Happy 2nd Anniversary, Volume Two!

I just happened to notice that my 2nd solo CD ("Piano Music of Edvard Grieg: Volume 2") was released exactly two years ago today.  I have trouble understanding exactly how two years could have passed since then, but then again 2010 and 2011 have been a time of great challenge in my life as many of you know.

As I get going again with renewed focus on my performing and recording career after somewhat of a hiatus for the past 16 months, I just thought I'd take a moment to mark the occasion of this anniversary with a little blogpost. Stay tuned for news of the next recording as well; there's a "Piano Music of Edvard Grieg: Volume 3" brewing. It was December 2006 when I first went to the studio to record "Piano Music of Edvard Grieg" (Volume 1). Apparently Grieg has now had me in his clutches for five full years and shows no signs of letting go of me.

By the way, as it's that time of year when gift-giving is all the rage, you may consider purchasing one of the copies of Volume 2 that I have left.  I'm offering the discs at a price of $15 (CDN) this month, and should likely be able to get you yours in time for Christmas. Please get in touch through my facebook page, or by my email address found on my website, or by commenting on this post.

Oh, and also, if you would just like to hear some Grieg yourself as a break from all the Christmas music, you can hear tracks (for free!) on the "listen and buy" page at https://www.facebook.com/mogenpianist or at bandcamp. Of course you can also download said tracks for a modest fee...

Moving Forward

Mogenpianist hasn't exactly been known for her blogging regularity lately. Hopefully this post will launch a bit more activity here.

The winter shows signs of transforming into spring soon.  I'm all for the melting and slushiness that makes for messy boots and shoes, as it points ahead.  It feels like winter has gone on a little too long this time around, but of course it was an absolutely necessary season.  A holding pattern. A time of reflection and deep processing.  It has been a very important part of the journey for me.   I am very grateful that I was able to take time to just "be" and move through the days with a minimum number of commitments.  (for more context, you may want to read my previous post)

As the snow melts, I find myself beginning to look ahead a little more. Moving Forward while at the same time remembering the way of BEing in the present that I have learned about in recent months.  A delicate balance, to be sure.  I think the key to this involves a great deal of awareness and noticing of the things that are presented.  Are there patterns in what comes up? Is there a feeling of being energized or joyful in what comes into one's day?  These are the things to notice and respond to.

Interestingly, in the past 24 hours, I have received quite a few indications that it is now time to start looking toward the creation of another CD.  Patterns indeed.  And, yes...I do feel energized as I envision this.  Volume Three of Piano Music of Edvard Grieg?  I have enough repertoire for such a disc.  It looks like it may be time to get more concrete about it and that of course starts with fund-raising and planning timelines.

More on these ideas soon.  I'd love to hear any feedback that you, my supporters, may have to offer.
Thanks for reading & listening!

Mogenmama

Mogenpianist has been on extended hiatus, replaced by Mogenmama. The following entry will update those who have not yet heard about the events of the past months.

With my 18-year-old son Kieran's heart surgery scheduled for October 14, September and the first half of October were completely devoted to preparation for that event. For both Kieran and me, the focus was on being as fit for this operation as we could possibly be, on all levels: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This preparation involved many things: medical appointments, alternative healthcare regimens, bodywork, energy work with extraordinary healers, eating wholesome, nutritious, home-cooked foods, juicing, talking, visualizing, reading, walking, and most importantly, spending lots of good quality time with each other. School(for Kieran) and practicing the piano(for me) took a back seat. The main thing was that we enter that surgery as prepared as possible.

The operation was a very long and tricky one, over nine hours. It went well, and Kieran's aeorta was repaired successfully. Kieran was a complete and utter super-hero in his attitude and approach to undergoing the surgery and recovering from it. Such strength and such grace.

After the surgery, as he was recovering steadily and beautifully, Kieran was clearly a changed man. The opening of his chest had apparently been the shift needed for him to release a lot of his frustrations, anger, and emotional pain. Always a very loving and compassionate young man, these traits were now even more evident as he seemed more peaceful and much more clear.

One cannot be sure of how and why these mysteries unfold, but as many of you know by now, Kieran experienced some difficulty with his heart on the morning of the thirteenth day of recovery from surgery and passed away suddenly on October 27, his sister's 16th birthday. The shock and horror of his passing has been immense for all of us who are close to him, as well as for many, many people with whom he had crossed paths. His gentle, loving spirit inspired many, and continues to do so in a big way.

As we grieve the loss of Kieran from this realm, I know that he is still very present here, although in a different "form". The emptiness we feel is vast, but the very clear feeling I have of his current joy, freedom, and expansion gives great comfort. Perhaps, just perhaps, the emotional and spiritual freedom that he felt after the surgery led to a need for his spirit to expand beyond the confines of his body. The gifts that he brought us continue to be evident, and I and the other members of Kieran's family dearly hope that these gifts of warmth, humour, compassion, and love will live on in the hearts and lives of all who knew him.

