Concert Season Quotes

Beautiful prairies, bordered by lofty hills sparsely scattered with timber, stretch around. The massive fronds of the Pinus Ponderosa replace the elegant leaflets of the Cedar, no longer found save rarely, perchance, in some deep dell moistened by a purling streamlet. Groves of aspen appear here and there. The Balsam Poplar shows itself at intervals only, along the streams. The white racemes of the Service-berry flower, and the chaste flowers of the Mock Orange, load the air with their fragrance. Every copse re-echoes with the low drumming of the ruffed Grouse; the trees resound with the muffled booming of the Cock of the Woods. The Pheasant shirrs past; the scrannel-pipe of the larger Crane -- ever a watchful sentinel -- grates harshly on the ear; and the shrill whistle of the Curlew as it soars aloft aides the general concert of the re-opined year. I speak still of Spring; for the impressions of that jocum season are ever the most vivid, and naturally recur with the greatest force in after years. -- Alexander Caulfield Anderson describing the new brigade trail between Lac la Hache and Kamloops.

What is that particularly irritating little air you’re determined to vex our ears with?” Valentine stopped whistling to smirk at Westhaven’s question and started singing instead. “All we like sheep, have gone astraaaaaay.” “More Handel.” Sophie interrupted her brother’s little concert. “Seasonally appropriate. You two did not have to accompany me, you know.” “Nonsense.” Westhaven shot some sort of look at Valentine, who’d lapsed into humming. “I needed to call on the vicar since I’m in the area, and Valentine must tune the piano before the Christmas service.” “I’m getting very good at tuning pianos,” Valentine said. “A skill to fall back on if my wife ever casts me to the gutter.” “She won’t,” Sophie replied, patting her mare. “She’ll send you visiting your siblings and get her revenge on the whole family.” “Now, children,” Westhaven started, only to provoke Valentine back into a full-throated baritone recital. “All we like sheep, have gone astraaaaaaaaaaaaay.” Westhaven rolled his eyes. “To think my tiny son is all that stands between this braying ass and the Moreland dukedom.” “I made Sophie smile,” Val said, abruptly ceasing his braying. “My Christmas holiday is a success because I made Sophie smile.

