MusicBasics4Keyboard

Arrabbiata sauce, or sugo all'arrabbiata in Italian, is a spicy sauce for pasta made from garlic, tomatoes, and dried red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. The sauce originates from the Lazio region, and particularly from the city of Rome. What's the difference between marinara sauce and arrabiata sauce? While both sauces use tomatoes as a base, arrabiata sauce includes red chile peppers (in this case I'm using red pepper flakes) to make it spicy. Arrabiata is Italian for angry, meaning you're making angry (or spicy) sauce!  Web Weaver's Dance by Asher Fulero from the YouTube audio library.

What is Flaxseed? Flaxseed is a small, brownish oilseed with a pleasant nutty taste. Its unique health benefits are due to the high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. It is used as a substitute for eggs and fats in bakery products and various functional foods. Two main varieties, brown and gold flaxseed are cultivated. They are used in baked goods in various forms such as whole seed, meal, flour and oil. Source: bakerpedia.com/ingredients/flaxseed  Although it looks like whole-wheat flour, finely-milled flaxseed flour lacks wheat flour's gluten, so it won't make a fluffy bread by itself. It's low in starch, so it won't thicken a sauce in the same way, either. Flaxseed adds a hearty, nutty flavor that complements many recipes. It increases moistness and texture. Source: Google search  What is gluten?  Are potatoes gluten-free? Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other grains. Potatoes aren't grains, they're a type of starchy vegetable.

Is Rice a gluten? All natural forms of rice — white, brown, or wild — are gluten-free. Natural rice is a great option for people who are sensitive to or allergic to gluten, a protein usually found in wheat, barley, and rye, and for people who have celiac disease, an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten. Thank you for watching.

“Vodka adds depth to a sauce both by pulling out additional flavor and concentrating others without adding a flavor of its own," says Bart Saracino, co-owner of the Bartolino's Restaurants. It is made from a smooth tomato sauce, vodka, typical Italian herbs, and heavy cream (which gives the sauce its distinctive orange color). Thank you for watching and/or listening.

Rick Steves is adamant about hiring guides he personally knows and trusts, and who share his love for Europe and passion for teaching. It's the biggest reason why more than one-third of our tour members are repeat customers. Here are some "raves" about just a few of the fine guides who lead our tours. THIS IS ABOUT FILIPPOS, one of the tour guides in Greece.

"As a part-time actor and director, Filippos is a wonderful storyteller. He makes history come to life, and he shares the present realities of Greek life with compassion and enthusiasm. He is warm and friendly, and a great asset to Rick Steves' Europe!"

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I was born and raised in Athens. My parents are not Athenians though: They both come from the region of the Peloponnese, the southernmost part of continental Greece.

My background is a bit of a mixed bag. I have a degree in political science, another degree in acting, and two master's degrees, one in history and philosophy and one in theater directing. The latter I obtained in London, a city that became my home for seven years. On a professional level, I have worked in theater, tourism, and in several other professions, to the point where you could easily call me a jack-of-all-trades.

How did you get into guiding?

It all started by accident when I was living in London. At a certain point I was left without work, due to an unexpected cancellation of a theater show I had booked as an actor. This cancellation meant that I needed to find a job as soon as possible, since London is a very expensive city. A good friend of mine, who knew I spoke French, introduced me to a woman who owned a small tourist agency, which was looking for French-speaking people interested in doing transfers of French groups from the London airports to their hotels in central London. One thing led to the other, and pretty soon I started leading tours in London and the rest of the UK in French and gradually in English. After a while, I was leading tours all over the European continent, including in my home country, Greece. And the rest, as they say, is history….

What do you do when you're not leading tours?

I have a theater company based in Athens, and every year during the tourism off-season, I direct plays. I mostly direct classical plays, such as ancient Greek tragedies and Shakespeare. The goal is to discover why these plays have stood the test of time and how the topics they deal with have managed to remain relevant through all these centuries.

Tell us something about yourself that no one would ever guess.

I am an avid collector of vinyl records. So far, I have purchased 5,000 LPs, and my goal is to continue expanding my collection, since music has always been my greatest passion.