The outpouring of concern for us has been huge, and has really held and supported us. We celebrated his life with a beautiful service at St. James in Stratford on November 2nd. Donations have been flowing in generous amounts, and are being used to further celebrate Kieran's life and gifts through the commissioning of a work for choir. The choir that Kieran was a part of for nine years, the St. Mary's Children's Choir, was a very important community for Kieran, so the piece will be written for the F.Y.S. division of this organization.

Details of this project are coming together in a very exciting and thrilling way; a tribute of great magnitude! Kieran deserves nothing less than the miracles that are unfolding for this project. I urge you to follow the progress of this composition, and to become a part of this journey: please follow the new blog "Kieran's Song" at
http://kieranssong.blogspot.com .

Many thanks for reading this, and for being a part of our circle.

Sandra

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Bests & Mosts (European Tour, Summer 2010)

• Best new word I learned: snyrtingar (Icelandic for "loo")
• Most awe-inspiring view: Hardangarfjord, Norway
• Best view of Paris: top of the escalator arriving at the fifth floor of Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (through the open window)
• Best service in a restaurant: Les Artistes Italian restaurant, Paris
• Most sour & cranky waiter ever: Kaļķu Vārti, Riga, Latvia (the food was good, though)
• Best hotel: Hotel Bergs, Riga, Latvia
• Best seafood chowder: Bergen, Norway
• Best shrimp salad sandwich: Troldhaugen, Norway (see above)
• Best view while playing on stage: Troldsalen, Troldhaugen
• Best drivers for stopping at crosswalks: Bergen, Norway
• Best airports: Kastrup(Copenhagen) and Keflavik(Reykjavik)
• Most loved (and rarest) convenience: air-conditioning
• Most ridiculous item in my suitcase: long, thick, heavy, black turtleneck
• Best ice cream: Latvia (everywhere, every day)
• Best coffee: cafe next to Smiltene bus station in Latvia
• Best pirags: cafe next to Smiltene bus station in Latvia
• Most touching comment after my performance: Valmiera, Latvia
• Most thrilling moments: performing at Troldhaugen & watching my daughter perform in Sigulda, Latvia

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Valmiera

Yesterday morning we left Gulbene by bus, bound for Valmiera.  Only a hundred kilometres, but the bus schedule allows two hours for this distance.  I wondered how it would take so long, but that was made clear when at the halfway-point at Smiltene, we had a twenty minute stop for coffee.  This was actually most welcome as we hadn't really had time for breakfast before leaving.

It is interesting to me that many of the place names in Latvia have been long known to me, but again, I never really understood that these are actual towns.  As a kid, with our local Latvian folk dance group I learned these names as names of various folk costumes.  Smiltene in fact was the costume my mother made for me.  Now, I get that it's actually a lovely little town where you can buy extremely good coffee and some of the best pirags we've tried yet.  Last week, when someone mentioned they were driving a friend back to Lielvarde, I pictured them driving to a red and black plaid folk costume, with a hand-embroidered blouse underneath.

Valmiera is the town where my mother lived for a few years as a young girl, until the age of twelve.  She studied piano at the Valmiera Music School, the same school (but in a different building as much of Valmiera was destroyed in the 1940's) that sponsored my concert here last night.  Very neat to be performing here.

We were met at the bus by the director of the music school, and he was such a wonderful host and tour guide.  He showed us around and made sure that everything was optimal for me, AND treated us to a wonderful lunch, mid-afternoon.  I got a chance to practise in the hall in the afternoon and although it wasn't yet tuned, I really loved the Bechstein concert grand.  After it was tuned, it was even more wonderful.  I really look forward to returning to perform on it again.

The concert went quite well, and after the people in the front row were gently reminded (by me; how I hated to do it) to be quiet, I felt the audience to be quite responsive.  Again, the applause included several people coming up to me with bouquets and kind words.  One young girl approached me as I was walking offstage and thanked me in heavily accented Latvian, saying she has never been so moved.  I too was very moved by her deeply felt words.

After the concert, it was off to an outdoor cafe with some relatives, some of whom I had never met before.  Interestingly, there were relatives from both my grandfather's side of the family and my grandmother's side.  So great to be the reason for their meeting one another.

I really like this city of Valmiera.  It's very beautiful, situated on the Gauja river, and seems like a cultural centre of some importance in this part of the country.  There's an interesting blend of very old buildings (the St. Simon Church of 1280!), restored pre-war buildings, and modern post-Soviet buildings as well.  Lots of trees and gardens. I do hope to return soon and stay longer.

