i love my beethoven sonatas

I love my Harold Craxton editions (underneath my cat Mollie who loves to sit on them) of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas with commentaries and notes by Donald Francis Tovey. The actual manuscripts are beautifully printed with linen covers from The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London. The notes and comments by Tovey are wonderful and beautifully notated. Each sonata is dedicated by Beethoven to a Count, Countess, Baroness or Archduke, etc. They were commissioned pieces by royalty or high society and quite simply the way Beethoven paid his bills.

Beethoven is a very passionate composer, however not the most romantic, so we don't use him too frequently in ceremonies, however my favorite Beethoven selection from the 32 Sonatas is the Adagio Cantabile from the Pathetique Sonata #8 in C minor, Op. 13. Daniel Barenboim's interpretation below is sublime.



Billy Joel used this in one of his songs (that is now escaping me) but it is gorgeously lyrical & romantically melodic. Perfect for a processional. A great recessional of Beethoven outside of the obvious choral finale of the 9th symphony (also referred to as Joy) is the 1st movement from the Pastorale Symphony. It feels like anything and everything is possible with the light-hearted & magical melody of the opening phrase.

i love Kristen and her VW Fairy Dust gown

We love Kristen and her September 2009 wedding in the Hamptons. She is breathtaking in her Vera Wang gown, just perfect for an indian summer wedding. Here is Vera's description of her gown which was so appropriately called "Fairy Dust":

"INSPIRATION
This collection, as a whole, was inspired by the idea of fairy tale princesses. This wedding dress, in particular, captures the nymph-like innocence that threads through the collection. The words I chose to describe Fairy Dust were carefully chosen: incandescent and magical. In design, I envisioned this as a wedding dress that casts a spell and transports you to another world. The cascading silk organdy pleats of this wedding dress swirl, like dust, when the bride walks. I love this movement, which I find to be uplifting." - VW

Everything about Kristen's wedding was sweet and elegant with a little whimsy, including her ceremony which was a flute trio featuring Tia on flute, Lauren on cello and Kate on violin. The processional was rustically romantically with her choices of "Kiss from a Rose", "Bless the Broken Road" and a recessional of "Sunshine of my Life". Her smile above just breathes sunshine!

i love our very own k8

Our very own violinist Kate got married this past August to her husband Mark, in Harrisville, New Hampshire at his parents' cottage on Silver Lake. The lakefront cottage was bought by his great great grandfather and has been in their family for over 100 years. (Where it will remain for generations to come)

To match the rustic elegance of the lake, she wore a gorgeous, strapless mermaid gown by Nicole Miller which she found in a small boutique in Park Slope.

Kate's husband Mark is an amazing professional musician as well, and she asked Mark to surprise her with the song that she would walk down the aisle to. (Unlike me, who had to dictate every note the musicians played at my wedding, but that's another story) They had agreed that his friend would sing/play whatever he picked on guitar, but when it was time to walk down the aisle, she saw Mark at the end of the aisle, playing a song he'd written for just for her. He simply calls it 'Processional'. How romantic is that?

i love the children of haiti

There is a wonderful orphanage that lost it's buildings from the earthquake. The children are beautifully spirited and primarily HIV+. The money contributed goes directly to fund the new orphanage of these extraordinary children desperately in need. http://www.wecanbuildanorphanageblog.com/

i love yo yo ma

I love anything and everything Yo-Yo Ma. His version of "Here comes the sun" with James Taylor is stunningly beautiful. We have arranged it for string quartet and it's so sweet and fresh. Perfect for children walking down the aisle.

i love Gillian's Wedding

I'm so excited to be posting my first blog. I have the dream job of providing beautiful music for wonderful brides in New York City and other exotic locations. This past Sunday was Gillian Dinstein's wedding to Alan Kessler at Gotham Hall in NYC. Her choices of music were romantic and gothic to match the location and her killer Monique Lhuillier gown.

We custom arranged all the music for string quartet with piano. It is one of my favorite ensembles. Kate, Ariana, Hannah & Lauren performed with me and we wore ivory to match Gillian's winter wedding decor.

i love beautiful things

I've always loved beautiful things. Little things, big things, intangible things. I love this picture of Laura's cello (taken by my sister Robin.) It's hundreds of years old and so graceful and lovely.