Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
The Classical Girl Interested in my dance-related fiction? Check out the Ballet Theatre Chronicles ( Off Balance , Outside the Limelight, Ballet Orphans), as well as A Dancer’s Guide to Africa. Just click on their titles! You see professional ballet dancers wearing them onstage. And this, you already know: they are beautiful, glittery, ethereal, like moving pieces of art. … Read more
This past weekend, acclaimed violinist Leonidas Kavakos performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony. As you might know, I’m a big fan of this concerto. (Elaborated HERE.) I found Kavakos’ interpretation to be magnificent. Soul-stirring. No, not perfect. Sometimes a note didn’t land precisely right on the money. And there were moments where the pacing seemed … Read more
It’s complex, gripping, devilishly complicated, and sounds like no other concerto in the violin repertoire. Listening to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ violin concerto, you hear dark, wintry night; pure, crystalline melody above a cushion of pianissimo strings (starlight has a sound!); brooding motifs; a violin that laments but never stops singing. In the second movement, … Read more
From the audience, that 2009 Sunday matinee performance in Davies Hall, nothing seemed amiss. Gautier Capuçon’s rendition of the Schumann Cello Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony won me over instantly, as did his stage charisma—and, okay, those cinematic good looks of his. Two years later, his thoughtful, nuanced performance of Henri Dutilleux’s “Tout un Monde Lointain, ” … Read more
Want the link to the Oct 5, 2017 coverage? Click HERE! Welcome to The Classical Girl’s World Ballet Day 2015 page! Glad you could make it. I will update this page prior to, and throughout World Ballet Day, so you can have the most relevant links and information as the day unrolls. And want to hold onto … Read more