Alison Newell
Latest News
MILLBROOK — Purchase of a new police cruiser and an adjustment within regulations governing trash were two major items resolved at the regular meeting of the Village Trustees on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
By unanimous vote, the trustees approved the purchase of a new police vehicle described by Chief Keith Dworkin as a 2023 Dodge Charger at a cost of $52,000 to be funded by a five-year bond issue. The cost includes the purchase price of the car and additional outfitting of the vehicle for use in law enforcement, such as lights, sirens, graphics, computer equipment and the protective barrier between the front and back seats.
Adjusting the town’s littering code to require landlords to be responsible for trash containment and disposal for their residential or commercial properties was unanimously approved by the Trustees. Under the regulation, building owners will need to provide and maintain trash receptacles and implement regular removal services.
The landlord will be permitted to pass along the cost for trash disposal service to the tenants.
Before the change, regulations required receptacles but failed to specify that those containers are the responsibility of the commercial or residential building owner, not the tenants.
The next meeting of the Village Trustees will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 9, beginning at 6 p.m.
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Photo by Leila Hawken
AMENIA — Severely warped planks distorting the handrails along the Trail to Train boardwalk led to a site visit by county and state officials accompanied by Amenia town council members on Sunday, Sept. 15.
During the brief inspection, discussion turned to responsibility for maintenance and any funding that could be available through county or state sources.
“The Town Attorney needs to read over the agreement that is likely to be a town contract,” said Anil Beephan, state assemblyman representing the 105th District. He noted that the majority of towns maintain their own stretches along the rail trail.
About some of the wood planks warping, Dierdre Houston, Dutchess County legislator said, “any wood will dry out,” particularly the wood that is directly exposed to the sun.
Councilwoman Rosanna Hamm observed that she believes that the town owns the trail and would therefore be responsible for the repair.
“You have to address the issues that are in front of you,” Houston agreed.
Doubting that any state or county funding would be available for the repair of the 6-year-old boardwalk, Beephan suggested that Town Attorney Ian Lindars begin by examining the contract. He suggested that the town obtain some estimates on cost of repair or replacement.
Beephan felt that the cost of replacing the warped planks could be as little as $2,000.
The original construction of the Trail to Train, from The Lantern to the station, had cost more than $1M, Beephan noted.
Hamm agreed to follow up on some of the questions raised during the site visit and she intends to report on the issue at the next meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, Sept. 19.
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Provided
On Sept. 14, Crescendo, the award-winning music program based in Lakeville, will present a harpsichord solo recital by Kenneth Weiss in honor of world-renowned harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. Landowska lived in Lakeville from 1941 to 1959. Weiss is a professor at the Paris Conservatoire and has taught at Julliard. Born in New York, he now resides in Europe.
Weiss will play selections from “A Treasury of Harpsichord Music.” It includes works by Baroque composers such as Bach, Mozart, and Handel. It was recorded by Landowska at her Lakeville home, at 63 Millerton Road, which overlooks Lakeville Lake. Weiss said, “I am honored and excited to play in Lakeville, where Wanda Landowska lived.”
Landowska fled Nazi Germany in 1941 with two of her students one of whom was Denise Restout, who later became her companion of many years, and a harpsichord in a box. They landed in New York. Landowski performed the Goldberg Variations of Johann Sebastian Bach at New York Town Hall to “Incredible success.” She then looked around for a place to live and found Lakeville where she resided until her death in 1959.
Kenneth Weiss made “a pilgrimage “to Lakeville in the 1980’s. “Madame Restout received us in the kitchen of the home she shared with Landowska. From the two Pleyel Harpsichords to Landowska concert gowns on display it felt as if Landowska had just stepped out.”
Madame Wanda Landowska, world famous harpsichordist and resident of Lakeville from 1941 until her death in 1959, will be honored in a concert presented by Crescendo and featuring a performance by Kenneth Weiss, renowned harpsichord soloist and professor at the Paris Conservatoire.Provided
Wanda Landowska was a child prodigy. Christine Gevert, Founding Artistic Director of Crescendo said that Landowska “went way beyond the harpsichord to other instruments.”
Landowska commissioned music from composers and wrote some of her own. She also had harpsichords built to order. She founded a music school in Paris where she “invited her students to come and stay on the property as if they were her own children.” She often became a lifelong mentor to students.
