George Hunka

Notes and comment

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    Das neue magazin KLASSIK ist da!

    As long as we’re on the subject of magazines, I tip my hat to the newly-redesigned magazin Klassik from my favorite radio station, radio klassik Stephansdom. It’s a dynamic publication from Vienna, now celebrating its tenth year, and its design has always been a delight to the eye; now, it’s even more delightful.

    “This exclusive magazine features program previews and recaps, provides in-depth reports and articles on art, literature, and science, offers reviews and opinions, and highlights exciting cultural events,” says the station, and for those of us learning German it’s a great educational tool as well. (And the new issue also salutes yours truly, who enjoyed the kind generosity of lovely and talented host Arabella Fenyves and tireless and handsome general manager Christoph Wellner on a visit to the station in March.)

    You can download the new issue and stream the station itself here. And as long as you’re there, don’t forget to donate to keep radio klassik Stephansdom going: it’s a rare treat.

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    “Trust the good things that happen”

    And one of those good things that happen on occasion is the arrival of a new issue of Mineshaft magazine from the fine folks in Durham, North Carolina. The striking wraparound image is the creation of Simone Baumann, a rising star of the comix scene, who is also represented in this issue by “Human Fly,” a ravishingly hallucinatory visit to the world of comix publishing. There are also contributions from the usual gang: a selection from Mary Fleener’s similarly hallucinatory “Happy Hour” (she also contributes an illustration of Poe’s “The Raven”); two fine paintings by Sophie Crumb; a terrific portfolio of work from Minnesota’s underground comix scene (a stunning painting by Nathalie Tierce here); Drew Friedman’s portrait of Chris Ware; Christoph Mueller’s latest metaphysical musings; and more. Sixty-eight pages of good things in this lovingly produced issue, with a rare four-color cover; you can order it, and subscribe to future issues, here.

    A word to the wise, too: Ms. Baumann’s new self-published book Alice will soon be available for purchase here, and Mr. Mueller is hawking a new anthology of short stories called The Nincompoopje, 28 full-color pages “made by a human,” available from concertobooks.nl in Amsterdam. (Unfortunately I can’t locate a link to purchase, but I’ll add it here when I find one.) It’s never too soon to put together your Christmas list.

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    2 responses to ““Trust the good things that happen””

    1. J. Haynes

      George, MINESHAFT is the best! Not since the days of Crumb’s WEIRDO back in the 90s have I enjoyed a magazine so much.

      Alas, mine has been trapped in the Austrian postal system customs department for almost two weeks and counting. And when will it arrive in my mailbox? According to the guy at the PO my wife talked to, “maybe this week.” And how much will I have to pay in customs fees (ransom?) Who knows. That will be the Last Big Surprise before I’m finally able to view #48.

      It’d be nice to take it to Lisbon with me this Friday. If it has not by then been released unto me, maybe it’ll be waiting for me on my return. We shall see.

      But you know what? Some things truly are worth waiting for. MINESHAFT especially.

    2. George Hunka

      I’m sorry to hear that PostAG is being so uncooperative. But what was it the old Heinz ketchup advertisement urged? “Anticipation”? All good things (like Mineshaft) come to those who wait.

      Enjoy Lisbon!

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    J. C. Bach, Mozart, Schubert

    The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, in rehearsal.

    My dance card for September seems to be rapidly filling up. On September 25 and 26, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia opens its 2026-2027 season with Mozart 40, a triple bill of music spanning the half century or so between the late Baroque and middle Classical periods, a span quite appealing to my own musical affections. David Hayes will lead the orchestra in Mozart’s 1788 Symphony No. 40 in G minor, which Charles Rosen called “a work of passion, violence, and grief” in The Classical Style; Hayes will follow this with Johann Christian Bach’s 1760-or-so Symphony in G minor, Op. 6 No. 6, “arguably the darkest and most dramatic he composed,” said Tom Service in the Guardian in 2014; and the program will close with Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, D. 485 of 1816, a conscious tribute to Mozart. “O Mozart! Immortal Mozart! what countless impressions of a brighter, better life hast thou stamped upon our souls!” went the slightly (though understandably) over-the-top appreciation Schubert wrote in his diary that year. Tickets are available now at this link.

    The rest of the Chamber Orchestra’s season looks similarly enticing, with a holiday presentation of three Brandenburg Concertos and an all-Haydn evening of his early symphonies on the schedule. More about the season here. A series of intriguing discussions about Bach and Beethoven accompanies this year’s concerts.

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