Ethan Mordden

Really quite wonderful. Mordden's book has one great flaw: it was written in 1987. Beyond the fact that an entire generation of singers have recorded these works in that time, approaches to singing and performance have shifted yet again, the reputations of opera houses and composers have altered, and of course the LP vs CD debate has largely been rendered redundant. (All those questions do help make this book a useful time capsule, but they're ultimately a hindrance to a younger reader such as myself.)

Still, that's damning with faint praise. Mordden writes with great clarity about nine decades of recording history. He explores everything you could want to know, starting with the history of opera recording (back when five minutes per disc was a luxury!) and moving intelligently and insightfully through the rest of history. The book also doubles as a potted history of opera (the author smartly judges his audience as being enthusiastic but not necessarily knowledgeable about the works). And his great breadth of knowledge allows him to show reasoned opinions on the works. His is not a "hate or love" Amazon review; it's a work of true passion.

Of course, the 27-year difference brings its own challenges. Many of these recordings remain classics, but there are certainly operas or performers, performing styles or approaches, not to mention record labels, that are now slightly archaic. That doesn't make them wrong - as Mordden so passionately convinces us - but it may challenge younger opera fans or newcomers. So, what I'd suggest is pretty simple. Read this book (or at least browse it) to get an overall idea. It's probably helpful to grab the Gramophone guide, read some Amazon reviews, and maybe do some preview listening on Spotify to get an idea of how the land lies. But you still can't go wrong with this one.… (plus d'informations)

A narrator with a fitness fixation invades the Hundred-Acre Wood and tries to convince the Pooh friends to take up exercise regimens.

The first and final chapters carry the day as Ethan Mordden manages to capture A. A. Milne's style quite well and has the Pooh friends staying true to themselves even as the narrator attempts to change and improve them.

The middle of the book drags quite a bit, unfortunately, as Mordden tries to turn every Ernest H. Shepard picture with even a little bit of motion in it into an unimpressive form of exercise for the Pooh friends. He also pads out the book by dropping in long segments of text from Milne's original, and it's always a mistake to remind the reader of what they could be having instead of the imitation they've got.

Still, it finishes strong with an amusing marathon that will please any child who can get past the sagging middle section (an apt description of mine and Pooh's general shapes, by the way).

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Introduction -- 1. Planning a Fitness Program -- 2. Exercises for the Tigger Shape -- 3. Exercises for the Pooh Shape -- 4. Exercises for the Piglet Shape -- 5. Exercises That Get Something Done -- 6. An Exercise for Savage Weather -- 7. Stretch-and-Flex Exercises -- 8. Water Sports -- 9. Making Up Personal Workout Charts -- 10. The Forest Exercise Club -- 11. The Forest Marathon -- 12. An Exercise for Resting Up After

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... )… (plus d'informations)