English Blog

A Movie – Inside Llewyn Davis 2/1/14 February 1, 2014

‎I saw this movie a little while ago, but I have been extremely busy.. The story depicts a life of this young folk song singer, Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), in the scene of the Greenwich Village in 1960′. Isaac’s singing is remarkable. Llewyn is struggling to make it as a musician, but he misses so […]

A Movie – American Hustle 1/10/2014 January 10, 2014

Last week I had few hours to spend before the flight to take so I chose to watch a movie! I usually avoid real (!) Hollywood movies, except Woody Allen and Ben Stiller, but I did not have much to choose in this circumstance. Actually I enjoyed this movie more than I expected 🙂  Great […]

A Movie – A Secret Life of Walter Mitty 1/9/2014 January 9, 2014

I am a great fan of Ben Stiller! I can’t miss any Stiller movie! Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) often lives in a day-dream which makes him escape from his real life into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance, and action. We all do, right?? Stiller is an amazing artist creating a fantasy world with his […]

My Many Years by Arthur Rubinstein Alfred A . Knopf 1/9/2014 January 9, 2014

First of all, this book is the size of an encyclopedia, and I won’t be able to finish reading it for a long time. I have been reading since Christmas, but I still on page. 173… But it is entertaining. Rubinstein was another piano giant from the 20th century, and often compared with Horowitz. They […]

Remembering Horowitz: 125 Pianists Recall a Legend by David Dubal Schirmer Book 1/9/2014 January 9, 2014

This book has been in my list to read for several years and finally I had a chance to read during this past Christmas break. He is HOROWITZ! Of course, all of us grew up listening Horowitz, and have explored his special sound. I was curious to know how the first class pianists think about Horowitz, and […]

Arrau on Music and Performance Joseph Horowitz Dover Publication 1/9/2014 January 9, 2014

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 […]

A Movie “The Great Beauity” (La Grande Bellezza) 12/12/13 December 12, 2013

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 […]

A Movie “Like Father, Like Son” (Japanese Title:Soshite Chichi ni Naru – そして父になる) 12/12/13 December 12, 2013

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 […]

A Movie “The Armstrong Lie” 12/12/13 December 12, 2013

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 […]

“Antonin Dvorak (1841 – 1904): Lyricism and Nationalism” Concert at Occidental College on Monday 11/11 at 12:45pm November 10, 2013

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 […]