Author Archives: Ryan Libel
Sir Elton’s 2CELLOS
Elton John is one of my favorites, and so is the friend who introduced me to 2CELLOS, two young men who play their cellos in pop duets fiercely and well. I mention the megastar because he picked the gentlemen up as part of his band, and they now tour with him, where their opening acts […]
Kreutzer Revisited
While reading one of my mainstays this morning, Andrew Sullivan, I found a reference to a novella by Leo Tolstoy called The Kreutzer Sonata. Also known as Beethoven’s 9th Sonata for Violin and Piano, the novella’s namesake musical composition is a masterwork, and it has intrigued me since first I heard it . The linked […]
So I Know Paul a Little Better than Kanye, but…
My ignorance pertaining to music is a recurring theme in my life. Today on Facebook, I found some folks poking fun at young people for their musical ignorance of a past legend and I couldn’t help but relate (to the ignorant youngsters, that is!): My first response is to confess that I barely know who […]
Playing Under the Weather
I’ve been struggling with a pretty nasty cold or something of the sort since we got back from Wichita. I was even supposed to go back to work for a day and didn’t. I’m mostly better today, a welcome development, since I’m headed back to work after the New Year holiday and have quite a […]
Long Time No Lesson
Today marks another Wednesday with no lesson. It’s been a few weeks – the longest stretch without a lesson since I began playing just over a year ago. Though I’ve been off of work and traveling, I’m definitely getting some good practice in. I especially feel I’m improving on my new Gavotte. The minor section […]
And All the Boys Sing Mahler Eight
While in Wichita last week, I mentioned my interest in digging up more information on the boys choir in which I participated when I was about ten years old to my mother. So on Christmas morning we took a few minutes to go hunting through our family ephemera for whatever we could find. Though we […]
And All the Boys Sing Merry Christmas
When I was about 10 years old, I participated in a boys choir. The occasion was a major anniversary of some composer or some piece of music – I can no longer remember, but I do remember it was a very big deal for all involved. It was a phenomenal experience; I’ll never forget the […]
Merry Maids?
It seems I am not fated to practice in isolation. At home, the condo is in a building with 449 others. Of course only about fifteen or twenty of them can realistically experience the joyous sounds of Ryan’s Beginner Violin on a daily basis – few grace the seventeenth floor who do not live on […]
Have Violin, Will Travel
I have no real stages planned for anytime in the foreseeable future, of course, but the violin did make the annual Christmas trek to Wichita with us this year. We rented a little SUV, so we had room to include it, as opposed to the two-seater we own, which, in addition to being as useful […]
Ryan Libel 