1. Ah, "The Onion." This piece gave us a good chuckle this week: Composer Surrounded By Discarded Sheet Music Suddenly Perks Up At Sound Of Rhythm Of The City
2. And one more thing that made us laugh:
— atrophy wife 🎀 (@zuza_real) October 18, 2021
3. Some say it looks like the Terminator. Others say it belongs in a Star Wars theme park. This new statue of legendary soprano Maria Callas is turning heads — but not necessarily for the right reasons. What do you think?
4. Have you heard Beethoven's "Eyeglass" Duo, the piece where he noted "Mit zwei obligaten Augenglasern" (With two obbligato eyeglasses) at the top of the score to poke fun at his friends who would be playing it? Musicians Umberto Clerici and Sandro Costantino from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra make it even cooler:
4. Actor Alan Alda, best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H, hosted conductor Marin Alsop on a recent episode of his podcast "Clear+Vivid." (This one comes personally recommended from our own Chris Voss — give it a listen here!)
5. Conductor Eun Sun Kim, the San Francisco Opera's new music director, says her favorite music to listen to in her downtime is... nothing: “When I’m at home, I don’t want to listen to music. Because then I immediately start working." As writer Joshua Kosman found out, she might be on to something. Why the sound of silence can be so relaxing, in a piece from the San Francisco Chronicle's "Datebook."
6. We've all known babies who cry and cry until you play them a specific song. But it is a rare baby whose favorite song is La Campanella by Franz Liszt:
