Steinway Society Inaugurates 2021 with Home Virtual Concerts
Andrew Li on January 22-25
Anna Fedorova on February 19-22

Turn your home into a concert hall as two celebrated pianists, Andrew Li and Anna Fedorova, enrich your cultural life by their personal interpretation of the compositions by Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Stravinsky, Shubert and De Falla. Andrew Li 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 in Kiev Ukraine, she has 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. Her Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto recording is the most watched classical concerto on YouTube.

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.

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 Podcast

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 Marys are having fun and don’t take this wine business too seriously even if
their bottle of precious wine costs $50,000. Cheers Marys!

Information
Available via iTunes, Google Play and at https://sipsiphooraypodcast.com.
Photo courtesy of Jon Orlin

Virtual Learning With your Kids: Five 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 trips. But thanks to high tech advancement and the creation of the “World of Waterfalls Blog,” we can now be awestruck from home by glimpses of some of the world’s most incredible waterfalls: 1. Iguazu Falls, on the border of Brazil and Argentina; 2. Angel Falls in Venezuela; 3. Gullfoss and Dettifoss in Iceland; 4. Plitvice Waterfalls in Croatia and 5. Sutherland Falls in New Zealand. Hmm.. should I add the Niagara Falls in Canada? Why not…

Information
bayareane.ws blog

Photo courtesy of “World of Waterfalls Blog”

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England, she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, with no borsch or piroshky on her home cooking menu. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out, mostly sushi.