Robert Greenberg Premieres — “180 Shift”
October
15th,
2013
I will have two works premiered this season. In the spirit of self-promotion I am posting the particulars and would then discuss the first of the premieres, coming up in November. Premiere One: “180 Shift” (2013) Place: Recital Hall, Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific, 3515 Pacific Circle, Stockton, California Date: November 2,…
Celebrating Verdi’s 200th — Life and Operas of Verdi: Otello
October
8th,
2013
During the first half of his professional life, Giuseppe Verdi worked like a proverbial dog. (An odd idiom, “worked like a dog”. Yes, I suppose some dogs do work, but most of them spend the bulk of their time sleeping, eating, scratching themselves and licking their privates. If the latter is what is really meant…
New Course Available — The 23 Greatest Solo Piano Works
October
2nd,
2013
Now Available: The 23 Greatest Solo Piano Works Purchase Today! As a solo concert instrument, the piano enjoys an unrivaled popularity in Western music. Capable of a vast sonic range, from ethereal softness to thundering grandeur, its appeal is global and seemingly eternal. For nearly 200 years, audiences have packed concert halls and…
Celebrating Verdi’s 200th — Life and Operas of Verdi: Rigoletto
September
30th,
2013
Giuseppe Verdi’s first opera, “Oberto”, was produced at Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala in 1839 when Verdi was 26 years old. Oberto’s modest success was completely obscured by the domestic disasters Verdi suffered between 1838 and 1840 when, in the span of 22 months, he lost both his small children and he beloved wife Margherita…
Robert Greenberg Named An Official Steinway Artist
September
27th,
2013
[caption id="attachment_671" align="alignright" width="225"] Yours truly (the short one) and my great friend Justin Levitt - composer, pianist, and manager of the Steinway Piano Gallery in Walnut Creek California - who sponsored my designation as a Steinway Artist. Thank you, dude.[/caption]It has been a very good week. I distrust very good weeks. I would explain.…
If music be the food of love, play on!
September
24th,
2013
[caption id="attachment_668" align="alignright" width="300"] Nanci, yours truly, and my two young ones – Lillian and Daniel – as we recede down the aisle following the wedding ceremony.[/caption]“If music be the food of love, play on!” So spake Duke Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night of 1602. Taking our cue from the good Duke (to say nothing…
Celebrating Verdi’s 200th — Life and Operas of Verdi: Nabucco
September
20th,
2013
We understand a “eureka moment” as being a revelatory, paradigm-shifting realization that has the power to change EVERYTHING. The word “eureka" comes from the ancient Greek word εὕρηκα, which means “I have found it!” The ancient Greco-dude credited with coining the exclamation “eureka!” was the mathematician, astronomer, physicist, engineer, inventor and Jeopardy!-freak Archimedes (circa 287…
Celebrating Verdi’s 200th — Life and Operas of Verdi: Macbeth
September
13th,
2013
Speaking of facial hair (which I did in my previous post), I would issue a challenge to all the techies out there. I would dearly love to have an app that allowed me to actually “see” what someone looked like – clean shaven – beneath his beard. Now, I completely understand that a full beard…
Celebrating Verdi’s 200th — Life and Operas of Verdi: La bell’Italia
September
10th,
2013
We have a major composer birthday coming up: the great Italian opera composer Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi will be turning 200 years old on October 10, and he never sounded better. I am going to take a brief break from my jazz pianist postings in order to focus on my pal and yours, the esteemed…
On Birthdays
September
5th,
2013
[caption id="attachment_655" align="alignright" width="300"] Freddie Mercury, who would have turned 67 years old tomorrow.[/caption]Among the top pick-up lines of my generation was the irksome “what’s your sign?”. I myself never used the line because one, I was too embarrassed to do so and two, I never gave much credence to the whole astrology trip, even…