User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
Some days you run across something that can’t wait a week.
After listening for the 3rd time to Sunday’s selection I noticed You-Tube suggested this YO-YO-Ma video. Don’t just listen to the music, watch the video too. In a world where disunity seems to dominate it is inspiring to be reminded how we are all human. And it doesn’t hurt that Yo-YO Ma is playing Bach.
Enjoy. Jack
It was a busy Saturday, yard work to do, gardens to plan. For the first time my digging turned up earthworms. Spring is here. I almost forgot Sunday was coming.
I really enjoyed this rendition of Appalachian Spring I hope you do too.
Jack
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel – String Quartet in E-Flat Major
Fanny Mendelssohn, the older sister of Felix, was a prolific composer, a
skilled pianist and a respected hostess of a flourishing Berlin salon (a
fashionable gathering of notables, such as artists or statemen, held at the
home of a prominent individual). Fanny and Felix shared a common music
education and developed an unusually close sibling relationship. When she
was a child the family encouraged Fanny’s involvement in music, not just as
a performer but as a composer, but as she matured into womanhood her
father let her know unequivocally that, while she had great musical talent,
she would do best to focus on being a wife and mother. In a letter to her in
1820 he stated, “Music will perhaps become his [Felix’s] profession, while
for you it can and must be only an ornament”
Fanny’s music reflects her deep reverence for both Bach and Beethoven as
well as a strong influence from her brother. It exhibits a fine craftsmanship
and lyricism typical of the post-Classical Mendelssohnian style, combined
with her own experimental and inventive approach to form and content.
The String Quartet in E flat major was composed in 1834. This imaginative
and elegantly lyrical work was Fanny’s only one in the genre and acknowledges her debt to the quartets of Beethoven.
Enjoy, Jack
The Pastoral Symphony, Symphony No. 6
Composed by Ludwig Von Beethoven
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic
This is perfect for a warm spring day, the high in my world is going to be sunny and in the 60’s.
Enjoy, Jack
I got this list from a newsletter I get from the folks at the never Trump website The Bulwark. It looks like a good list, and I trust those folks not to link to anything stupid. But as with anything, check and beware
Jack
With luck, Ukrainians will eventually get all the help they need from various governmental organizations. So I don’t think there’s much need for normal folks to try to donate, say, weaponry. The way to leverage giving is to try to find the cracks where large-scale assistance takes longer to ramp up.
So here are some organizations that people have suggested to me that might be useful ways for you to help.
International Red Cross: Surging aid to refugees fleeing to Poland.
Ukrainian Red Cross: Direct aid to the in-country branch.
World Central Kitchen: Getting food to refugees and to those who remain in Ukraine.
MOAS: Helping to bring medical aid to Ukrainian civilians.
JDC: Getting aid to vulnerable Ukrainian Jews.
Ocalenie Foundation: A Polish group helping refugees as they arrive.
Caritas: Has two in-country organizations helping with personal kits, water, and information for displaced Ukrainians.
Razom: Medical supplies and democracy protection.
Kyiv Independent: A free-press operation reporting from Ukraine.
Timothy Snyder has some more direct places to give, because of his on-the-ground contacts in Ukraine. See here. And Professor Beth Gazley, who studies nonprofits, has a short, helpful guide on how to get the maximum leverage for your donations.