The world's nerdiest Web log

I have found the nerdiest, most absurdly great music Weblog in the world. Next to mine, of course.

It is by a musicologist named Michael Lorenz and it has the greatest title: Musicological Trifles and Biographical Paralipomena.

I do not even know what Paralipomena are! I will have to look that up. I am guessing it is plural. We will hope for the best.

Anyway.

That is a picture of Michael Lorenz up above. Well, all I can think is that must be what he looks like. What he does is, he explores some highly esoteric aspect of some musician's life, and presents all kinds of proof of his research. You can click on things, say on some small scribbling Felix Mendelssohn made in the margin of his manuscript, or a Mozart family entry in the baptismal register of Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral -- and blow it up so you can study it more closely.

Nerd's dream!!

A few upcoming topics:

"Godchild of Maria Theresia Paradis." She was a pianist friend of Mozart.

"Unknown Trattner Documents." Therese von Trattner was a student of Mozart and it has been whispered, although without proof, that they were more than friends.

"Franz Wild: The Tenor Who Did Not Know When He Was Born."

There is a lengthy exploration of the background of Joseph Leitgeb, the horn player for whom Mozart wrote his great horn concertos. Lorenz mentions casually: "Although I have done more research than anyone else on  Joseph Leitgeb..." I believe it! By the way I have usually seen his name spelled Leutgeb. I am sure Lorenz deals with that.

Another irresistible essay: "A Child Named Christian Mozart."

(But what about George Mozart, Fred Mozart or Don Mozart? Huh, Mr. Lorenz? Huh? Huh?)

Here is another one: "Antonio Salieri's Early Years in Vienna." As is true in most cases there are all these maps, portraits and documents you are encouraged to blow up and study.

He should put this all together into a book. I have the perfect title: "The Ueber-Nerd's Guide To Classical Music."

Irresistible!

The blogging life

There is one thing that always makes me laugh and brightens my day, and that is when Twitter or something tosses it up at me that some new person is starting a Web log.

The other day it was this pianist, Lara Downes.

Lots of luck, Lara!

People always announce their Web logs with flair and fanfare. Then you get all these Tweets: "New blog post!" Everyone comes out of the gate running.

Then ....

Downes has made things especially tough on herself by making hers these multimedia interviews with people. Do not get other people involved! Work alone.

But no matter how you do it it is not easy. Here is one thing I love doing, you will see on the Web site of a musician, or a string quartet, or whatever: "Blog." I love to click on the blog! Because usually it is a year out of date.

And I do not feel so bad about myself. It is tough! You have all these thoughts but when do you set them down, that is the question.

 I wonder how Jeremy Denk is doing. He has this blog, Think Denk. Let me see ... Aha, Jeremy's last post was at the end of January. And his last post before that was in November. Not easy!

Who else? Stephen Hough is pretty good at keeping up. He blogs through England's The Telegraph and manages usually to get something up every few days. That is Stephen Hough up above! I like to post pictures of Stephen Hough. I like his looks. Anyway I am wondering if maybe the Telegraph holds his feet to the fire. They do that to me at work. If they do, all the better. Tat is a good thing and keeps inertia from setting in.

Yes, a Web log, it ain't no good life, but it's my life! I laughed a while ago reading the results of this one Internet survey. They trotted out these results as if it were really big news: that people are less prone now to blog, and more prone to Twitter.

Big surprise, you know?

Twitter, you write one or two sentences, and you are done. It is not necessarily easy. I personally fall behind with it. There is not one thing that God has made that I could not fall behind with. But it is easier than blogging.

Blogging, the word even sounds like work! Like logging. You imagine dragging all these heavy logs. Or slogging, as in slogging through mud.

On the other hand, look at me today.

One way or another... I did it!