Saturday, June 27, 2015

First movement of Sonata No 11 in A major

Over the past few months, I have been learning the first movement of Sonata
 No. 11 in A Major by Mozart.  This piece has many different sections each taking on a different variation of the first section.  If you listen closely, you can hear the melody of the first variation in all of the other variations.  This piece has a gorgeous melody and I especially enjoy playing the first, second, and last variation. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer who created many gorgeous operas, concertos, symphonies, and sonatas that helped build the beautiful music of the classical era. 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, and was the youngest son of Leopold Mozart, a composer and instructor. Music was an important part of his family and his father took Nannerl, Mozarts sister, and Mozart on tours around the country. Mozart was a child prodigy and from the age of four he could play full symphonies and by age 6 he was already composing pieces and performing in Vienna and other parts of Austria. He was best friends with Haydn which he later dedicated a composition to him. Throughout Mozart's life, he composed many pieces that were known throughout Europe and he traveled around Europe to perform his many works. Sadly, on December 5, 1791, Mozart died at age 35 from illness, leaving behind 600 compositions, including works for symphonies, the piano, and the opera. Some of these compositions are considered to be the finest works in the Classical period. 
My sister and I have both been learning a piece by Mozart so if you enjoy listening to Mozart, here is a link to her post. In a couple weeks I will be finished learning the third movement of this sonata called Turkish March so stay tuned.  



Saturday, June 20, 2015

My Great Grandfather, Samuel Zarotsky, Sept 1919-June 7, 2015

At my aunts wedding
On June 7th , one of my greatest role models past away at the age of 96, my great grandfather. My great grandfather lived a long life full of happiness and tears.  He survived the holocaust and rebuilt his family here in the US.  My great grandfather and I have spent a lot of time together over the past few years and these pictures show all of the wonderful memories. I am really lucky to have met and spent time with my great grandfather as most children don't get to meet their great grandparents.  As a tribute to my great grandfather, I have written a poem for him.  

In our hearts
In tears we saw you sinking,
We watched you fade away,
Our hearts were almost broken,
Until we figured out,
That those we love don’t go away,
They travel with us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near
In our hearts still loved and very dear







Children of Samuel



Grandpas birthday



Family photo at home




Celebrating Ben's Birthday

My Grandpa, Great Grandpa, and I





To family and friends, please leave a comment with your favorite memory with Samuel.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Guest Post by Michael: Track

My sister and I before the race
This year I decided to try a new sport, track.  My sister has run track for a long time, and I thought it would be a fun sport.  Track practice was two months long, and we practiced Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. At first I didn’t know which event I should do. There was the 100 meter, 400 meter, the 800 meter or the 1500 meters, and I tried each one.  After trying all of the events, I decided that I enjoyed the 1500 meter run the most. The 1500 meter run is about one mile and is the longest event I can do. 
After training for a couple weeks, I had my first meet. I was very nervous that I would get last place when I ran, but I did great! Every track meet is very busy, and there are many people watching, cheering, or competing in a race. Before every competition, I have to warm up and get my hip number to determine which lane I ran in.  After warming up, all the competitors are put on the track, and a gun sets us off.  I went to many different meets at different high school tracks this season. At my first competition, my time was 6 minutes and 14 seconds, and I got 3rd place. Over the past 2 months, I have been to about 6 meets, and at one of the meets, I got my best time of 6 minutes and 7 seconds receiving 2nd place. 
After working hard all practice we had a track party.  It was at a beautiful park, with a big field and playground. There were also many kids with enormous water guns. I forgot to bring my water gun so I borrowed someone’s. After I squirted a lot of kids, I was extremely soaked.  Then, my coach gave out the trophies. I got a trophy that had my name on it, and my sister also got one that had her name too.  Track is hard work, but I have learned a lot this season and have had fun! 
At the start line
Running






Running to the finish