Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
Like lists of ten? Here’s where you’ll find all sorts of “ten things” to satisfy your curiosity.
The only reason I chanced upon Clara Schumann’s compositions was a recent YouTube playlist suggestion, which sent my thoughts in two directions. First, I thought, “Shouldn’t I have heard her music live in my twenty-plus years as a San Francisco Symphony subscriber? What’s up with that? Why do her works continue to be unappreciated and … Read more
As a lifelong Catholic, I’ve always taken Holy Week seriously in a personal way, and the reading of The Passion on Palm Sunday always deeply affects me. You’d think I’d never heard the story before, of Jesus’s triumphant arrival into Jerusalem, his Last Supper, praying in the garden of Gethsemane, his betrayal by one of … Read more
The list must begin with the Violin Concerto. Because it all began with the Violin Concerto. For me, at least. Sure, I’d heard Samuel Barber’s ever-popular Adagio for Strings, but although I loved it like most people do, it was simply that “that lovely, affecting tear-jerker” from a compilation CD I’d had for years and … Read more
I wrote my first post on this in 2013, mere months after I’d started my blog. I didn’t have a lot of posts or readers back then. I’d feel lucky to get twenty views a day, and I’d savor that number, cheering when it rose to thirty and feeling teary when it dropped to ten … 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