The symphonic or concert band is the true native voice of American classical music, much more so than a symphony orchestra. It was through concert bands that Americans of an earlier age were first acquainted with symphonic music, and doubtless there were plenty of people who never made it to an orchestra concert or opera [...]
August 15, 2008
A buyout story, Huysmans-style
During the last days of my work at the paper, I kept thinking about a story by J.-K. Huysmans, published first, apparently, only in 1964, some 57 years after the writer’s death.
It’s called M. Bougran’s Retirement, and it’s about a civil servant who gets pensioned off early, at age 50, and finds out right [...]
