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.

BEYOND / JENSEITS – On the Therapist’s Couch

Posted on April 5, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

At the beginning of Section XII of the little night opera “Beyond” AKA “Jenseits”, written for my mother Catherine Gayer (catch up on previous installments via the opera’s main page), the 1st Angel takes on the persona of the 4th … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works, Musicabilia | Tagged angel, Beyond, Catherine Gayer, chamber opera, chromatic, classical, family, Helga Krauss, Holy Trinity, husband, Jenseits, music, octaves, Opera, singer, son, therapist, therapy | Leave a comment

BEYOND / JENSEITS – The Husband and the Lover

Posted on March 29, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Husband and lover. In the Woman’s memory, they are not the same man. At the close of the previous section of Beyond (Jenseits), the “little night opera” I composed for my mother, the lullaby for her Son transitions to an … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber Works, Musicabilia | Tagged affair, Beyond, chamber opera, conductor, fear, husband, Jenseits, jurisprudence, longing, lover, metroniome, motif, Opera, orgasm, Sehnsucht | Leave a comment

R.I.P. Aribert Reimann

Posted on March 24, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Aribert Reimann with my mother, Catherine Gayer, at rehearsal in 1971 Two Thursdays ago my mother called me from Berlin. Normally we talk on Sundays, so I was curious what occasioned this call. “Aribert Reimann has died”, she told me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News | Tagged 6 Poems by Sylvia Plath, Aribert Reimann, Berlin, Catherine Ashkenasi, Catherine Gayer, coloratura, contemporary, homosexual, King Lear, Martha Mödl, Melusine, music, New York Times, Obituary, Opera, recital, Sylvia Plath, The Guardian | Leave a comment

BEYOND / JENSEITS – A Lullaby

Posted on March 20, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

In this fourth installment of the opera I wrote for my mother (you can find links to the first three installments on the JENSEITS / BEYOND home page), we are introduced to a new theme, a lullaby. We have just … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber Works, Musicabilia, The Teaching Artist | Tagged a cappella, Angels, Beyond, chamber opera, countermelody, fear, German, Harmony, Jenseits, lullaby, Opera, theme, transliteration, vocal exercise, vowel sound | Leave a comment

BEYOND / JENSEITS – An Encounter with the Conductor

Posted on March 14, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Above is a picture of myself, my mother Catherine Gayer and family friend Helga Krauss after the New York stage premiere of Beyond, the little night opera Helga and I wrote for my mother. This is Part 3 of sharing … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works, Musicabilia | Tagged afterlife, angel, baroque, Catherine Gayer, chamber opera, conductor, death, fear, Helga Krauss, melisma, melody, Opera, piano, rehearsal, seduction | Leave a comment

Attack of my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions

Posted on March 10, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

The 6th installment of my submissions to the New Yorker Magazine cartoon captioning contest. My streak of not being chosen as a finalist continues unabated! … got a little political with that one.

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Literary Lyricism | Tagged accountant, beach, cactus, caption, cartoon, Cats, Contest, Elephant, genie, Mr. Peanut, New Yorker, snowman, tiger | Leave a comment

BEYOND / JENSEITS – A Life in Review

Posted on March 6, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Welcome to the second post about the little night opera “Jenseits” AKA “Beyond” I composed for my mother, Catherine Gayer. Helga Krauss wrote the libretto, which I translated into English. Read and listen to the first post here, and follow … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber Works, Musicabilia, The Teaching Artist | Tagged Angels, Beyond, Catherine Gayer, childhood, diva, exercises, German, Helga Krauss, husband, Jenseits, lover, Opera, opera singer, son, translation, vocal | Leave a comment

A Wig Made From My Hair

Posted on March 3, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

That is a picture of a wig that was made with my hair. Hair I donated. Multiple pony tails in zip lock baggies I shipped off to an organization called Hair We Care. Their mission statement is “to help maintain … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Cinema Scope, Poe Musicabres | Tagged bald, certificate, donation, Hair, hair loss, Hair We Care, medical, musicabre, myhairstory, Pit and the Pendulum, ponytail, tellusyourhairstory, wig | Leave a comment

BEYOND / JENSEITS – an Opera for my Mother

Posted on February 29, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Twenty years ago family friend and screenwriter Helga Krauss and I created a one-act opera for my mother, Catherine Gayer (AKA Catherine Ashkenasi, her maiden name being her stage name). Helga wrote the libretto and I composed the music. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works, Musicabilia | Tagged a little night opera, afterlife, Angels, Beyond, car crash, chamber, death, English, FringeNYC, German, Helga Krauss, Jenseits, New York Times, one-act, Opera, operation, piano, singer, translation | Leave a comment

