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Mary Jane Freeman

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Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

Beethoven’s “Cuckoo” sonatina.

One might suspect that the Opus 79 sonatina was actually composed much earlier than its publication date of 1809, but Beethoven’s sketchbooks show that it is a contemporary of such works as the Emperor Concerto and the Harp Quartet. This miniature sonata is also known as the “Cuckoo” for the repeated chirping motive in the first movement, which is followed by a plaintive barcarolle and a lively finale. It’s beautifully interpreted here by the Polish pianist Marta Czech. [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]


Russia: Maglev Rail Moves Ahead

Russia Designing Its Own Maglev

Feb. 17 (EIRNS)– Chief Designer Yuri Solomonov of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, a Russian engineering and scientific research institute which is part of the Roscosmos space corporation, told TASS this week that his institute is developing an experimental prototype of a magnetic levitated train that can operate in an unmanned mode.. “The aim of the project,” he said, “is to create…a full-scale demonstration model of a train to check and confirm the main technical characteristics of new technological solutions related to implementation of the maglev (magnetic levitation) technology.” The project involves a significant modernization of the current monorail transport system, created in the early 2000s. It will move along a single steel beam and operate in an unmanned mode or with minimal human control. “The tentative time frame to begin running tests is the third quarter of this year,” Solomonov added. Following trials, a decision will be made on whether to begin full-scale work to launch the serial production of the new transportation system. This same institute has developed Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, including Topol, Topol-M, Yars and Bulava.


Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

Beethoven’s “Shakespeare” sonata, “I scorn to change my state with kings;” the great Appassionata.

Opus 57 – the “Appassionata” – one of the greatest works of Beethoven’s so-called “heroic” period, provides the backdrop for the following account: 
In the late autumn of 1806, as Beethoven was putting the finishing touches to this sonata, his patron Prince Lichnowski ordered him to perform for officers of the occupying French Army. Beethoven refused, departed in the middle of a furious storm, and later wrote to Lichnowski, “Prince! What you are, you are by circumstance and birth. What I am, I am through myself. Of princes there have and will be thousands. Of Beethovens there is only one!” The manuscript for the Appassionata bears the stains from that rainstorm.
This performance by Murray Perahia is the best I’ve heard. [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]


World Food Program Warns: 41 Million People at Famine’s Door

World Food Program Warns There Are 41 Million People at Famine’s Door

June 22 (EIRNS)–The World Food Program today issued a warning headlined, “41 Million People Now at Imminent Risk of Famine.” The UN WFP press release quotes Executive Director David Beasley, who addressed the WFP Board on June 21, “I am heartbroken at what we’re facing in 2021. We now have four countries where famine-like conditions are present. Meanwhile, 41 million people are literally knocking on famine’s door. If you look at the numbers, it’s just tragic—these are real people with real names. I am extremely concerned.”

The four countries with famine-like conditions are Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan and Yemen, where people are experiencing famine-like conditions, which is phase 5, “famine/catastrophe,” on the IPS acute food insecurity index from 1 to 5.  Nigeria and Burkina Faso also have people in this worst category.

The 41 million people are across 43 countries. “The slightest shock will push them over the precipice. This number has risen from 27 million in 2019,” said the release.

Further from the release, “Conflict, climate change and economic shocks have been driving the rises in hunger, but pressures on food security are being compounded by soaring prices for basic foods this year. Global corn prices have soared almost 90% year-on-year, while wheat prices are up almost 30% over the same period.

“In many countries, currency depreciation is adding to these pressures and driving prices even higher. This in turn is stoking hunger in countries such as Lebanon, Nigeria, Sudan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

“This year, the UN World Food Program is undertaking the biggest operation in its history, targeting 139 million people this year.” Beasley asks for $6 billion. “We need funding and we need it now.”


Putin Commemorates 80th Anniversary of ‘Great Patriotic War,’ Urges for Collaboration with Europe

June 22, 2021 (EIRNS) — Today is the “Day of Remembrance and Sorrow” in Russia, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the June 22, 1941, with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union beginning the Great Patriotic War. On this occasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has written a feature for the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, titled “Being Open, Despite the Past,” also made available in Russian, English, and other languages. He recalls the enormous sacrifices made by the Soviet people in the fight against Nazism, whose memory is seared into their consciousness, and explaining the current security situation in Europe, he demonstrates that the Western-orchestrated geopolitical machinations of the past 75 years have created dangerous strategic tensions and heightened potential for conflict. But, he argues, however important it is important to understand  the past, “we simply cannot afford to carry the burden of past misunderstandings, hard feelings, conflicts and mistakes,” as these will “prevent us from concentrating on the challenges at hand. We are convinced that we all should recognize these mistakes and correct them.” 

