Who Is Francesco Tristano Schlimé?

He's the 27-year-old piano virtuoso from Europe whose most recent recital, in Luxembourg, of the first book of Debussy's Preludes was compared favorably to that of Radu Lupu (who is bringing his reading to Carnegie Hall next month) by the reviewer at ResMusica. Schlimé has made several recordings, including the complete piano works of Luciano Berio and Bach's Goldberg Variations; he is also a composer and a jazz pianist.

I admit to being curious, so I imagine I'll get a ticket to his New York debut, at the Weill Recital Hall, on February 1. He won't be playing the Debussy, alas, so we'll miss his "tempestuous, expressive" interpretation (as opposed to Lupu's "distant" and "cold" one). If the two excerpts I heard (the aria from Goldberg and a piece by Berio) on his web site are any indication, then this is the kind of heart-on-sleeve playing one hears too little.

Off-Topic: Shanny is a Mensch

Brendan Shanahan has brought class and leadership to the Rangers since he arrived last season. In an interview with a Czech reporter, Shanny talks about his relationship with Jaromir Jagr as one of mutual support and complementary styles--in both how they play and how they lead. There is no resentment, animosity or envy. Most touching of all are Shanny's comments about his collision, in a game last year, with Philadelphia's Mike Knuble:

"Whether it’s speaking for Jagr in public or standing up for him on the ice, that’s just the way things are supposed to work for Shanahan. 'That’s how it works on the best teams,' he explained. 'Everyone cares for each other. It’s beautiful when I achieve something and I see that my teammates are happy for it. I score, take a look at the bench, and see Jaromir, a huge NHL superstar, smiling happily with his hands up. Or another example: Last season, I was knocked out after a collision in the Philadelphia game and I was taken out on a stretcher. I watched the replay and I saw Jaromir standing above me the whole time. He even came to visit me in the hospital. This gets people closer.'" (via BlueShirt Bulletin)

My son, then six, and I were at that horrible game. Seeing Shanny lying motionless was terrifying. You can watch the video yourself: Jagr did keep a vigil over Shanny. You can see Jagr, on at least two occasions by my count, bending over to try to communicate something to his fallen teammate; at another point he helps to secure the stretcher on the ice. I guess I'm just sentimental, but watching this video brought a tear to my eye. Hockey players are really something.

Beckett's Opera

According to Le Monde, the French National Library has unearthed a little-performed opera based on Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape. Alas, the music, by Beckett's friend Marcel Mihalovici (1898-1985), is, according to Le Monde's critic, "entirely mediocre," a rather uninspired example of 1960s modern atonality, and a bitch (vacherie) to play.

The Met: Can They Institute a Dress Code?

I was at the Met last night (Tuesday, December 18) to see the powerful, grimly effective production of War and Peace. I can't add to what the reviews have recorded. But I do want to channel my inner curmudgeon and say something about the dress of some people in the house. At my earlier two visits to the Met this season, I saw a lot of well dressed people--capped off last week not only by Netrebko, but by a beautiful woman with a seat in the orchestra level who was wearing a stunning black strapless gown. She looked absolutely radiant.

Now I do not expect that people wear black- or white tie (though they might want to think about it), but I do think it is important to dress for the opera, at least for the Met. An evening at the Met is a festive occasion, a special event, and should be celebrated as such.

Last night I saw several people in jeans and sneakers. A young woman in what I am sure was a very expensive hoodie. And one fellow who was wearing some kind of Klingon-style vest.

Can the Met institute a dress code? Not let people in who are wearing jeans or sneakers? Can't we have one place where the relentless casualness of dress is prohibited?

Happy Beethoven's Birthday!

Not just Schroeder, but no less than Anton Webern believed that Beethoven's birthday should be a day of national celebration. And I concur! What a good, non-denominational way to have a winter-solstice festival. My (very indulgent) wife and I exchange gifts and then listen to a Beethoven masterwork.

Happy Beethoven's Birthday everyone!