Saturday, December 12, 2009

Cocktails and Counterpoints - Etudes

I have featured Cocktails and Counterpoints on the blog before, but I really dig what its organizers are doing. Bringing back salon culture (i.e. house shows) is important for all genres of music. We had an interesting discussion about how the live show has become newly significant in the age where you can see and listen to whoever you want essentially on demand. Records were always a substitute for what you couldn't see or hear. Now you can steal the record and watch 50 live shows on youtube. A concert that you actually attend is almost sacred, and what better experience than an intimate show, where you can really be moved by the music and the performers themselves.

Cocktails and Counterpoints is held monthly to bi-monthly, and you will need to swing an invite (not open to the public). If you are interested in attending one, you can email me and I will try and help you out. The theme for last nights concert was Etudes (Liszt vs Chopin). Pianists Michael Shinn and Kimball Gallagher tore it up.