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-
Recent Posts
Archives
- May 2026 (3)
- March 2026 (2)
- February 2026 (1)
- January 2026 (1)
- December 2025 (1)
- November 2025 (3)
- October 2025 (3)
- September 2025 (1)
- July 2025 (1)
- June 2025 (1)
- May 2025 (1)
- April 2025 (2)
- March 2025 (1)
- January 2025 (1)
- December 2024 (3)
- November 2024 (1)
- October 2024 (3)
- June 2024 (1)
- May 2024 (2)
- April 2024 (3)
- March 2024 (2)
- February 2024 (1)
- December 2023 (1)
- November 2023 (1)
- October 2023 (1)
- September 2023 (1)
- July 2023 (1)
- June 2023 (1)
- May 2023 (1)
- March 2023 (1)
- February 2023 (1)
- October 2022 (1)
- March 2022 (1)
- November 2021 (2)
- August 2021 (1)
- July 2021 (1)
- May 2021 (1)
- October 2020 (1)
- June 2020 (1)
- March 2020 (2)
- February 2020 (2)
- January 2020 (1)
- November 2019 (1)
- October 2019 (1)
- September 2019 (1)
- July 2019 (1)
- May 2019 (2)
- April 2019 (2)
- March 2019 (2)
- December 2018 (1)
- November 2018 (1)
- October 2018 (1)
- September 2018 (1)
- August 2018 (1)
- July 2018 (2)
- May 2018 (1)
- April 2018 (1)
- March 2018 (1)
- February 2018 (1)
- January 2018 (2)
- December 2017 (1)
- November 2017 (1)
- October 2017 (2)
- September 2017 (1)
- July 2017 (1)
- May 2017 (1)
- April 2017 (1)
- March 2017 (2)
- February 2017 (2)
- January 2017 (1)
- December 2016 (1)
- November 2016 (1)
- October 2016 (2)
- September 2016 (2)
- July 2016 (1)
- June 2016 (1)
- May 2016 (1)
- April 2016 (1)
- March 2016 (2)
- February 2016 (2)
- January 2016 (1)
- December 2015 (1)
- November 2015 (3)
- October 2015 (1)
- September 2015 (1)
- August 2015 (1)
- July 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (2)
- April 2015 (2)
- January 2015 (2)
- November 2014 (1)
- October 2014 (2)
- September 2014 (2)
- August 2014 (2)
- June 2014 (3)
- May 2014 (1)
- April 2014 (4)
- February 2014 (2)
- January 2014 (1)
- December 2013 (2)
- November 2013 (4)
- October 2013 (1)
- September 2013 (2)
- August 2013 (3)
- July 2013 (3)
- January 2013 (1)
- May 2012 (1)
- March 2012 (1)
- October 2011 (1)
- April 2011 (1)
- January 2011 (1)
- December 2010 (1)
- August 2010 (1)
- May 2010 (1)
- March 2010 (1)
- February 2010 (2)
- December 2009 (1)
- November 2009 (2)
- September 2009 (1)
- April 2009 (1)
- December 2008 (1)
- October 2008 (1)
- May 2008 (1)
- March 2008 (1)
- February 2008 (1)
- November 2007 (1)
- June 2007 (1)
- March 2007 (1)
- January 2007 (1)
- October 2006 (1)
- September 2006 (1)
- July 2006 (1)
- June 2006 (1)
Tag Archives: carnegie hall
Vikingur Olafsson
You could have heard a pin drop. (At least, up until the near-final moments, when a few rogue cellphones rang out and then were quickly, embarrassedly silenced.) For over ninety minutes last night, Vikingur Olafsson held his Carnegie Hall audience … Continue reading
This Past Month or So
It’s a truism, I suppose, that there is no such thing as listening objectively to music. But criticism is somehow built on the idea that the critic is doing exactly that—bringing her expertise to bear on the sounds emerging from … Continue reading
A Welcome Visit from the Danes
Sometimes I think I organize my geographical existence around the concert schedule of the Danish String Quartet. This is not actually true. What is true is that I once flew from California to New York to catch their Beethoven cycle … Continue reading
Czechs, Etc.
This week the Czech Philharmonic came to Carnegie Hall for three concerts in a row, and so did a huge number of Czechs. You could distinguish them from the normal Carnegie denizens because a) they were all dressed up—the men … Continue reading
Youth and Age
It’s always great to return to Carnegie Hall with a bang, and I certainly got that thrill last week. I was able to attend two amazing concerts with two days of each other, each exemplifying something completely different about the … Continue reading
Open Season
Every year, when I arrive in New York in early September, I always forget that it’s going to be another month or so before I can regularly start attending the concerts I love. Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, and the … Continue reading
A Thrilling Wozzeck
I’ve attended at least four other productions of Alban Berg’s marvelous opera, and all but one have been excellent. It’s almost a sure thing, if you have good enough singers, competent musicians, and a simple enough staging. That’s the only … Continue reading