হিমাদ্রি চ্যাটার্জী Himadri Chatterjee
@hairygit
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Loves Shakespeare, Verdi, Sherlock Holmes stories. Also the plays of Ibsen (see pinned tweet).
near London
Joined February 2011
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
This book is on a subject very close to my heart, and I can only hope my love of these plays come through. As well as my thoughts on them, of course.
You may order it from , or from .
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I love spoiling the plot of The Picture of Dorian Gray for those who haven’t read it. Never gets old.
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When my late father visited National Gallery some 50 years ago, the painting he loved most was Constable's "Cornfield". He had himself grown up in the Bengali countryside, but this depiction of the very different English countryide resonated very strongly with him.
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Very disappointed to see this from my former university.
To be completely honest, I am utterly sick and tired of this nonsense.
We all know it's ludicrous, so how on earth does it keep happening?!
'Rolling English hills' aren't racist, they're hills.
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Rachmaninov playing for his grand-daughter.
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Martin Amis famously declared “Don Quixote” to be “unreadable”, & many readers have enthusiastically echoed this judgement. I am frankly puzzled. There are many classic works that aren’t very reader-friendly, but surely “Don Quixote” isn’t among them. Any thoughts, anyone?
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Dad’s Army was, essentially, a cosy, comfy sitcom, but in this episode, they daringly addressed a thorny issue, and it still makes for difficult viewing. Superb television. On BBC2 tonight at 8.50pm.
Dad's Army - Branded (20th November 1969). Godfrey drops a bombshell.
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OK, the RSC “Julius Caesar” last night…
This production is so bad, one barely knows where to start. But let’s try anyway.
Long thread ⬇️
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If I were to restrict my reading only to those writers who didn't have some views I may consider unacceptable, I'm not sure there would be much left to read. And I find it rather patronising for anyone to presume to "explain" those views to me.
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There's something about the 6-year-old Aldous Huxley that makes me feel unduly frivolous and intellectually lightweight.
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I wonder how he'd have felt at the suggestion that English landscapes evoke "dark, nationalist" feelings, & exclude those not white. Actually, that's a rhetorical question: I know how he'd have felt, though he'd have been too polite to have expressed those feelings openly.
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@MelindaTaub
My vote goes to Dr Zhivago, directed by David Lean. An awful lot wrong with it (including wooden performances by the two leads), but absolutely nothing wrong with the art direction, or with Freddie Young’s breathtaking cinematography.
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Boy positive for Covid now. Isolating in his room. And sending us very precise messages on WhatsApp, such as “Could you please bring up CDs of Bernstein’s recording of Mahler’s 3rd symphony and put them outside my door”.
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Those arcane & elitist rules of Theatre Etiquette:
1. Plonk yer arse on designated seat
2. Keep quiet during performance (unless enjoined by performer to do otherwise)
3. Don’t bother others : they’ve paid for their seats too
4. Clap when it’s over if you want to
5. Go home
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This is profoundly embarrassing.
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Call me lightweight, call me middlebrow, call me anything you like, but the Christmas music I love best is Puccini’s La Bohème. Always brings a tear to the eye. So, with apologies to Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky (not to mention Slade) I’m now going to get myself a drink &put this on
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He bought a framed print of The Cornfield, & hung it up in the living room (it hangs there still). He loved it. He'd spent 21 years of his life under British Raj, & if anyone was well placed to resent British cultural imperialism, he was. But he didn't. Far from it.
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Our lad will has been offered a job as hospital porter.
Despite severe Aspergers, he astonished us by getting a BMus from conservatoire, but trombonist was never going to be a full time job. He’ll still get some gigs (we hope), but as parents, we couldn’t be happier, or prouder.
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This is how to subtitle a translation!
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Shakespearean texts are edited because there are inaccuracies in original text, & because there are often more than just 1 original text, with differences between them. They’re NOT edited to protect readers’ sensitivities. I’m sure JCO knows this. This is deliberately dishonest.
Each example is unique. That’s why it’s hard to agree on a general principle. You all know that the Shakespeare plays you’ve seen have all been edited—especially “Hamlet”—but have you ever complained?