NOAPTEA IADULUI Am dat pe gât o straşnică înghiţitură de otravă.De trei ori binecuvântat să fie sfatul ce ni s-a dat! Mi-au luat foc măruntaiele.Veninul e atât de violent încât îmi răsuceşte mădularele,mă schilodeşte,mă doboară.Mor de sete,mă înnăbuş,nu pot nici măcar să strig.E iadul,osânda veşnică.Uite cum se-nalţă flăcările!Ard,cum se şi cuvine.Hai,demone! Întrezărisem convertirea la Bine şi Fericire,la mânturie adică.Chiar de-aş putea descrie priveliştea,aerul iadului nu rabdă imnurile!Erau acolo milioane de făpturi fermecătoare,un suav concert spiritual,forţa şi pacea,ambiţiie nobile,şi mai ştiu eu ce? Ambiţiile nobile! Şi din nou viaţa!Dacă osânda veşnică.. Un om care vrea să se mutileze e osândit,nu-i aşa?Mă cred în infern,înseamnă că şi sunt.Se împlineşte catechismul.Sunt sclav al botezului meu.Părinţi,voi m-aţi nenorocit,nenorocindu-vă şi pe voi.Sărman nevinovat!Infernul nu-i poate vătăma pe păgâni.Şi iarăşi viaţa! Ceva mai târziu,deliciile damnaţiunii vor fi mai profunde.Repede,o crimă,ca să mă prăbuşesc în neant,potrivit legilor omeneşti! Taci,taci odată!..Aici vezi ruşinea,reproşul:Satan care zice că focul nu-i nobil,că furia mea e îngrozitor de stupidă.Destul!..Mi se şoptesc erori,vorbe magice,miresme înşelătoare,muzici puerile.Şi când mă gândesc că deţin adevărul,că văd calea cea dreaptă:am o judecată sănătoasă şi hotărâtă,sunt copt pentru perfecţine...Ce orgoliu! Pielea capului mi se usucă.Îndurare!Doamne,mi-e frică!Mi-e sete,o sete grozavă.O,copilărie,iarba,ploaia,lacul,podit cu pietre,clarul de lună când clopotul din turn bătea de douăsprezece ori..la ora asta diavolul e-n clopotiniţă.O,Mario!Sfântă-Fecioară!..Mi-e silă de prostia mea. Nu-s oare acolo şi suflete cinstite,care-mi vor binele?Veniţi!..Am însă gura astupată cu o pernă,căci ele nu mă aud,sunt doar nişte fantome.Şi apoi,nimeni nu se gândeşte vreodată la altcineva.Nu vă apropiaţi!Miros a ars,asta e sigur. Halucinaţiile sunt fără număr.Tocmai de ele am avut parte,mereu:pierderea credinţei în istorie,uitarea principiilor.O să tac:poeţii şi vizionarii ar putea,altfel,să mă pizmuiască. Dar ia te uită!Orologiul vieţii s-a oprit adineaori.Nu mă mai aflu în lume.Teologia e serioasă,iadul e cu siguranţă jos,pe când cerul e sus.Extazul,coşmarul,somnul într-un cuib de flăcări. [..]Să ne gândim la mine,asta mă face să nu-mi pară prea rău după lume.Am norocul c-am încetat să sufăr.Viaţa mea n-a fost decât un şir de dulci nebunii,regret,dar aşa e. Pfui!Să ne schmonosim în fel şi chip! E clar că suntem în afara lumii.Nu se mai aude nici un sunet.Mi-am pierdut simţul pipăitului.[..]Tare obosit mai sunt! Ar trebui să dispun de un iad pentru mânie,de un iad pentru trufie şi de un iad al dezmierdărilor:un adevărat concert de iaduri. Mor de oboseală.Iată mormântul,mă duc la viermi,oroare supremă!Satan,farsorule,ai vrea să mă spulberi cu vrăjile tale!Protestez!Protestez!cer o izbitură de furcă,o fărâmă de foc! Ah,să revii la viaţă!Să-ţi arunci privirea asupra hidoşeniilor noastre!Şi otrava asta,sărutul acesta de-o mie de ori blestemat!Slăbiciunea mea,cruzimea acestei lumi!Fie-ţi milă,Doamne şi ascunde-mă,prea mă simt rău!Iată,stau ascuns şi totuşi nu sunt ascuns. E focul,care se înalţă o dată cu cel osândit.

During [Erté]’s childhood St. Petersburg was an elegant centre of theatrical and artistic life. At the same time, under its cultivated sophistication, ominous rumbles could be distinguished. The reign of the tough Alexander III ended in 1894 and his more gentle successor Nicholas was to be the last of the Tsars … St. Petersburg was a very French city. The Franco-Russian Pact of 1892 consolidated military and cultural ties, and later brought Russia into the First World war. Two activities that deeply influenced [Erté], fashion and art, were particularly dominated by France. The brilliant couturier Paul Poiret, for whom Erté was later to work in Paris, visited the city to display his creations. Modern art from abroad, principally French, was beginning to be show in Russia in the early years of the century … In St. Petersburg there were three Imperial theatres―the Maryinsky, devoted to opera and ballet, the Alexandrinsky, with its lovely classical façade, performing Russian and foreign classical drama, and the Michaelovsky with a French repertoire and company … It is not surprising that an artistic youth in St. Petersburg in the first decade of this century should have seen his future in the theatre. The theatre, especially opera and ballet, attracted the leading young painters of the day, including Mikhail Vrubel, possibly the greatest Russian painter of the pre-modernistic period. The father of modern theatrical design in Russia was Alexandre Benois, an offspring of the brilliant foreign colony in the imperial capital. Before 1890 he formed a club of fellow-pupils who were called ‘The Nevsky Pickwickians’. They were joined by the young Jew, Leon Rosenberg, who later took the name of one of his grandparents, Bakst. Another member introduced his cousin to the group―Serge Diaghilev. From these origins emerged the Mir Iskustva (World of Art) society, the forerunner of the whole modern movement in Russia. Soon after its foundation in 1899 both Benois and Bakst produced their first work in the theatre, The infiltration of the members of Mir Iskustva into the Imperial theatre was due to the patronage of its director Prince Volkonsky who appointed Diaghilev as an assistant. But under Volkonsky’s successor Diagilev lost his job and was barred from further state employment. He then devoted his energies and genius to editing the Mir Iskustva magazine and to a series of exhibitions which introduced Russia to work of foreign artists … These culminated in the remarkable exhibition of Russian portraiture held at the Taurida Palace in 1905, and the Russian section at the salon d'Autumne in Paris the following year. This was the most comprehensive Russian exhibition ever held, from early icons to the young Larionov and Gontcharova. Diagilev’s ban from Russian theatrical life also led to a series of concerts in Paris in 1907, at which he introduced contemporary Russian composers, the production Boris Godunov the following year with Chaliapin and costumes and décor by Benois and Golovin, and then in 1909, on May 19, the first season of the ballet Russes at the Châtelet Theatre.

