Category Archives: Melodies Linger On

Appreciation of some great works (of music) that have particular personal resonance

I Take the Colbert Questionert

Posted on August 5, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Now that the Cowardly Broadcasting Service has caved to economic AKA political pressures and cancelled the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the chances of me ever taking the Colbert Questionert on the air are close to nil (they never were … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Cinema Scope, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged 42, action movie, Andy Serkis, apple, bagel, Beatles, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, carbonation, Catherine Gayer, Cats, Coffee, Colbert, concert, dogs, Doris Day, Great White Shark, Hey Jude, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, Jennifer Lawrence, Joachim Phoenix, John Stewart, Kate Winslet, Keanu Reeves, Lady Gaga, Late Show, life, Lord of the Rings, Mad Max: Fury Road, Matt Damon, Michelle Obama, music, nausea, Nicole Kidman, Orange, Owen Wilson, Prince Harry, Questionert, Return of the King, Ryan Gosling, sandwich, smell, Sting, Supertramp, Vanilla, Will Ferrell | 1 Comment

“LOVED” Performed on Dozens of Xylophones in the Botanic Garden

Posted on April 11, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Video of the complete performance in the Cherry Esplanade section of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden March 22.

Posted in Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged botanic, brooklyn, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Cherry Esplanade, concert, Ed Elder, Garden, Loved, Mantra, Michael Gordon, open air, Percussion, Xylophone | Leave a comment

Is FIDELIO the Original HONEYPOT?

Posted on March 9, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

The Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center Friday night Ed and I attended the Met Opera performance of Beethoven’s one and only opera “Fidelio”, and it was glorious. I generally don’t cry at operas, but I did so twice this time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Live! On Stage, Melodies Linger On | Tagged Beethoven, Bond Girl, Ezio Pinza, Fidelio, Honeypot, Jacquino, James Bond, Leonore, Lincoln Center, Lise Davidson, Marzelline, Met, movies, Ode to Joy, Opera, pants role, photography, political prisoner, prison, Prufomo, René Pape, Rocco, secret agent, Spy, television, The Americans, Willy Brandt, Ying Fang | Leave a comment

LIGHTSCAPE #4

Posted on December 5, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Another Year of the BBG’s Fabulous Light Show The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is in its fourth year of what appears to be an ongoing annual holiday tradition: Lightscape. Every year multiple artists create extravagant lightfilled sculptures and lightshows within and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged art, BBG, brooklyn, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Butterfly Effect, Cathedral, Fountain, Garden, Halo, Lantern, light, Lightscape, Love, Moulin Rouge, music, Neon, Network, Rainbow, reflections, sculpture, Singularity, videos, winter | Leave a comment

CYNDI LAUPER in MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Posted on November 3, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Pics and Clips from Her Farewell Tour Concert 1986 I attended Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors tour Madison Square Garden performance. Almost 40 years later she (and I) returned to MSG for the Girls Just Want to Have Fun Farewell Tour … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Live! On Stage, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged abortion, Andrew Garfield, Billy Joel, concert, Cyndi Lauper, Elle King, Farewell, Harry Styles, I'm Gonna Be Strong, Madison Square Garden, music, news, pop culture, Rock, Sam Smith, She Bop, Sisters of Avalon, Time After Time, tour, True Colors | Leave a comment

At the Aquarium

Posted on September 19, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

An Underwater Exploration with Musical Accompaniment The other day Ed and I went to Coney Island in the south of Brooklyn, and spent many hours enjoying the wonders of the aquarium. Underwater worlds from coral reefs to canyon gorges, multitudes … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged Aquarium, coral reef, Cowfish, Debussy, fish, garbage, Grunt, jelly fish, La Mer, Octopus, otter, penguin, Phish, photography, Piranha, Saint-Saëns, sculpture, Sea Ray, seals, shark, Tang, The Beatles, The Little Mermaid, Under the Sea | Leave a comment

Ruin a Band Name By Changing One Letter

Posted on June 23, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

The Polite The Boors The Cute The Rolling Scones The Beach Bots Supercramp Tears for Pears Thompson Twigs Stye Piss Van Haven The Why Yet The Why W2 Sample songs: Excuse Me For Standing So Close To You (The Polite) … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Lyricism, Melodies Linger On | Tagged Kiss, rock band, Styx, Supertramp, Tears for Fears, The Beach Boys, The Cure, The Doors, The Police, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Thompson Twins, U2, Van Halen, Yes | Leave a comment

CANNES IMPRESSIONS – Part 1

Posted on May 23, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

I spent 10 days in Cannes, attending the famous film festival on the Croisette. It’s my first Cannes. This will be the first in a series of blog posts of Cannes impressions, of the festival, the movies, the town. Below … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Scope, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News, Poe Musicabres, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged Aquarium, beach, Cannes, Carnival of the Animals, Cinema de la Plage, Darwin Reina, Film Festival, Furiosa, Grand Lumière, Marché du Film, Microsoft, movies, Nicolas Cage, Palais, pavilion, premieres, red carpet, Saint-Saëns, selfie, The Surfer | Leave a comment

R.I.P. Aribert Reimann

Posted on March 24, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Aribert Reimann with my mother, Catherine Gayer, at rehearsal in 1971 Two Thursdays ago my mother called me from Berlin. Normally we talk on Sundays, so I was curious what occasioned this call. “Aribert Reimann has died”, she told me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged 6 Poems by Sylvia Plath, Aribert Reimann, Berlin, Catherine Ashkenasi, Catherine Gayer, coloratura, contemporary, homosexual, King Lear, Martha Mödl, Melusine, music, New York Times, Obituary, Opera, recital, Sylvia Plath, The Guardian | Leave a comment

LIGHTSCAPE 2023

Posted on December 2, 2023 by dannyashkenasi

This year’s LIGHTSCAPE at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the most spectacular and elegant to date.