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@NoContextBrits
The full English breakfast, and a magnificent health service to help you recover from your heart attack.
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James Joyce died 80 years ago today.
In those 80 years, his works have been read by literally dozens of people.
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Looking back on my past - as I'm entitled to do in my declining years - my not writing a novel has been, I'd say, a significant contribution to world literature, and I feel it's high time I was remunerated for it.
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As you get older, people stop asking you what your favourite dinosaur is. They don’t even care.
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Glastonbury isn’t really my kind of thing, but of course I have no problem with its widespread coverage. But if only the BBC would give half as much attention to its own festival, the Proms.
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I’ve been an Ibsen obsessive for many decades now: some 32 years ago, I even went on Mastermind on BBC to answer questions on his plays. It’s been an absolute pleasure writing about my favourite author.
Available from publishers () or from Amazon tomorrow!
New Book! Essays on Ibsen by Himadri Chatterjee (
@hairygit
). A series of essays analyzing the plays of Henrik Ibsen, from Brand and Peer Gynt to John Gabriel Borkman and When We Dead Awaken.
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@davidcinema
Clockwise, from top left:
Wild Strawberries (dir. Ingmar Bergman), Mirror (dir. Andrei Tarkovsky), La Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie (dir. Luis Buñuel), 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini)
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TS Eliot, born on this day, 1888.
Quite apart from his greatness as a poet, he was a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, of Kurosawa’s samurai films, and of the Marx Brothers. What impeccable taste the man had!
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Ingmar Bergman having a chat with Death.
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Doctor told me I'm suffering from onomatopoeia. What's that? I asked. Exactly what it sounds like, she said.
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There's debate raging in some parts of Twitter on whether one should keep one's books, & whether having a house full of books is "showing off". Well, others can do as they want, but they're my bloody books & I do what I damn well want with them. I trust that's that settled.
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Am I the only person who, on hearing of Maugham, thinks first of W. Somerset?
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Since Mahler was born on this day, here’s a bust of Gus Mahler sculpted by Gus Rodin.
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@connorjbyrne
When England play India, English friends ask things like “How do you think your India will do?” I was in India recently & Indians (real Indians, people who live & have grown up there) asked me “How do you think your England will do?”
No identity crisis:I just support whoever wins
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Born on this day …
Orson Welles, seen here jamming with Laurel and Hardy
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On this day in 1922, James Joyce's novel "Ulysses" was published. Since that day, literally dozens of people have read it.
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@samthielman
Turner.
No previous artist had seen light in quite the same way, and no subsequent artist could unsee what Turner had seen.
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“There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.”
Really sad to see the RSC, of all bodies, coming up with this.
/15
/end
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It was some time in the 80s when Penguin Classics made their books bigger, so they no longer slipped easily into your jacket pocket.
If you ask me, that's when the cultural decline started.
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This is especially true for people who live in Reading.
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Father & son, all ready for Handel's "Samson" at the Proms.
I love "Samson". Always makes me want to smite a Philistine.
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A young William Shatner plays Alyosha Karamazov (no - really!) in the film version of The Brothers Karamazov (1958).
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Schubert’s impromptus. And those 3 Piano pieces D946. They’re rather lovely, aren’t they?
Sorry this tweet is so boring, but I just had to say that,
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Whether I'm posting about Dickens or Hammer horror films or Sherlock Holmes stories or Bartók string quartets (or whatever) I can always rely on scantily clad young ladies (with links in bios) to like my posts. So thank you very much, scantily clad young ladies! Much appreciated!
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Good to see Judi Dench’s recital of Shakespeare on the Graham Norton Show making such an impact. It seems that beatiful and expressive words, beautifully and expressively delivered, still make an impact. Who’d have thought?
Judi Dench was on Graham Norton last night to push her new book about her life and work with Shakespeare. After making the point we quote Shakespeare daily without knowing it, this happened:
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After getting my vaccine, the dishwasher broke down. I wonder how many other people had their dishwashers break down after taking the vaccine. What's the government trying to hide?
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In Christmas 1983, BBC showed a season of Marx Brothers films. Most of these I hadn’t seen before, & looking back, it was possibly the best Christmas I’ve had. These films have now become part of my Christmas viewing. Starting my own Marx Brothers season tonight with “Cocoanuts”.