Looking forward to one last look at Riga today before flying home.

Gulbene concert

Just back from playing my recital in the small town of Gulbene.

Before the concert began, the organizer was apologizing that the crowd would be small on such a hot night in the middle of the summer.  She told me that really there are only 10 people in Gulbene who are the concert goers regularly.  Well, not to worry, there were at least 30-35 people there, and they were a lovely warm audience.  At least 10 of them came up to me during the applause at the end with gifts and flowers.  Totally overwhelming.

The piano for this concert was a DDR product: an August Forstner concert grand.  Not a Steinway D by any means, but I had a couple of rehearsals on it ahead of time in which I tried to learn how to optimize its characteristics.  As apparently my email with program information was not received, and due to the extreme heat, I changed the program at the last minute, cutting it down to just over an hour with no intermission.  I think that worked out just fine.  But still, I don't know when I've ever sweated as much.  UnbeLIEVably hot!

Then we were treated to a beautiful meal afterward.

Now it's starting to feel like the end of the trip is very near.  Off to Valmiera tomorrow morning, then two more nights before we fly home.  Mixed feelings, bigtime.

Gulbene, Stameriene

Yesterday we made our way from Sigulda to Gulbene, a two-and-a-half hour bus ride, thankfully air-conditioned.  As we drove north-east, I enjoyed sitting back and watching the countryside.  Latvia has a gentle beauty with pine and birch forests everywhere.  Driving further and further from the capital city Riga, one feels like one is moving into a simpler and humbler way of life.  Buildings in general are a little more run-down, although there are clearly lots of restoration projects happening everywhere.  The nineteen years of recovery from Soviet rule have perhaps moved a little more slowly in the countryside than in the cities.  As we drove by all of these beautiful forests, my feeling of being rooted here began to deepen.

Gulbene is a small town in the province of Vidzeme.  Wikipedia says that the Gulbene district has a population of about 30,000, which is the size of Stratford, Ontario.  I believe the actual town is more like 6,000 inhabitants or so.  Interestingly though, like Stratford, Gulbene's symbol is a swan; which is in fact the meaning of the word "gulbis".  Again, like Stratford, Gulbene has a lot of history tied in with the railroad industry.

We were met at the bus by a relative (nth cousin, however many times removed) whom I had never met before.  In fact, he boarded the bus and asked for me by name!  He then took us to our hotel a few blocks away and gallantly unloaded our ridiculously heavy suitcases.  At the exact moment that he was doing so, a colleague from his amateur theatre group was walking by and was enlisted to carry one of the suitcases up the stairs to the third floor.

After settling in, we later met up again and were given a grand tour of the surrounding area.  This was something I had been looking forward to for some time.  My maternal grandfather grew up near Gulbene, near the village of Stameriene.   The land which had belonged to my great-grandparents was taken over during Soviet times, and the house was demolished.  Now that Latvia is once again free, that land has come back into my family's possession.  I was very interested in exploring it, and had a romantic vision of standing on that land and somehow feeling some deep epiphany of belonging or such.  To reach the property, my cousin drove his Mazda over fields, stopping to dismantle a barbed wire fence or two on the way.  He parked amidst a few unimpressed cows (guess they weren't fans of the Katy Perry song blaring on his radio) and we got out to wade through the long grasses into the woods.  It's an impressive and beautiful piece of land, again with tons of straight and tall pines and birches, but of course there are no paths, nothing cleared; the only hint of civilization is the wooden sign my dad made and hung on a tree a few years ago with the name of the property: Brikšni.  (Yes, it's still there.) 

Unfortunately, the "Ah" moment didn't have a chance to come to me, as I was fairly busy minding branches, holes in the ground, tree roots, etc. as we hoofed it through the woods.  We came to a clearing at the far end of the property and were ransacked by mosquitoes.  That probably would have been the moment of basking in the awesomeness, but I couldn't get back to the car fast enough.  In the space of less than a minute, I must have been bitten 45 times!  Stupidly, I didn't even stop to pick up a souvenir pine cone.  But at least, I can now envision the place, and next time I'm in Latvia I'll be sure to arrive properly clothed and bug-sprayed for a wilderness experience.

We were also driven to and through the village of Stameriene.   I've heard this name so many times, but had no impression of it.  But now, being there, I did feel the wonder of how my grandpa long ago spent time here growing up.  There seem to be many old buildings that have withstood all the time and turmoil.  This helped me to imagine what the place must have been like a century ago.  Extraordinary.


We were also taken to the Stameriene cemetery, where we laid flowers from our host's garden and ferns from Brikšni on the grave of my great-grandparents.  Apparently, this grave is a somewhat approximate guess as far as the actual location goes due to the tumult and upheaval of Soviet times.  Again, quite a moving experience nonetheless.