I don’t know much about being a musician, even less about Iceland, diacriticals and which selections an orchestra should play together, but I find your intelligent comments on them fascinating. Thank you for sharing a piece of you so publicly!

I tweeted you and hope I didn’t offend by asking about “jazz-inspired” music. I think it’s sometimes thrilling to, say, watch “The Reader” and listen to your music and then have you tweet me and be able to tell my music-loving friends in Podunk, Colorado about it. But apart from trying to be a part of “celebrity” or some derivative of that, as [almost] everyone else above has already said, it is a Joy (no religious connotation because of capitalization) to read your blog and sympathize/empathize with things happening musically, grammatically, gastrointestinally, and otherwise in the/your world.

And, a propos, wonderful double reed work in the movie. I play the violin, but bassoonists (and sometimes oboists) are my favourite people.

So don’t let what’s-his-face get you down. He should go read some other blog, like this one. Uh-oh.

Excellent point on Adams, and on music / art in general. The Philadelphia Orchestra is going to perform Adams’ “City Noir” the spring after Dudamel conducts it in L.A. While I could probably hunt around the internet and hear it, I’m with you in that I’d rather sit back, be challenged and surprised. Also, clicking on all the links in the above post led me to a comment on your Philadelphia First Unitarian show. You should come back soon; it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended.

Regarding diacritical marks and pronunciation, the English tend to bastardize foreign languages much more than Americans. British Airways, for one, left my brother and I suffering paroxysmic laughter in Madrid International. The floor really isn’t all that clean, so I don’t suggest rolling on it. The loudspeaker directed us to board a plane headed for “Palma de Mallorca”. They got the first word correct, but proceeded to pronounce “de” like “duh” and “Mallorca” as if it were a description of Free Willy misbehaving. Maybe you had to be there. Probably.

I think most people have to struggle so hard to find their voice and be able to say anything that wields even a trace of authority or influence, and defaulting to meanness is the easiest way to feel temporarily powerful. Illusory, short-term, Pyrrhic victories online are all most people can muster with their voice, and they are too insecure to accept anyone who’s found or created his or her own authentic voice. Everyone wants to be the one pointing out that the Emperor has no clothes on — funny that we all seem to have read that story imagining ourselves as the observant child, not as the Emperor, though it’s obvious that the tale’s lessons speak to his foolish behavior.

You have your own clear voice, and you make no apologies for it. You present yourself as yourself and nothing more, which many people find to be quite beautiful, and I think all of that must drive lots of people to say cruel and dismissive things. But of course, your fellow Times commentor reminds us of the enduring truth of the matter, which will one day be written in golden garlands on the moon: “HATERS CAN SUCK IT.” That’s really the final word on the subject in my book.

eat up!

I’ve read all of your blogs since discovering your music last September, and I do plan to continue the habit.

I love your curiosity about life, language, music, food, travel, etc. I’ve discovered great Icelandic music through your site and have fallen even more in love with the place, although I haven’t been there yet.

You have strong opinions, so you are going to attract ‘haters’ from time to time, I’m afraid. It’s so much easier to try and knock someone else down rather than to create something of one’s own (cf youtube comments, which I can’t read without wanting to throw up).

Just keep doing what you do. We love you for it!

just wish scratching the magazine paper would play a brand new snippet of one of your beautiful creations.