I have long been searching for the "perfect" performance of J.S. Bach's SONATAS & PARTITAS for violin solo. They are absolutely gorgeous pieces of music and, for some reason, there is not really a first class, definitive recording of them. Certainly the first that I owned with Jascha Heifetz was not to my liking: the sound was muddy which made the famous violinist appear to have no technique whatsoever. The sound is alot better on the set played by Itzhak Perlman and until I heard this new recording with Rachel Podger, the Perlman was my recording of choice.

Podger's name is brand new to me; I had not heard of her until I read some of her reviews in a few British classical music magazines. They raved about her flawless technique and sweet sound. I bought both volumes of the SONATAS AND PARTITAS and they are, indeed, very special. Firstly, Podger plays on a baroque violin made in Genoa in 1739. The sound is really quite different from what we are used to in a concert hall or in recordings. I'll leave the precise description to other, better qualified listeners/reviewers, but to my ears it is a beautiful, full, rich sound made crystal clear in the recording by Channel Classics.

The music, of course, is spirited and emotional, riviting, calming, joyful and contemplative. It is Bach at his purest. And this is a recording to treasure. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Through my own fear and ignorance, I had never really found out much about what depression really is and, like most people, I confused simply being "blue" with being depressed. You have a bad day at the office or the plant, you have a prickly run-in with a neighbor and when a friend asks how you are, you answer "Oh, I'm so depressed!"

In Andrew Solomon's wise and beautifully written self-described "atlas" he explains immediately and interestingly and clearly exactly what depression is and what it is not. The author never shrinks from using himself as his main subject telling personal stories from his own struggles, his successes and his falls. But he also uses scientific and cultural examples to place this illness in its perspective. Other sufferers are interviewed as are doctors and, even philosophers.

To be honest, I came to this work of non-fiction because I so loved Solomon's novel A STONE BOAT which covers some of the material in this book. Solomon is an extraordinary writer.

I hesitate to give too many specific examples that are covered in the book, because, frankly, I believe many people will say to themselves, "Oh, that sounds like such a downer...I don't need to read such a SAD book." Well, here's the shocker: THE NOONDAY DEMON is so completely fascinating, so well-written and so intelligent that it is, in Adam Gopnik's ("The New Yorker") words, "charming, lively...never the least bit depressing." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

P.D.James and Ruth Rendall are, for my money, the finest writers of crime novels working today. I happen to simply ENJOY James' work more and DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS is one of her best. in fact, I'd say it was my favorite, along with her superb INNOCENT BLOOD.

The setting and atmosphere are familiar, almost stereotypically so: a quiet, wind-swept monastery/theological college high on deserted, bleak cliffs outside of a small, British town (East Anglia). Add to that some dark, stormy nights, rough ocean waters, a lonely, windy beach and, of course, a grisly murder. Read a few chapters before another murder, even more grisly and violent, is committed. Enter Commander Adam Dalgliesh, James' seemingly emotionless investigator/detective.

But it is not just the plot and setting that make a P.D. James novel special. It is her characters which are always well drawn and in this novel that's saying alot because there are so many of them and each an individual creation with good and bad traits, human beings all...and all suspects: Several priests, one of whom is an ex-felon; the gentle man who works as handyman to the priests and his sister with whom he has a "more than affectionate" relationship; a few professors who teach the young ordinands and a visiting lecturer, et. al.

DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS is a fascinating read from the first page when an already closed murder case is re-opened and investigated to the very fulfilling conclusion which hints at the possibility of a brighter future for Dalgliesh. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

THE MARRIED MAN is not only a tribute to Edmund White's lover who died of AIDS. It is also and, perhaps more importantly, a novel of real love and loss and, interestingly enough, in these times of great tragedy and uncertainty in our country and in the world, it is a novel which teaches us that each day must be lived fully.

