Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
Concerts, recordings, reviews, musings, you name it. I’m a lifelong classical music fan.
I love visualizing the 25-year-old Edvard Grieg in 1868, married just one year and already the father of a newborn daughter, right as his composing career was taking off. I can’t decide if it was artistic zeal or the exhaustion of jugging so many roles that made him seek retreat that summer at a secluded … Read more
Oh, the many moods and stories Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg conjures in my mind, my heart. There’s the transcendent “Morning Mood” from his Peer Gynt Suite, the haunting yet hopeful “Last Spring.” I’ve sat in my car and wept to the wintry longing in his “Nocturne.” There’s the “March of the Dwarves” that evokes a … Read more
I haven’t gone to movies much since the pandemic, which is a shame. Pre-pandemic, they were a delicious escape into another world, that I simply couldn’t duplicate in any other way, certainly not while watching Netflix in my living room, everyday life fibrillating all around me. But it’s Academy Award season, and I knew I … Read more
Valentine’s Day is a funny sort of holiday. Some argue it’s simply a Hallmark fabrication, to get people to buy cards, spend unnecessary money. Others like to recall its curious, barbaric origins in the ancient celebration of Lupercalia. Me, I’m a fan of tertiary holidays, like St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day, that allow me … Read more
Many of us have been in a church or concert hall where an organ is being played, all those chords and majestic sonorities cleverly manipulated to create a sublime listening experience. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, while you’re visiting a grand cathedral, the organist might be practicing for a concert and you’re treated to a performance … Read more