Oh... sorry you had a rough Valentine's Day Robin.

I think of you and your charmed job everytime I go to my Saturday job. I travel on the highway into the heart of downtown and slip into an ancient neighborhood just north of the business district. To the east is the super-ghetto, to the north lies the river, railbeds, warehouses and industrial complexes. The weather has been rather dreary. Piles of dirty snow melt in the grey air. Clouds hand low and the cars are all filthy. I pretend I am going to a castle to play a grand piano rather than the small electric organ up in the choir loft. I imagine that someday the church will serve Vietnamese or Italian horsdoovers rather than Communion. While improvising before Mass I imagine looking over the 'crowd' and checking out the outfits.

European 'money' buys the neatest clothing.

Robin, so sorry to hear about your norovirus. They are nasty indeed. My son came down with one of those when we were in Baltimore one weekend. After two days of my son going nonstop at both ends, I think they had to incinerate the hotel room after we checked out. We left a huge tip for the maid staff but it probably still wasn't enough.

The norovirus is awful.. I caught it once on an infected cruise ship.

My Valentine's gig was in an old folk's home that co-incidentally has just been shut down for the past month due to the virus. Did you know that you can catch it by merely touching an infected surface? That ol' beat up Steinway got a big dose of rubbing alcohol on its ivories, let me tell you, and I don't even care what effect that had on the keys! Needless to say, there were a lot fewer residents sitting in the audience then before the virus hit.

Here is a photo of my romantic evening. The piano was nicely decorated with balloons:




I was playing for their Valentine's sing-along and reading off some very shiny paper. To top it all off, the volunteer who was leading the sing-along kept turning around before each song and then saying loudly, "Do you know this song, Dear?" and then proceeding to hum it to me, at which point I would cut her off by playing a very loud intro

What fabulous photos, Tea Girl! And how great you must have felt for bringing a little joy to these people on Valentine's Day.

Much more productive than my Valentine's Day, although I did manage to play two sets before disaster struck.

Thanks, Apple and Monica, for your good wishes. I am feeling much better now and even managed to argue with my husband this afternoon when he suggested yet another set of "alternative voicings" for one of my new pieces.

I expect to be completely better tomorrow, just in time to go back to work.

Noro--- ugh. I hope you feel better soon, Robin. Call me loopy--- I pictured you wrapped in the healing light. They say green, like the new leaf, is healing but I found it didn't flatter you. In the end, the amethyst and gold seemed the most right.


Anyway, it's a good thought coming your way. My recent experience has told me that it does make a difference.

Now about that mole thing. My neighbors are never going to invite me to that wedding; I only see them to speak when we're walking our dogs at the same hour. But I'll see what I can pump out of the groom.

With a good interview technique, you can find out all kinds of things--- except from NASA. For some reason, they never answered my inquiry about the wedding on the space station.

I wouldn't expect you to drag yourself out of a sickbed (and that far from a toilet) just to look at the night sky, but the sun has been very busy this week, with a big coronal mass ejection aimed just our way. Northern Germany might well see the aurora borealis.

Thanks for the pictures Tea Girl. I have enjoyed my time in nursing homes. One of them has a C-7 in awesome condition on the 'memory ward'.. ha ha. Some of those patients were rascals pure and simple.

I have my own cold that I can't seem to fully shake.

Marian McPartland must have been on vacation. I always listened to her show on the way home from rehearsals but some guy has been on. I was glad to hear her again the other night. I am wondering if the show is live. She is quite elderly.

I hope everyone gets better!

A few months back there was an alzheimer patient wielding a snare drum. He played along to the whole sing-along. It was awfully trying on my nerves, but he was such a nice old gentleman and according to his son, used to be a drummer.
The weird thing was that I could not see him, and the whole I kept thinking, 'I could swear I hear a snare drum'
I haven't seen him lately so it's possible he passed away.

Maybe, but probably not.

When I moved to Germany, I was looking forward to my kids seeing the aurora. I grew up in northern Wisconsin and saw many astounding displays on cold winter nights, but my children had only lived in Alabama and Virginia. Central Germany where we lived was about the same latitude as International Falls, so it seem promising.

What I'd forgotten is that the magnetic north pole is tipped from the true north pole. It turned out that Germany is actually fairly far south on the magnetic scale, and we never had a chance to see the lights.

True, the auroral oval is tipped:


But, it might be worthwhile to look up during the solar storm... I mean, if you're already outside. Graphics courtesy of http://spaceweather.com/

You can look up all you want where I live; we're having a real storm. But, that just means spring won't be over next week.

Still hoping you're doing better, Robin.

Hi everyone!
Thank you for the good wishes, and yes, I have nearly recovered from the no-no-norovirus. Rescheduled my recording session for early March—just wasn't up to it. Playing the piano is difficult enough when I'm in good shape.

Loved the amethyst, Clef. I swear it helped. Thank you.

Had a meeting with a June bride the other day. She and her husband are both Swiss. They were, as one might expect, perfectly dressed, perfectly organized, and, well, perfect. They were both very tiny, almost like they could stand in for the plastic bride and groom on top of the wedding cake.

I was bitching and moaning about having to attend the meeting, but it was very nice, and by the end of the one hour I had secured work for both myself (ceremony and afternoon reception) and a jazz trio (dinner). So it was worth the extra effort.

Another phone meeting didn't work out so well. Pitched the same basic set-up, but the bride decided to "save money" and just have a DJ. Perhaps I shall send her The Wilma von Weasel Demo CD. I have a new version: It features a dementia patient playing snare drum solos. Perfect for those sensitive moments at the altar.

that's great Robin.. In my non-wedding world*, I look down upon people's heads from way above. I can see the grey hair coming in, the bald spots and WAY too many people texting during church (not that I'm judgemental).. heh.

I have never seen aurora borealis.

* i do the funeral thing.. equally lucrative fortunately.

The view from the organ. Now there's a book title for you.

There has been a parade of future brides strolling past my piano at Lerbach over the weekend. I have my "get the gig" repertoire. Seems to be working. Looks like a lot of weddings this season!

that's nice.. There have been a lot of funerals at the Italian (and Vietnamese)church. The regular organist is in Mexico. Many Italian families settled in this ancient neighborhood and attended this church. Italians in KC are pretty rich, kinda gangsta and dress marvelously. The men call me honey and I know many of the finer families because I worked at an upscale restaurant in the 70s. I had a few 90 years pass on recently. All the families have moved on out to better neighborhoods but they come back to this church for weddings and funerals. While walking by the mourners a few men said 'Here ya go honey' and handed me a twenty... just like the old days when I brought them a beer.

... boy are the men gorgeous. One of the big guys in town owned (and still owns) the BMW / Mercedes dealership. He was so prissy and got a hair cut every week. He really wanted to date me but I knew we were quite opposites in many things. I had never gotten a manicure for instance and I'm sure he got one every week along with his haircut. (All the Italian men got manicures.) I finally agreed to go to lunch with him. He picked me up in Mercedes and handed me a dress from Hallmark in a clear bag... "Go change and keep the dress" He didn't remember shoes but I had a pair of ivory pumps from my high school prom which weren't really a good match but at least they were heels.

We had a good time, but didn't go out again. I still have the dress altho it is too small to wear. It must have shrunk. I figured I'd make a pillow out of it or something but it is in my closet still. It is a gorgeous painted red silk sheath that skimmed the figure in a flattering way (heh)... the flowers gracefully swirling around the hips.

"The view from the organ. Now there's a book title for you. "

And I have an illustration for the cover.

Speaking of books, I'm still looking forward to The Waltz of the Asparagus People. And speaking of waltzes, one of our members over in Tuner/Tech posted a nice realization of The Carousel Waltz (the overture to the movie, Carousel), scored for solo piano. Out of print, alas, or I'd be tempted to give it a try. One has to buy the full orchestral score, for too much money.

A touching story, Carousel--- When Good Boyfriends Do Bad Things and try to make up for it when it would ordinarily be too late, their being dead. We used to have a bunch of those Broadway show phonograph albums, when I was a young rugrat. Their influence was pernicious, no doubt, but there were some good tunes anyway. If only I had figured out the subtext earlier in life! But no one spelled it out--- they figured you "just knew."

Now, regarding my prospective role as a mole at my neighbors' wedding. I'm not so sure. It sounds, from Robin's description of the coming bookings, like there is no shortage of sacrificial virgins this season. That poisonous houseplant of the genus sanseveria is not named "Mother-In-Law's Tongue" for nothing.

However, I'm sure their wedding will be lovely, and her mother will have her way in all things, up to the point the limousine door slams and the young marrieds drive away.

The Carousel Waltz is available in a couple of anthologies of Rodgers and Hammerstein music, for a bit less than half the price of the piano vocal score. I have the score, which Richard Rodgers thought was his best work. The book is Liliom, by Molnar.

Love to see that illustration, Clef. Yes, the Carousel music is wonderful!

Finished my recording last week and I am very happy with it. I even made it through |"The Tattooed Bride" without tripping over anything. I had been concerned about that piece (I hate it when I write things that are hard for me to play).

Waltz of the Aparapagus People is right on schedule. And the song of the same title is in the can. I am particularly fond of this piece of music.

I am headed to Marrakech tomorrow. NOT for a wedding, sadly, but I will be performing for a large conference of American women. I am told there is a white grand piano waiting for me. The planner knew the color, but not the make of the piano. Who knows what will happen? Last time I played for this group was in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the piano tuner was--I kid you not--in the 8th grade.

I assume the weather in Morocco will be better than the weather in Lithuania. I am ready for some sunshine. I'll be back this weekend, assuming I don't get swept into an anti-government protest. I've been assured that the Moroccan government is stable, at least this week.

The lookups for Molnar's "Illiom" turned out to be a gold mine. Thanks to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel_(musical)

Did you know?

That Ferenc Molnár's Hungarian-language drama, Liliom, premiered in Budapest in 1909? The audience was puzzled by the work, and it lasted only thirty-odd performances before being withdrawn, the first shadow on Molnár's successful career as a playwright? Liliom was not presented again until after World War I? When it reappeared on the Budapest stage, it was a tremendous hit?

That The Theatre Guild presented it in New York City in 1921, with Joseph Schildkraut as Liliom, and the play was a success, running 300 performances?

That Ferenc Molnár turned down any and all requests to turn this into a musical, including one from Giaccomo Puccini and another from Kurt Weill?

BUT, he granted permission after seeing what Rodgers and Hammerstein did when they turned "Green Grow the Lilacs" into "Oklahoma?"

AND, although they were worried to death about what he would say, he loved it?

That John Raitt sang "If I Loved You" in the Broadway version? Bonnie Raitt's dad?

That Orson Wells directed and played the lead in the radio version of "Liliom," with Helen Hayes and Agnes Moorhead (as the mean carousel owner)?

That Richard Rodgers later wrote that "Carousel" was his favorite among all his musicals?

That In 1999, Time magazine named "Carousel" the best musical of the 20th century?

That Rodgers early decided to dispense with an overture, feeling that the music was hard to hear over the banging of seats as latecomers settled themselves.[31] In his autobiography, Rodgers complained that only the brass section can be heard during an overture because there are never enough strings in a musical's small orchestra. He determined to force the audience to concentrate from the beginning by opening with a pantomime scene (choreographed by Agnes DeMille) accompanied by what became known as "The Carousel Waltz"?

That it proved harder to cast the ensemble than the leads, due to the war—-- Rodgers told his casting director, John Fearnley, that the sole qualification for a dancing boy was that he be alive? Rodgers and Hammerstein reassembled much of the creative team that had made Oklahoma! a success?

That Even though Oklahoma! orchestrator Russell Bennett was unavailable to work on Carousel , Rodgers insisted he do the work in his spare time. He orchestrated "The Carousel Waltz" and "Mister Snow" before finally being replaced by Don Walker?

That in tryouts in New Haven the first act was well-received; the second act was not? Casto recalled that the second act finished about 1:30 a.m.[27] The staff immediately sat down for a two-hour conference. Five scenes, half a ballet and two songs were cut from the show as the result. John Fearnley commented, "Now I see why these people have hits. I never witnessed anything so brisk and brave in my life."

That Rodgers had injured his back the previous week, and he watched the opening from a stretcher propped in a box behind the curtain. Sedated with morphine, he could see only part of the stage. As he could not hear the audience's applause and laughter, he assumed the show was a failure. It was not until friends congratulated him later that evening that he realized that the curtain had been met by wild applause.

A large team of orchestrators lent their expertise to the complex musical arrangements recorded for the film's soundtrack: Nelson Riddle, Herbert W. Spencer, Earle Hagen, Edward B. Powell, Bernard Mayer and Gus Levene.

Three editions of the soundtrack album were issued on compact disc, all in stereo. The first, issued in 1986 by Capitol, was an exact duplicate of the 1958 stereo LP. The rights then were obtained by Angel Records, which issued a second edition of the album, this time featuring the complete "Carousel Waltz" in stereo for the first time, along with all of the other songs included on the previous CD and LP incarnations. This album was superseded in 2001 by Angel's "expanded edition" of the soundtrack, which, for the first time, featured practically all of the songs and music recorded for the film, including the dance music, resulting in a playing time of 70 minutes, as opposed to the original 45 minute stereo LP and CD.

The original Broadway production ran for 890 performances. Carousel ran in London for 566 performances, remaining there for over a year and a half. The film version was characterized as a money-loser for Fox, but has won a greater audience since thanks to television and DVD.

****************************************************

Well. Now you know. Actually, this is greatly condensed and the original articles are worth reading over.

I have always felt that the Carousel Waltz should be played on a band organ. There is a wonderful old merry-go-round with two different band organs in nearby Tilden Park that I grew up with, and the sight and sound of them still brings a lump to my throat, although I rarely go there any more. When I play it, I keep the sound of them in mind, as well as the slightly mechanical interpretation of it.

Carousel has wonderful music, but it is not my favorite musical. I prefer My Fair Lady, and I have a great deal of respect for the almost unknown One Touch of Venus, with its inimitable Ogden Nash lyrics,

(More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
More than the Axis hates the United States,
That's how much I love you!),

its pioneering use of a dance sequence which was copied in Oklahoma. But almost all the music was taken out of the movie, so nobody knows it these days. I am grateful to 42nd Street Moon for the opportunity to see it performed in even a limited production.

Carousel is one of four musicals I sang in (I played trombone in the pit for an additional 3).

Many decades later there are still fond memories of the melodies and....ahem......the cast parties. Which is why I did not encourage my kids to do musicals, but they insisted anyway!

I attended a middle school performance of Oklahoma this weekend. I wasn't expecting much but these young kids did an awesome job and sang really well. There was no pit, of course, everything is recorded now.

The big problem was that most middle school kids don't project. So all were miked (radio microphones didn't exist when I was in high school. Come to think of it, I'm not sure about radio.) That was fine when the mikes worked, but they kept dropping out, or the sound booth didn't switch properly or whatever. We missed a lot of music that didn't get amplified.

Oklahoma is a creepy musical. All the great songs and melodies do is mask the plot, which is basically about everyone in the town ganging up against someone they think is a shady character. He may be, but then you wonder whether he is was actually shady, or that everyone else made him that way.

Bertoldt Brecht formalized the idea of musicals being didactic by masking the unpalatable message behind the music. His musicals with Weill probably do that too well, so that the message is lost behind the music. That is true of Oklahoma as well. Brecht is too preachy, anyway, so he might well have been much more obscure had he never worked with Weill.

Circumstances work for and against things. We went to see a production of The Cradle Will Rock a few years ago, and I thought that had the powers that be had not made such a fuss about it, it would have died a quiet death. But now we are getting into the area of censorship, and that was Cole Porter's favorite subject.

"...the almost unknown One Touch of Venus, with its inimitable Ogden Nash lyrics..."

Poetry for people who hate poetry (and especially poets, if they know any). Nash has gone the way of Shaw--- so worthwhile, yet so unknown today.

"The hands of the clock were reaching high
On the old midtown hotel.
I name no name, but its sordid fame
Is table talk in heck.
I name no name, but heck's own flame
Illumines the lobby garish
A gilded snare just off Times Square
For the virgins of the parish."

From The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor, in a Nash anthology my dad had. Ogden Nash is known for his humorous light verse, but he had range and could be quite dark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Touch_of_Venus is more than somewhat interesting.

I'd really LIKE Carousel to be the Best Musical Ever. It sets off that way - I'd rate the scene in act I from "You're a queer one, Julie Jordan" through to the reprise of "If I loved you" as best opera scena ever, including anything Puccini etc. came out with. But Act 2 just gets silly and over-sentimental, with all that Heavenly Friend hokum.

Maybe it's a cultural thing. I believe America loves "The Fantasticks". So do I, but it always flops in London. And, a few years ago, a song called something like "Disneyland, magic kingdom" was popular in UK theatre auditions. Sounded like it might have been written by Hamlisch? I couldn't believe that it wasn't ironic. But apparently not. (I believe religion's big in many parts of the US as well :-)

In my naivete I had never realized that until last week.

Somehow middle school children put that message across very clearly. I had real sympathy for the hired hand.

heck, spelled h-e-l-l is rendering as heck spelled h-e-c-k
?????????????
It ruins the rhyme and alliteration

It would also ruin one of the best lines in the musical, where Venus, answering a policeman's question about where he could find Homer and Virgil with sweet helpfulness, tells him where he should go.

and in odd bridal dress news........

3000 dresses in that room and she ended up with that one, with the odd little peplum thing in back--- it looks like it was supposed to have a train but someone stepped on it and tore it off, and the bride returned the dress. Maybe the ringbearer prankishly thought he would go for a ride down the aisle, or maybe an older relative had one of those regrettable "I've fallen and I can't get up" situations, and the train paid with its life. I wonder what they said about that when she got to the Emergency Room. (As Alice said to the Cheshire Cat: "I've often seen a gown without a train, but never a train without a gown.)

So Filene's Basement has become a Convention Center. It was clearly quite hazardous when there were stairs involved. Can you see the headlines. ""Bargain-Hungry Brides Stomped to Mush in Frenzy at Filenes Basement" "Police Break Up Mob with Tear Gas and Tasers/ Gowns Ruined by Firehoses after Cash Registers Catch Fire" Those brides in the video clip couldn't have moved faster if a hive of wasps was after them. Wedding Jeopardy has taken on a new meaning.

It reminds me of that saying, that to a woman Heaven is being turned loose in a department store, naked but with a credit card.

Did you know? There is a new cable channel on offer: The Wedding Channel. Robin, they're going to be needing content and it might as well be you, in 7.1 Surround and HD 1080p.

there you go

I guess the brides to be are all getting ready, altering their dresses, dieting, planning things.

Here in Kansas, I've been super busy. I played a Confirmation last nite.. a huge event with a bishop, 3 priests, attendants, lots of altar boys, 100 Confirmandi and my group playing and singing for 2 hours..

The director was awesome. I really have to diligently prepare because so much of my work is on the organ. Every minute is preplanned with registrations premarked.. lots of work, but things went well... the last song and postlude were awesome and I have a funeral today.. not a bride in sight. ( I have a new funeral home contact and that is good good good). My pastor is an awesome organist, so the pressure is on... I know he hears EVERY little mistake and it is easy to make them.

(the weather is finely glorious).

They didn't write, they didn't call. I guess William and Kate have hired another cocktail pianist, or cocktail harpist, or cocktail orchestra for their hula-dula. Ah well, perhaps they'll call when things calm down.

Please excuse my absence. I was in Marrakech where the cous cous was divine, the souks were splendid, but the internet was dicey. While NATO bombers flew overhead to nearby Libya, I performed at an international women's conference, and had a fabulous time. I travel a fair amount, and you know, it's seldom that I land in a place and really feel like I'm in another world. This was one of those times. Snake charmers on the street with cobras coiled in baskets; carts of brightly-colored bolts of fabric pulled by over-burdened donkeys; people running around in pajamas at all hours of the day and night (I LOVED this, and immediately went native), snow capped alp-like mountains right next to the desert; belly dancers (imported from Egypt) accompanied by trios of percussionists.

I sat in with one of the percussion groups. Turns out I look pretty good in a fez, but I found it impossible to twirl the fez tassel like the Moroccan guys. You have to go into a trance almost and start making small circles with the top of your head (think hula hoop). Tough to do while playing.

Anyway, if you're curious there are some photos here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1622765575321&set=t.1158033342&theater

The actual gig I played involved a white Yamaha grand (Yamaha is EVERYWHERE), and me in a white suit. I was hoping for a Tom Wolfe vibe but I think I ended up looking more like Elton John. But that's okay. There's only so much you can do with a white suit. I should have worn pajamas instead---I would have fit right in.

Arrived back in Germany and jumped right into the castle cocktail piano scene. No cobras coiled in baskets or monkeys in cages, but lots of brides and their mothers lined up for the coming wedding season. Running of the Brides begins on April 16th, with a double header at two separate castles. I will not complain, I won't.

German version of the new book (Walzer der Spargelmenschen) has been released. Reviews are good so far--but I'm never sure when they might turn on me. The story about the Wheelchair Guy (the first draft appeared here in this very thread!) seems to be attracting a lot of attention.