American Symphony music director Leon Botstein's main focus has usually been on music from central Europe, but now and then he veers sharply away to examine other musical traditions. Last night's concert at Carnegie Hall provided one of those excursions, presenting performances of rarely-heard music by three self-identified Spanish composers whose lives were affected by the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. The result was a fascinating evening of discovery under the guidance of this … <Read More>
The Prop 8 Case – Will It Ever End?
The 9th Circuit gave notice today that it received a motion to intervene in the pending appeal in Perry v. Schwarzenegger by Chuck Storey, who was elected Imperial County Clerk last year and recently took office. Last fall, the Imperial County Deputy Clerk unsuccessfully sought to intervene as an Appellant in order to lend the standing of a governmental office so that the district court's decision striking down Prop 8 could be appealed. The question … <Read More>
Another Department Heard From: NY Appellate Division, 1st Department, Affirms Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage Performed in Canada
Adding to the body of appellate precedents recognizing same-sex marriages in New York, the Appellate Division, 1st Department, ruled today in Ranftle v. Leiby, No. 4214 (Index 4585/08), that a same-sex marriage performed in Canada in 2008 would be recognized in New York for purposes of probating the will of one of the spouses.
The unanimous ruling by a four-judge panel, affirming N.Y. County Surrogate Kristen Booth Glen's refusal to allow the decedent's brother … <Read More>
Obama Administration Declines to Defend Constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act
Facing an imminent deadline on March 11 to file either an answer or a motion to dismiss in two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act pending in federal district courts in New York and Connecticut, which necessarily meant taking a position on the level of judicial scrutiny to be applied to a law that discriminates based on sexual orientation within a circuit (the 2nd Circuit) that has no established … <Read More>
“Unknown” – The Film
In Ormond Beach, Florida, visiting my Mom, who asked to go out to a movie. Despite the fact that the local multiplex has 12 screens, we were really scratching to find something to see. The handful of films that I would want to see I had already seen in New York. She doesn't get out much and hasn't seen many. The only one that I hadn't seen that sounded worth seeing based on the description … <Read More>
“Esperar, Sentir, Morir” – Le Po
This evening I attended the latest concert in the Miller Theatre Early Music Series, presented at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Square. The guest artists tonight were Vincent Dumestre and Le Po
Ra
This isn't my normal beat, but my regular concert-going companion and I are big fans of Ra
Arkansas Supreme Court Affirms Visitation Order for Former Lesbian Partner
The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed a trial court's ruling that a lesbian mother's former partner was entitled to a visitation order to maintain contact with the child whose conception she helped to plan and for whom she was a primary parent during the early years of the child's life. Relying on the doctrine of in loco parentis, the court concluded, by a vote of 5-2, that the record supported Perry County Circuit Court Judge … <Read More>
Texas Appeals Court Approves Registration of California Same-Sex Custody Decree
The Texas Court of Appeals (1st District – Houston) ruled on February 10 that the Harris County District Court had properly ordered the registration of a California parentage judgment involving a gay male couple who were intended parents under a gestational surrogacy agreement. Ruling unanimously in Berwick v. Wagner, No. 01-09-00834-CV, the court found that such registration complied with the requirements under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), a uniform law … <Read More>
ASO’s Romp Through Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory
The American Symphony Orchestra is entering the home stretch in its two-year project to present all of the Beethoven Symphonies as part of its Classics Declassified series presented at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Sunday they did the 7th Symphony, which unfortunately I had to miss due to a conflicting engagement, but the friend to whom I gave my ticket reported having a wonderful time. The format of these programs is … <Read More>