Feb 28 2020

The Barenboims


Carnegie Hall

Zankel Hall is smaller which I prefer. Sitting in the back, P18, I hear the subway rambling all the time – no vibration tho, (last time we sat on the front row, heard nothing.) and people in and out rather frequently. Four pieces by West-Eastern Divan Ensemble is led by Michael, the son:

  1. SCHUBERT Rondo in A Major for Violin and Strings, D. 438
  2. BENJAMIN ATTAHIR Jawb (NY Premiere)
  3. TARTINI Devil’s Trill Sonata
  4. MENDELSSOHN Octet in E-flat Major


West-Eastern Divan Ensemble is an orchestra based in Seville, Spain (


Feb 28 2020

Rider @ Times Square & more

A cop rides high on her horse on 7th Avenue around Times Square: near Winter Garden and passing by the tkts.

More actions by the Home Boys who Jump: shirtless in 46 degrees (3) before my concert @ Carnegie Hall … and

… after my concert, they were still at it: jumps over a little boy. I’ve seen them before at Central Park too.

 


Feb 25 2020

Queens Museum

New York City Building,
Corona, NY 11368

    


Feb 23 2020

Beethoven’s 6th & 7th


Carnegie Hall, New York

Many people say his odd numbered symphonies are better than the even numbered. However, pastoral is my favored since day one. Oddly enough one of my dream trips was playing the 6th on a drive in a Jaguar from Paris to Bordeaux.

This ORR (Orchestra Revolutionnaire et Romantique) sucks. French horn is known to be difficult to operate but flute is relative easy but this time, sour notes are produced by the flute.
Every time I left, would think, gosh this is my late time (think of thick paints … how many layers by now?) … But with weak self control, especially seeing the full cycle of Beethoven


Feb 22 2020

MacArthur


674 Thayer Rd,
West Point, NY 10996

The restaurant is on the left, half flat down from the lobby of the Thayer Hotel, which is on the compound of the United States Military Academy. Exposed brick walls, fresh flowers – mostly carnations, but overall it feels stuffy. $11 house wine: Merlot is better than Pino Noir.

The crab cakes (enough for an entry) are good, so is the salmon but the veggie cassoulet is subpar, tasteless.

Each table has a bell (not an astray) – I thought it’s pretty military-ish. We didn’t have to use it because the restaurant was very empty, even on a game night.

Patton


Feb 22 2020

West Point, NY


Wiki: Aerial view of West Point & Hudson River

The town sits on the western side of the Hudson River, 50 miles north of Grand Central Station in Manhattan. The population in 2010 is 6,763. It is well known for the United States Military Academy, (which is commonly called West Point). It was identified as the most important strategic point by Gen. George Washington during the American Revolution.

To know more about the West Point Academy, a recent book (recent, is in relative term … )  Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point (2003) by David Lipsky provided me a lot of insight into this iconic institution. And please DO read his Preface too.


Feb 22 2020

Vanderbilt Mansion


4097 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, NY 12538

some events in 2020

The site is 2 miles north of FDR Library and 4 miles north of CIA, this park is worth stopping by. The panoramic view is paramount.

 

The Millionaire’s View


Four men built homes atop the bluff to command panoramic views of the Hudson River: Samuel Bard (1799), Dr. David Hosack (1829), Walter Langdon (1847), and Frederick Vanderbilt (1898). All maintained overlooks at this site just north of their homes. From where you’re standing, Shaupeneak Ridge stands out across the river, in front of the distant Catskill Mountains, while the mid-ground remains concealed. Step closer to the edge and the meadows and woodlands below the bluff, as well as the channel of the Hudson itself, come dramatically into view.


Feb 21 2020

Solzhenitsyns @ Linde


3A W Hawthorne Road
Lenox, MA 01240

Father and son at Linde Center @ Berkshires. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was the 1970 Noble Prize literature winner and his son, Ignat curated a 90 minutes show, in which he excites his father’s poems (Growing Old is particularly moving) and plays piano. Supposedly two Beethoven and a Dmitri Shostakovich. BUT because the limited parking spaces (late comers have to park at the main lot and being shuttled over), we started 15 minutes later at 7:45. Therefore, he forgo Shostakovich’s prelude. Why on earth the organizer sells more tickets than the seatings and parking allowed? It brings back the traffic nightmare from last summer …


Feb 21 2020

Linde Center 林德中心


3A W Hawthorne Road
Lenox, MA 01240

A beautiful space with a terrible management @ Tanglewood compound. The Studio E is the largest area, looking out to Seiji Ozawa Hall. We didn’t see the sunset in February but the golden glow from the setting sun light up the room.

    


Feb 21 2020

Olivia’s Overlook


Yokun Ridge South, Hiking Trails,
West Stockbridge, MA 01266

We passed by this lookout (Yokun Ridge … to StockbridgeBowl over the forest) a few times but unable to stop due to the small parking lot was always full. On a cold winter weekday afternoon, the lot was NOT empty. It’s the easier to drive from West Stockbridge, heading toward Tanglewood. The near by trail

On a cloudy Sunday in November 2021. The 2 miles loop Charcoal Trail near by is moderate.