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.
The lack of performing arts events during this time of shuttered concert halls has brought its own silver lining: the opportunity, indeed, the hunger, to revisit films that incorporate the classical music world and/or its instruments. And you know, reader, which instrument to which I am most partial, right? Step in François Girard’s 1998 The … Read more
In my last blog I offered you, dear reader, 10 Happy Classical Tunes for a Pandemic. But what if you don’t feeling like listening to “happy” music right about now? You’re in too much pain. Understandable. Been there. It’s that weird state that commonly follows the death of a loved one, or something huge like … Read more
It’s February 2020, and you know what that means? The Classical Girl has turned seven! The Classical Girl, as longtime readers might know, was a concept I’d created on the eve of 2013. A New Year’s resolution of sorts. My ballet novels were long completed, out being shopped (or already killed on the editorial-board table), … Read more
I first heard César Franck’s “Panis Angelicus” in December when my husband and I were living in London. While holiday shopping, I picked up a compilation CD entitled “Sacred Songs for Christmas,” drawn by the fact that some of the songs and carols were new to my American ears. Back home, I gave the CD … Read more
It’s rare to see the violin celebrated in popular movies, let alone those geared toward children. We can only imagine the positive effect such a film might have on youth involvement in music, though, and that’s what makes the new DreamWorks animated film Abominable so refreshing. In case you’re not familiar with it, the movie … Read more