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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Hunter College Food Policy
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Petersburg, for a Classical NY Concert
The Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture & Gotham Arts
invite you to join us for a performance of:
Petersburg, Song Cycle by Georgy Sviridov
Selection of lieder by Robert Schumann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, et al.
TIME: Friday, November 17, 8PM
PLACE: Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center
(111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023)
TICKETS: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden,
Schönes Grabmal meiner Ruh',
Schöne Stadt, wir müssen scheiden, -
Lebe wohl! ruf' ich dir zu.
"Beautiful cradle of my sorrows,
Beautiful tombstone of my peace,
Beautiful city, we must part.
Farewell, I cry to you."
-Heinrich Heine
Pianist Jonathan DePeri and Baritone Frank Mathis
Two American musicians, pianist Jonathan DePeri and baritone Frank Mathis, resurrect the rarely performed Russian song-cycle Petersburg, prompting reflection upon 100 years of Russian-American cultural exchange, and the future of music.
Alexander Blok
1880-1921
Petersburg, a song cycle by Georgy Sviridov, one of Russia's most important composers in the last
half of the 20th century, is a setting of nine poems by Alexander Blok. Blok, who lived from 1880 to 1921, is often called a "Symbolist"poet, as Sviridov is called a "neo-Romantic" composer. These terms are virtually useless, especially to the listener who has the opportunity to experience this music for the first time, filled with all possible as well no particular expectations.
Georgy Sviridov
1915-1998
More than anything else, Petersburg recalls the approach to "the short story as music" that Franz Schubert's 24-song cycle, Winterreise, and several of Robert Schumann's and Johannes Brahms' song cycles and even individual songs had also advanced. Sviridov's settings of Blok's poems are a jarring "throwback" to the lieder song cycle- a set of poems. Beethoven invented this idea with his op. 98, An die ferne Geliebte; Brahms' Vier ernste Gesänge, (Four Serious Songs, op 121), his last composition, is sometimes thought of as the final word in the genre.
Sviridov and Blok, in other words, dared to write beautifully about tragedy, to reject the pervasive culture of non musical ugliness, and to uplift the audience of both the present and the future for whom the songs were composed. This was a courageous act.
Speaking in honor of the poet Robert Frost in October of 1963, 27 days before he himself would be assassinated, President John F. Kennedy said:
"Strength takes many forms, and the most obvious forms are not always the most significant. The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us....
"The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, a lover's quarrel with the world. In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. If Robert Frost was much honored in his lifetime, it was because a good many preferred to ignore his darker truths. Yet in retrospect, we see how the artist's fidelity has strengthened the fibre of our national life."
In performing Petersburg and the other selections in this concert Program, the two American artists hope that the humanity clearly portrayed in these Russian songs, the dialogue of over a century among poets, and musicians from Europe, Russia and the United States, might prompt the replication of the same spirit of Beauty and purpose that produced them.
TICKETS: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
To purchase tickets, please click HERE
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
William Binney NSA whistleblower talk... Symp Space Nov 12 @4pm
William Binney, Ray McGovern, Diane Roark and others will be present for the screening of A Good American and will lead a discussion and answer questions following the showing of the film. Sean Stone will moderate the discussion.
A Good American is a documentary which chronicles the work of whistleblower William Binney, a former official of the National Security Agency who resigned shortly after the September 11 attacks. Binney contends that his groundbreaking surveillance program, ThinThread, an alternative to mass monitoring, could have prevented the 9/11 attacks, but it was stopped by NSA officials, just 3 weeks before 9/11.
Could ThinThread have prevented 9/11? Could it have proved useful in preventing several subsequent terrorist attacks from Madrid, to Paris, to the London Underground? Ask William Binney, described by colleagues as "the best code-breaker in the NSA." A true story from America's recent past-- and key to its future.
The film is produced, directed and written by Friedrich Moser. Executive producer is Oliver Stone.--- plus some new reports about Russiagate fraud and Binney meetings with CIA director Pompeo... at the behest of Pres. Trump
Friday, October 20, 2017
Puppy videos or Jail Mueller
If you don't jail or fire special prosecutor Mueller soon, you have to watch a puppy video forever.
WGBH, Boston's Public Radio station, carried an expose on Robert Mueller demonstrating that he is more akin to "Tomas de Torquemada" (the Grand Inquisitor) than "the choir boy he is touted to be." The piece was written by Harvey Silverglate, Boston's legendary criminal defense and civil liberties champion, who is known nationally for his defense of the Constitution. Silverglate detailed how Mueller once tried to entrap him by running a sting on him when Mueller was the U.S. Attorney in Boston. Prosecutors going after defense lawyers directly is considered by the bar to be the equivalent of deliberately targeting paramedics on the battle field, a demonstration of zealotry far outside the bounds of the permissible.
