Saturday, November 28, 2009

There are Not Many Places to Buy the new Kurt Oppens: An Aspen Legacy Book, but We've Got it Because of Our Event This Monday

Being that one thing I haven't done a good job with yet is getting our web site fulfillment in order, it's a bit surprising that we just took a phone order for the new book, Kurt Oppens: An Aspen Legacy from New Mexico, edited by Nancy G. Thomas and Jane Vial Jaffe.

But the caller told us the book is very hard to find. In fact, based the web searches that come up, you'd think we're the only store in the country promoting it.

This is all do to Steve Basson, retired principal bassoonist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He came to me and asked if we'd put together an event, with him talking about this wonderful new book about Oppens, inspiration for classical musicians and fans alike.

These are some of the smartest essays on classical music you'll read. The writing is (to quote the editors) "Learned, for sure, but unstuffy--at times deeply serious and challenging or wryly humorous and disarming. His notes are rich with metaphor, as when he refers to the 'newness' of Mozart and Beethoven as 'the eighth day of Creation' or speculates that the muse at Brahm's cradle 'must have sung to him in sonata form.'"

We're doing our best to build up a program that celebrates the performing arts, whether with our Florentine Opera previews, our talk with Norman Gilliland for Scores to Settle, or our tango concert last summer.

This should be a very interesting event. Or call us for a copy at (414) 332-1181. You're not likely to find a copy in too many other places.

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