The Arts et al wishes you a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from yours truly. I celebrated 2008 by eating chocolates and watching Joshua Bell on “Live from Lincoln Center” with the New York Philharmonic.

The program was amazing;:a lot of simple things that I’ve loved for years, like Ravel’s “Tzigane,” selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and Fritz Krisler’s “Loves Joy” and “Loves Sorrow.” I wished the Philharmonic chose less invasive arrangements, i.e., using a full orchestra for “Tzigane” gave it a cheeky and absurd Prokofievan feel that I’ve seen other orchestras do much better.

At precisely midnight, I was climbing into bed. I heard a lots of air horns, screaming and one very hoarse man shout “Happy New Year” from the street below my window. Someone else obnoxiously banged on a pot with a spoon, and in the building across the street, a kid ran from kitchen to living room to bedroom with his hands up in the air.