GOING PLACES II - SoCal
This March I got to return to my old stomping grounds in Southern California. It was so good to reconnect with friends and to visit new places!
CHINA AND LONDON - Around the world in 14 days
February has been a very engaging month for me so far filled with concert, festival and new opportunities.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Two of my favorite cocktails
The Holidays are such a festive time with lots of fabulous receptions, parties and events. I love cocktails this time of year. Let me share two of my all time faves with you.
GOING PLACES - Twice around the World in 6 Months
Recently I got invited to come to China to perform, adjudicate and teach in December. This marks the second tour to China this season, which is shaping into a particularly exciting and busy one.
What to wear on stage
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall? - Practice, practice, practice!”
There is a lot of truth to this famous joke, but being a musician is not all about practice. Some aspects of our lives as musicians are seemingly unimportant and definitely less talked about. One of them is the question of what to wear on stage.
Leos Janácek - Ein verwehtes Blatt (A Blown away Leaf)
Enjoy the romantic beauty of Leos Janacek’s “A blown away Leaf” from his collection called “On an overgrown Path”
Claude Debussy - FireWorks
The last of two books, Feux d’artifice finishes the cycle of preludes by Claude Debussy with a festive display of fireworks, both as a musical image and as a pianistic challenge.
Italian Opera at the Piano – Sonetto del Petrarca
Feeling in the mood for a vacation? Listen to Sonetto 104 and take a trip to Italy!
Sonetto del Petrarca is part of the collection ‘Years of Pilgrimage’, a set of travel impression put to music by Franz Liszt in the most magnificent operatic way. The poem Sonetto 104 by the Renaissance humanist Petrarch focuses on a comparison between love and war as seen through the eyes of a warrior.
10 Fitness Benefits for Pianists
Time to celebate!
It has been one year since I joined my gym, and I am loving it! I am going regularly three or four times a week, and it has been fun to find out, how getting fit helps my piano playing.
Painting a Picture - The Wind on the Plain
Intensity and focus are just some of the words that come to mind, when I play ‘Le Vent dans La Plaine’. I love how the piece paints a picture of gusting winds, slamming windows shutters and blowing leaves.
WE ARE MORE ALIKE THAN UNALIKE - Domenico Scarlatti
Playing Domenico Scarlatti’s keyboard music is a great pleasure and also a big challenge. Besides the complications of playing baroque ornamentations, of mastering the rather difficult technical requirements, and of simply finding a compelling interpretation of a piece written so long ago, there’s also the huge question of truthfulness to a historic interpretation.
SWIMMING WITH MUSIC - An unusual Approach to Fitness for Musicians
Half a year ago I joined a gym. My main goal was to increase strength and energy levels. I had no idea how inspiring this decision would be!
Akron New Music Festival!
Spring is finally here and so is the seventeenth annual Akron New Music Festival! The festival runs April 3-8 at the University of Akron’s Guzzetta Hall and includes a faculty recital, two student recitals, a lecture, a master class, and a dance collaboration.
