h5ringer (Scout, Sub-Editor) - The Maestro Cat

God may have created the Earth, but Man created Music

I am afflicted by an incurable disease - Mahleria. I first contacted the illness in the early 1960s [Recent research has dated this to 30 July, 1963] by listening to a radio broadcast of a concert. The effect was immediate and long-lasting.

The illness has taken up much of my spare time over the years, not to mention a considerable sum of money spent on concerts, books, LPs, and CDs. The disease is now at an advanced stage, and a few years ago I took to writing about Mahler in an attempt at self-therapy.

There are many like sufferers in the world, but we share at least one thing in common - we have absolutely no desire to find a cure.

I am also a member of the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna.

As an H2G2 Scout, I am always on the lookout for interesting new Entries that can be added to the Edited Guide. As the lovely green badge over to the right indicates, I write a regular column, Musical Notes, for The Post. You do read The Post don't you? If you don't, shame on you; get yourself over there toute de suite, schnell, PDQ.

Hashing

Why the name h5ringer? Well, I also belong to an organisation known as the Hash House Harriers. The club's activity is best summed up by our slogan: 'A drinking club with a running problem'. There are local groups all over the world - wherever you find ex-Brits, you'll find Hashers (as we are known). My local group is Hare and Hounds Hash House Harriers (hence H5). All Hashers have a Hash name by which they call each other - mine is Ringer - hence my h2g2 name, h5ringer.

For full and unexpurgated details, see my Hashing Entry, but on your head be it - you have been warned!

The H2G2 University Mahler Project

I am an H2G2 Field Researcher. My first project has been to write a set of EGEs on the life and works of the composer Gustav Mahler. There is at least one Entry for every symphony, each of which describes the historical background to its composition and première performance. Each Entry also includes a brief description of the music, intended as a listening guide. All nine completed symphonies are covered, plus the symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde and the unfinished Tenth Symphony. The project also includes a few entries on other topics of Mahler-related interest.

The set of project Entries are:

• First Symphony
• Second Symphony
• Third Symphony
• Fourth Symphony
• Fifth Symphony
• The Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony
• Sixth Symphony
• The Order of the Middle Movements in the Sixth Symphony
• Mahler only visit to England - 1892
• Alma Mahler-Werfel - Part 1: 1879 to 1911
• Alma Mahler-Werfel - Part 2: from 1911
• Seventh Symphony
• Eighth Symphony - Part 1
• Eighth Symphony - Part 2
• Das Lied von der Erde
• Ninth Symphony
• Tenth Symphony

Other Edited Guide Entries

A set of Entries on Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle:

• Introduction
• Das Rheingold
• Die Walküre
• Siegfried
• Götterdämmerung

I am also writing an occasional series that will (hopefully) keep alight the memory of some musical figures of yesteryear that are in danger of slipping below the radar.

Completed Entries to date are:

• Conductor Eduard van Beinum
• Conductor Ataulfo Argenta
• Conductor Basil Cameron
• Contralto Kathleen Ferrier
• Conductor Anton Seidl

Oh, and the 42 thingy:
Researcher 3386111 = ((3 + 3) x 8 - 6 + 1) x 1 - 1 = 42