hp's blog

Beethoven and the Piccolo

2008-01-06T16:42:03Z

I've written previously about my mild fixation with the piccolo, which started with a demonstration of the instrument in the third grade. Last weekend at the symphony, we heard Beethoven's Ninth. Last night, we heard the Fifth. What really struck...

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Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2

2007-11-11T17:30:13Z

I need to start doing a better job of tagging my posts. I could have sworn I posted previously about the Brahms second piano concerto. But I can't seem to find it. So forgive me if I'm repeating myself. ------------------------------ This week t...

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The Rite of Spring (four hand piano arrangement)

2007-07-28T19:33:44Z

Last night, the Seattle Chamber Music Society's Summer Festival at Lakeside School wrapped up (the festival continues on the East Side at the Overlake School). We didn't attend any of the performances, but did listen to some of the live radio broa...

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Stravinsky & Bernstein

2007-06-02T01:29:59Z

I'll be spending my weekend, in part, with Stravinsky and Bernstein. This evening, the ballet program is all-Stravinsky, Stravinsky 125. Tomorrow night, we are going to a production of West Side Story. Oh, and I should mention Jerome Robb...

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Rest in peace

2007-04-27T13:30:23Z

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Joshua Bell plays the DC Subway

2007-04-11T21:28:13Z

The story is here. (Includes video clips.) Only one person recognized him: As it happens, exactly one person recognized Bell, and she didn't arrive until near the very end. For Stacy Furukawa, a demographer at the Commerce Department, there wa...

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End of a (Tudor) Era

2007-04-01T14:39:57Z

We attend a lot of music in Seattle, but I think my favorite is our subscription to the Tudor Choir. It's a group of about 14 singers doing choral works from the 15th and 16th centuries (along with the occasionally contemporary piece that runs alo...

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What I didn't know about Dr. Zipper

2007-03-17T15:50:14Z

Growing up, there was a lot of classical music in my house--both my parents played instruments (my mom piano; my Dad classical guitar) and I studied piano and then classical guitar. But my introduction to symphonic music came from two main sources...

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Sunday afternoon chamber music

2007-03-14T02:24:41Z

I was happy to have recovered enough by Sunday to attend an afternoon chamber music concert in the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall - my favorite small venue in the city. The program included the Brahms Quintet for Piano and Strings in F Minor...

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Schumann

2007-03-09T02:33:26Z

We are currently listening our way through Bob Greenberg's The Symphony lecture series. I am already pretty familiar with the symphonic repertoire, so there isn't much that's earthshakeningly new -- but some nice tidbits and fresh perspectives on ...

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