CHOPIN AND BARTOK

Riley had another recital.  He again played 2 pieces at Trinity School (it's on 90th St.).  They have a very nice Steinway grand and he can make a great sound!  He played two pieces, first was the Bartok Romanian Folk Dances. Bartok originally wrote them for piano but I've played them many times as a solo violin piece or as a string orchestra piece. The dances are fun!

After the Bartok, Riley played the Chopin Etude in C minor, Op 25 No 12.  It has a nickname, "The Ocean", I suppose because all of the arpeggios sound like the swells of an ocean. There are a lot of notes! When Riley first brought it home to practice I thought, "he's going to play THAT!?" Well, he practiced it and he played it!

(I have used two different video services, YouTube and Vimeo, because YouTube will put an advertisement on the Bartok. The Romanian Dances are still under copyright. So it's YouTube for the Chopin and Vimeo for the Bartok)

San Francisco Day Trip

While Miranda, Riley and Max were trudging through the snow and freezing in the cold of New York, I was in sunny San Francisco doing two programs for the San Francisco Ballet. Mondays are the dark day for the theater so I rented a car and drove to several lovely sites.  First stop was the Presidio to see Uncle Jim and Aunt Nat's resting place. They keep the grounds very well there and their view is second to none.

The next stop was the visitor center on the south side of the Golden Gate Bridge. After a short walk out to the first stanchion it was on to the top of Mt. Tamalpais then down to the Muir Woods, the Muir Beach Overlook and finally back home. I made a short video of the adventure.  I only wish my family had been there with me. I know they all would have loved it.

 

The Blizzard That Wasn't

The media went a little overboard with dire predictions of a historic blizzard January 2015 for New York City. The storm was going to hit on a Monday night and dump feet of snow and pack hurricane force winds. Miranda went to Fairway Sunday afternoon to pick up a few things but found all the shelves bare and the checkout line extending out the front door!  She gave up and picked up some milk at the Duane Reade across the street from us.  

As it turned out we did get some snow but only about 8 inches. The boys and Miranda got a "snowday" and had a fun time in Central Park. Riley convinced Miranda and Max (I was in San Francisco and missed the whole thing!) to go out early before the crowds descended on the park.  The boys had a fun time building a "snow tunnel".  In previous years they've created a snowman in the shape of a president, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, etc. This year they were going to build Taft (who had a special over-sized bathtub installed in the White House) but the snow was too powdery.  They had fun nonetheless.

2014 Holiday Video Card

Wishing everyone a happy 2015!

2014 Macy's Parade

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was better than ever this year. It moved along fast and was over before you knew it. There were lots of new balloons and floats. We got seats in the bleachers just a block from home which was fabulous. Here’s a 1 minute video with some highlights. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

(if you're on a mobile device and the video does not appear, click on the photo)

  

 

"Practice Recital"

Riley played a short but intense piano recital last night. It was at his teacher's home and was only a "practice recital" so there are a few bloopers and minor edits in the video. He played a Bach Fugue, a Chopin Nocturne, an intense Capriccio by Brahms and concludes with the Rachmaninoff C# minor Prelude.  He's not due to perform the pieces until early February. 
Also, this past Tuesday, Veterans Day, was a lovely day though a bit overcast and we hiked up Bear Mountain (about an hour north of the city) so there are lots of new pictures on the website (click on any of the photos).