Underground Music (1): A Sideways New Orleans Trio

I apologize in advance for this one, but it may add some flavor to the experience:  here we have the first of many videos I've taken while waiting for the subway in NYC.  There is such a rich tradition and culture of this "underground" music, that I felt it should be shared, especially with those who don't live or work in NYC.  Enjoy!

Nature Sounds (2): Ice Flow on the Hudson

Here we have another set of sounds from nature, this time from the mid-Hudson Valley, and the sound of an ice flow, as the tide comes in, heading up the Hudson on a cold February afternoon in 2013.

Nature Sounds (1): Wind on a Civil War Battlefield

Dear Friends:

It occurred to me that I'd been taking videos of various "natural" sounds whenever I'd traveled.  As I went back to review and re-listen to these clips, I realized their musical qualities--sometimes expressing a quality far superior to that of human-made music.  I will begin to share a few of these for your enjoyment.  Today, the sound of wind on a battlefield ~ that of the first major battle of the American Civil War, Manassas (or, Bull Run).  This was taken in January of 2013.

Concert Updates and Stabat Mater

Friends:

The Traveling Schubert Society has been on a brief writing hiatus, but will be returning soon with several reviews and promotions.  A number of concerts have taken place since October, when last I wrote, and look forward to sharing with you these events.  Some include concerts at the Burke Library, Columbia University, while others are local and house concerts (old fashioned "salons" and "Schubertiades").  The Orpheus Duo and "What A Neighborhood!" have been active celebrating their 10th Anniversary, here on the Upper West Side, and we look forward to sharing their adventures in good music (as Karl Haas used to say!).

Here are just a few upcoming events:

TONIGHT: Feb. 15, 2013 ~ What a Neighborhood! Concert and Party on 111th Street
(Contact for Details)

WEDNESDAY, March 20th, 2013 ~ Orpheus Returns! Lyrical Interpretations with period instruments, performing Orphaic Hymns based on Marsilius Ficino's writings.  The Burke Library, 7:30PM, ALL WELCOME and FREE.

FRIDAYS in April (More info forthcoming) ~ Short Concerts at the Burke Library.

SATURDAY: May 4th, 2013 @ 3PM, join us at the Burke Library for a Greek Orthodox Choral performance.  ALL WELCOME and FREE.

AND...

The STABAT MATER Reading:

Early in April, after Easter, What a Neighborhood! and I are planning an informal reading/singing of my recently composed setting of STABAT MATER for mixed, unaccompanied choir.  We will likely meet on a week night here on the Upper West Side, and have refreshments or a pot-luck, depending on the location and time.  Stay tuned for further updates!

Be well and sing on!


Anthony

Sounds of China (Part 1): Beijing Band

                                        Sounds of China:  Beijing Band

Among the various pieces I put up for the Traveling Schubert Society, I will begin to add videos of music and other sounds I find during my travels--through the streets, in nature, and elsewhere.  Here we start with a band of Chinese musicians playing traditional music in a square in Beijing, near the Technology Museum.  There are several more videos coming...but for now, enjoy!

The Amore Opera: Small, Beautiful, "La Traviata"

 That's Amato, That's Amore!

For over sixty years, the Amato Opera was a mainstay of NYC opera--a place that cultivated young talents, fostered the art and craft of opera, and entertained opera lovers.  But once it closed, just a few years ago, New Yorkers lost--momentarily--a tradition that had been around for more than half a century.  One of the Amato's successors, the Amore, has proven to be a delightful option for those of us interested in experiencing opera on a more intimate scale.  And so, when I first had the opportunity to attend an Amore performance, I was pleasantly delighted by it.  Perhaps, it was seeing and hearing the quality of its burgeoning singers, getting a chance to perform such master works; or perhaps it was the cozy feeling of its theater, and the proximity that the audience could have with the performers.  In some way, it was like stepping back in time, to an old city theater, dark and dusty, yet full of life and a strong sense of commitment to the operatic genres.  The singers, musicians, stage crew, administrators, and the whole community of the Amore were delightfully friendly--from the moment I walked into the opera "house" (theater), to the intermissions, and the finale.  It was a treat to meet and speak with those who put the production together, to speak briefly with the director and conductor, and to interact with the musicians.  It isn't often--especially in NY--that one can cultivate that intimacy in such productions, especially operas, where we the audience are walled off from the performers, set in our seats, as mere observers.  Though, of course, it is understandable: could one imagine if the entirety of the Metropolitan Opera audience descended upon an exhausted post-performance Bryn Terfel or Deborah Voigt!  Nonetheless, it is a great opportunity for those opera enthusiasts out there.  So if you're ever in NYC and have the chance to experience the Amore, go for it.  For it is surely a night you won't forget!

Erik Satie on Wall Street--840 Times

As the summer solstice rolled in, so too did a number of intriguing activities around the globe.  One such series of events was to turn this old pagan festival into a music making day all around NYC (and other global towns).  I'd been invited to partake in one musical interlude in Central Park, but missed it as it was during my lunch hour, and I'd been busy at work during the day.  But there was another, which I somehow came across, and found completely intriguing: a global performance of Erik Satie's mesmerizing and haunting little (and grand!) piece titled "Vexations," which is marked to be repeated 840 times!  Among a dozen or so performances in some of the world's great cities, the NY performance was held just on Broadway and Wall Street, from early Thursday morning till sometime before midnight of the same day--whenever the 840th repeat was to take place.  A trio of percussionists took turns majestically divining the piece from their vibraphonic instruments, like earthy priests evoking spirits from a forest--right in the middle of the world's financial center!  The music is highly meditative, and done in such a location felt like prehistoric chimes echoing from the bottom of a chasm into the upper spheres!  Ayano Kataoka, Amy Garapic, and others performed this work with steadiness and poise, making for a truly unique musical event.  We look forward to their upcoming performances.