MetaFilter posts tagged with talent

Perfect Balance

netbros — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:32:48 -0800

Simon Dyson was the winner at the Dunhill Links Championship, but Manuel de los Santos may have made the biggest impression at the pro-am event, which was played on St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. De los Santos, 25, is a former baseball player who lost a leg in a car accident and picked up golf in 2004, after moving from his native Dominican Republic to France. He plays to a 3-handicap without the aid of a prosthesis.

A Forest of Guitars

boost ventilator — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:24:50 -0800

Dick Stacey's Country Jamboree is now available on DVD/CD after years of slowly fading into obscurity. "I was wrong in thinking the Jamboree was a thing of the past," said Dick Stacey, a man whose three gas stations and motel took over sponsoring this uniquely Maine talent showcase on a whim in 1973—and ended up lasting just over a decade. The original show (Frankenstein's Country Jamboree) was started by Bob Whitten in Milbridge, Maine during the late 1950s. "There were no rehearsals, and auditions were unheard of. The only thing you had to be to be on Stacey’s Country Jamboree was to be sincere and sober," said 30-year-host Charlie Tenan. "Saturday Night Live was trying to invent characters like this...these were real people, but they were characters who couldn't be manufactured," said Nova Scotia resident and fan Brian White to The Halifax Daily News in 2001. For a sample, check out Bucksport's own Jennie Shontell sing "Wings of a Dove." The longevity and regional success of this program (yet current lack of YouTube presence) was partly due to the bizarre "Bangor/Atlantic Canada cable connection," which also bolstered the career of the late Great Money Movie host Eddie "We'll put 'em on for ya" Driscoll, until being destroyed by a decision by Atlantic Canadian cable providers to opt for Detroit feeds instead of ones from Bangor.

Paganini, Orff, Macchio, Banjo

jonson — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 23:49:51 -0800

Long before Robert Johnson ever went down to the crossroads, violinist & composer Niccolo Paganini was rumored to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for musical ability. Evidence against this theory: Paganini's 5th Caprice actually prevented the devil from stealing The Karate Kid's soul (the devil settled for stealing Ralph Macchio's career instead). Evidence in favor of this theory: When played on acoustic guitar, the virtuosity in his 24th Caprice really seems supernaturally inspired. For my money, however, the perfect storm of ominous music & stringed instruments comes together in this version of Carmina Burana (mp3 direct download), arranged for solo banjo.

Noel Mewton-Wood (1922-53)

matteo — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:53:40 -0800

After a Noel Mewton-Wood performance of Hindemith's (.pdf) Ludus Tonalis, Dame Myra Hess exclaimed: ‘The boy is truly remarkable, and what shall he be like at 40-odd?’. Glowing testimonials to his ‘genius’ (Sir Malcolm Sargent) from Beecham, Schnabel, Bliss, Hindemith and Britten were countered by indifference from the major record labels and concert managements. In 1953, at the age of 31, the pianist, a shy young man susceptible to depression, committed suicide. Now, the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive of Middlesex University offers a scan of the The London Evening News page with the report of Mewton-Wood's death. And here is a mp3 page with some of his out-of-print work.

Fate of Prodigies

Gyan — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:55:54 -0800

Young + Brilliant, Blessed + Cursed