Famous Father Girl author Jamie Bernstein delights a crowd of Lenny Lovers!

There's an amusing family story that Leonard Bernstein's oldest daughter shares with innumerable audiences during her book tours, and it tumbles out with perfect timing, like a fresh and spontaneous wave of a baton. (Why not? She was exposed to decades of baton plastique, a seamless legato flow of singing pulses that carried Mahler Symphonies…

My favorite Gershwin performances (Videos)

Surfing the Internet, I discovered four inspired readings of my favorite Gershwin selections. These included performances of "I Got Rhythm," the three piano Preludes and Rhapsody in Blue. (I've already regaled Yeol Eum Son's riveting "Embraceable You" in a few previous blogs) First, Irina Morozova delivers a show-stopping, "I Got Rhythm," track 13 of Gershwin…

An ageless pianist and her historic concert (I was there)

This is the program that I preserved from the event. It was contained in a boxful of musical artifacts that my mother sent me. On March 28th, 1960, I was present at Madame Rosina Lhevinne's Eightieth Birthday celebration concert held at the Juilliard School, and it was an evening to remember. I received the ticket…

The Taubman method and controversial wrist break

On my way home from the Bay area on Amtrak 712, I grabbed a few extra table napkins from the dining car, and let my imagination run wild as I scribbled some notes to myself. "Wild" should be emphasized since I had some pent up frustration related to the Taubman-Golandsky's ban on the "wrist break."…