Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
The Classical Girl It’s impossible to watch a live performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 without thinking about the 1996 Australian movie, Shine. A few Sundays ago I attended the San Francisco Symphony and took in Garrick Ohlsson’s excellent performance of the concerto. Movie reference aside, I love this piece of music. I love all the Rachmaninov piano … Read more
Untamed. Uncorked. Unlaced. The Smuin Ballet wins the prize for coming up with the cleverest titles for its season’s dance series. Last year, the company’s 20th anniversary season, they presented their audiences with XXtremes, XXmas and XXcentric. (Get it? XX=20?) I particularly like this season’s holiday performance series name, “Uncorked.” Does that sound like a party or what? Last weekend … Read more
San Francisco Symphony’s performance on Sunday, September 20th aimed for variety through the centuries. From J.S. Bach’s 1721 Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, to Henry Brandt’s wild and weird 21st century Ice Field: Spatial Narratives for Large and Small Orchestral Groups, culminating with one of the earliest symphonies I remember hearing and falling in love with, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. … Read more
Want deets for the Oct 5, 2017 event? Click HERE! Ballet fans around the world, mark the date: Wednesday October 1st. You are about to be blitzed. Never before has there been such a perfect opportunity for fans around the world to wholly immerse themselves in a day of ballet. Five companies, The Australian Ballet, The … Read more
She’s got 1,590,000 Google hits. Hers is the ballet dancer name on everyone’s lips. Her athleticism and beauty in the ad for Under Armour this past summer created a sensation that quickly went viral. She’s tiny for a ballet dancer, at five-foot-two. She has curves. She didn’t take her first ballet class until she was … Read more