About
I decided to start a blog for three reasons:
1) People felt that there should be a part of the Threepenny website that was available only online, not in the printed magazine.
2) Some of the things I wanted to write about seemed as if they would benefit from a slightly more timely response than our usual quarterly publication permitted.
3) I was seeing and hearing so much interesting art — especially in the areas of dance and music, though also in literature, theater, and the visual arts — that I couldn't fit everything I wanted to say into The Threepenny Review without taking over the whole publication. And if you are not Diderot or Karl Kraus (and I am certainly neither), it is never a good idea to write the whole magazine yourself. But I figured the rules of blogs would allow me to monopolize one of those.
I struggled to come up with a good title for the blog and at first resisted using my own name, feeling (as those named Lesser are bound to feel) that diminishment is not necessarily a selling point. But then I figured that if people named Grudge or Drudge can use their names on websites, I should certainly not be abashed at calling this The Lesser Blog. So here it is, and I hope you enjoy it.
Wendy Lesser
Editor, The Threepenny Review-
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Tag Archives: brahms
A German Requiem
The first time I was ever in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, back in the fall of 2003, I heard Brahms’s German Requiem. It was the first time I’d ever heard the piece performed live, and it was not a work … Continue reading
Superlative Quintets
I am in Berlin now—a long-planned trip, so not an immediate reaction to November 5, but an escape nonetheless. It is good to be away, even if only for a short time, from the horrific goings-on I read about daily … Continue reading
Igor Levit in San Francisco
For those of us in the Bay Area who care about classical music, the last two weeks have mainly been taken up with Igor Levit’s residency at the San Francisco Symphony. I wrote about this marvelous pianist last fall, after hearing him perform all … Continue reading
More Than One Tetzlaff
Since Christian Tetzlaff is‚ and has been for decades, my favorite violinist in the whole world, I take every available opportunity to hear him. And this has meant that two or three times I’ve been privileged to hear the Tetzlaff Trio—most recently … Continue reading
Esa-Pekka Times Three
People I know were delighted when they learned, a couple of years ago, that Esa-Pekka Salonen had agreed to take over the leadership of the San Francisco Symphony. I too would have been delighted if I had known then what … Continue reading
Another Mahler’s First
Well, that’s Berlin for you. No sooner have I pronounced a favorite performance than another leaps in to take its place. I am now in a divided state, and wouldn’t know how to choose between listening forever to Daniel Harding’s terrific version … Continue reading
Great Performers
In this wintry New York spring, I have thus far managed to attend two Great Performers concerts at Lincoln Center. Both of them, not at all to my surprise, completely lived up to the series name. The first, on March 28, featured my favorite … Continue reading
Musicians from Marlboro
I attend a lot of good chamber music concerts, but very few great ones. It’s hard to predict in advance which ones will be top of the line, because so many elements are involved. The musicians have to be good, of … Continue reading
Carnegie Hall
Sometimes I think that my main reason for spending a lot of time in New York is Carnegie Hall. The city boasts many other attractions: great dance performances, occasional good theater, several opera companies (including some very good small ones), excellent … Continue reading