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I like Brahms very much! I just finished listening to his First symphony .. it's beautiful! I love classical music.
Choir close-up from one of the only available angles. Was a bit worried about the railing, things like that can catch a TLR user out. Had no choice about the DoF for this one, I like it anyway.
Fortunate To Know & Understand “O Fortuna” - IMRAN®
“O Fortuna” from “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff is not just music—it’s a thunderous invocation of fate’s cruelty and fortune’s volatility. Composed in 1935, when my late father was a toddler, this choral masterpiece opens the cantata with a primal force that has echoed through concert halls, film scores, and—regrettably—too many superficial ads. But beneath the bombast lies a profound meditation on the wheel of fortune, the rise and fall of human destiny, and the raw unpredictability of life.
This particular performance by the Vienna Philharmonic (Wiener Philharmoniker) captures both the grandeur and the anguish embedded in Orff’s vision. The Latin lyrics, drawn from 13th-century medieval poetry, speak of fate as a tyrant—blind, capricious, and ever-turning. If you take a moment to read the translated text, you’ll uncover lines like:
“Fate—monstrous and empty, you whirling wheel…”
These aren’t just dramatic flourishes—they’re existential truths, shouted into the void by monks and minstrels who knew suffering, joy, and the impermanence of both.
There are many reasons why it moves me so much. The music’s relentless rhythm mirrors the pounding of time itself. The choir’s crescendos evoke the rise and fall of empires, fortunes, and lives. The lyrics remind us that no triumph is permanent, and no despair is final.
This piece has been one of my personal favorites for decades—not just for its sonic power, but for its philosophical depth. It’s a greatness-inspiring reminder that art can scream truth louder than any sermon or slogan.
Watch the video in the comment below—and if you’ve never read the full translation, do it. You’ll never hear “O Fortuna” the same way again.
I first heard O Fortuna more than 35 years ago—and it struck a chord so deep, I’ve never stopped resonating with it. Its fierce truth about fate and fortune mirrored my own worldview so precisely, it felt like the music had named something I’d always known. That alignment wasn’t just emotional—it was philosophical, spiritual, and enduring. I consider myself truly ‘Fortunate To Know & Understand “O Fortuna.”’
© 2025 IMRAN®
Katherine Jenkins ~ Kenwood House ~ Hamstead ~ London ~ England ~ Sunday June 24th 2018.
Katherine Jenkins ~ Time To Say Goodbye ~ www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AaA2QR8tD8 ~
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oBPK_iqBZc
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Revisited an old friend (circa 1864) after over 20 years of neglect, to help and play with my kid who just started learning. Had to change the stings and the tail piece that were broken but the old fiddle still sounds amazing. Nikon 50mm at 1.2 aperture.
The nice weather also brought out the park musicians who took time to practice their art in the open air and warmth.
A packed Usher Hall greets the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano for an electrifying Edinburgh International Festival performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Shostakovich’s Tenth. From the famous four-note motif of fate’s knock to the defiance and liberation of Shostakovich, the evening was a masterclass in musical storytelling.
🇫🇷 Un Usher Hall comble accueille le London Symphony Orchestra sous la baguette de Sir Antonio Pappano, pour une soirée électrisante au Festival International d’Édimbourg avec la Cinquième Symphonie de Beethoven et la Dixième de Chostakovitch. Du célèbre motif à quatre notes du destin qui frappe à la porte, à la défiance et à la libération chez Chostakovitch, ce fut une véritable leçon de narration musicale.
Three violin players from Camerata Alma Viva, rehearsing in Conway Hall, Holborn, London.
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Lego Bassoon
When I don't build Lego I sometimes play the bassoon. That's why I wanted to try building one.
I know official chrome parts are very limited so this is a digital build with lots of non-existing color/part combos. All connections are legit except for the crowbar.
What do you think? :)
The new season has started at the great Philharmonie of Luxembourg and I'm again doing one of my favourite things in photography. One of the novelties this year is the new conductor for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Luxembourg (OPL). Gustavo Gimeno and the orchestra offered an impressive performance that reached moments of ecstasy.
Ha comenzado la nueva temporada en la gran Philharmonie de Luxemburgo y vuelvo a trabajar en una de las facetas de la fotografía que más me gustan. Una de las novedades de este año es la incorporación del nuevo director musical de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Luxemburgo (OPL). El español Gustavo Gimeno y la orquesta nos ofrecieron un espectáculo grandioso que llegó a momentos de éxtasis.
Prints, workshops and more
So here we are in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast, and here we are on the northern reaches of the shingle beach, with a fine view of Maggi Hambling’s Scallop – a four-ton stainless steel creation dedicated to the composer Benjamin Britten.
Britten lived in Aldeburgh with his partner Peter Pears, and he frequently walked along the beach, drawing inspiration from the sea and the acres and acres of sky. The Scallop, which is four metres (13 feet) tall, was commissioned in 2003, nearly 30 years after Britten’s death, and is pierced with the words “I hear those voices that will not be drowned” – a quotation from Britten’s opera Peter Grimes.
Maggi Hambling is herself from Suffolk, and lives in nearby Saxmundham. “The whole point [of the sculpture] is a conversation with the sea”, she says. I have absolutely no doubt that Britten would have approved.
Das Klenze Quarett aus München gastierte am 12. November 2016 im Strawinsky Saal der Donauhallen in Donaueschingen
In December 1925 the Finnish weekly Suomen Kuvalehti published this picture of Jean Sibelius and his wife Aino posing in front of their home Ainola, close to Helsinki. The black and white picture was taken for an article on the 60th birthday of the composer (December 8).
The winter 1925 - 1926 was one of the snowiest and coldest in the 20th century in Finland. There was a lot of snow already in early December, when the photographer most probably visited Ainola.
(Processing and colouring by me)
Since I got my new compact camera, the Panasonic LX100, I've been trying to know what are its strengths and weaknesses. This is a test I did while at work. I naturally use my full frame DSLR cameras for this type of assignment but I also put the little LX100 to test to see how it performed under such difficult lighting.
-This is a JPEG straight from the camera and apart from some minor adjustments in LR I didn't process the file.
-WB was pretty good I thought, it was set to Auto.
-Detail and sharpness aren't bad at all but the difference with a FF camera is pretty big.
-Auto focus was quick and accurate enough, so no complaints here.
-DR is quite good but again it can't compete with a FF sensor. Highlights specially I find suffer from a loss of detail.
-No noise reduction applied but some noise is visible in the highlight and shadow areas even at ISO 800. Not terrible but again this camera could not be used for professional work under these conditions.
-The one thing I love about this camera is the dedicated dial for aspect ratios. This photo was taken using the 16:9 ratio, which I am liking a lot. It is nice to previsualize these different ratios and not have to wait until one is at the computer processing the images.
-Handling is pretty good even for somebody with big hands like me.
All in all, I think for a compact camera the Lumix LX100 is pretty decent and a very enjoyable piece of equipment. I feel confident enough to take this camera everywhere with me knowing that for most situations I will be able to produce some decent quality images. However, for these lighting conditions the LX100 has its limitations. For other better lit scenes there is a noticeable improvement. I will do more tests one I find a decent software that can handle its RAW files.
Edit: I just found out Adobe Lightroom 5.7 and DNG Converter 8.7 have been released and include the codec for the Lumis LX100 RW2 raw files!!!! yeeeeeepiiii