Miro

Laila e Corrado sono una giovane coppia che, con grande ottimismo e leggerezza, si destreggia in una vita non facile nella quale si intrecciano svariati problemi: l’ultra-precariato, il disturbo bipolare di lui, due famiglie di origine alquanto bislacche. Nel passato di Corrado c’è il secondo posto al Premio “Campiello Giovani” mentre nel suo presente e in quello della sua compagna c’è solo una realtà comune a molti giovani…

Known usually by their commercial names-star anise, aniseed and fennel, respectively-illicium, pimpinella and foeniculum are spices with a rich history. In addition to their traditional uses, each has multiple applications in botany, chemistry, pharmacology and therapy. The author, along with expert contributors, discusses this range of applications and presents data on the ecological and biological characteristics of these genera. The text gives a full profile for each species, including practices for cultivating, drying and storing the plants. Their performance in the marketplace is also reviewed, with a look at their economic importance and future trends. University professors and students in botany, pharmacology, phytochemistry and medicine will benefit from this volume.

Spring Forward, the delightful title work by Peter Schickele, is a gift to the composer/humourists’ many worldwide fans. This touching Suite represents a culmination of sorts 'after a lifetime of entering sketches for such a piece into my notebooks,' Schickele writes in his entertaining program notes. Richard Danielpour’s moving Clarinet Quintet, ('The Last Jew in Hamadan') was composed with Danielpour’s memories of his childhood in Iran in mind. (The members of his family who escaped the country were the lucky ones.) Aaron Jay Kernis’ intriguing Perpetual Chaconne reflects his fascination with the variety of approaches composers have used to develop and vary their ideas over the ages.