Despite the refusal of the Obama Justice Department to prosecute anyone at the IRS, it is clear that what happened was an epic clampdown on any conservative voices speaking or advocating against the president’s disastrous policies and in favor of patriotism and adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law. Over the course of twenty-seven months leading up to the 2012 election, not a single Tea Party–type organization received tax-exempt status. Many were unable to operate; others disbanded because donors refused to fund them without the IRS seal of approval; some organizations and their donors were audited without justification; and many incurred legal fees and costs fighting the unlawful conduct by Lerner and other IRS employees. The IRS suppressed the entire Tea Party movement just in time to help Obama win reelection. And everyone in the administration involved in this outrageous conduct got away with it without being punished or prosecuted. Was it simply a case of retribution against the perceived “enemies” of the administration? No, this was much bigger than political payback. It was a systematic and concerted effort to squash the Tea Party movement—one of the most organic and powerful political movements in recent memory—during an election season. [See Appendix for select IRS documents uncovered by Judicial Watch.] This was about campaign politics. It was a scandal for the ages. President Obama obviously wanted this done even if he gave no direct orders for it. In 2015, he told Jon Stewart on The Daily Show that “you don’t want all this money pouring through non-profits.” But there is no law preventing money from “pouring through non-profits” that they use to achieve their legal purposes and the objectives of their members. Who didn’t want this money pouring through nonprofits? Barack Obama. In the subsequent FOIA litigation filed by Judicial Watch, the IRS obstructed and lied to a federal judge and Judicial Watch in an effort to hide the truth about what Lois Lerner and other senior officials had done. The IRS, including its top political appointees like IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and General Counsel William J. Wilkins, have much to answer for over their contempt of court and of Congress. And the Department of Justice lawyers and officials enabling this cover-up in court need to be held accountable as well. If the Tea Party and other conservative groups had been fully active in the critical months leading up to the 2012 election, would Mitt Romney have been elected president? We will, of course, never know for certain. But we do know that President Obama’s Internal Revenue Service targeted right-leaning organizations applying for tax-exempt status and prevented them from entering the fray during that period. That is how you steal an election in plain sight. Accountability is not something we will get from the Obama administration. But Judicial Watch will continue its independent investigation and certainly any new presidential administration should take a fresh look at this IRS scandal.

I have season box tickets at MSG. Call your girls. Tell them to go out front. We’ll meet them, walk them to my box.” Her face is adorably confused. “I’m taking you to see your concert, rubia.

Between 1782 and 1785, Mozart worked prolifically as a solo artist, composing and performing primarily piano concertos. At his most productive, he would produce three or four new concertos in a season. But access to theatrical space so frequently was difficult to manage in Vienna, so Mozart took to booking unconventional spaces for his performances, including restaurants and apartment buildings. It is through these popular concerts, with himself as the central fixture, that Mozart perfected his persona as a performer and artist in the public eye. His youth, charm, and eagerness to please delighted audiences of the time, who were also more than aware they were watching a musical savant hone and perfect his abilities and set the tone for the period’s most influential musical genres.

At the same time, when, on one of his visits, Padmanabhaiah recommended a Bharat Ratna for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Atal said, ‘For Bharat Ratna no recommendations are accepted.’ Padmanabhaiah persisted and said, ‘He is getting old and may not live much longer.’ Atal shot back, ‘About twenty days back I attended his concert in Pune. He is fine.’ There ended the conversation.

I once saw a recipe that said “season to taste” and finally understood why white people’s chicken tastes like a crisp fall breeze blowing an American flag at a Toby Keith concert.