classisssima.com, Isaac Raboy shule, Josh Rifkin, word press, you tube

You Tube and rekindled memories

You tube never fails to deliver when precious memories seem to fade with time. Today as I was checking Facebook notifications, I noticed a you tube link to a Bach Cantata directed by Josh Rifkin. His face had been buried in the very darkness of the basement shule we both attended in the Bronx. (Isaac… Continue reading You Tube and rekindled memories

Bobby De Niro, Broadway theater, Elaine Comparone, Greenwich Village, Group Theater, John Garfield, Manhattan, Marble Hill Projects, New York, New York City, Off Broadway Theater, P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village

Our Family’s Cultural Tradition: The last remnant of my NYC trip (Photos) with an update on the history of Russian piano factories

I scanned the memory card of NYC pics stored in my Sony digital camera and came across my mother, (on the extreme Left) and a few other key family members seated around a decorative party table. We were celebrating mom's 97th birthday at her "baby" sister, Leepie's regal and spacious Greenwich Village apartment off Fifth… Continue reading Our Family’s Cultural Tradition: The last remnant of my NYC trip (Photos) with an update on the history of Russian piano factories

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Rekindling Marble Hill memories, and a remarkable twist of fate

I was deeply moved to have discovered the Marble Hill Reunion site which inspired my own cherished memories of the projects in the Bronx where I romped during my childhood and early adolescence. My family moved from Featherbed Lane near Tremont Avenue to Marble Hill when I was about four. It was quite a notch… Continue reading Rekindling Marble Hill memories, and a remarkable twist of fate

arpeggios, baseball, football, humor, memoir, music, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, performance anxiety, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano teacher, pianoaddict.com, public school 122, scales, Shirley Kirsten, sports, Steinway piano, tennis, Uncategorized, you tube

Sports and Piano Technique: How about chunking–On You Tube

It's a no brainer to compare piano study to athletics. Both have been my passions throughout most of my life. At age 6 I competed with my brother for music lessons but lost out. Nearly five years my senior, he got first licks at studying the clarinet, quashing my hopes of holding a shimmering saxophone… Continue reading Sports and Piano Technique: How about chunking–On You Tube

cat, cats, El Cerrito, feline, felines, humor, piano, piano teacher, pianoaddict.com, Shirley Kirsten, Uncategorized

Behind the Locked Gate!

Have you ever been a prisoner in your own home? I was, after my return to Fresno from El Cerrito where I had my second piano studio. My brand new custom-made cedar gate that enclosed my front patio, had endured three days of continuous Valley showers while I was gone. In the aftermath, it just… Continue reading Behind the Locked Gate!