This is a compilation of performances of some of Thomas’ writing for orchestra. I got this from the library by accident but decided to listen to it anyway.
Month: February 2017
Brideshead Revisited (1981)
This is a nearly unprecedented 700 minute TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. It is about as good as it gets for these British “chamber” TV shows, and is a reminder (when you watch it) that we are seriously missing out because more classic literature isn’t adapted into TV miniseries.
The Invitation (2015, Karyn Kusama)
I am usually a man who can watch and appreciate a movie despite my mood at the time. But every so often a movie doesn’t meet my mood. And so I find myself reviewing this film without, perhaps, giving it its due, because I should have been watching something more frivolous. SPOILERS
Higglety Pigglety Pop!; Where the Wild Things Are (2001) by the London Sinfonietta conducted by Oliver Knussen, starring Cynthia Buchan, Lisa Saffer et al
This disc features both of Oliver Knussen’s “children’s operas,” based on books by Maurice Sendak.
Knussen: Symphonies Nos. 2-3, Trumpets, Ophelia Dances, Coursing, Cantata (1988) by Various
This is a compilation of a few of Knussen’s pieces, which, far as I can figure, are performed by three different ensembles, including an ensemble conducted by Knussen himself.
The Life of Graham Greene Volume Two: 1939-55 (1994) by Norman Sherry
Even more than Volume 1, this biography is for fans only.
Cocaine Cowboys (2006, Billy Corben)
I have heard about this film from a number of people and wonder if we watched the same movie. This is a poorly made film that absolutely reeks of early digital technology – even if its release year of 2006 would suggest it wasn’t made with early digital technology. Why is it that so many …
Either-Or (1997) by Elliott Smith
The problem with hype is that it makes you have expectations that can never be met. And, for some reason, the the death of someone just makes this so much worse, but in retrospect. Once a beloved musician dies, everything they ever made becomes a masterpiece and must be held up as proof as the …
Graham Greene and McCarthyism
In 1952 the British Catholic novelist Graham Greene attempted to visit the United States to meet with his American publisher, among other things. Greene had visited the US multiple times before and had even put a play on in Boston (an adaptation of his The Heart of the Matter, it was a disaster). He applied …