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Of all the paintings that I’ve seen only in reproduction, this is the one I’d most like to see in real life. But given where it is (Hermitage Museum, Petersburg), I doubt I ever will.
Return of the Prodigal Son, by Rembrandt
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The 1977 BBC Anna Karenina is up on YouTube now, I see. Watched Part 1 last night & really enjoyed it. Drama given time to develop at its own pace; no fast-cutting; long scenes of dialogue, clearly delivered. All delightfully old-fashioned.
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Spent long time at
@NationalGallery
today looking at Caravaggio’s “Supper at Emmaus”. There’s the resurrected Christ at the centre; 2 disciples in a state of utter shock at the divine revelation before them; & a waiter saying “Are you all paying together, or splitting the bill?”
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The Norwegian for "king" is "kong". So the film KING KONG had to be called KONG KING in Norway.
Just thought I'd share that.
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It's thanks to the ambulance service, & to the NHS nursing & medical staff, that I'm still alive. So yes, I'm more than just grateful.
If everyone who has ever been grateful for one of these follows & retweets we'd have a much stronger voice for our NHS
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@davidcinema
David Lean's "Doctor Zhivago" is a deeply flawed film, but for my money, it's the most visually striking film I have seen (cinematographer: Freddie Young)
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When I read English-language news reports from the Indian subcontinent, I often encounter the word "miscreant". It seems to have fallen out of fashion here in the West, but it's a lovely word, and I think we should start using it again.
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A lovely old chap, name of Lenin,
Did millions & millions of men in,
But he can’t be that bad!
His successor - the cad! -
Did even more men in than Lenin.
Jan. 21, 2024: 100 years since death of Lenin.
Lenin built the totalitarian system of political repression that the dictator Stalin would later use to commit mass killings of Soviet citizens.
Lenin's own killcount: 300K political murders, 1M Gulag killings, 5M famine victims.
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Son & heir practising trombone parts of Dvořák’s New World Symphony reminded me how long it has been since I last heard it, so I put it on. And I wondered why I didn’t listen to it more often. Perhaps I just took it for granted, but it really is lovely, isn’t it?
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I know I've said this before, but I can't believe I used to think Mendelssohn's music merely lightweight & pretty & decorative. Where this music has been all my life? Right under my nose, that's where. His chamber music really is sensationally good! One lives & learns...
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I was trying to think what the greatest works were in the English language. Of course, there’s King Lear, Paradise Lost, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - but surely there must be a few other contenders?
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@longtonstokie
@connorjbyrne
😀
Well, when you support Scotland football team (as I do - I grew up there) you need to find *something* to cheer yourself up with!
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John le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came In from the Cold” has a reputation of being THE spy thriller - the one that redefined the genre - but for some strange reason, I’d never read it. Well, I’m reading it now. It’s bloody good, isn’t it?
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Shostakovich loved football, & was devoted fan of Zenit Leningrad (as it was then). It’s not generally known that alongside his symphonies & string quartets, he also composed such classics as "Who's the ******* in the black?" and "You're going home in a ******* ambulance".
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Nevr understood those who object to re-reading. There are times - like now - when I just want to immerse myself in an old favourite.
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- So what do you do now you’re retired?
- I usually go for a long walk in the morning, and sit with a book in a coffee shop in the afternoon.
- Don’t you get bored?
- Bored? BORED? I’m living the dream, I am!
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My Twitter feed is full of contentious & combative tweets today, so I think I’ll start a trend of being nice & uncontroversial. Here goes:
Crumbly Lancashire cheese on crackers, and a mug of Assam tea, make for a lovely mid-afternoon snack.
Go on then! Take issue with that!
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This clip for me is instant happiness.
From 1937: Stan & Ollie sing Blue Ridge Mountains ( hope you are having a brilliant day)
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I've rarely been as depressed by what I've seen on Twitter as I am right now. Anyway, no more of that.
Verdi, a great cultural hero of mine, was born on 10th October 1813. Let's remind ourselves what being human can be like.