        Putin described the hopes that Russia held at the end of the Cold War, that there would be a “common victory for Europe … the logic of building a Greater Europe united by common values and interests.” Instead, he points out, “a different approach has prevailed,” based on NATO’s eastward expansion, leaving nations confronted with the “artificial choice of being either with the collective West or with Russia. In fact, it was an ultimatum.”

      As a result of these events in the post-war period, Putin wrote, “the whole system of European security has now degraded significantly. Tensions are rising and the risks of a new arms race are becoming real. We are missing out on the tremendous opportunities that cooperation offers–all the more important now that we are all facing common challenges, such as the pandemic and its dire social and economic consequences.” The “entire post-war history of Greater Europe, confirms that prosperity and security of our common continent is only possible through the joint efforts of all countries, including Russia.… We are open to honest and constructive interaction. This is confirmed by our idea of a common space of cooperation and security from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean which would comprise various integration formats.” Watch the event.


Africa Enters 3rd Wave; Equitable Vaccine Distribution Could Have Prevented It

Africa Entering Third Wave; Equitable Vaccine Distribution Could Have Prevented It

June 21 (EIRNS) — Africa has officially entered its third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in less than two years — having been struck with two waves in 2020, and now going into another Winter season — with little relief in sight, and new more-virulent variants to deal with. “New cases, continent-wide are up by nearly 30% in the past week, and deaths are up by 15%,” said WHO Africa Regional Director, Doctor Matshidiso Moeti, in her weekly press conference June 17. “The threat of a third wave is real and rising.” A meager 1% of the African population has been vaccinated, due to the massive logistics barriers involved, along with lack of vaccine accessibility and financing.
            The land-locked nation of Uganda is the latest crisis spot– as cases in the nation of nearly 50 million have shot up over 131% in the last week– with Namibia, DR Congo and Angola each showing lesser spikes. Many more of the victims are now younger, and a much higher percentage of them now require oxygen as part of treatment. Uganda’s hospitals are nearing their limits, and the nation has put out requests to neighboring states for emergency relief supplies.
            The other nation again in the unwanted spotlight is South Africa, where President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to make a national address on June 15, as he once again declared a Level 3 lockdown. “A third wave of infections is upon us,” the president said. In just the past two weeks, “the average number of daily new infections has doubled. Then, we were recording around 3,700 daily infections. Over the last seven days, we have recorded an average of 7,500 daily infections. Hospital admissions due to COVID-19 over the last 14 days are 59% higher than the preceding 14 days.”
            Again reflecting the increased threat from variants, Ramaphosa said, “The average number of people who die from COVID-19 each day has increased by 48%  from 535 two weeks ago to 791 in the past seven days.” [emphasis added] Although South Africa responded effectively and built emergency capacity last year, four of the most populous provinces are officially in a third wave, with Gauteng — the most urban and populous — accounting for nearly two-thirds of new cases in the past week. “The increase in infections … is now faster and steeper,” he said, and “within a matter of days, it is likely that the number of new cases in Gauteng will surpass the peak of the second wave.” And Winter is just starting.
            South Africa’s vaccine rollout has been severely frustrated, first by the denial of AstraZeneca vaccines from India (as they faced their own crisis), and further by the complications around the Johnson & Johnson version, either one of which could have prevented this crisis. Vaccines are “the one statistic that provides a clear reason for hope,” Ramaphosa said. Last year (during the second wave), over hundreds of healthcare workers had become infected, as the “South African variant” was first encountered. “In the last seven days,” he said, “only 64 health care workers have been infected.”
            By the end of the week, South Africa is expected to produce its own Johnson & Johnson vaccines. 


Russian Call for Four-Power Strategic Dialogue, U.S.-Russia-India-China

June 21 (EIRNS) — Andrey Shushentsov, Program Director of the Valdai Discussion Club and Director of the Institute of International Studies at MGIMO University, argues in a short essay published on the Valdai Club website that a strategic dialogue among the United States, Russia, China and India is necessary to prevent the current state of affairs from devolving into open conflict. However, Shushentsov limits himself to the necessity of preventing the geopolitical confrontations now in play from turning into military conflict without ever mentioning the positive potential of those four powers to create a new world credit system as defined by Lyndon LaRouche in 2009.

