Monthly Archives: June 2015

You may tell your close friend that your partner has stopped talking to you (and perhaps is “ghosting” you), and expect sympathy and support, but you cannot tell your partner that your close friend has stopped talking to you, because … Continue reading →

I become mournful when somebody, in life or the arts, stops talking to a close friend. I’m also devastated by the despair and denial of such a decision. Friedrich Nietzsche stopped talking to Richard Wagner in 1876, when he was … Continue reading →

When I hear this andante espressivo, I am not listening to Brahms but to my friend listening to Brahms with me. That’s why the very first post of this blog is titled “Listening with a Friend.” Brahms too was listening … Continue reading →

Cavaradossi is sacrificing his life for his brave friend, not his jealous lover. As he prepares to die for his politics, why is he then singing about making love and not about fighting for freedom? The very first thing to … Continue reading →

Classical music has been commonly considered as the metaphysics of all art. That is why philosophers, following the advice of Socrates’ daemon (“Σώκρατες, μουσικὴν ποίει καὶ ἐργάζου”, Phaedo 60e), “make music,” and the best of them form a quartet to … Continue reading →