If There Is Much In The Window There Should Be More In The Room

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Childish Superstition: Einstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear







"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." So said Albert Einstein, and his famous aphorism has been the source of endless debate between believers and non-believers wanting to claim the greatest scientist of the 20th century as their own. A little known letter written by him, however, may help to settle the argument - or at least provoke further controversy about his views. Being in a private collection for more than 50 years, the document leaves no doubt that the theoretical physicist was no supporter of religious beliefs, which he regarded as "childish superstitions".

Einstein penned the letter on January 3 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind who had sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt. The letter went on public sale a year later and has remained in private hands ever since. 

 
The Nobel Prize-winning scientist questions the existence of God. In the letter, Einstein is frank about his views on the supernatural. "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this." 
 
Einstein, who was Jewish and who declined an offer to be the state of Israel's second president, also rejected the idea that the Jews are God's favored people.

L -
Science vs the divine: Despite being agnostic, Einstein felt an 'affinity' to the Jewish people



"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
One of the country's leading experts on the scientist, John Brooke of Oxford University, admitted he had not heard of it. Einstein is best known for his theories of relativity and for the famous E=mc2 equation that describes the equivalence of mass and energy, but his thoughts on religion have long attracted conjecture.

His parents were not religious but he attended a Catholic primary school and at the same time received private tuition in Judaism. This prompted what he later called, his "religious paradise of youth", during which he observed religious rules such as not eating pork. This did not last long though and by 12 he was questioning the truth of many biblical stories.



"The consequence was a positively fanatic [orgy of] freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression," he later wrote.

In his later years he referred to a "cosmic religious feeling" that permeated and sustained his scientific work. In 1954, a year before his death, he spoke of wishing to "experience the universe as a single cosmic whole". He was also fond of using religious flourishes, in 1926 declaring that "He [God] does not throw dice" when referring to randomness thrown up by quantum theory.

His position on God has been widely misrepresented by people on both sides of the atheism/religion divide but he always resisted easy stereotyping on the subject.
"Like other great scientists he does not fit the boxes in which popular polemicists like to pigeonhole him," said Brooke. "It is clear for example that he had respect for the religious values enshrined within Judaic and Christian traditions ... but what he understood by religion was something far more subtle than what is usually meant by the word in popular discussion."

Despite his categorical rejection of conventional religion, Brooke said that Einstein became angry when his views were appropriated by evangelists for atheism. He was offended by their lack of humility and once wrote. "The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."


Monday, March 25, 2013

Lang Lang - Live in Vienna




Filmed live in Vienna's legendary Musikverein concert hall, this release represents Lang Lang's second live recorded recital to date after the best-selling "Live at Carnegie Hall" in 2004, which marked his international breakthrough as a recording artist.


The program for his Sony debut features Lang Lang's first-ever recording of Beethoven sonatas: He is intense and focused in the famous "Appassionata", a milestone in the piano literature, sharp and lively in Beethoven's early C major Sonata op. 2, no. 3.  Virtuosity of a different order is displayed in his thrillingly colorful Albéniz's impressionistic memories of his native Spain in Book 1 of "Iberia."

The program closes with one of Prokofiev's explosive War Sonatas, the revolutionary Seventh Sonata. Finally, to celebrate the Chopin Bicentennial we hear three encores of this Polish genius's most popular works: the "Aeolian Harp" Etude, the "Heroic" Polonaise in A flat major, and the sparkling Grande Valse Brillante No. 2.

He is the most communicative pianist of his generation, with a huge following in the east, and for any open-minded listener there is seriously good piano playing in this fine recital from Vienna. Perhaps he is indulgent, but the technical command is peerless and the emotional warmth envelops us. He is surely the Horowitz of our generation.
 
 

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Akhnaten - Prelude:Refrain,Verse 1,Verse 2



Akhenaten known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV, was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. 

He is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic or henotheistic. An early inscription likens the Aten to the sun as compared to stars, and later official language avoids calling the Aten a god, giving the solar deity a status above mere gods.



Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted. After his death, traditional religious practice was gradually restored, and when some dozen years later rulers without clear rights of succession from the Eighteenth Dynasty founded a new dynasty, they discredited Akhenaten and his immediate successors, referring to Akhenaten himself as "the enemy" in archival records.




An opera in three acts. Possessing a theatrical almost romantic quality,
Philip Glass takes the ancient myth setting it into the contemporary music
landscape with consummate ease while retaining the
primordial substance of the original story. 




