COVID-19 … Trump everyday … the Democratic circular firing-squad … Fox News (a/k/a The Ministry of Propaganda) spewing misinformation, distraction, and malice … people dying … uncertainty growing … the stock market imploding as recession looms … and Joe Biden???

It’s an everyday battle to stay positive in this world right now.

But if there’s a silver lining in this coronavirus mess, it’s that it might lead to the demise of Trump. His unfitness for office, his incompetence, his terminal self-regard, his ignorance are on display for everyone to see.

“We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

“By April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”

“The Obama Administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be detrimental to what we’re doing . . . ”

“We’re going very substantially down, not up. . . . We have it so well under control. I mean, we really have done a very good job.”

“As of right now and yesterday, anybody that needs a test [can have one], that’s the thing, and the tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect—the transcription was perfect.”

I’ve tried to stop listening, but I can’t.

How bad are things going to get?

Search me.

But I’ve canceled a few things already, big and small. And I’ve bought some extra bleach. And I’ve been washing my hands a lot. (Still can’t find hand sanitizer and wipes in the stores.)

And I’ve been worrying, like everyone else.

How to stay positive? How to stay sane?

Start by embracing the small things in life – pleasures enjoyed, tasks completed, services rendered. The things you can control.

Think of what the Stoic philosopher Epictetus said:

“Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.”

Good advice from ancient Greece.

I’ll watch TV news (as much as I can stomach) and absorb my media (same) and, most importantly, work like hell for “the Democrat” who is nominated to run against Trump in November. It might call for a trip to a swing state: California is safe for the Dems.

But meanwhile, I refuse to stop enjoying the good things in my micro-life.

YUJA WANG

I’ve seen a lot of concerts in my life, but recently I saw one of the greatest concerts I’ve ever seen. Ever.

The phenomenal Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, in solo recital at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Ms. Wang had played in LA a few times in recent years with the Los Angeles Philharmonic – I saw her play John Adams’ “Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?” with Dudamel & Co. -- but this was her first solo recital in a while. For some reason, she had canceled the last recital, so I think this time she played with extra intensity.

Her program caused some controversy: before the recital began, there was a recorded announcement from Ms. Wang saying that she was going to play the music that was listed in the program, but in the order that she felt like playing them. According to her mood, presumably. She invited us to just listen to the music.

Here was the program as listed:

Baldassare GALUPPI Sonata No. 5 in C Major, I. Andante

BACH Toccata in C minor, BWV 911

BRAHMS Intermezzo in A minor, Op. 116, No. 2

CHOPIN Mazurka in A minor, Op. 67, No. 4

BRAHMS Intermezzo in E minor, Op. 119, No. 2

CHOPIN Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op. 30, No. 4

BRAHMS Intermezzo in C sharp minor, Op. 117, No. 3

CHOPIN Mazurka in F Major, Op. 68, No. 3

BRAHMS Romance in F Major, Op. 118, No. 5

Intermission

SCRIABIN Sonata No. 4

RAVEL Une barque sur l’océan

BERG Piano Sonata, Op. 1

Federico MOMPOU “Secreto” from Impresiones íntimas

SCRIABIN Sonata No. 5, Op. 53

But by going “out of order,” there was no program rustling, no thoughts of “how does her Chopin compare to Rubenstein’s?” Just pure listening. And because her program spanned more than two hundred years of piano music, flowing in and out of eras, she made it all one beautiful, unified listening experience.

Some critics and audiences at other stops on her concert tour – in Orange Country and New York -- complained about her failure to follow the program listing. Nonsense: why not just listen and not overthink the music?

Our seats were perfect: on the keyboard side, just able to see her lovely profile.

As I said, I’ve seen hundreds of concerts in my life of music of all kinds, but there was something very special about this one: this beautiful woman playing this magnificent music in the glorious space.

In a world of counterfeit and questionable talent, Yuja Wang is the real thing.

Twenty minutes of Yuja Wang encores from Carnegie Hall from 2016 – pure pleasure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVMpgZZjKpI

Shubert/Liszt: "Gretchen am Spinnrade,"

Gluck/Giovanni Sgambati: Melodie from Orfeo ed Euridice 4:24

Horowitz/ after Bizet: Carmen Variations 7:40

Mozart/Arcadi Volodos, Fazil Say, Yuja Wang: Rondo all Turca 11:40 Chopin:Waltz in C-sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2 14:50

Yuja Wang receives the Musician of the Year Award 2017 from Musicial America magazine – a half-hour of clips of her brilliance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoTnZBcTQyA

00:00 Stravinsky: Rite of Spring: Part II: The Sacrifice: Introduction (interpreted by Yuja Wang on Martin Grubinger's arrangement -- according to Michel Venchiarutti) 01:00 Messiaen: Turangalila Symphonie

02:50 Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16

05:09 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B Flat Major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier": IV. Largo (Allegro)

10:29 Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit: III. Scarbo

11:35 Bartok: Contrasts

13:22 Brahms: Piano Trio in B Major, Op.8: II. Scherzo

16:47 Schumann: Piano Quintet, Op. 44

18:51 Fun

19:05 Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major: III. Presto

20:41 Stravinsky: Rite of Spring: Part II: The Sacrifice: Sacrificial Dance

24:35 Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 1: III. Allegro Molto Show less

AND SOME BIG DEATHS

ZOE CALDWELL

I was lucky enough to see the great Australian stage actress four times: in THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE (Tony Award), MEDEA (Tony Award), and MASTER CLASS (Tony Award). I also saw her enchanting one-woman show “Waltzing Matilda.” Her Jean Brodie – better than Maggie Smith’s -- is certainly in my “Top Ten” performances by an actress that I’ve ever seen.