A simple plot: a single, lonely, gay American living in Paris meets and falls in love with another lonely, gay man. To complicate things, the lover is married, nearly half the American's age and claims to be bisexual. The men flee Paris when the American gets a teaching job in Providence, Rhode Island, and from there they run to Key West, Montreal, Venice and Morocco, in search of anything which could prolong their romance and, indeed, the married man's life.

As usual with White, the writing is exquisite. THE MARRIED MAN is right there on a par with the best of his books which are, to my mind, the AIDS memoir/novel THE FAREWELL SYMPHONY and the wonderful short stories collected in SKINNED ALIVE. THE MARRIED MAN is heartbreaking and tragic and it is also, at times, very, very funny, almost, indeed, a comedy of gay manners. It is also at its core a tremendously moving, honest, human love story about two courageous men. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Terry Johnson is one of the finest playwrights working today. If he is not as well known in the USA as he is in his native England, it is just that his plays have not travelled to Broadway where, I believe, they would be instant "new classics."

DEAD FUNNY is a brilliant dissection of two rotting marriages, friends who come together in the fan club they've created for the British "low" comedians who create laughter by pretending to be silly, sex-starved clowns. Perhaps the American equivalent would be Rodney Dangerfield, Lou Costello, Red Skelton or today's Adam Sandler...not the brainy, quick-witted stand-ups like Seinfeld or Joy Behar.

It's a memorial service for Benny Hill which provides the setting for DEAD FUNNY. The hosts, Eleanor and Richard, a 30-something husband and wife who have long ago substituted excoriating wit for affection and their friends, Lisa and Nick, who seemingly have a happy, fulfilled family life, joined by their older, buffoonish friend, Brian for an evening of fun and games.

This is a terribly funny, sad, bitter, hysterical, shocking play which deserves as big an audience in this country as it had in London during its long and very successful run. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I usually will not add my review if a CD or book or video has already lots of reviews. I mean: what is left to say?

I felt, however, after reading about 20 reviews of Diana Krall's new THE LOOK OF LOVE that I wanted to write what is obviously a minority point of view. I LOVED this album. It reminded me of the Frank Sinatra "theme" albums like "Only The Lonely" where all the songs on the disc were of one mood. Here is Krall singing one gorgeous love song after another, accompanying herself, as always, on the piano with a small jazz combo and backed by a studio orchestra and the London Symphony. The orchestrations are lush, the sound on the CD is terrific and Krall is singing like I've never heard her sing. Every number is tops and done in Krall's signature throaty, sexy, husky style.

I especially enjoyed Schwartz and Dietz's "Dancing in the Dark" which is, in my opinion, one of the finest pop songs of all time and which cannot be allowed to be forgotten. Since the horrors of September 11, alot of songs with first rate lyrics take on all new meanings and here is a song which says, "We're waltzing in the wonder of why we're here/Time hurries by/We're here and gone."

This is a cuddle by the fireside with someone you love album. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Although I am very happy with the 4 cd set I own of Bing Crosby's songs over a period of 4 decades ("The Legendary Years")I glanced at the Crosby entries tonight on Amazon.com and there are 204 of them !! That makes perfect sense after you read Gary Giddens' superb, fascinating biography of Bing...a man who knew from the beginning of his career exactly what kind of star he could be. And, interestingly enough, he may have actually underestimated exactly how big a star he'd become.

204 entries which include everything from Broadway to gospel to country and western to Hawaiian to Christmas to nutty character stuff. Before I heard the cd's and read this book, I had ignorantly misjudged him: Bing was no ordinary crooner. He was a super jazz singer who also knew exactly the kind of pop music his audience wanted and knew exactly how to give it to them. He obviously loved singing and he was as adept at improvisation (in his movies, too) as he was a superb technician.

This is no kiss-and-tell bio. It is thoroughly researched with so much to tell that this volume ends in 1940 when World War 2 was just about to make Bing a bigger star than he already was.
We learn of his unhappy marriage and his fights to include minorities in all of his work. We learn of his battle with alcoholism and his generosity when a friend, a relative or actually strangers needed emotional or financial support, given many times anonymously.