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Told a friend I’d be attending the Dickens Fellowship birthday dinner, (ie in celebration of Dickens’ birthday), and he told me to go up afterwards and ask for more.
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All set for a Saturday night in at the opera.
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Duke Ellington enjoying Ella Fitzgerald’s singing
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I look forward to performances of Beethoven string quartets with someone miming the cello part while the score is similarly projected on screen. It’s inclusive, you see, so don’t complain. Do you want to exclude people who can’t play the cello? Fascist!)
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What is the best film monologue you've ever seen?
Lee J Cobb's monologue in the climactic sequence of "12 Angry Men", during the course of which his tough guy image cracks to reveal a profoundly sad and vulnerable man.
What is the best movie monologue you've ever seen?
My pick: For today, I'll choose this great sequence from the Turkish film,
Innocence (1997)
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz
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Bad cold. Heavy head, aches & pains. But I’m rather enjoying myself, wrapped in a blanket, drinking soup, & watching Laurel & Hardy.
The problem is that I’m now retired, & I’d have enjoyed this even more if I had work not to go to.
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Listening to “Parsifal” today.
Yes, I know, it’s an astounding masterpiece, but it has to be said …
That bloke Wagner really was off his rocker, wasn’t he?
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Me & my boy at the Barbican, all ready for Haydn's "Seasons".
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@PriyamvadaGopal
@Kings_College
I’ve worked in various private companies for nearly 35 years, and none of the receptionists or security staff have ever addressed me by my title. And nor would I expect them to. They address me as Himadri. On account of that being my name. What exactly is the problem?
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What is the most visually stunning film you’ve seen?
My pick: “Doctor Zhivago” (directed by. david Lean)
The film is a bit of a mess, I agree, but Freddie Young’s cinematography is something else.
What is the most visually stunning movie you've ever seen?
My pick:
The Last Emperor (1987)
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
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Perfection is an unattainable ideal, say people who have never heard Mozart's clarinet quintet.
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I know I post a lot of stuff on Bach & Haydn and all, but when I was about 14 or so, this is what I used to listen to. And you know what? I'm not at all embarrassed about it! 😀
🎶 “Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat,
You hear the thunder of stampeding rhinos, elephants and tacky tigers…This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us - the Mael brothers & Sparks - 1974🤘🎶
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Was at the Mauritshuis, in The Hague, today. Not a bad wee collection.
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From now on, every time I feel the urge to weigh on on a contentious topic on Twitter, I’ll take a deep breath, and tweet a favourite painting instead. How does that sound?
Joseph Mallord William Turner - Margate, from the Sea
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Left: Stravinsky drinking from the bottle
Right: Bartók drinking from the bottle
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Man found guilty of stealing rare first edition of Proust receives long sentence.
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Spent a wonderful night in at the opera - listening to Verdi's "La Forza del Destino" and drinking Armagnac.
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I still often wonder just what it was Mozart saw in the libretto of “The Magic Flute” to inspire him. Even after all these decades, I can’t see it. But whatever it was, inspired he was: it’s just magnificent, isn’t it?
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I’m reading a collection of old crime stories from the Strand magazine, and the phrase “master of disguise” often crops up. It struck me that I’ve never seen a master of disguise before. But then again, if I had, how would I have known?
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Tomorrow, I'll be seeing what is possibly my single favourite painting.
#Rembrandt
#Rijksmuseum
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What a fabulous portrait!
I need to make that trip to NY some day, if only to see the Frick Collection.
Born on this day 1478, in London, Thomas More. Later a Sir and (to some) a Saint. Here in 1527 by Hans Holbein. A true masterpiece of portraiture!
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@DannyDrinksWine
The pietà on the church steps at the end of the “The Roaring Twenties” (1939) dir. Raoul Walsh.
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Started the day with a bowl of porridge, a mug of Assam tea, and Prokofiev's 5th symphony.
I'm allowed to. I'm retired.
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Diana Rigg & Helen Mirren as Helena and Hermia, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, 1968.
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Some time back, I said that every time I see something that enrages me, instead of going on a rant, I’ll just put up a work of art instead. But at current rates, I’ll be running out of artworks soon! Anyway, here’s John Constable’s stunning painting of sunset over Hampstead Heath
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