Jay Harvey Upstage

The Wall Back in the campaign Trump could always raise a cheer When he said he would keep Mexicans from coming over here; Most undocumented now are visa overstays Not illegal border crossings like in the wetback days. But you’ll be so glad we made it, so glad we made that wall! You gotta give him some money, give him lots of money ‘Cause they won’t pay. He said it would be beautiful and cost a pretty penny He said he’d take their pesos, but they ain’t giving any; The wall’s a high priority, so what can he do But make the nation great again and send the bill to you? You’ll be so glad we made it, so glad we made it. You gotta give him some money, give him lots of money, ‘Cause they won’t pay. He wants to go to Congress and get ’em all on board Take one or two Corinthians to help him praise the Lord; Compassionate as hell, he’ll remind the DACA gang That bell in Philadelphia broke the first time it rang. But you’ll be so glad we made it, so glad we made that wall! You gotta give h...

Wolfgang Amadè Mozart's 262nd birthday provided the marketing oomph for the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra' s concert Saturday night at Butler University's Schrott Center, but the present-day collaboration with Sean Chen, 2013 Classical Fellow of the American Pianists Association, claimed equal prominence. Sean Chen shone in Shostakovich. The latter took the form of Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 35, a perky composition that showed off Chen's facility and rhythmic acumen. The theatrical spirit of the first and fourth movements hark back to the young composer's jobbing in movie theaters during the silent era. The flair of such accompaniments is underlined by the demanding role for solo trumpet. Chen's solo partner was John Rommel, longtime member of the Jacobs School of Music faculty at Indiana University. The trumpeter's outer-movement brilliance grabbed most of the attention, but the muted lyricism of the slow movement also drew exce...

Music full of allusions and references to the real world makes up this weekend's Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concerts. Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony — the closest he wrote at considerable length to "program music" — is the concert companion to Mahler's Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn , with the excellent guest soloists Thomas Hampson and Kelley O'Connor. The notion that what's sometimes known as absolute music (the opposite of program music) is vague Thomas Hampson brought his well-schooled baritone. in comparison was dispatched by Felix Mendelssohn long ago, when he declared that, on the contrary, music is characteristically better and more specific than words for expressing feelings. About his Symphony No. 6 in F major, Beethoven took pains to anticipate this viewpoint in suggesting that "people will not require titles to recognize the general intention to be more a matter of feeling than of painting in sounds." Krzy...

Land of a Thousand Chances (one two three, it’s on the GOP) The shutdown? Trump should own it Paul Ryan can’t condone it Mitch says, See you later! He’s a turtle-alligator. They’re on an ego trip: Did Dems’ backbone slip? Have you heard the rumor? Someone gamed Chuck Schumer. Oh-Oh Hey! Na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na na-na-na-na Say it one time (Repeat) Whoa! We’re gonna shake the caucus It may get kind of raucous Got to protect the dreamers From Republican schemers! If they want another shutdown We’ll bring it to that nut clown: As for McConnell’s promise, We’re a righteous doubting Thomas. Wow: Hmm. We’re not feelin’ all right You know we’re still ready to fight! Na-na-na-na How to get Congress back If we can’t sustain attack? How much to compromise To stay strong in voters’ eyes? Let’s get down to work Let’s dance, not twerk: Let’s defend DACA In the spirit of Barack-uh!

The Royal Philharmonic made its second visit to the Palladium Sunday. One of the most colorful figures in 20th-century British music founded the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1946, and an international star of similar celebrity to Sir Thomas Beecham is its 21st-century principal guest conductor. Pinchas Zukerman was center stage, on and off the podium, for the RPO's concert Sunday evening at the Palladium. The Israeli musician, long identified as a major concert violinist and violist, has followed the path of many aging instrumentalists adding to their reputations by picking up the baton. (A younger fiddler of special interest hereabouts, Joshua Bell, has twice appeared at the Center for the Performing Arts with split responsibilities in front of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.) This is t he second time Zukerman and the RPO have visited Carmel. The program had the same concentration on the Austro-German mainstream in 2014. I cited Zukerman's "pearly ton...

MONK'estra maestro John Beasley I found several of the band's videos on YouTube a thrilling indication of what I would be likely to hear in its Carmel appearance, so my anticipation ran high at the outset of MONK'estra 's concert Saturday night at the Palladium . In many respects, I was rewarded with more opportunity to delve into the cleverness and surprise threaded through Thelonious Monk compositions in bandleader John Beasley's arrangements. But I came away wondering if the personnel changes that are a necessary evil in this kind of project —  where participants tend to have so many other professional obligations — were responsible for a certain lack of focus. Thankfully, however, my impression was confirmed that MONK'estra does not fall into the "tribute band" box. That has to be stated up front. Nor do its surface and in-depth pleasures seem to depend on the kind of tribute programming that has generated so many recordings in recent years...