Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
I know what you’re thinking. “It’s winter. It’s the dead of winter. We’re in the grips of the coldest of cold winter this week, and The Classical Girl is talking about … poison oak? She’s in the Northern Hemisphere, right?” Turns out poison oak is a thing, any time of the year. Even in long-dead … 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
Here at the Classical Girl household, it’s been a spiritual month. We celebrated my husband’s Jewish heritage with a menorah and latkes during Hanukkah. I took my annual Winter Solstice retreat at the Ben Lomond Quaker Center last week (redwoods, silence, space, contemplation = heaven), and now it’s time to celebrate my Catholic heritage with … Read more
Part of my annual December tradition is to seek out a few days’ solitude at a nearby retreat center tucked deep in the redwoods (the Ben Lomond Quaker Center – love it). Not only does it give me a breather from the too-loud, too-bright, too-frenzied aspect of the month, it allows me to observe this … Read more