Opulence and Disarray
Last week I explored the summer cottages in Newport, Rhode Island — mansions created by America’s wealthiest during the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. These mansions depict an unimaginable life of wealth and culture. For the original inhabitants, this was the only life they knew. And for most of them, these houses were […]
Nothing of Importance
In The Art of Possibility Ben Zander recounts the South American concert tour of the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic. After performances in prestigious concert halls and endless hours of bus travel, they arrived in the small town of Rosario. Concerned about their fatigue and anticipating a perfunctory performance, Zander asked the students to rearrange […]
The Death of Dickens
I killed Dickens. Last week. On a warm spring afternoon. I hit delete and he was gone from my life. You see, I read him once in high school. A Tale of Two Cities. I didn’t like it much then but it was required reading. In recent years, as I’ve added classics to my regular reading, I’ve often […]