Category Archives: Beginnings

Entries related to my biography and development as an artist.

CINS CHAT CORNER INTERVIEW

Posted on November 15, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

Friday, November 13th, I recorded an interview with Cindy Mich from Art is Alive, which she has now posted on her Blog Talk Radio webpage and YouTube (see below). We talked for nearly 90 minutes about my short film musical … Continue reading →

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Diana Rigg and the 3rd Happy Song for Dark Times

Posted on September 10, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

I just learned that Diana Rigg passed. Rest in Peace, Diana Rigg. Diana Rigg was probably my first childhood celebrity crush. I likely first loved Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins the way tots love their nannies, but I had my … Continue reading →

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4/25/20

Posted on April 25, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

  Today is Ed and my anniversary. 27 years together.  22 years married. And it’s a Saturday.  Last time our anniversary fell on a Saturday was five years ago.  It won’t happen again for another six years. So of course … Continue reading →

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DROPPING NAMES

Posted on April 12, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

  A Collection of Mini Memoir Memories You may have seen this going around on Facebook or Twitter:  People listing names of celebrities they have met in their life times, but including one name that is a lie.  Then people … Continue reading →

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DREAMS and MEMORIES

Posted on April 3, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

  A Dream Memory for the Grand-Niece   Our niece Linden is homeschooling her children since the shelter-at-home order took hold in her state, just as it has done for millions of families all over the planet. She sent an … Continue reading →

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The Belligerent Homophobe Who Ruined Rocketman For Us

Posted on June 1, 2019 by dannyashkenasi

  The three or four loud sneezes that erupted behind us during the 20 minutes of previews were a warning shot that all would not turn out alright for us during this screening of “Rocketman” in midtown Manhattan. But the … Continue reading →

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The Knight Marries the Prince

Posted on May 26, 2019 by dannyashkenasi

  A Kindergarten Original Blesses a Quaker Wedding   Friday morning I heard a wedding song I realized I would have to sing that night at an actual wedding.  Class K-1 at the Brooklyn Children’s School was the third kindergarten … Continue reading →

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HAPPY SONGS FOR DARK TIMES #2: Miss Marple, Tatu, and the Chipper Harpsichord

Posted on August 22, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Theme from Miss Marple – Ron Goodwin and his Orchestra A while back I promised there would be a series of Happy Tunes for Dark Times to highlight what I consider sure fire musical mood boosters. What with ever escalation Twitter … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Notes on Myself

Posted on January 17, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Sometimes I am asked, in applications for grants or music competitions for example, to write about myself.  It is a certain special torture to have to act as your own greatest champion in writing (or in person), but that is … Continue reading →

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Composing “Divertissement in the Snow”

Posted on December 10, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

“You should compose a piece for the family to play at Christmas”, my husband Ed said to me a few weeks ago (actually it was November 10, I have documented evidence, I’ll get to that later, not that it really … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NAZI LEGACY ALIVE AND WELL IN AN AUSTRIAN CEMETERY

Posted on October 6, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

I came upon a plaque on the church wall in the cemetery at the edge of the Austrian ski resort town of Kitzbühel that profoundly disturbed me.  The chiseled marble commemorates a soldier who died in World War II.  There … Continue reading →

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SONGS to RING IN the NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE

Posted on August 12, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

Remember the good old days of daily nightmares of nuclear armageddon? They’re back!  Yippee!   So let’s replay some golden oldies of the atomic age! Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War satire “Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and … Continue reading →

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The Birthday Evocation Born in a Memorial Service

Posted on July 12, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

    It’s Ed’s birthday today.  Happy Birthday, Love.  And as is tradition now in our relationship, I will gift Ed another viola/piano duet I compose for the occasion, each one called “Evocation”.  This year my husband will receive Evocation … Continue reading →

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In Which I Complete the 30 DAY SONG CHALLENGE

Posted on July 6, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

Fun on Twitter.  Last month I took on the #30daysongchallenge. Here are the complete results, lightly annotated:   No kidding.  Kurt Weill’s haunting masterpiece. The subject of one of this blog’s most widely read pieces: Speak Low, Phoenix, Speak Low…   … Continue reading →

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