the Mercury Opera Guild in Rochester, NY.  They are a young opera organization that brought together groups that had brought opera into the city, and organized trips to regional opera houses.  Now, they stage their own performances multiple times a year!

Another thing they do is community education.  My Dad does opera talks at local libraries and other sites around town.  They were written up in the paper  - here is a link to the story.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801230308