Annual Thanks – Encore 2019
In re-reading Thanksgiving blog posts from the past I sometimes think: “Mm, this would be good to repeat.” The one I wrote in 2014 struck me, and so I offer…
The Maestro’s Blog
How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down On The Farm
(After They’ve Seen Paree?)…as the 1919 WWI song written by lyricist Joe Young and composers Sam M. Lewis and Walter Donaldson so ably asks. The problem, however, for classical music…
Captain Nemo Meets Igor Stravinsky
First – mea culpa! I wish to apologize for my two-month hiatus from posting. Preparations during July and August for the production we just recorded for American Public Television – right up…
Game of Tones Parties
14.7 million US citizens watched the first episode of the last season of Game of Thrones. . .according to Reuters news. That’s about 5.25% of our total population. According to…
Happy 40th Anniversary NJYS!
The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) celebrated its 40th anniversary this weekend in Newark at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Prudential Hall. The truth is…NJYS has been celebrating all…
The Emotional Space. . .That Music Can Provide
“. . .We have never needed more urgently the emotional space that music – and classical music in particular – can provide.” So wrote Clemency Burton-Hill in a January 2018…
Today I watched an episode called “Discover Beethoven’s Fifth”, and it was marvelous! Maestro Maull and his talented orchestra gave me a one-hour thrill. I’ve always loved Beethoven, especially his Fifth Symphony. I studied piano for 7 years as a young person, and came to appreciate so many of the classical composers, but Beethoven’s Fifth has always thrilled me. I so appreciated the format of the program, and the Maestro involved all of us and taught us so much. Thank you for this fine program. And many thanks and praise to the orchestra! When the program ended, I clapped loudly and shouted “Bravo!! Bravo!!!”