Akhnaten, the third of Philip Glass's "portrait" operas (composed in 1983), is based on the life of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhnaten, who ruled Egypt from 1375 BC to 1358 BC. Like Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha, it is not a "story" opera but an episodic-symbolic portrait of a historical personality whose visionary ideas dramatically changed the perceptions of the world around him. Here, Glass, in his own libretto, tells the story of the man who supposedly introduced monotheism into classic Egyptian culture (and thereby the Western world), thus complimenting the realms of science and politics as portrayed in his previous two operas. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The Orientalists


The Orientalists


pyramids road, Gizah
 'The Pyramids Road, Gizah' by Edward Lear, British. Oil, 1873


As great art has the power to change the lives of those who create it; so it has the power to change the lives of those of us who view it.

The story of the Orientalists is a story of life. Of their lives and what they strove to accomplish and what they loved; and the story of the people they met and the places they recorded.

In July of 1798 Napoleon marched into Egypt with an army. He defeated the Turks at the battle of the Pyramids, stayed for a few weeks and then was driven out by the British. In the small amount of time that he was there he managed to do what he did best: he changed everything.

Following him came first a trickle and then a torrent of westerners into the Near and Middle East. The writers who wrote about their experiences and the artists who painted what they saw became known as the Orientalists. They traveled through Turkey, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Arabia and North Africa. With time this became an art movement and today we call it Orientalist art.

This movement spanned over a century and included hundreds of known artists. Many of them were giants of the art world and created beautiful paintings that seem almost photographic in detail.

Many of them took incredible risks and endured considerable hardship. Disease was the greatest hazard and gun battles with bandits were commonplace. At other times they were received with the greatest kindness and made lasting friendships.

They came from all over the world: from England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Russia, America, and Australia. Some of them specialized in landscapes, in archeological themes, or in people. Some of them were very religious and created biblical scenes, some specialized in military history.

Others recorded the flora and fauna of the Near and Middle East. Encompassing many different painting styles and political leanings, the only generalization that can be made about them is that they were extremely diverse.

One common thread unites them; all who went were changed by the experience. From Charles Gleyre lying on the deck of a ship in the Mediterranean so sick that the captain and crew discussed if he were still alive or not, to Etienne Dinet making his pilgrimage to Mecca, the journey affected these men deeply.

Some even died there and others remembered their travels with crystalline clarity to the end of their lives. As great art has the power to change the lives of the those who create it; so it has the power to change the lives of those of us who view it.


Orientalist Art

The Orientalist art movement, although a predominantly 19th century phenomenon started in the time of the Renaissance and continued throughout the years emerging in the 21st century seen through new forms and techniques. Themes and places of interest to Orientalist artists span the geographical areas of Middle Eastern and North African Islamic countries. 

However, Orientalism as an art movement cannot be associated with any particular European country nor encapsulated in any of the local ‘schools’, as throughout the centuries it was exercised by different Western cultures who documented their experiences of extraordinary meetings with inhabitants of the ‘other’. 

Orientalism as a historical and cultural event has been uniting various aspects of cultural life for a number of centuries, including literature, fine arts, architecture, music, and philosophy, and has generated an exotic image within our consciousness, one that has a right to its own existence.



'Afternoon in Algiers' by Frederick Arthur Bridgman, American. Oil
'An Almeh with pipe' by Jean-Leon Gerome, French. Oil, 1873
'An Almeh with pipe' by Jean-Leon Gerome, French. Oil, 1873
'Angelica' by Charles Gleyre, Swiss. Watercolor, 1834.
'Arab Girl' by Louis-Joseph Anthonissen
'Arms Dealers' by Giulio Rosati, Italian. Watercolor

'Bashi-Bazouk Chieftain' by Jean-Leon Gerome, French. Oil, 1881.
'Bashi-Bazouks singing' by Jean-Leon Gerome, French. Oil, 1868
orientalist art
'Berber Woman' by Emile Vernet-Lecomte, French. Oil, 1870
'Bride arriving in a village, Biskra, Algeria' by Philippe Pavy, French. Oil, 1889
'Buffaloes bathing in the Nile' by Leon Belly, French. Oil, 1861
'Egyptian girl with a butterfly' by Leopold Carl Muller, Viennese. Oil, 1885
Fumee d'Ambre Gris' by John Singer Sargent, American. Oil, 1880
'Girls dancing and Singing' by Etienne Dinet, French. Oil, 1902

Monday, March 11, 2013

The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music - OML BOX 3.85

The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music - OML BOX 3.85 

-= [IMPORTANT] =-

Turn On Annotations
Turn on PlaylistBOX (Transcript) on the right of the [Add to] icon
Proton Annotations Browser For Mobile:









00:00:00 1. R. Strauss / Also Sprach Zarathus...
00:01:37 2. Mahler / Symphony No. 5 - Adagiet...
00:11:26 3. Sibelius / Finlandia...
00:20:30 4. Rimsky-Korsakov / Dance Of The Bu...
00:22:20 5. Massenet / Meditation, From 'Thai...
00:27:30 6. Elgar / Pomp And Circumstance - M...
00:33:41 7. Dvorak / Humoresque...
00:37:04 8. Sibelius / Valse Triste...
00:41:52 9. J. Strauss II / Vienna Blood - Wa...
00:51:24 10. Ravel / Bolero...
01:06:51 11. Tchaikovsky / Polonaise, From 'E...
01:11:39 12. Dvorak / Symphony No. 9, 'From T...
01:24:26 13. Tchaikovsky / Waltz Of The Flowe...
01:31:08 14. Rimsky-Korsakov / Alborado, From...
01:32:32 15. Grieg / The Last Spring...
01:38:40 16. Dvorak / Slavonic Dance No. 2...
01:44:11 17. Tchaikovsky / The Sleeping Beaut...
01:47:00 18. Wagner / Siegfried's Death And F...
01:54:00 19. Dvorak / Songs My Mother Taught ...
01:56:18 20. J. Strauss II / Emperor Waltz...
02:08:10 21. Tchaikovsky / Piano Concerto No....
02:17:10 22. Brahms / Cradle Song...
02:19:00 23. Smetana / The Moldau...
02:31:59 24. Wagner / Ride Of The Valkyries; ...
02:37:25 25. Grieg / Morning, From 'Peer Gynt...
02:41:00 26. Bizet / Les Toreadors, From 'Car...
02:43:19 27. Delibes / Notturno, From 'Coppel...
02:45:49 28. Tchaikovsky / Marche Slave, Op. ...
02:55:40 29. Bizet / L'arlesienne - Intermezz...
02:59:48 30. J. Strauss II / The Blue Danube ...
03:10:41 31. Offenbach / Orpheus In The Under...
03:20:15 32. Rubinstein / Melody In F...
03:23:27 33. Liszt / Les Preludes...
03:39:57 34. Brahms / Waltz...
03:42:24 35. Verdi / The Force Of Destiny-Ove...
03:50:33 36. Grieg / I Love You...
03:52:07 37. Smetna / The Bartered Bride - Ov...
03:58:45 38. Offenbach / Barcarolle, From 'Th...
04:02:19 39. J. Strauss II / Tritsch Tratsch ...
04:05:02 40. Suppe / Light Cavalry-Overture...
04:11:50 41. Mendelssohn / Wedding March, Fro...
04:16:51 42. Liszt / Liebestraum No.3 In A Fl...
04:21:08 43. Verdi / Nabucco - Overture...
04:29:01 44. Schumann / The Merry Peasant...
04:29:55 45. Liszt / Hungarian Rhapsody No.2...
04:40:15 46. Wagner / Lohengin - Prelude To A...
04:43:27 47. Verdi / La Traviata - Prelude To...
04:47:14 48. Wagner / Tannhauser - Arrival Of...
04:53:51 49. Mendelssohn / Violin Concerto In...
05:02:07 50. Suppe / Poet And Peasant - Overt...
05:12:04 51. Rossini / The Barber Of Seville ...
05:19:51 52. Schubert / Symphony No.8 In B Mi...
05:30:17 53. Mendelssohn / 1841 Mendelssohn -...
05:33:03 54. Chopin / Polonaise In A, Op.40 N...
05:38:19 55. Schubert / Ballet Music In G, Fr...
05:44:55 56. Weber / Der Freischutz - Overtur...
05:55:03 57. Schubert / Ave Maria...
05:59:55 58. Mendelssohn / Symphony No.4 In A...
06:08:16 59. Schumann / Traumerei...
06:11:26 60. Schubert / German Dance No.1...
06:15:14 61. Mozart / Symphony No. 40, 1St Mo...
06:22:53 62. Beethoven / 'Moonlight' Sonata, ...
06:28:20 63. Haydn / Symphony No. 94, 'Surpri...
06:34:54 64. Mozart / The Magic Flute - Overt...
06:42:08 65. Beethoven / Fur Elise...
06:45:01 66. Haydn / Emporor's Hymn, From Str...
06:52:18 67. Beethoven / Symphony No. 5, 1St ...
06:59:37 68. Mozart / Clarinet Concerto In A,...
07:06:40 69. Beethoven / Minuet In G...
07:09:15 70. Haydn / Trumpet Concerto In E Fl...
07:14:20 71. Mozart / Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,...
07:20:05 72. Mozart / Piano Concerto No. 21 I...
07:25:44 73. Mozart / The Marriage Of Figaro ...
07:30:04 74. Mozart / Flute Concerto No. 2 In...
07:35:33 75. Mozart / Rondo Alla Turca, From ...
07:39:15 76. Mozart / Don Giovanni - Overture...
07:45:26 77. Mozart / Horn Concerto No. 3 In ...
07:49:50 78. Mozart / Piano Concerto No. 23 I...
08:00:41 79. Mozart / The Marriage Of Figaro ...
08:02:49 80. Mozart / Serenata Notturna...
08:15:59 81. Handel / 'Hallelujah' (From 'Mes...
08:19:52 82. Gluck / Dance Of The Blessed Spi...
08:27:19 83. Bach / Sinfonia In G (From 'Chri...
08:32:54 84. Mozart / Violin Concerto No. 3 I...
08:42:26 85. Handel / Largo (From 'Xerxes')...
08:45:33 86. Vivaldi / Flute Concerto In G Mi...
08:47:35 87. Handel / Arrival Of The Queen Of...
08:50:53 88. Bach / Oboe Concerto In D Minor,...
08:54:00 89. Handel / Concerto Grosso In A Mi...
09:04:53 90. Mozart / Violin Concerto No. 5 I...
09:14:54 91. Bach / Toccata In D Minor...
09:17:41 92. Pachelbel / Canon In D...
09:22:06 93. Bach / Brandenburg Concerto No. ...
09:27:40 94. Handel / Water Music, Suite No. ...
09:37:21 95. Purcell / Trumpet Tune And Air...
09:40:18 96. Bach / Air (From Orchestral Suit...
09:44:50 97. Vivaldi / The Four Seasons - Spr...
09:55:20 98. Albinoni / Adagio...
10:05:12 99. Vivaldi / Mandoline Concerto In ...
10:12:55 100. Bach / Minuet And Badinerie (Fr...

