Tag Archives: Germany

The Broken Castle of Heidelberg

Posted on September 2, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

Before I visited I did not know that Heidelberg’s grand castle complex is actually a ruin. In 1689, after decades of warfare, the French army blew up and set fire to much of the castle so that no army may … Continue reading →

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HEXEN in HOF

Posted on October 2, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

A New “Witches” Production Premieres Tonight in Bavaria The new production of “Hexen” (“Witches“), the two women musical I created with Peter Lund, that is premiering tonight in Theater Hof, in northern Bavaria, Germany, has at least two strong claims … Continue reading →

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40 More Days of Outdoor Memories

Posted on June 21, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

Covid 19 Taketh Away, but these Photos Remindeth When Covid 19 started us sheltering at home, and I started posting daily photo reminders of lovely outdoor memories, I didn’t think I would be doing this for three months and counting. … Continue reading →

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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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DAS LILA LIED – THE LAVENDER SONG – “We just happen to be Different from the Others!”

Posted on November 7, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

My recent posts about the Newfest LGBT Film festival included an enthusiastic look at the handsomely restored print of the first known movie to sympathetically portray homosexuality, Germany’s 1919 “Anders als die Andern” (“Different than the Others”). Soon after posting … Continue reading →

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NfaC Repost: The Sound of Music: Embracing the “Sugarcoated Lie”

Posted on January 22, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

This article was one of the first ever published on “Notes from a Composer” and quickly became one of the more popular during the first months of the blog’s existence.  I thought I would repost it so newcomers to the … Continue reading →

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A SPREE FOREST MUSICAL EXCURSION Part 4 (It’s been epic, wouldn’t you say…?)

Posted on July 9, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

And we are back for the final installment of our musical and photographic excursion into the Spreewald(lieder) – Spree Forest (Suite). (Head here and here and here for the first three parts.) The Duo Elysée performed Spreewaldlieder in concert on … Continue reading →

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A SPREE FOREST MUSICAL EXCURSION Part 3

Posted on July 6, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

And we’re back for Part 3 of the Spree Forest day trip and the Spreewaldlieder song cycle for flute and harp.  (Head back here for Part 1 and Part 2) My favorite compliment I have received for the Spreewaldlieder song … Continue reading →

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A SPREE FOREST MUSICAL EXCURSION Part 2

Posted on July 2, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Welcome back to the Spree Forest and the Spreewaldlieder song cycle for flute and harp.  (Head here for Part 1 if you missed it.) When I got the commission from the Duo Elysée I was excited to compose for flute … Continue reading →

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A SPREE FOREST MUSICAL EXCURSION Part 1

Posted on June 29, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Let’s take a musical trip to the one-of-a-kind Spreewald.  The Spreewald (AKA the Spree Forest) is a gorgeous region, a kind of rural Venice located an hour southeast of Berlin, Germany in the source of the Spree River (which flows … Continue reading →

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GETTIN’ WITCHY WITH IT

Posted on June 25, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Above is the first video I ever posted on YouTube, and easily the most visually fun of the ones I’ve posted so far: a demo recording of three songs from the musical “Witches” enhanced with 105 illustrations of witches past … Continue reading →

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Forbidden Movies, Forbidden Music

Posted on May 14, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I walked out of the Film Forum mind abuzz and guts churning.   I was chewing on a whole lot of food for thought as well as the ice cream melt I bought to soothe my emotion roiled innards. I’d just … Continue reading →

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THE SOUND OF MUSIC: Embracing the “Sugarcoated Lie”

Posted on May 6, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Ed and I were in Berlin* a couple years ago visiting my folks when we stumbled upon a German movie from the 1950s being shown on TV.   We missed the first seconds of the credit sequence and so didn’t catch … Continue reading →

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Des Broadways liebstes Kind – Broadway’s Dearest Child

Posted on April 22, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I was introduced to American musicals through German television.  Although I saw much music theater on stage growing up in Germany, it was all opera productions my mother (the coloratura soprano Catherine Gayer) was performing in.  I performed musicals at … Continue reading →

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How this young chum came to the Cabaret

Posted on April 14, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

This Christmas one of my “stocking stuffers” from Ed was the gift that thrilled me the most this holiday season: a (battery operated) votive candle with an actual screen cell of Liza Minnelli singing the title song from the movie … Continue reading →

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