He laughed. "It's an odd feeling to write Links of London Charms not all that long ago for materials that are already obsolete. It's like historically informed period practice in classical music: These are the original instruments, so we have to go out and find Sony CFS-201 boomboxes so we can perform it correctly!" Boomboxes and cassettes have figured often into Mr. Kline's experimental works, which over the years have included bursts of no-wave noise rock and classical songs based on utterances by Donald Rumsfeld, as well as an opera that he is currently writing with filmmaker Jim Jarmusch about electrical engineer Nikolai Tesla. "One of the charms of 'Unsilent Night' for me is that it exploits the Links of London Bee Charm of the cassette," Mr. Kline said. "The fact that they all run at slightly different speeds and warble and do what they do kind of make the piece, or definitely give it an extra shot of life." The process behind it is but a mere part of the whole. "The democracy of it is really beautiful," said David Lang, a fellow composer and co-founder of the new-music group Bang on a Can, whose label, Cantaloupe Music, released a CD of "Unsilent Night" in 2001. "It's a parade for people who make the music for themselves." The event also stands to add some vitality to a Christmas music canon that can be hard to hear through the seasonal din. When he first conceived "Unsilent Night," Mr. Kline wondered: "Wouldn't it be great to get a little bit of that mysterious peace, that quiet mystery, back into the mix of everything else around Links of London Big Apple Charm?" But he wasn't quite prepared for the success and resiliency of "Unsilent Night." "It's surprising how beautiful it is," he said. "I always think maybe in the street it will just die out. But the sound just seems to radiate all over the surfaces, all over the walls and the buildings. It comes from everywhere and at the same time you can't pinpoint where any of it is coming from. It's an evocation of a certain mysterious night with a certain twinkle in it."2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission. Ann Ziff was going to forgo her annual holiday party this year, but when she heard about photographer friend Ahmet Ertug's new book "Palaces of Music: Opera Houses of Europe," she decided it was reason enough to celebrate. "I thought I would combine the two," Ms. Ziff said Tuesday at her Tamsen Z jewelry boutique on the Upper East Side. "It's a chance to see such good people." The luxury store, which features Ms. Ziff's custom pieces that range from $1,300 to more than $1 million, Links of London Black And Gold Friendship Bracelet a fitting local for Mr. Ertug's $7,500 tome. "I like to think of my books as jewelry books," said Mr. Ertug as a waiter passed out "cheese on top of cheese on top of cheese."
Given all the high wattage items, it was hard for Links of London Charms to find a focus. "Oh my
Commentaires