Events Around the Bay

By Lina Broydo

Steinway Society Inaugurates the 2021 Home Virtual Concerts with Two Acclaimed Pianists

Andrew Li on January 22-25

Anna Fedorova on February 19-22

Turn your home into the concert hall as two of the celebrated pianists Andrew Li and Anna Fedorova will enrich your cultural life by their personal interpretation of the compositions by Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Stravinsky, Shubert and De Falla. Andrew Li won first prize in the Bay State Piano Competition for five consecutive years from the ages of 7-12, and first prize for two consecutive years at the Steinway Competition in Boston.

In October 2014, Andrew joined his older brother, George, in a performance at the Hamilton College recital series. Andrew has won prizes in multiple piano competitions, including first prize at the Boston Symphony Orchestra youth concerto competition, second prize at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and third prize at the Minnesota Piano-e-Competition.

In April 2018, he won first prize at the Harvard Music Association Achievement Awards. One of the world’s leading young pianists, Anna Fedorova has captivated audiences with her musical artistry. Born into a family of musicians in Kiev, Ukraine, she began piano studies at the age of five.

She’s taken top prizes at the Rubinstein and Moscow International Frederick Chopin Competitions, and has been mentored by world-renowned musicians Alfred Brendel and András Schiff. Ms. Fedorova has performed with esteemed orchestras in prestigious concert halls and music festivals of Europe, North and South America, and Asia, and at highly regarded piano festivals in Switzerland, Poland, Greece, and New York.

Her Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto recording is the most watched classical concerto on YouTube. This will be Ms. Fedorova’s third Steinway Society appearance.

The Bay Area’s Home Concert Hall virtual series performances are recorded exclusively for Steinway Society and are not available anywhere else online. During that period, patrons will be able to view the recording as many times as they’d like.

Both Andrew Li and Anna Fedorova will each give a short talk before the performance about their chosen pieces, while sharing information about their musical life and how they are faring during the pandemic. A recorded pre-concert lecture by a Bay Area classical music expert will also be available for viewers to watch at their leisure.

Steinway Society – The Bay Area is a nonprofit organization based in Silicon Valley.

Now in its 26th season, this dedicated group of musicians, pianists, teachers, and arts lovers promotes excellence in piano performance and music education.

Each season, Steinway Society presents a series of classical piano concerts featuring international award-winning pianists, as well as an active school music program.

Information:

$20 per household

(408) 300-5635

steinwaysociety.com

Photos courtesy of Steinway Society

Sip, Learn and Have Fun with Two Marys and their Sip Sip Hooray Podcasts

What is better than one Mary? Two Marys: The effervescent co-hosts and journalists Mary Babbitt and Mary Orlin who created the long-running, Emmy and James Beard award-winning series “In Wine Country” for NBC-TV in 2001.

For the ultimate California focus, check out this 2-year-old podcast by “The Marys” which features wineries and winemakers in Napa, Santa Cruz and the Livermore Valley. The focus is on fresh, breezy conversations between the two wine expert hosts and interviews with interesting winemakers.

No arcane tasting notes, no jargon, just fun stories and inside tips. Because, Orlin says, “friends don’t let friends drink bad wine.”

Take a listen: Several episodes feature Bay Area winemakers, including Rob Jensen of Los Gatos’ Testarossa Winery (Episode 4) and Dane Stark from Livermore’s Page Mill (Episode 9). If you’re curious about the impact of COVID on the wine-tasting experience, listen to episode 16, which aired on June 2. And if you just like to laugh, episode 6 offers an inside peek at Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph’s “Wine Country” comedy and the Napa locations that inspired it.

I love this podcast, as both Mary’s are having fun and don’t take this wine business too seriously even if the bottle of the precious wine costs $50,000. Cheers Marys!

Information:

Tune in: Available via iTunes, Google Play and at https://sipsiphooraypodcast.com.

Sip Sip Hooray Podcast

On this special edition of Sip Sip Hooray! we hear the incredible stories of bravery, heroism and spirit from vintners most impacted by the August 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fires.

sipsiphooraypodcast.com.

Photo courtesy of Jon Orlin

American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco

Online Film Screening on January 14, 2021 at 5 p.m.

American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco tells the uniquely American story of how Jews escaping persecution in Europe played a critical role in building the new metropolis of San Francisco. Enjoy the virtual screening of the film, featuring an introduction by producer Jackie Krentzman and a set of guided questions focused on social justice.

The San Francisco history will also be available to consider while you watch the film, which is currently on view in Levi Strauss: A History of American Style. Jackie Krentzman is also the editor-in-chief of Diversity Woman, a national quarterly magazine distributed to women in leadership positions in Fortune 1000 companies.

In 2012, Krentzman’s documentary American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco aired on PBS and at numerous film festivals. Enjoy this fascinating history of the Bay Area.

In 1873, at the end of the California Gold Rush, Levi Strauss & Co., named for a Bavarian Jewish dry goods merchant in San Francisco, obtained a U.S. patent with tailor Jacob Davis on the process of putting metal rivets in men’s denim work pants to increase their durability. It was the birth of the blue jean.

The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) original exhibition Levi Strauss: A History of American Style showcases the life of Levi Strauss, the invention of the blue jean, and their iconic place in the history of American style. Enjoy the film screening and just for fun wear a pair of Levi’s jeans and have a sourdough bread sandwich.

Information

415-655-7800

thecjm.org

Admission is free, but advanced registration is required.

Photo courtesy of CJM

Virtual Learning With your Kids: Six Most Amazing Waterfalls

Geography was always one of my favorite subjects in school.

But currently and for the past 10 months the Covid pandemic has closed the schools as well as eliminated our traveling trips.

But thanks to the high tech advancement and the creation of the “World of Waterfalls Blog” we can now check out from home and be awestruck by the glimpses of some of the world’s most incredible waterfalls for you to go gaga over while watching and observe with your kids the power of the most spectacular and breathtaking waterfalls in Brazil, Venezuela, Iceland, Croatia, just to name a few of the grandest.

1. Iguazu Falls: situated on the border of Brazil and Argentina;