“In a chaotic environment, the leading powers seek to secure themselves a privileged position in the international system and limit the opportunities for their key competitors,” Shushentsov writes. He notes in the first part of the essay that these four countries are the most powerful nuclear powers and have four of the world’s six largest economies. He notes further the strategic competition between America and Russia, between America and China–including the U.S. effort to rope India into the “Quad” vs China, and the positive relations between Russia and India. “Unprovoked crises or spontaneous episodes of conflict in relations within the Big Four nuclear powers can disrupt progressive global economic processes,” he writes further. “In this regard, these four powers should be mutually attentive and prudent, channeling their rivalry into a non-military area.”

Therefore, Shushentsov writes, “It is the responsibility of the expert community of the four countries to carefully study the train of thought of their competing partners in order to exclude the sudden development of a conflict. In this regard, it seems reasonable to create a permanent format for consultation among the high-level experts of Russia, the USA, China and India. To ensure that mutual deterrence does not lead to strategic disruptions and war, it is necessary to manage relations, emphasizing an interest in cooperation with respect to common areas, such as climate, the ecology, digital development, space, mining, demography, migration and counteracting natural disasters. The purpose of the high-level consultations is to prevent a shift from strategic containment to impulsive attempts to break the emerging status quo,” 

He concludes. “The formation of a stable dialogue format for the four leading global powers in the 21st Century will make it possible to minimize the likelihood of an impulsive breakdown into open conflict, the potential for which remains a factor in global politics.”


Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

One of Beethoven’s “hidden” treasures is found in, Op. 54.

Beethoven’s 22nd piano sonata, Opus 54, is like a buried treasure, appearing between the more famous Waldstein (Op. 53) and Appassionata (Op. 57). Its formidable technical and interpretive challenges also discourage many players from making the attempt. Here is an excellent performance by the Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]


COVID: One Humanity

Chinese Vaccines Have Begun To Arrive in Africa

Beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 10, Chinese Covid-19 vaccines have begun to arrive in Africa. Separate from their commitments to the UN’s COVAX convention, China has committed to donate vaccines to 14 lesser-developed countries, with Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone leading the list. This is a commitment begun in July, 2020, at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19, held (virtually) in Beijing.

“A batch of China-donated SinoPharm COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, on Wednesday,” stated {CGTN} on Feb. 11. At a press conference in Beijing announcing the shipment on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin noted that It will be the first batch of donations from China to African countries, adding it shows China is fulfilling its promise of making Chinese vaccines a global public good.

The shipment of 100,000 doses was met at the airport by Equatorial Guinea’s VP Teodoro Obiang Mangue, who emphasized the generosity of China in fighting “vaccine hoarding” by wealthier nations. As quoted by Xinhua “Faced with the pandemic, no country, no matter how powerful, has been spared. However, in this context of crisis, only China has extended its hand to Equatorial Guinea, which has become the first African country to receive Chinese vaccine aid, and we are grateful for it.”

Early Monday morning 200,000 doses arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe, with the country committing to purchase an additional 600,000 which they expect in early March. In a statement, President Mnangagwa “applauded” China, “for its consistent humane policy of treating Covid-19 vaccines as global public goods. This kind gesture,” he said, “further attests to the fact that the People’s Republic of China is indeed a true friend of Zimbabwe.”

Other countries in line to receive shots from China include Pakistan, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Mongolia, the Palestinian territories, Belarus, and Sierra Leone, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement “seen by” {Reuters}.


Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

Another from Beethoven’s “new path”, the “Waldstein” sonata, Opus 53.

We come to the “Waldstein” sonata, Opus 53, dedicated to one of Beethoven’s earliest patrons. When Beethoven departed Bonn for Vienna, it was Count von Waldstein, Privy Councillor to the Archbishop-Elector of Bonn, who forecast that Beethoven would “receive the spirit of Mozart from the hands of Haydn”.
The sonata itself was described by one reviewer as being “full of strange whims and very difficult to perform”. A wonderful work of art, it exemplifies the “new path” in composition that Beethoven had determined to blaze. It’s performed here by Lucas Jussen. [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]


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