Vivien Noakes 1937 - 2011) - biographer of Edward Lear

I was very sorry to learn of the death of Vivien Noakes, the leading expert on the life and works of Edward Lear, king of nonsense and the limerick.
She wrote his definitive biography and curated the 1985 Lear exhibition at the Royal Academy.
There is a very good obituary in the Guardian.

Some years ago I started an Edward Lear website www.edward-lear.com which I have neglected. I really must get back to it.

Great Composer Anniversaries for March

March Great Classical Composer Anniversaries

?/03/1706 Pachelbel died 1/03/1810 Chopin born 2/03/1824 Smetana born 4/03/1678 Vivaldi born 5/03/1953 Prokofiev died 6/03/1932 Sousa died 7/03/1875 Ravel born 8/03/1566 Gesualdo born 8/03/1803 Berlioz died 8/03/ 1983 Walton died 16/03/1736 Pergolesi died 18/03/1844 Rimsky-Korsakov born 21/03/1685 J S Bach born 21/03/1839 Mussorgsky born 22/03/1687 Lully born 25/03/1881 Bartok born 25/03/1918 Debussy died 26/03/1827 Beethoven died 28/03/1881 Mussorgsky died 28/03/1943 Rachmaninoff died 29/03/1902 Walton born 31/03/1732 Haydn born

Leoncavallo - 1895 item

I found this old photo of Leoncavallo in an old copy of the weekly magazine 'Photos- The Popular Album' dated August 17 1895.
It is accompanied by an amusing text comparing him with Mascagni.

Gallery Rage

This month I went to the huge Gauguin exhibition at Tate Modern and last week I went to the Cezanne's Card Players exhibition at the Courtauld Galleries in Somerset House. Both exhibitions close this weekend so I am glad I managed to see them - very worthwhile seeing.
But what a difference in terms of gallery 'experience'. The Gauguin was a true 'blockbuster' with over 120 of his works. It has been the Tate's most successful exhibition ever as far as visitors is concerned. And that is the problem - too many visitors turn it into a frustrating experience. Exhausting.
In contrast the Cezanne exhibition was a delight. Not  crowded, plenty of benches where you can sit and enjoy the works. Not too big an exhibition. No pressure to move on to the next picture. Inspiring.
Interestingly the Observer had an article on just this topic this morning:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jan/16/gauguin-tate-modern-crowds?

If you missed the exhibitions in London you will be able to see the Gauguin exhibition in Washington DC from February to June and the Cezanne Card Players will be at the Met in New York also from February.

Vivian Maier - the discovery of a wonderful street photographer

I just came across the amazing story of Vivian Maier - nanny and extraordinary amateur street photographer.
In 2007 a Chicago estate agent, John Maloof, went to a furniture and antiques  auction and bought some boxes full of old photos, negatives and rolls of film. This sparked in him an interest in photography and the more he studied it the more he realised how good these photos were. He  managed to buy the rest of the boxes that were at the auction and now has over 100,000 images.
He did some research to find out who the mystery photographer was and found it was a French nanny who lived in Chicago and New York in the fifties and sixties.
Her photos are great. You can see some and read her story on the blog/website at
vivianmaier.com . Watch the Chicago Tonight video you will find there
Other interesting sites/articles:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/little-miss-big-shot-fifties-america-exposed-ndash-by-a-french-nanny-1811040.html (click on the 'more photos' link under the photo for a slideshow)

http://www.kitchensisters.org/girlstories/the-lost-found-photographs-of-vivian-maier/

A feature length documentary 'Finding Vivian Maier' is planned for 2012 more info at Kickstarter

January Classical Composer Anniversaries

January Great Classical Composer Anniversaries

1/1/1782 J C Bach died 2/1/1837 Balakirev born 2/1/1905 M Tippett born 4/1/1710 Pergolesi born 6/1/1838 Max Bruch born 7/1/1899 Poulenc born 8/1/1713 Corelli died 8/1/1990 M Tippett died 11/1/1801 Cimarosa died 16/1/1886 Ponchielli died 16/1/1891 Delibes died 17/1/1751 Albinoni died 18/1/1835 Cesar Cui born 23/1/1981 S.Barber died 27/1/1756 Mozart born 27/1/1813Verdi died 29/1/1862 Delius born 30/1/1963 Poulenc died 31/1/1797 Schubert born

2011 Composer Anniversaries

There are only two major annniversaries in 2011:
Mahler centenary of his death on May 11 1911
Liszt 200th anniversary of his birth on October 22 1811