She was that rare thing: a “stage creature.” Her magic was not filmable. In fact she made only a few movies, nothing very big. “The Countess” in the movie-within-the-movie in Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo.

But her work lives in the collective memory of the theatre and those of us who were lucky enough to have seen her. Her acting was the definition of “unforgettable.”

Zoe as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally’s MASTER CLASS – the extended press roll (a half-hour of clips – some with Audra McDonald) – all three won Tony Awards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH4Pw3wiCEU

Zoe vs. Audra in MASTER CLASS – two great actresses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2O8NZdHRnw

Nine minutes of Zoe’s MEDEA (1982)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zInoTXKyOvI

Three minutes of Zoe’s Lady Macbeth opposite Sean Connery’s(!) Macbeth – from Canadian TV – a real rarity from 1961

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JLdA7QECiw

MAX VON SYDOW

I grew up on Ingmar Bergman movies, and I still watch the occasional Bergman. (I’ll bring a DVD of SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT or WILD STRAWBERRIES with me on a trip – for entertainment as well as sedation.) So Max von Sydow was a major figure in my cinematic universe.

All those movies -- THE SEVENTH SEAL, WILD STRAWBERRIES, THE PASSION OF ANNA, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, HOUR OF THE WOLF, SHAME – were part of any serious movie lover’s diet, and I ate them up at the Thalia, the Elgin, the Malverne Theatre on LI, at MOMA, and in film class with William Park at Sarah Lawrence.

There is a purity and seriousness in Bergman that makes other filmmakers seem like silly children. Watching a great Bergman film is like reading a great novel: one is filled with deep, adult, profound feelings. And you come away from a Bergman film changed.

I was looking at Max’s filmography in imdb.com, and beyond the string of Bergman classics, Max had a very checkered, up-and-down, normal actor’s career. There was THE EXORCIST, of course, and THE EMIGRANTS and HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, but a lot of junk, too. Ming in FLASH GORDON and one of the later Star Wars. He was a working actor.

But he was always great to see on film. I was watching a little of Scorcese’s SHUTTER ISLAND the other day, and there’s a scene with Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, and Mark Ruffalo (heavyweight actors all). When the time comes to reveal the evil German doctor behind the mind-control plot, Scorcese’s camera sneaks around the corner of an armchair to show Max von Sydow, topping them all.

Max’s place in film history is secure. He wrote his name in the Big Book of Art. His best films will live forever.

THE SEVENTH SEAL – Max’s Knight meets Death and plays chess– as parodied a scene as any in the history of movies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4yXBIigZbg

Bill and Ted play Battleship and Twister against Death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn6BDeKn-qc

Max with Liv Ullmann in THE PASSION OF ANNA (1969) – one of my favorite Bergmans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXYCYcTDmqw

Max in THE EXORCIST – “The power of Christ compels you!! … The power of Christ compels you!!!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpyg94OzHK0

More EXORCIST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwPa6Q6uCoI

MCCOY TYNER

I’ve listened to the music of the John Coltrane Quartet quite a lot in my lifetime, which means I’ve listened to a lot of McCoy Tyner. For a long time, my “most-listened to” LP and CD was “The Gentle Side John of Coltrane,” a compilation on Impulse Records produced by Michael Cuscuna, with music by the famous quartet (Coltrane on saxes, Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, and Jimmy Garrison on bass) and his collaborations with Duke Ellington, Johnny Hartman, etc. I gave this CD to many people for Christmas; it’s still a great listen.

Tyner’s muscular chords and melodic gifts were the perfect match for Coltrane. They made some of the most beautiful, spiritual music I know of.

I put the Hartman/Coltrane “My One and Only Love” on the tape that played at our wedding reception. It’s as romantic a record as there is.

Johnny Hartman sings, Coltrane and band play

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecrE80rnjhw

“The Gentle Side of John Coltrane” by the John Coltrane Quartet (full album) --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcIO2GX7Y2s&list=PLp1HTa9xBHuKsCqWqS7fZC_mVLfHTmv_f

LIFE

The best thing? Love your loved ones. Take care of everyone. Play with your grandchildren if you have them. Check on your neighbors. Make that phone call.

What else can we do?

LET’S WASH OUR HANDS!!!

(In more ways than one.)

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