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History
I’ve been making music with my man for over 17 years now. And as of yesterday, if we want to, we can go to Birmingham, AL and get married. Or Tupelo, MS. Or Dallas, TX. I’ve been working hard for this cause for most of my adult life – I can’t believe we did it, […]
Passion
If there’s something about my passion for playing that is prone to waning then I have yet to notice. Quite the opposite, in fact – I’m finding myself developing more passion for the violin the longer I’m engaged with it. Yesterday I practiced for probably two hours, and spent much of the day listening to […]
Irish Fiddles and The Art Institute
The Art Institute’s big special exhibit opening today – St. Patrick’s Day – is called, Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840. There was a member preview yesterday, so I went with a friend to see what they’ve come up with. Ireland is a brand new exhibit curated by the Art Institute; I’m not […]
The Razumovsky Quartets
In 1806, Beethoven wrote a series of three quartets for strings, Opus 59, nicknamed the Razumovsky quartets, after the Russian ambassador to Vienna who commissioned them. This morning I ran across a performance of the first quartet from the work, Beethoven’s 7th String Quartet overall. The quartet takes a place beside the Kreutzer Sonata and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Band Aid 30
Recently I sponsored a friend’s independent journalism project on Beacon. She’s interested in traveling to West Africa to report on Ebola, titling her appeals “After Ebola Comes Hunger.” She’s lived in Ghana before, and, like many westerners who travel to the region, she apparently left a bit of her heart behind. I’ve heard from many […]
Ryan Libel 