Our musical community lost a friend and colleague to a freak accident. Drummer Dale Cook played with Peter Nero and Doc Severinsen, among others. He was a first call session player, and can still be heard on many familiar sports…
Jul 11 2017
Jun 3 2017
What a Musical Week!
It's been a musically exhilarating few days. I caught the excellent documentary "Chasing Trane" about John Coltrane - his life and musical journey. And subsequently purchased two more of his albums. I'm streaming the 2017 Cliburn Piano competition and watching…
May 16 2017
Good Morning, Midnight
Emily Dickinson wrote many of her poems in a hymn-like form - with four line stanzas, rhyming schemes, and meter. In her poem "Good Morning, Midnight" her words "sing" in the form of The Blues. What she says and how…
Feb 22 2017
Possibility
I am always encouraged and rejuvenated after reading this poem. To me it extols creative expression in poetry, music, and the visual arts. It communicates a refreshing attitude toward life. I dwell in Possibility --
A fairer House than Prose…
A fairer House than Prose…
Sep 13 2016
The Saddest Music Ever Written
That title caught my eye. Yes, it refers to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. Certainly, anyone compiling a "top ten" list would have to include this piece at or near the top. But what is it about this music…
Jun 28 2016
The Joy of Music
For expressions of sheer joy, just look at the faces of the artists in the documentary The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. The documentary tells the story of the Silk Road Project from its…
Mar 30 2016
"For Eileen"
My mother celebrated her 90th birthday recently. Those family members who could came and ate and laughed and retold the timeless stories that never seem to age. And neither does my mother. "For Eileen" is based on a song written…
Jan 14 2016
Fireworks in the Brain!
Check out this TED-Ed video - "How playing an instrument benefits your brain." Then dust off some music and practice it. Give your brain a workout! f
Dec 11 2015
"I'll tell you how the Sun rose..."
I won't claim that Emily Dickinson's poem was the conscious inspiration for my piece "How the Sun Rose," but I am sure it was "working" in my subconscious.
I'll tell you how the Sun rose --
A ribbon at a…
I'll tell you how the Sun rose --
A ribbon at a…
Oct 23 2015
"Art is long, and time is fleeting"
Stop time for moment. Take a time out. Listen to the Brahm's timeless Intermezzo Op. 118 in A major. Here are two performances. One by Arthur Rubenstein and another by Radu Lupu.
Jul 16 2015
"...what would the Dower be, had I the Art to stun myself with Bolts of Melody!"
What a phrase! Pure Emily Dickinson. With irony she expresses the emotional content of the encounter between artist and spectator in an art form. Philosophy Now devotes much of its current issue (#108) to essays on art. What is…
Apr 21 2015
"Music's language connects us with the stars."
Such reflections populate Ethan Hawke's joyful film "Seymour: an Introduction." The thoughts are those of Seymour Bernstein, once an acclaimed concert pianist, now a beloved teacher, mentor, coach, and philosopher. In the film, Mr. Bernstein shares his invaluable insights…