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged 2023, botanic garden, brooklyn, Cathedral, chandeliers, Color, Elton John, Flower Duet, Fountain, hip-hop, Lakme, lanterns, light, Lightscape, Rocket Man, sculpture, singing, Snow on the Beach, submergence, Supernova, Taylor Swift, trees, water, winter | Leave a comment

Catherine Gayer on the Radio

Posted on October 3, 2023 by dannyashkenasi

The German radio station Deutschlandfunk has posted a 55 minute program interviewing the opera soprano Catherine Gayer, and playing excerpts from her fantastic 60+ year career, highlighting her work with contemporary music. Listen to it here. Oh, Catherine Gayer just … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works, Live! On Stage, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged 20th Century, Albern Berg, Alberto Ginestera, Aribert Reimann, Arnold Schoenberg, Berlin, Catherine Gayer, Debussy, Deutsche Oper, Deutschlandfunk, Die Soldaten, Elegy for Young Lovers, Gershwin, Intolleranza, Isang Jun, Leonard Stein, Luigi Nono, music, Opera, perfect pitch, Ravel, Stravinsky, Sylvia Plath, Tadeusz Baird, Webern, Zimmermann | 2 Comments

Ruin 12 Operas with 1 Letter

Posted on July 10, 2023 by dannyashkenasi

La Triviata Famous beauty ruins her lungs while playing Trivial Pursuit. CARMEX The Habanera declares that “L’Ipgloss est un oiseau rebel” when beeswax falls for menthol who then runs away with camphor. The Magic Klute After surviving the Fire and … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Lyricism, Melodies Linger On | Tagged Benjamin Britten, Bitterballen, Carmen, carmex, Don Carlos, Einstein on the Beach, Jody Benecke, Kate Moss, Klute, La Traviata, Lohengrin, Norma, Opera, Porgy and Bess, Porky Pig, Ring Cycle, The Flying Dutchman, The Girl of the Golden West, The Magic Flute, The Turn of the Screw, Trivial Pursuit, Twilight of the Gods | Leave a comment

Rosenkavalier Remembrances and Ruminations

Posted on April 8, 2023 by dannyashkenasi

Childhood Anecdote and Queer Cornucopia Last Tuesday I attended “Der Rosenkavalier” for the first time. Or rather I attended all three acts of Richard Strauss’ opera “Der Rosenkavalier” for the first time. Family lore has it that I attended Act … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Melodies Linger On | Tagged Baron Ochs, Catherine Gayer, Cherubino, Der Rosenkavalier, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Engelbert Humperdinck, Erin Morley, Günther Groissböck, Hansel and Gretel, Hofmannsthal, Hosenpartie, Marschallin, Met, Octavian, Opera, Richard Strauss, Samantha Hankey, Sophie, soprano, Victor/Victoria | 1 Comment

P&P – Day 5 – The Pendulum Swings

Posted on July 28, 2022 by dannyashkenasi

Filming the Deadly Progress of the Pendulum The most famous image from Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story “The Pit and the Pendulum” is of the sword swinging back and forth, coming down ever closer over the hapless protagonist tied … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Scope, Melodies Linger On | Tagged bow, cello, Charlotte Purser, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Borriello, Jennifer Liu, Jimmy McCoy, Mariana Soares da Silva, music, musicabre, Pendulum, Production Design, second unit, The Pit and the Pendulum | Leave a comment

P&P at the OFFSHORE FILM FESTIVAL

Posted on July 13, 2022 by dannyashkenasi

“The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre” is playing as part of the Offshore Film Festival, enjoying its inaugural year in the tony vacation town of Montauk at the far eastern tip of Long Island. The festival runs today … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Scope, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged adaptation, art, classic, Edgar Allan Poe, Film Festival, horror, Inquisition, Lift-Off, Long Island, Montauk, musicabre, New York, Offshore, short film, short story, The Pit and the Pendulum, virtual | 2 Comments

HAPPY SONGS FOR DARK TIMES #4: The “HAPPY” Happy Songs

Posted on April 26, 2022 by dannyashkenasi

If I was hopeful that the dark times might brighten after the Orange Menace was evicted by the people, well, those hopes look if not dashed, surely bruised and battered on the floor. Homegrown fascism and bigotry have only more … Continue reading →

Posted in Live! On Stage, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged Alexis Jordan, Barbra Streisand, Beatles, Ben Selvin and the Crooners, Bill Irwin, Billie Eilish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Bobby McFerrin, Bye Bye Birdie, Dick van Dyke, Ding Dong, Don't Worry Be Happy, Ed Sullivan, Get Happy, Happiness, happy, Happy Days Are Here Again, Happy Talk, Happy Together, Humpe Humpe, I Could Be Happy With You, I Whistle a Happy Tune, I'm So Happy Just To Dance With You, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Kid Cudi, Lana del Rey, Life's a Happy Song, Norah Jones, Olivia Rodrigo, Pharrell Williams, Put On a Happy Face, Robin Williams, Rogers and Hammerstein, South Pacific, Taylor Swift, Tears for Fears, The Boyfriend, The King and I, The Muppets, The Turtles | 1 Comment

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