MOM’s NEW YORK TIMES BIRTHDAY PUZZLE

Posted on February 25, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

My mother Catherine spent two weeks in New York with us in February. Her birthday was celebrated during her visit. And one birthday present was a puzzle of the New York Times front page of the day she was born. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Live! On Stage, Notes in the News | Tagged 1937, Appropriate, Arnold Bernstein, Barry Manilow, birthday, Catherine Ashkenasi, Comedian Harmonists, Court Packing, court reform, Days of Wine and Roses, Dust Bowl, FDR, February 11, front page, Governor Murphy, Harmony, Kimberly Akimbo, Merrily We Roll Along, Nazis, New York Times, Puzzle, Roosevelt, Spanish Civil War, Third Reich | Leave a comment

Astor Place Reflections

Posted on February 21, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged architecture, Astor Place, building, glass, Manhattan, mirrors, New York City, photography, reflections | Leave a comment

The Wild, Spark-tacular Fire Run of Barcelona

Posted on February 17, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

It’s called Correfoc. It is a popular Catalan tradition consisting of “a parade of infernal characters that chase people with fireworks“. It was one of the wildest events we attended during Barcelona’s La Mercé festival. Diables and Bestiari, adults and children … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged Barcelona, Bestiari, Catalonia, Correfoc, Diables, drummers, festival, fireworks, Hell's Gate, La Mercé, Parade, Passeig de Gracia, Porta de L'Infern, Spain, sparklers, sparks | Leave a comment

The Dancing Giants of Barcelona

Posted on February 10, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

The day after the display of the Castells the La Mercé festival featured giant puppets dancing in Placa de Sant Jaume in Barcelona. Huge puppets surrounded the plaza, then were marched by their handlers – balancing figures many multiples of … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged Barcelona, Castells, Catalonia, chess figures, choreography, dance, dragons, Fantasy, folk, giant, La Mercé, Parade, Placa de Sant Jaume, royalty, Spain | Leave a comment

Verticles

Posted on January 31, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged 4th Avenue, 5th Avenue, architecture, Atlantic Mall, Barclay Center, brooklyn, Flatbush Avenue, Frame Works, motorcycle, photography, pizza, public art, scaffold, sculpture, skyscraper, Williamstown Bank Tower | Leave a comment

The Amazing Human Towers of Barcelona

Posted on January 28, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

When Ed and I scheduled our time in Barcelona (to attend the Love and Hope Film Festival), we didn’t realize we would be there for the La Mercè festival, the biggest weekend of festivities of the year in Barcelona. So many … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged Barcelona, Castells, Catalonia, festival, Human Tower, La Mercè, photography, Placa de Sant Jaume | Leave a comment

Revenge of my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions

Posted on January 15, 2024 by dannyashkenasi

And we’re back, for a fifth installment of my never-a-finalist New Yorker cartoon caption contest submissions. Well, the jury is still out on finalist status of my last two submissions. I’ll update if one of them gets chosen. But don’t hold your … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Literary Lyricism | Tagged bar, caption, cartoon, Christmas, clock, Contest, cowboy, emoji, horse, icon, New Yorker, pearly gates, pommel, rock paper scissor, stockings, therapy | Leave a comment

	Winter Lights at the… on Looking Up in NYC
	Ann Hilton Fisher on Ecclesiastes of my own persona…
	dannyashkenasi on A Dulcimer, A Fountain, and a…
	Ann Hilton Fisher on A Dulcimer, A Fountain, and a…
	Ann Hilton Fisher on I Take the Colbert Questi…
	Ann Hilton Fisher on Happy Birthday, Ed – Evo…
	dannyashkenasi on BRAZIL – Pernambuco…
	ebnesr9aabfafe63 on BRAZIL – Pernambuco…
	1826sdf913 on Genesis of my own personal NEW…
	Weng on Speak Low, Phoenix, Speak…
	Tony Ananiadis on Speak Low, Phoenix, Speak…
	Brent on HOOVER DAM, MEMORIAL BRIDGE an…
	Steven on CANNES IMPRESSIONS Part 2
	Rudi v on Catherine Gayer on the Ra…
	Rudi on Catherine Gayer on the Ra…