Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
The Classical Girl People sometimes think ballet training is like classical music training (meaning, starting early, and young, can be a tremendous boost) and they might inadvertently dissuade a niece or a young family friend, who longs to dance, but is already in middle school. I answered this question over at my Q&A page, and thought the information … Read more
I am so very sad that the musicians and management of the San Francisco Symphony have not been able to settle their differences, as of today, March 18, and come to an agreement. Now cancelled is their prestigious East Coast tour, including performances at Carnegie Hall and Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. This is a disaster, not just … Read more
Night three of Nutcracker performances when I danced Sugar Plum Fairy, back in the day. Ow. Must confess to more than one bout of crying and “I’m not sure I can go up on pointe – it hurts too much!” rant. But of course I did. With a smile. Oh, my. I do not miss … Read more
Watching “Within the Golden Hour, ” the second ballet of the San Francisco Ballet’s Program 4 was, to me, as satisfying as it gets. “I may as well go home now,” I joked afterward, amid the applause, to the woman next to me. “It can’t get better than this.” But, surprise. The third ballet was another … Read more
It all started innocently enough, a hunger to get more tactile feedback on intonation while practicing my violin at home. Sure, there was the tuning fork getting me to A440 and then I used my ear to tuning the other open strings to fifths. But what about the B that I’d sharp one minutes and flat … Read more