We are all Parisians
November
16th,
2015
[caption id="attachment_1598" align="alignright" width="300"] This photo was taken by my wife Nanci in a café on the Rue Mouffetard back in May; the rare smile on my face a reflection of the simple pleasure I felt sitting in a café in the fifth arrondissement[/caption] It has been said that “Italy gave us the Renaissance and…
Unique Contest for Piano Composers and Arrangers
October
28th,
2015
Sheet Music Plus, home to the world’s largest online sheet music selection, and San Francisco non-profit, Composers Inc., today announced a piano composition contest. Professional Steinway pianists at the Steinway Piano Gallery in Walnut Creek and San Francisco will showcase winning pieces and winners will each receive a $300 award, along with a $200 travel…
An Evening of Art and Music
September
15th,
2015
[caption id="attachment_1553" align="alignright" width="225"] My two youngest kids – Lillian and Daniel[/caption] The Alexander String Quartet and I are doing a benefit fundraiser for the Montclair Elementary School in Oakland on October 10. The Montclair Elementary School is a public K-5 school in the Oakland Hills. Founded in 1925, it numbers among its present students…
Robert Greenberg on The Diane Rehm Show
September
7th,
2015
I joined NPR's “The Diane Rehm Show” guest-hosted by Tamara Keith for a discussion on “Presidential Campaign Music.” I was the music-historian-in-residence for NPR’s “Weekend All Things Considered” and then “Weekend Edition Sunday with Liane Hansen” from 1997 until 2008, so I know the drill. In order to sound as if I was sitting in…
Murray Perahia — Beethoven: Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata”
August
31st,
2015
[caption id="attachment_1565" align="alignright" width="300"] Murray Perahia[/caption] Gratitude. It’s cliché but true – at least for me – that we/I should consider spending a bit more time contemplating those things that I am thankful for, those things that make life worth living. Heaven knows, we spend enough time hearing about, reading about, and thinking about those…
Invasive Species Premiere Performance
August
25th,
2015
For your viewing and listening pleasure I offer up the premiere performance of Invasive Species for piano quintet, performed by the incomparable Roger Woodward and the Alexander String Quartet in Berkeley, CA in March of 2014. (For a studio recording of the piece, score and parts, please visit Sheet Music Plus) https://youtu.be/5eSNRkzpj8U Here’s the program…
Compositions Now Available on Sheet Music Plus!
August
24th,
2015
[caption id="attachment_964" align="alignright" width="300"] Trio 180 rehearsing the world premiere of my work “180 Shift”[/caption] My music is now being digitally published by Sheet Music Plus. By September 1, 18 pieces will be “live” with scores and parts available for digital download. In addition, a recording of each piece can be heard free-of-charge on the…
New Webcast Courses Coming 2016!
August
24th,
2015
[caption id="attachment_1553" align="alignright" width="225"] My two youngest kids – Lillian and Daniel – toasting their father’s webcam venture. (Okay, not really: they were visiting the Statue of Liberty in July with their mom and our dear friend Kimberly Gott, but darned if they don’t look like they’re raising a lemonade-flavored torch of knowledge to us…
T-Shirt Comedy
August
11th,
2015
I was all ready to post a longish blog this evening, describing my webcast plans and thanking all those whose comments and advice helped me to formulate those plans when, just moments ago, I received this link from Gethin Jones. It is a Beethoven tee-shirt, with - presumably - the first four measures of Beethoven's…
Vote for Your Favorite Title
July
16th,
2015
Many thanks to everyone who proposed a title for my upcoming Great Courses survey that features musical works inspired by historical events. With the greatest of difficulty, I have managed to reduce the number of potential titles to eleven; fewer than the number of Republicans currently seeking the presidential nomination, but still a big number. But…