Category Archives: Berkeley CA

My Birthday present to me!

Posted on April 9, 2015 by

Who would have imagined that a new piano would be my special gift to myself! It was one week since my mother had passed away at 100 and I was devastated, shaken by the loss– too distressed to be thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Baldwin, Baldwin pianos, Berkeley, Berkeley CA, California, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano shopping, Russell Kassman, Shirley Kirsten | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The challenges of a pianist seeking housing

Posted on November 11, 2014 by

In this no thanks for the memories flashback, I recount the bias I’d experienced along the housing trail, when as a musician, pet owner and mother of a grown daughter, I applied for a Berkeley lease. (Add a grand piano … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley, Berkeley CA, Berkeley rental, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Feast of pianist, Richard Goode’s Artistry and a walk down memory lane

Posted on October 26, 2014 by

I hand-selected a particular recital for an outing with my adult student, Jocel. While he’d suggested a Yuja Wang foray at Davies Concert Hall in San Francisco, I prodded him to first experience the sublime artistry of Richard Goode. (Location: … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley, Berkeley CA, classissima, classissima.com, Franz Schubert, Franz Schubert sonatas, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, Richard Goode, Schubert, Zellerbach Hall, Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, Zellerbach in Berkeley California | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What’s Happened to Music in Churches, Temples and other religious sanctuaries with the latest update from Berkeley CA

Posted on February 11, 2013 by

https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/whats-happened-to-music-in-churches-temples-and-other-religious-sanctuaries/ update 2013

Posted in Berkeley CA, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Elaine Comparone, First Moravian Church of NYC, Harpsichord.org, music in churches, piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, wordpress, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heart Attacks and Haydn!

Posted on February 8, 2013 by

I couldn’t help but chuckle at a stream of advertising overlapping my Haydn D Major, Hoboken XVI 37 Sonata: “FOUR SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK” The Google ad, as it ran, uncannily tracked KILLER passages in this composition that would … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley CA, classical music, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito CA, Google adware, Haydn Sonata Hoboken XVI37 in D, Haydn Sonata in C, Haydn Sonata no. 37 in D, Haydn Sonata XVI 35 in C, Joseph Haydn, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

I don’t mean to inject pins into this post, but it amply introduces Haydn’s vibrant Sonata no. 35 in C Major. Yesterday, as I diligently embarked upon learning this masterpiece, I had to deal with basic housekeeping matters: How to … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley CA, classissima, classissima.com, Haydn Sonata no. 35 in C, Joseph Haydn, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lessons by Skype, piano teaching, Piano World, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Piano Instruction: Don’t always accentuate the downbeat– Burgmuller’s music proves it (Video)

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

“Inquietude” from Burgmuller’s Op. 100 collection of Twenty-Five Progressive pieces, invites a player to examine harmonic progressions as a clue to phrasing a composition that’s often pounded to death with unnecessary DOWNBEAT accents. Seymour Bernstein, distinguished pianist, teacher and author, … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley CA, Burgmuller, classissima, classissima.com, Friedrich Burgmuller, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano lessons by Skype, piano teaching, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype, Twenty-five Progressive Pieces Op. 100, word press | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment