Author Archives: dannyashkenasi

About dannyashkenasi

I'm a composer with over 40 years experience creating music theater. I'm also an actor, writer, director, producer, teacher and general enthusiast for the arts.

ARTS-A-POPPIN’

Posted on May 24, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

There’s a new category here at Notes from a Composer: Arts-a-Poppin’. (This category, like all the others, can be accessed on the right side of every site page, just below the tweet stream.) After posting a double bill of selections … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Notes in the News | Tagged Arts-a-Poppin', Brazil, Hellzapoppin, memorial, New York, Notes from a Composer, Painting, photography, sculpture, Visual Arts | 2 Comments

SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES at ART NY 2018

Posted on May 20, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Part 2 of my glimpse into ART NY 2018. Some more “celebrity sightings” in artist and subject just as in Part 1. Even more “shifting perspectives”, featuring videos of art work that show how they change, either because they include … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On | Tagged 2018, Alexandra Pacula, art, ART NY, Badlands Cockney, Bjørn Okholm Skaarup, Brandon Murphy, Bruce R. Macdonald, Carole Feuerman, Chagall, Chris Antemann, Diadji Diop, Dick van Dyke, Etienne Garceau, Florian Eymann, Frederico Uribe, Fredy Hadorn, Hendrik Kerstas, Henry Calso, John Atwood, Kaï, Klar Reis, Klari Reis, Leonor Anthony, Marck, Marilyn Monroe, Mark Jenkins, Mary Poppins, Michael Moebius, Nemo Jantzen, Niloufar Banisadr, Norah Jones, Oliver Czarnetta, Paint it Black, Painter Song, Patrick Rubenstein, Pavement Artists, Picasso, Puzzles, Roberto Fabelo, Rolling Stones, Roy Lichtenstein, Shepard Fairey, Speedy Graphito, Tom Otterness, Victoria Kovalenchikova, videosculpture, Will Kurtz, Yong R. Kwan, Zhang Hang Yi | Leave a comment

Celebrity Sightings at ART NY 2018

Posted on May 13, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

The large Yigal Ozeri portrait of Whoopi Goldberg behind the information desk by the entrance into ART NY 2018 was a hint that this year’s exhibition would have more than its fair share of celebrity sightings. Not only celebrities being … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On | Tagged 2018, A Sar is Born, Adrien Brody, agitprop, art garfunkel, ART NY, ART POP, Bart Simpson, Bernadette Peters, Bradley Cooper, Brandi Milne, Bright Eyes, cartoon, celebrity, Children and Art, David Moreno, Gavin Rain, Gene Kiegel, Hidden Treasure, Jacky Tsai, Jessica Drenk, Joe Namath, Josh Agle, Keith Haring, Kenny Sharf, Lady Gaga, Les Icônes sont fatiguées, Luke Chueh, Manuel Felguérez, Marilyn Monroe, Mario Soria, Martin C. Herbst, Metis Atash, NOART, Patrick Rubinstein, Picasso, Rim Chae, Ron English, Ronen Sharabani, SHAG, Sunday in the Park with George, video installation, Viktor Freso, Watership Down, Whoopi Goldberg, Yigal Ozeri, Yves Hayat | Leave a comment

The Views from THE VIEW

Posted on May 3, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Ed and I were treated to dinner at The View restaurant on the top of the Marriott Hotel in Times Square. 48 stories high, the whole restaurant is perched on a circular platform that, like a very slowly rotating record, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged ABBA, Billy Idol, Billy Joel, Charlie Chaplin, Chrysler Building, City Lights, City of Stars, Cole Porter, Down in the Depths (in the 90th floor), Hot in the City, Hudson River, I am the City, Kate Bush, La La Land, Manhattan, Marriott, Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway), Portia Nelson, restaurant, Ryan Gosling, skyscraper, The Lion King, The View, Times Square, Top of the City | Leave a comment

ELEGANT PRIMITIVISM or ELEGIAC ENERGY – On the Conclusion of the Public Vote in the Carl Orff Competition

Posted on May 1, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

The public voting phase of the Carl Orff Competition concluded yesterday. Now I guess the public ratings of the 115 entries are being weighted and tabulated to determine five finalists. Five more finalists will be chosen by a select jury. … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber Works, Literary Lyricism, Notes in the News | Tagged baritone, Carl Orff, Competition, composer, Eurydice, Eurydike, frame drum, harp, Hermes, Kevin Jillette, music, Orpheus, Rilke | Leave a comment

WEDDING MUSIC – 25 Years Together, 20 Years Married

Posted on April 25, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

“So, where did the two of you meet?” we are often asked. “In the back of a Greyhound bus,” we respond by rote, and await the inevitable follow up question. It was exactly 25 years ago, April 25, 1993, on … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Melodies Linger On | Tagged 1993, 1998, anniversary, April 25, Cabaret, Cole Porter, Ed Elder, Ella Fitzgerald, Fiddler on the Roof, first dance, From This Moment On, Gay, Greta Keller, greyhound, Heirat, I Could Be Happy With You, Lead Me to the Morning, lesbian, LGBTQ, March on Washington, marriage, marriage equality, Sunrise Sunset, The Boyfriend, wedding, Witches | 1 Comment

STILLES ENTSETZEN – AWESTRUCK, AWFUL REGRET – One More Week of the Carl Orff Competition’s Public Voting

Posted on April 22, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

“Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” evokes the lead-up to Orpheus’ fateful turn to glance at Eurydice, the awestruck, awful regret at that moment and its terrible aftermath. “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” beginnt kurz vor den fatalen Rückblick Orpheus zur Eurydike, welches stilles … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber Works, Literary Lyricism | Tagged Carl Orff, Competition, Eigentum, English, Eurydice, Eurydike, frozen moment, German, Orpheus, property, Rilke, translation | Leave a comment

CARL ORFF COMPETITION – Let’s Hear it for the Underdogs

Posted on April 15, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Dear Danny, Your Orpheus, Eurydike, Hermes is a brilliant, powerful piece, spellbinding from its first note to the final silence, tense, tumultuous between, each step possessed, pauses as loud as the notes, the whole astounding, overwhelming. Orpheus. Eurydike. … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber Works, Notes in the News | Tagged Alessio Ferrante, Alice Leake, baritone, Beckett, Carl Orff, Competition, Eurydice, frame drum, harp, Jack Ballard, Jörn Tegtmeyer, Jelle Vansielegham, Lizaveta Loban, Luis Emilio Navarro, mythology, Orpheus, Rilke, Schönberg, Soojin Cho | 2 Comments

HAPPY SONGS FOR DARK TIMES #1 – A Grand Hotel Extravaganza

Posted on April 8, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Sometimes the right slice of music can be a sure fire happy picker upper. These are dark, soul depressing, body wearying times we live in. More than once I have been hearing people talk about how they feel sick in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Scope, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged Alexandre Desplat, balalaika, dark times, Grand Budapest Hotel, happy, Happy Songs, Loony Tunes, Moonshine, music, Ralph Fiennes, Traditional Arrangement, Vitamin B shot, Wes Anderson, Zabrowka | Leave a comment

Another Year, Another Trio of First Grade Operas.

Posted on March 29, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Three first grade operas have performed in their classrooms in front of an audience of parents, grandparents and loved ones. In three consecutive days 1-3’s “Diamond Kids”, 1-2’s “The Alicorns” and 1-1’s “Imagine” regaled audiences with stories, dialog, lyrics and … Continue reading →

Posted in The Teaching Artist | Tagged alicorns, Brooklyn Children's School, diamonds, education, Evil Queen, fairy tale, first grade, health food, Kindergarten, magic, Opera, pegasus, Prince, Princess, teaching artist, transformation, treasure, unicorn | Leave a comment

MARCHING FOR OUR LIVES IN NYC

Posted on March 25, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

March 24 – March For Our Lives – Millions are on the streets in the USA. Here are some impressions from New York City. With appropriate and inappropriate songs that went through my head as Ed and I participated. … Continue reading →

Posted in Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged A Part Hate, AR-15, Central Park West, Cyndi Lauper, Deathly Hallows, Ed Elder, Foster the People, gun control, Happiness is a Warm Gun, Harry Potter, Imagine, John Lennon, March 24, March for our Lives, New York City, Nick Cave, NRA, O Children, Paul McCartney, Protest, Pumped Up Kicks, school shootings, The Beatles | 1 Comment

