From last weekend:

Mira the snow dog and I went cross country skiing twice this weekend, Sunday in Eberwhite Woods and Saturday at the Fox Science Preserve, formerly known as the Peters Road Gravel Quarry (a onetime local skinny dipping spot).

The parking lot was snowy and I was afraid the Charger would get stuck but a guy in a tractor with a plow I waved to on the way in pulled in behind me and plowed the lot for me! I offered him a few bucks and he waved it off, saying, "I live right down the road. All I ask is you respect the place." Cool or what?

Here for a late observance of Mozart's Birthday January 27 is "Don Giovanni", arranged for wind ensemble by Josef Triebensee, performed by the Athena Ensemble, from MHS 4544. Arrangements like this one were apparently quite popular in Mozart's time and he did some of his own.

2013/02/17 I took down these MP3s because of space constraints.  Send a comment if you'd like me to repost them.

part 1 (40 meg mp3)
part 2 (41 meg mp3)

We've got a good 5 inches of snow on the ground, haven't seen 32 degrees in a week, Mozart's birthday is coming up, Yellow Cab's ride counter turned over 3 million, my cab 60 rolled over 100k, it's been a big week. The Bell's Hopslam is out again which is the 2011 midwinter equivalent to the yearly production of Stroh's Bock back in the 70s except the Stroh's was cheap. Anyway, speaking of cheap, here are Haydn's last six piano sonatas, from MHS Orpheus LPs from the Kiwanis Sale.
Sonata No. 57
Sonata No. 58
Sonata No. 59 mvt. 1
Sonata No. 59 mvt. 2
Sonata No. 59 mvt. 3
Sonata No. 60
Sonata No. 61
Sonata No. 62 mvt. 1
Sonata No. 62 mvt. 2
Sonata No. 62 mvt. 3

Uke Chords for "Sweet Talkin' Guy" by the Chiffons . Here is a quickie version of what the chords sound like when I play'em. (The recording is in the key of 'B', these chords are in the uke key, 'G'.) Of course the problem I run into over and over with ukelele is I can figure out great chord voicings but I can't play well enough to play them in rhythm. Ukeleles are just so hard to even hang onto when you're playing!

From the ridiculous to the sublime, here is Guiomar Novaes performing selections from Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, from Vox STPL 512.000, courtesy of the ReUse Center. The sound engineer for these recordings was Rudy Van Gelder of Blue Note Records fame.

2013/02/17 - removed these MP3s due to space constraints.  Send me a comment if you would like me to repost them, I'd be happy to.

Side 1 (27 meg MP3):

1. #1 Opus 19 #1 Sweet Remembrance
2. #6 Opus 19 #6 Venetian Gondola Song #1
3. #42 Opus 85 #6 Song of the Traveller
4. #40 Opus 85 #4 Elegie
5. #29 Opus 62 #5 Venetian Gondola Song #3
6. #30 Opus 62 #6 Spring Song

Side 2 (31 meg MP3):

1. #12 Opus 30 #6 Venetian Gondola Song #2
2. #45 Opus 102 #3 Tarantella
3. #22 Opus 53 #4 Sadness of Soul
4. #18 Opus 38 #6 Duet
5. #34 Opus 67 #4 Spinning Song
6. #25 Opus 62 #1 May Breezes
7. #20 Opus 53 #2 The Fleecy Cloud
8. #47 Opus 102 #5 The Joyous Peasant