Saturday, March 9, 2013

The Composer of Desafinado, Plays

The Composer of Desafinado, Plays 


The Composer of Desafinado, Plays is the debut album by Antonio Carlos Jobim, released in 1963.


In his first American album, Antonio Carlos Jobim presents a dozen of his songs, each one destined to become a standard -- an astounding batting average. Jobim, who claimed to have been out of practice at the time of the session, merely plays single notes on the piano with one hand, punctuated by chords now and then, sticking to his long, undulating melodies with a few passages of jazz improvisation now and then. Yet it is a lovely idea, not a gesture is wasted.

Arranger Claus Ogerman unveils many of the trademarks that would define his Creed Taylor-produced albums with Jobim-- the soaring, dying solo flute and spare, brooding unison string lines widening into lush harmony; flutes doubling on top of Jobim's piano chords -- again with an exquisitely spare touch. 

The songs include "Desafinado," "Corcovado," "Chega de Saudade" (No More Blues), "The Girl From Ipanema," "Meditation," "One Note Samba," and half-a-dozen others (every one of which is included on The Man From Ipanema set).





The first three tracks from side 1 of the original LP issued on the Verve label in 1963. Jobim plays guitar and piano in these tracks.

The Girl From Ipanema
(0:01)

Amor em Paz (marked as "O Morro" on the label)
(2:39)

Agua de Beber
(6:10)




Friday, March 8, 2013

Lunar Double Rainbow!




Lunar Double Rainbow!


An astounding natural phenomenon that you have probably never seen before:  a double lunar rainbow, or moonbow, arcs over the Pacific Ocean in this photograph by Dr. Dale Cruikshank. This amazing panorama was taken from Kaanapali, Maui at 9:30 PM on Feb. 26, 2013.

Rainbows form when water droplets refract sunlight into its component colors. The same principle applies to lunar rainbows , but instead of using direct sunlight, moonbows form when reflected sunlight from the moon is refracted by atmospheric moisture.
A moonbow is also known as a lunar rainbow, white rainbow, lunar bow, or space rainbow.

Moonbows are relatively faint, due to the smaller amount of light reflected from the surface of the moon. They are always in the opposite part of the sky from the moon.

Because the light is usually too faint to excite the cone color receptors in human eyes, it is difficult for the human eye to discern colors in a moonbow. As a result, they often appear to be white. However, the colors in a moonbow do appear in long exposure photographs.









Source:

NASA/Dale Cruikshank
Soderman/NLSI Staff
lunarscience.nasa.gov