ORPHEUS. EURYDIKE. HERMES

Posted on March 15, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

My Entry in the Carl Orff Competition I composed a chamber work, a song in the tradition of the “Lieder” of the salon, called “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes”. It describes the moment in Greek mythology when Orpheus, leading his wife Eurydice … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Chamber Works, Literary Lyricism, Notes in the News | Tagged Antje Tesche-Mentzen, Art Song, baritone, Carl Orff, Competition, Eurydice, Eurydike, frame drum, harp, Hermes, Lieder, Monteverdi, morse code, Orpheus, Peter Clark, Rilke | 7 Comments

GETTING KINKY WITH JAKE AND WAYNE

Posted on March 10, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Ed and I originally saw “Kinky Boots” when it was still in previews. We had treated each other with reciprocal Broadway tickets for Xmas, because we had high hopes for a Harvey Fierstein / Cyndi Lauper musical collaboration. The performance … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Literary Lyricism, Live! On Stage, Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged Al Hirschfeld, Armistead Maupin, Boys Keep Swinging, Broadway, Bye Bye Birdie, Chita Rivera, Cyndi Lauper, Dick van Dyke, drag queen, Gesamtkunstwerk, Harvey Fierstein, House of David, Jake Shears, Kinky Boots, Lea DeLaria, LGBTQ, musical, Wayne Brady, Whose Line is it Anyway | Leave a comment

THE SIGHING STRINGS OF CINEMA

Posted on February 27, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Phantom Thread – Psycho – Cloud Atlas – Platoon – Lorenzo’s Oil – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – American Crime Story: Versace – The Club – Schindler’s List – Jesus Christ Superstar – Moonlight – Jackie – … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Scope, Melodies Linger On | Tagged A Single Man, Abel Korzeniowski, Adagio for Strings, Adagio in G minor, Alexandre Desplat, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Angela's Ashes, Arvo Pärt, Bernard Hermann, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten, Cloud Atlas, Cloud Atlas Sextet, Death of Cedric, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Itzhak Perlman, Jackie, Janet Leigh, Jesus Christ Superstar, John Corigliano, John Gavin, John Williams, Johnny Greenwood, Lorenzo's Oil, Mica Levi, Moonlight, Nicholas Britell, Nosferatu, Oscars, P. T. Anderson, Patrick Doyle, Phantom Thread, Platoon, Psycho, Robin Carolan, Samuel Barber, Schindler's List, score, Shigeru Umebayashi, string orchestra, The Club, The Red Violin, The Shape of Water, The Tell-Tale Heart, Tim Fain, Tom Ford, Tom Tykwer, Under the Skin | Leave a comment

Five Minutes in Lockdown

Posted on February 17, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

A few months ago I was conducting a third grade choir class in a Tribeca school, when an alarm sounded. “Lockdown”, one of the two classroom teachers in the room with me and 25 third graders announced. Swiftly, and calmly, … Continue reading →

Posted in Notes in the News, The Teaching Artist | Tagged alarm, American exceptionalism, choir, drill, Elementary School, fire, Florida, gun control, high school, Lockdown, Margery Stoneman Douglas, Mas Que Nada, mass shooting, panic, Sandy Hook, school shooting | Leave a comment

LIGHT ENTERS THE HOME – with a “light”hearted music quiz

Posted on February 7, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

I’ll have a picture with my puzzle, please Longtime visitors to my site will have noticed that I love sharing photos, under the “Two-fisted Touristing” rubric, of scenic vistas from around the world or places and events in New … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On, The Speakeasy Chronicles | Tagged Adam Guettel, Adam Lambert, Annie Lennox, Bernadette Peters, Billy Joel, Charlie Chaplin, City Lights, climate change, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crystal Bowersox, Dance into the Light, Dim All the Lights, Donna Summer, Downtown Lights, Florence and the Machine, Ian McKellen, illumination, Kelli O'Hara, light, Light in the Loafers, light play, Long as I Can See the Light, Madonna, Mandy Patinkin, Mary Rodgers, Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway), No Light No Light, paw paw, Ray of Light, refraction, Richard Rodgers, Rothko, Scissor Sisters, Shadow and Light, shadow play, Shining Light, Sondheim, Speakeasy, sun tea, Sunday in the Park with George, The Blue Nile, The Light, The Light in the Piazza, Vincent Price, When Pigs Fly | Leave a comment

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