English Blog
Over the Christmas break, I read several interesting books on piano giants. This is one of them. Of course Claudio Arrau was one of the legendary pianists from the 20th century, and left so many great recordings. I personally like his Beethoven recordings. He was rather a private person. His father passed away when he was […]
It is a beautiful movie… For me as a Japanese, this movie depicts a typical image of Italian life. A journalist, Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) has charmed and seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades. A night after night, he parties. He goes to bed after sunrise. Since the legendary success of […]
Like “The Armstrong Lie”, it has been for a while since I saw this movie. I went to see this movie at AFI Fest in Los Angeles. It is a beautiful family story. Ryota Nonomiya (Masaharu Fukuyama) is a successful businessman driven by money and fame. He is a hard working (typical) Japanese man. He seems […]
It has been for a while since I saw this movie. I have been extremely busy, and I neglected to up-date my web page… Lance Armstrong was my hero when he was winning Tour de France. During Tour de France, the first thing I did every morning was to open the Sport Page of LA […]
Please Join Me! “Antonin Dvorak (1841 – 1904): Lyricism and Nationalism” Junko Ueno Garrett and LA Phil Friends Monday, November 11, 2013 at 12:45pm Bird Studio, Occidental College Program Waldesruhe (Silent Woods): Adagio David Garrett, cello Junko Ueno Garrett, piano Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81 Allegro, ma non tanto Dumka: Andante […]
K2 is an extension of the northwestern Himalayan Mountain range and is located between Pakistan and China. It is known to be the second most murderous mountain in the world, the fatality rate is one in four climbers. There are only about 300 climbers who have reached the summit, and have seen the view from […]
Sir. Schiff concluded his Bach Project on Sunday October 20 in LA. His program was J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. I have listened his CD recordings for many many times when I was studying Goldberg Variations, and finally I got the chance to hear the live performance. I was so looking forward […]
I finished my 7th performance of J. S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” on Sat. October 12. I have been living with “Goldberg” for a while. When I started to learn this piece, I still remember I was both very nervous and excited. I never had performed this kind of work in my life. I grew up […]
I created a new concert program including opera transcriptions for piano solo, and cello and piano, from Franz Liszt’s celebrated transcriptions to various composers’. The first concert with this program was at First Lutheran Church & School in Torrance for their new concert series called “Classical Crossroads”. It was so wonderful to perform at the newly […]
I have owned this book for a while, and with my curious mind, I opened it again. Yes, it is very interesting, and very useful for many aspects in piano teaching in all levels. Chapter 25: “Great Pianists of Today” has very valuable quotes from first class pianists for their experience in piano lessons and performances. […]