Read the Dossier: Robert Mueller is an Amoral Legal Assassin
Silverglate goes on to recount a meeting with Mueller at the Justice Department concerning the Jeffrey MacDonald case, which many consider to be a wrongful conviction of an innocent man. At a meeting called to explore possible law enforcement misconduct in the case, Mueller walked in and announced, "Gentlemen: Criticism of the Bureau is a Non Starter." Silverglate goes on to attack the General Counsel statute as a constitutional abomination, endorse Alan Dershowitz's analysis that no crimes have been committed by the President based on what has been reported to date, but notes, "Mueller's demonstrated zeal and ample resources virtually assure that indictments will come, even in the absence of crimes rather than behavior which is simply politics as usual."
The impact of our mobilization and public disgust with the Russiagate charade are also demonstrated in the CNN Story, "GOP calls grow to end Russia investigations in Congress this year." The lead: "A growing number of key Republicans are sending this message to leaders of the congressional committees investigating potential Trump collusion with Russians: Wrap It Up Soon." Although it doesn't have the poetic ring of "Suck It Up, Move On," we are, of course, dealing with Republicans. Senator James Risch of the Intelligence Committee said, "Nobody wants to move this so quickly that we miss something," but added, "The question is how many weak leads can you follow?" Watermelon head Adam Schiff countered that the Committees involved were trying to "rush" the now nine-month-old investigation. Schiff's remarks were characterized as "nuts" by Committee Republicans, according to CNN, who accused Democrats of trying to extend the "fishing expedition" into the midterm elections. The report otherwise makes clear that sharp public demands for an end to this hoax are beginning to be felt. Last Friday's call for investigation of Mueller was not some sort of "one off." We just have to increase that pressure.
WGBH, Boston's Public Radio station, carried an expose on Robert Mueller demonstrating that he is more akin to "Tomas de Torquemada" (the Grand Inquisitor) than "the choir boy he is touted to be." The piece was written by Harvey Silverglate, Boston's legendary criminal defense and civil liberties champion, who is known nationally for his defense of the Constitution. Silverglate detailed how Mueller once tried to entrap him by running a sting on him when Mueller was the U.S. Attorney in Boston. Prosecutors going after defense lawyers directly is considered by the bar to be the equivalent of deliberately targeting paramedics on the battle field, a demonstration of zealotry far outside the bounds of the permissible.
Read the Dossier: Robert Mueller is an Amoral Legal Assassin
Silverglate goes on to recount a meeting with Mueller at the Justice Department concerning the Jeffrey MacDonald case, which many consider to be a wrongful conviction of an innocent man. At a meeting called to explore possible law enforcement misconduct in the case, Mueller walked in and announced, "Gentlemen: Criticism of the Bureau is a Non Starter." Silverglate goes on to attack the General Counsel statute as a constitutional abomination, endorse Alan Dershowitz's analysis that no crimes have been committed by the President based on what has been reported to date, but notes, "Mueller's demonstrated zeal and ample resources virtually assure that indictments will come, even in the absence of crimes rather than behavior which is simply politics as usual."
The impact of our mobilization and public disgust with the Russiagate charade are also demonstrated in the CNN Story, "GOP calls grow to end Russia investigations in Congress this year." The lead: "A growing number of key Republicans are sending this message to leaders of the congressional committees investigating potential Trump collusion with Russians: Wrap It Up Soon." Although it doesn't have the poetic ring of "Suck It Up, Move On," we are, of course, dealing with Republicans. Senator James Risch of the Intelligence Committee said, "Nobody wants to move this so quickly that we miss something," but added, "The question is how many weak leads can you follow?" Watermelon head Adam Schiff countered that the Committees involved were trying to "rush" the now nine-month-old investigation. Schiff's remarks were characterized as "nuts" by Committee Republicans, according to CNN, who accused Democrats of trying to extend the "fishing expedition" into the midterm elections. The report otherwise makes clear that sharp public demands for an end to this hoax are beginning to be felt. Last Friday's call for investigation of Mueller was not some sort of "one off." We just have to increase that pressure.
All this Old Navy Email but I'm Not Buying
I get all this OLD NAVY email because I got there credit card and I bought some things for my kid... but I am not buying anything more, at least for a while. But I don't care.
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