Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
If it’s not about classical music, ballet or the violin, you’ll find it here.
There was no gimmick, no magic formula, no knowing of the right person. I simply called the San Francisco Ballet’s ticket office, back in mid-March and asked about the availability of various seats for the 2:00pm performance on Saturday April 20. I had a ticket already for the San Francisco Symphony’s 8:00pm performance that night, just across … Read more
In the midst of my efforts to produce a blog-worthy review of San Francisco Ballet’s Program 6, which I attended last Saturday, this dance news arose, something too important not to blog about. Adrianne Haslet-Davis is a dancer, a ballroom dance instructor who was running the Boston Marathon when a bomb exploded right next to … Read more
This week’s headlines… Boston Bombing Suspect Killed in Shootout Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast kills up to 15, with over 60 injured Death Toll Rises to 32 in Iraq Café Suicide Bombing These unfortunate headlines demonstrate a stark, inescapable facet of today’s world. Bombs. Violence. Death. Chaos. We live in violent times, bitterly relevant times. And … Read more
She was an American prima ballerina when the concept hadn’t yet been invented. She was a First Lady of dance, not just for the ambassadorship she provided for American dancers to the rest of the ballet world, but also because she was the wife of one of ballet’s greatest, George Balanchine, for six years. But … Read more
Over at Violinist.com, editor Laurie Niles has recently interviewed acclaimed violinist Elmar Oliveira who, in 1978, won the gold medal at the ultra-prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition. (Check out the interview here: http://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20134/14574/.) In the years since, Oliveira has continued to thrive, through performing, teaching and recording. His most recent project is a recording of Robert Schumann’s … Read more