Goines On: Poised for the day

Click image for more vignettes

Goines was in the home stretch of his reading of Julian Barnes’ book about Dr. Samuel Pozzi and France’s Belle Époque (1871 – 1914). The doctor has died (of gunshots fired by a disgruntled patient), and his measure is being taken by many, including his friend the French aesthete Count Robert de Montesquiou. Barnes introduces the Count’s measure by saying:

Second Monday Music: A terrible temperament

By Chuck Smythe

Many years ago, I attended a seminar by Owen Jorgensen, a famous piano tuner. He discussed historical musical temperaments, the system of spacings between the notes of a musical scale. He performed on four large Bösendorfers, each tuned to a different temperament. The seminar was held in the showroom of Chris Finger Pianos, a very high end dealer—the only way such a collection of instruments could be found in a single room!