Words and Music

From the Classical Vault Dept. : Here’s a piece I wrote about a youthful vocal ensemble that made its debut recording for the Dorian label i...

WE’RE FEELING THE HORRIBLE EFFECTS of a global climate crisis. We’re wracked with guilt over the lousy food we consume – or we should be. Th...

IN HONOR OF PRESIDENTS DAY, surely one of the most misused moments of patriotic prejudice, here's a short film I made with Musicians of ...

From the Classical Vault Dept .: ... and what about summer concerts? Are they coming back this year? Will they be as fun-filled as the all-G...

From the Literary Vault Dept .: Sometimes you want to indulge yourself with a no-holds-barred farce, and the prolific Michael Frayn has been...

From the Theater Vault Dept .: Summer theater is being threatened all over the country now, and our local festivals are gearing up with outd...

Guest Blogger Dept. : It’s Robert Benchley time again, and the estimable essayist today grants us a look at one of the dietary staples of my...

WE THINK OF FARMS as massive multi-acre enterprises, such is the pervasive image that corporate farming gives us. Ben Stein and Alicia Brown...

From the Locked Vault Dept. : We haven’t visited my onetime alter-ego, Dr. Barry Tetons, since I offered this column from an unsavory magaz...

Let's take a look at a short film I made with Musicians of Ma'alwyck to honor the big Beethoven birthday just passed.

NOVELIST WILLIAM BOYD has long been fascinated by the movies. His 1987 novel The New Confessions combined a nod to Rousseau with an effecti...

From the Food Vault Dept.: Schenectady’s restaurant profile has never matched its demographics, but every now and then a dining establishme...

From the Classical Vault Dept. : Capitol Chamber Artists presented 50 seasons of intimate works throughout the Albany, NY, area. Not surpris...

From the Classical Vault Dept. : Another sweep of the classical-music offerings in the Albany, NY, area in early 1985. And you can see my re...

Guest Blogger Dept .: We welcome, at his debut in this blog, the very prolific Barry Pain (1864-1928), whose series of Eliza books are among...

From the Food Vault Dept .: Albany’s Dumpling House was a revered institution during its two decades of operation, an old-school sit-down re...

From the Classical Vault Dept. : Here’s a little snapshot of the Albany, NY-area concert scene at the beginning of 1985, when the Albany Sym...

From the Classical Vault Dept .: Back when daily newspapers covered classical-music events, I often had the assignment both to preview and r...

From the Theatrical Vault Dept. : At the beginning of 2019, the 92-year-old Hal Holbrook announced that he was retiring his one-man show, “M...

From the Culinary Vault Dept. : Now it’s 40 years for the Raindancer Restaurant in Amsterdam, NY, an area institution that is holding its ow...