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Posts published by “David Yearsley”

Who Needs a Conductor?

One of the longest seconds I ever lived through came just before the beginning the Dies irae from Mozart’s Requiem. The members of the Stanford Chorus crowded onto the risers at the back of the…

Handel Makes War

Yesterday began for me before dawn when I awoke, went downstairs and watched footage of the night sky above Kyiv lit up with the bursts of artillery fire.  Looking out through the kitchen window, I…

People in White Houses Shouldn’t Throw Roger Stones

A grizzled veteran hobbled by bad knees and addled in the head lies on the trainer’s table in the locker room while the Big Game rages out on the field of a state-of-the-art stadium packed…

Danube Blues

On the one-year anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol many were the dire assessments of the state of the American republic. Nor were watchdogs of democracy cheered by the situation across the Atlantic.…

Encanto’s Chart-Topping Enchantments

Beginning with Disney’s first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of 1937, the Mouse House’s message has always been about family. That laser beam focus makes for heartwarming storytelling but, more importantly,…

Listening Up To ‘Don’t Look Up!’

At well over two hours running time, Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up (streaming on Netflix) isn’t exactly a bagatelle, but it mostly retains its satiric lightness and goes by quickly. A holiday film about the…

Wynton Marsalis Comes Down to Earth

Wynton Marsalis is a one-man American Institution, a legally incorporated entity of vast reach, unflagging energy, and the rarest talents. He is Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Director of Jazz…

The Musical Mission of Barry Harris

Covid claimed the jazz legend Barry Harris last week. The pianist died in a hospital across the Hudson River from Manhattan in North Bergen, New Jersey on December 8th, a week before his ninety-second birthday.…

Camping with Campion

Jane Campion’s Power of the Dog, now out on NetFlix, recognizes no borders. It’s a Western that crosses the frontiers of geography, genre, and gender with unapologetic, well-funded ease. Set in 1920s Montana, the film…

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