All of the recording sessions are here and his radio performances and all of the movies too. We learn, most fascinatingly, how the characters he played on the radio and in movies were actually, more and more, created to BE Bing: Art imitating Life. That nonchalant, "lazy," ad-libbing, bon vivant WAS Bing...This was no character. This was the man, himself. Giddens has so much material that he promises a second volume. I can't wait. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !

Colin Davis is recognized as one of the finest, if not THE finest, conductor of Berlioz living today. His first recording of the complete LES TROYENS made history. Recorded in 1969 with a super cast that included Jon Vickers and Josephine Veasy, it was the benchmark for any new recordings.

Now over 30 years later, this recording of Berlioz' culminating achievement on the LSO Live label goes it one better: the opera, on four discs, is a long one and can seem tedious and repetative in the wrong hands. Davis is once again the conductor and, if anything, his interpretation has deepened. The cast in this December, 2000 live concert performance is headed by the heldentenor of our time, Ben Heppner. His strength and romantic sound are perfect for the hero, 'Aeneas.' I am not familiar with any of the other singers, including the sopranos Michelle DeYoung and Petra Lang who play 'Dido' and 'Cassandra' respectively, but every one in this huge cast is first rate.

The sound is perfect and the London Symphony and its chorus do this remarkable, rarely performed, very difficult work justice.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I hope that the people at Bloomsbury Press continue to employ wise and opinionated writers who can tell us about their favorite cities and the personal secrets to be found in them. This first, by Edmund White, is a winner.

White takes us into HIS Paris, a city he has lived in for many, many years. As an American, the city will naturally feel different to him than it might to a native. White's writing is, as always, graceful and beautiful. His assessment of Colette, his desription of "nationalism" among the Jews of Paris, and, certainly, his thoughts on Homosexuality and specifically HIV in this city are important and fascinating. I also especially enjoyed the short appendix on "further reading."

It surprised me that a few of the other reviewers were taken aback that White would spend so much of his time on gay Parisian life. This has always been a subject for White...in his novels, his memoirs and in his non-fiction works. Hire Julia Child to write about Paris and we're bound to get a book filled with thoughts on food. By the way, a "flaneur," we are told, is a person who walks, strolls for the purpose of walking or strolling...not with any "ulterior" motive. RECOMMENDED

When I reviewed Christine Conrad's book on Jerome Robbins ("Jerome Robbins: That Broadway Man, That Ballet Man") I wrote that the book on Robbins had yet to appear. Well, that book is here.

Greg Lawrence's fascinating DANCE WITH DEMONS is so painstakingly researched and so fair-minded, so interestingly written that it speeds along as if it were a novel, that it will, I believe, in years to come, be regarded as a very important document of life in the Theatre and the Ballet from the 1930's to the 1990's.

None of Robbins' "psychological problems" are glossed over and none of his matchless successes as a classical choreographer and as a director and choreographer of Broadway mega-hits is given short shrift.

Any reader with an interest in life in the New York City Ballet, under George Balanchine and then under Peter Martins, or in the Golden Age of Broadway's Musical Comedies, can afford to miss this book. Years and years of research obviously went into its writing. Just a very few examples of people quoted at length about Robbins, the artist, are his collaborators on WEST SIDE STORY (Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince), his collaborator and boss on THE KING AND I (Oscar Hammerstein,2), his dancers on Broadway (Yuriko, Robert La Fosse, Charlotte D'Amboise, Grover Dale, et al) and his dancers in the ballet world (Peter Martins, Suzanne Farrell, Bart Cook, Violette Verdy, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, et al). We also get to read what the critics said about the various works when they premiered.

What makes the book terrific reading is that time and time again, through the years, we read of no one who has anything negative to say about Robbins, the artist. And yet, over and over we read of peers being crushed, other artists being "named" in the HUAC hearings, friends and lovers being used and abused.
Demons, indeed.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.