Monthly Archives: June 2016
Nail It or Fail It
I’m working on this concerto movement, the big finale movement of Seitz’s second concerto. It’s coming along well enough considering my skills, but there are things in there that I just cannot do well. Not taking into account some complicated bowing right out of the gate that makes me sound scratchy, there’s a section of […]
Pride Day 2016 – for Pulse and for Humanity
Early in my young gay life, one gay club meant everything. The part of my coming out in Wichita, Kansas that didn’t happen late nights at Denny’s with friends happened at a place called “The Our Fantasy Complex,” which everyone called “Fantasy” for short. From its opening in the 1970s until closing for good just […]
Cradle Song
Brahms’s Opus 49 was published in 1868; the great composer worked alongside Clara Schuman, the noted pianist, for many compositions, and it was she who first debuted the song on piano the following year. Brahms titled the piece, Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, Gute Nacht, and it is indeed a song with words, sung for its debut […]
The Eighth Note Gets the Beat
This new concerto is in 6/8 time, which I’ve never worked with before. In general, I’ve worked in pieces where the quarter note gets the beat, so in this Seitz piece when the count references the eighth note I feel like I’m holding the quarter notes for too long. There are also many staccato accents […]
America After the Fall at The Art Institute
Interests in industry, the land, history, and raucous urban nightlife were all features of 1930s America, so of course they were reflected in the music and the visual arts of the era. Together, the interests provide a nice curatorial frame for the Art Institute’s current exhibit of works from the period, entitled America After the […]
My First Concerto
Suzuki picked Friedrich Seitz’s Concerto No. 2 in G Major, the third movement, as the Book Four opener. I have been listening to it like a good Suzuki Kid, and have been looking forward to getting going on it, though feeling a bit intimidated. Book Four has several concerto movements – including Vivaldi and Bach! […]
Just Do It
Teacher canceled our lesson last week, and travels over a long weekend meant no time to practice, so no lesson this week either. I got back on the violin yesterday after not playing since last Wednesday, almost a week away from the instrument – it seems the violin didn’t miss me much. After a quick […]
Les Miserables at The Imperial, 2016
From the projected opening curtain, inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, author of the namesake novel that inspired Les Miserables, to its final ensemble act, the Imperial Theatre’s current revival of the fifth longest running show on Broadway presents an emotional musical masterpiece. I don’t get to many Big Broadway Shows; I have wanted […]
Penn Station Allegro
I’m just a few blocks from Penn Station right now, so this story on the New York Times this morning caught my eye. The article talks about the music Amtrak pipes in, served up by Mood Music, the company that bought out Muzak back in 2011. Headquartered in Austin, Amy Frishkey is one of three […]
New York in June
I’m in New York City for the third time in under nine months, a rare treat for me, who tends to get here about once a year. While we have some musical plans for tomorrow, so far the trip has provided only the backdrop music of this great city – our boutique hotel pipes soft […]
Ryan Libel 