Here's what Filippos won't tell you…but his tour members will:

"Filippos will go down as one of my favorite guides. He was the full package: Engaged, organized, charming, and clearly loved sharing all he knew of his country will all of us. His pride in all things Greek and his tremendous knowledge of Greek history and contemporary politics added so much to our enjoyment on the tour. We are thankful we were able to have him as our guide."

— Robert in New York, NY

Born in 1958 into a musical family (the daughter of the Cathedral organist and choirmaster in Ottawa, Canada), Angela began her piano studies at age three, performed in public at four and a year later won her first scholarship. In her formative years, she also studied classical ballet, violin, and recorder. From 1963-73 she studied at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music with Earle Moss and Myrtle Guerrero, after which she completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Ottawa in the class of French pianist Jean-Paul Sévilla, graduating at the age of 18. She was a prizewinner in numerous piano competitions in Europe, Canada, and the USA, but it was her triumph in the 1985 Toronto International Bach Piano Competition, held in memory of Glenn Gould, that truly launched her international career.

During the filming of Roman Polanski's 1992 film about Chopin (The Pianist) Adrian Brody lost 30 lbs. If  we try hard enough we could play an easy arrangement of this Waltz in A Minor and even lose a few pounds. Early and intermediate players need to play the base and treble clefs separately at the onset. Brody spent time away from the piano throughout the film in other scenes portraying this composer. Just saying.

The video opens with a shopping trip in a find-it-yourself wine department. It continues with pictures of Julia Child, California winemakers, a Beard House wine dinner, tasting events in NYC and northern New Jersey where I wrote a monthly full-page wine column for local newspapers. Thanks for watching/listening.

"For, you see, my piano is to me as a ship is to a sailor, [...] my piano is me, it is my speech - my life. It is the intimate repository of all that went on in my mind during the most passionate days of my youth" Franz Liszt ( 1811-1886). (La Gazette musicale, 11 February 1838). Franz Liszt was a Hungarian pianist and composer of enormous influence and originality. He was renowned in Europe during the Romantic movement.

Liszt was born on October 22, 1811, in Raiding, Hungary. His father, Adam, played the cello, as well as several other instruments, and passionately taught Franz how to play piano. By the age of 6, young Liszt was recognized as a child prodigy; by the age of 8, he was composing elementary works; and by the age of 9, he was appearing in concerts. His father worked as a secretary for Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, and, after the boy played for a group of wealthy sponsors, he asked the prince for extended leave so he could devote his time to enriching his son's musical education. SOURCE: Biography.com

Music composed by Vivaldi: Concerto No. 3 in F Major, Op. 8, RV 293 - Autumn, allegro. Born on March 4, 1678. Died in Vienna in 1741. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, impresario, and Roman Catholic priest. Born in Venice, the capital of the Venetian Republic, Vivaldi is regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers. SOURCE: Wikipedia. Soundtrack recording by Musici & Felix Ayo (permission granted on my YouTube channel in a different video). 

Happy New Year!! Learning to sight read and play the left hand opens many new doors for students. No need to rush. This is not a speed test. Listen closely to each note as you play and pay close attention to fingering. Get a good night's sleep. Expect miracles the next day during practice and throughout the week. This is a great way for music students to begin 2022.

 “Ode to Joy” was written by German poet/playwright Friedrich Schiller in the summer of 1785. The ideal he described, of hope and brotherhood triumphing, was exactly what Beethoven wanted to convey in his Ninth Symphony.  Although Beethoven had hoped originally that his music alone would describe the same sentiments, he ended up taking a risk and used some of the poem as the libretto for the final movement of his Ninth.  The Ninth, also referred to commonly as the “Choral Symphony,” is believed to be the first example of a major composer using singers in a symphonic piece. Even today Beethoven’s tune with Schiller’s words enthralls everyone who hears it, from symphony audiences to fans of the 1988 movie, “Die Hard,” which used the piece in its score. SOURCE: Classical 99.5 Radio Boston.

Countdown, seven, six, five, four, three, two. ONE! Happy New Year 2022!!!!!!!