The Invitation

Should scientific congresses take place in connection with Olympic Games, and should science be represented not only in the form of applied science engaged in the care of athletes, but also as an informing, reflecting and critical authority? The Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXth Olympiad answered this question in the affirmative, and the results have justified this decision.

Five female Latvian composers have woven tapestries from symphonic miniatures to celebrate the beauty of Latvia. These compositions were recorded in concert at the Great Amber Concert Hall in Liepaja on November 17, 2018, the evening before Latvia's centenary celebration and see their world premiere release in this album.

An all-expense-paid week at a luxury villa in Jamaica—it’s the invitation of a lifetime for a group of old college friends. All four women are desperate not just for a reunion, but for an escape: Tina is drowning under the demands of mothering four young children. Allie is shattered by the news that a genetic illness runs in her family. Savannah is carrying the secret of her husband’s infidelity. And, finally, there’s Pauline, who spares no expense to throw her wealthy husband an unforgettable thirty-fifth birthday celebration, hoping it will gloss over the cracks already splitting apart their new marriage.

The idea of producing this book of case histories from general family prac­ tice was only a twinkle in the editors' eyes until October 1980, when in a room in the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans, the editors met with John Fry, Joseph Levenstein and Bill Jackson to discuss new book projects. The idea was put to the group, which endorsed it enthusiastically. Encouraged by this and by John Fry's advice, the conception of The Nature of General Family Practice took place.

Henri de-Toulouse-Lautrec brought to his art a zest for life as well as an impeccable style. It is an exciting discovery to find that Lautrec applies this same exuberance and meticulous technique to the art of cuisine–that he invented recipes and cooked new dishes as an artistic creation worth of his serious attention.

Although the folk-tinged ballet scores that made Copland the quintessential American composer of the early 1940's are outside the scope of this selection, he worked along similar lines well into the 50's. ''The Tender Land,'' his 1956 opera about a girl's coming of age on a Midwest farm, is the culmination of this style, offering both the orchestral warmth and evocativeness of ''Appalachian Spring'' and the homey vocal writing of ''Old American Songs.'' Its attractions include a gorgeous quintet (''The promise of living''), an infectious barn dance (''Stomp your foot'') and a touching finale. The Brunelle recording, with Elisabeth Comeaux as Laurie and Dan Dressen as Martin, does the score full justice. Allan Kozinn

Although the folk-tinged ballet scores that made Copland the quintessential American composer of the early 1940's are outside the scope of this selection, he worked along similar lines well into the 50's. ''The Tender Land,'' his 1956 opera about a girl's coming of age on a Midwest farm, is the culmination of this style, offering both the orchestral warmth and evocativeness of ''Appalachian Spring'' and the homey vocal writing of ''Old American Songs.'' Its attractions include a gorgeous quintet (''The promise of living''), an infectious barn dance (''Stomp your foot'') and a touching finale. The Brunelle recording, with Elisabeth Comeaux as Laurie and Dan Dressen as Martin, does the score full justice.