The Maestro’s Blog

Joe Sample, Old places Old faces

In Praise of Joe and Rachel

My first encounter listening to a symphony orchestra remains permanently fixed in my memory. Not so with jazz. My love of jazz gradually seeped into my being over time –…

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Oi Vey! Not Another One!

contributor Mark Vanhoenacker offered yet another in the unending series of obituaries for classical music on January 21, 2014, entitled Requiem – Classical Music in America is dead. Vanhoenacker quotes…

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A Pearl Among Us

No, I’m not speaking of the precious collectible created by oysters and other mollusks, but of violinist Itzhak Perlman. I have enjoyed his playing for decades and feel privileged to…

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Twas the Night Before. . .

It’s Christmas Eve 2013. (And I guess it was a miracle that we made it past 2012 after all the hype and prognostications to the contrary.) I do know that…

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Brooklyn Philharmonic May Face Bankruptcy

“Updated: November 8, 2013 4:39 p.m. The Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, which traces its roots back 156 years, may have played its last note. The struggling institution’s board is seeking…

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I'm thankful for Musicians

Thanks! An Encore Presentation. . .

As I began to write what I hope will be an annual Thanksgiving Day blog post, I re-read last year’s – my first. It appeared to contain some good thoughts,…

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You are like the music teacher I never had! I devour your lessons. Thank you! {Refering to chat video Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo & Juliet Overture-Fantasy”, Part 1}

— Jethro Gómez Rodriguez, Australia