Nudes at the MFA

I was in Boston visiting D, Julie and the kids during Thanksgiving week, mostly hanging around their neighbourhood, but I did make one trip into Boston to take a look at the Degas exhibit at the MFA. The exhibit is focused on his nudes in various media (pencil, pastel, paint, etc.) and in various periods of his career. The first few items in the exhibit are examples of his academic nude model pencil sketches and they are astonishing in their detail and shading. Most of Degas' nudes aren't depicted showing their faces, being viewed from the back and most of them are in everyday settings, particularly dressing and bathing. One room of the show includes nudes in brothels and are of a more graphic nature than anything I've seen in previous shows. Several of the nude sketches are shown near a final work where you can see the way he has used the sketch in the context of a bigger work. Several sculptures are included of his dancers in various positions, including three versions of one my favourites of a woman contorting herself to look at the bottom of her foot.

The MFA also has a small exhibit on Aphrodite, which is interesting to see in context of the Degas show, as the Greek goddess is a popular nude figure in Western art, and there are many beautiful examples in the show of sculpture, vases etc. that can be contrasted with the more worldly women that Degas depicted. Both of these exhibits is on through early 2012.

The MFA has a beautiful new Art of the Americas wing. A large atrium space with a small restaurant and some contemporary art pieces joins the new wing to the main museum. This atrium space reminds me of a small version of the American Wing at the Met, which is one of my favourite spaces in NYC. The MFA has a terrific collection of American art and to see some of the paintings and other pieces related to Colonial times is particularly appropriate in this city. I didn't spend a lot of time here, but there is much to explore.

Carnegie Hall

I made it there and didn't even need to practice! Hardy har.

I ended up having another business trip to NYC and decided it was about time I took in a concert at this famous hall, since the hotel I always stay at (Parker Meridien) is on the same block and I walk past it every day. The Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique was in town playing two nights of Beethoven. On Thursday, they did a Prometheus overture and symphonies 3 and 4 (Eroica). This group is a period instrument group and the orchestra was a lot smaller than I've seen in groups with a less 'period specific' focus. The other major difference that I could see was that the horns and trumpets didn't have valves (and the horns in particular really sounded like the hunting horns from which modern French horns evolved). It's likely that the wind instruments also differed from their modern counterparts, although the only thing that was clear to my eyes was that the clarinets and oboes were mostly in a light coloured wood, rather than the typical black of modern instruments.

I don't know if it was the hall or the ensemble (maybe both), but the instrumentation was particularly clear, with particular solos easily picked out. A couple of times, the clarinetists played with their instruments lifted so the bell faced the audience (rather than traditionally pointed down) and it made them sound almost brass like, but with a beautiful reedy quality. The hall itself was lovely, in a deep horseshoe shape. The stage doesn't have wings or back drop so the performers sit in front of a beautiful paneled wall. The first two tiers are entirely composed of six seat boxes.

I had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant, Trattoria del'Arte that I'd been to before, and enjoyed. Again, I was treated with a wonderful friendliness and warmth (the host shook my hand when I entered), the food was superb and I had a lovely chat with a couple in town from Michigan.

Pianomania

I didn't know much about this movie when I went to see it, but I definitely recommend it for anyone who is interested in piano playing, concert pianists or grand pianos. It's a German documentary following a Steinway piano technician (i.e., he tunes concert pianos). Several renowned pianists are scheduled to perform in a few halls in Vienna and our hero has to meet with them, help them find the piano that will fit the sound they are looking for, and then tweak it to get each note just right. I don't have a great ear, but I was even able to pick up some of the very slight nuances as the technician and pianist figured out how to get the piano just right. When I was growing up, we had an old upright at home that had to be tuned about once a year and I remember seeing the tuner with his tuning fork and various tools playing notes over and over again. Tuning a concert Steinway is beyond anything I remember from watching our humble old piano being tuned. The snippets of various piano pieces that are played throughout the movie are a wonderful bonus (although it will make you want to hear them in full in a proper hall). I also came away from this movie with a whole new appreciation for the amazing instrument that a grand piano truly is, unlike any other (both in scale and in technicality).