Landowska also authored many articles, some of which were translated from Polish and French and made into a book by her life partner Denise Restout who was left to take care of Landowska’s legacy when she died. Most of Landowska’s papers are in the Smithsonian, unfortunately still boxed up.
One reason for Landowska’s fame was that “she changed the course of music and how people perceived and enjoyed it.” She had a Bauhaus architect, Jean-Charles Moreux, design a concert hall, near Paris in the 1920’s, which was filled with light, in contrast to most darkened theaters. She had a low stage built so she could be close to the audience and would bring a carpet and lamp from home “to create ambience” said Gevert. Landowska had a “Holistic concept and made performances more attractive and accessible. She was one of the first performers to talk to the audience.”
The concert will be at the Lakeville Methodist Church at 6 p.m. on Sept. 14. It is presented with special support by Leszek Wojcik, famed Carnegie Hall recording engineer who lives in Lakeville. Wojcik “understands the importance of Landowska’s legacy,” said Gevert, and works with Crescendo to preserve it.
Tickets are available at www.crescendomusic.org or at the door, first come, first serve, forty-five minutes before the concert. Prices are forty dollars for general seats, ten dollars for youths or seventy-five for an up-close seat.
Support for the concert has also been provided to Crescendo by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature, and NBT Bank.
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Silent cinema, live magic
Sep 11, 2024
Natalia Zukerman
On Saturday, Sept. 7, Gordon Hall at Music Mountain was transformed into a time machine, transporting the audience for a 1920’s spectacular of silent films and live music. Featuring internationally acclaimed silent film musicians Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton, the evening began with a singalong of songs by Gershwin, Irving Berlin and more. Lyrics for favorites like “Ain’t We Got Fun,” “Yes Sir That’s My Baby,” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” were projected on the screen and Sosin and Seaton lead the crowd with an easeful joy. The couple then retreated to the side of the stage where they provided the live and improvised score for Buster Keaton’s 1922 short, “Cops,” and his 1924 comedy, “Sherlock Jr.”
Joanna Seaton and Donald Sosin, a husband-and-wife duo, have crafted a singular career, captivating audiences at some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals—New York, TriBeCa, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Telluride, and Yorkshire among them. Their performances have graced venerable institutions like MoMA, Film at Lincoln Center, the AFI Silver Theatre, and Moscow’s celebrated Lumière Gallery. Their melodic journey has taken them to far-flung locales such as the Thailand Silent Film Festival and the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival in South Korea. Notably, Seaton and Sosin have become a fixture at Italy’s renowned silent film festivals in Bologna and Pordenone, where they perform annually.
In addition to their festival appearances, they have brought their artistry to Yale, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, and Emory Universities, where they are frequently invited to present workshops on silent film scoring and songwriting. Their contributions to silent cinema are further immortalized in over sixty-five DVD scores for silent films, released by Criterion, Kino, Milestone, Flicker Alley, and other prominent labels.
Seaton, a Manhattan native with a degree in Theatre Arts from Cornell University, has been lauded by The New York Times as a “silvery soprano.” Her theatrical résumé spans more than eighty Off-Broadway, regional, and stock productions, and her vocal prowess has earned her a collaboration with jazz legend Dick Hyman at the 92nd Street Y. Sosin, originally from Rye, New York, and Munich, studied composition at the University of Michigan and Columbia University before spending years on Broadway. His compositions have been featured on PBS and TCM, as well as providing the sonic backdrop for network soap operas and contemporary films.
The duo delivered a raucous, high-energy score for the two Buster Keaton films, bringing an infectious spontaneity to every note. Remarkably, as they reminded the audience, Seaton and Sosin were improvising the entire performance, yet their music perfectly matched Keaton’s subtle wit, wild gags, and iconic physical comedy. Percussion, sound effects, and melody wove together effortlessly, amplifying the humor on screen and transforming the viewing into a riotous, laugh-out-loud experience. Their playful synergy with Keaton’s films made the music feel like an integral part of the action, rather than mere accompaniment.
The couple currently reside in Lakeville, where their shared love for film and music continues to enrich both their own lives and provide wonderful entertainment for the wider community.
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