It was a dark and stormy night. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It is universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.

There are so many great ways to start an epic novel, but choices are rather limited when it comes to writing a first blog post. Let’s face it, introductions are awkward. It’s like that first day of college, when you first walk into your 8:00 a.m. music theory class (because it is impossible to learn about Neopolitan 6 chords and their resolutions before noon; otherwise the students would be alert enough to stage an uprising. At 8 am, all they can do is mumble words like “tonicization” or “Phrygian” while drooling on themselves). You place your shiny new backpack, full of all of your hopes and dreams, beside your chair and bask in the pride of being a REAL ADULT for the very first time. And then the professor walks in and suggests that you play the Name Game to get to know each other better.

My name is Alison and I like armadillos.

I was desperate and it got the job done, however I’m forever thankful that I wasn’t a political science major like my roommate, because her professor made his class play a humiliating game involving toothpicks, lifesaver candies, and an invasion of personal space that would get him sued in today’s university climate.

Aside from my apparent love of unusual mammals, there is so much more to this new blog.

I’m a pianist, a violinist, and a composer. I live in New York City. I write music. I freelance throughout the city, including at the Manhattan School of Music where my sister earned her violin performance degree and where she is working on her Master’s. I share an apartment with my sister, where we somehow manage to simultaneously practice without annoying each other or our neighbors. Together, we are the Beckthoven Duo.

It’s life and it’s work. It’s slightly crazy, usually fun, occasionally frustrating, and full of hidden humor.

If you are looking for a blog that can show you the way to get ahead in the frenetically-paced city of New York, how to make important and valuable connections in the classical music industry, and how to become a multi-million dollar recording artist playing only the music of Beethoven…. then please send me a message with the address of that blog. I need to read it too.

But if you are looking for a blog that shows my sister’s and my own attempts at all of the above paragraph; along with a healthy dash of wit and self-deprecating humor then you are in the right place.

Alongside our Beckthoven Duo social media blitz of videos and photos on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube, I’ll be posting here weekly about music, orchestra, accompanying, and NYC life and/or survival tips. You can look forward to such topics as:

—How to blame your orchestra stand partner for all your mistakes.

—How the music of Wagner can make your colonoscopy more fun!

—Top ten ways to get hit by a taxi, collect the insurance money, and pay for music school tuition.

—A critical analysis of modal subjectivities in a pseudo-anthropological context from Bach to Be-Bop.

See? It’s going to be so much fun! Admittedly, I might tweak the titles a bit.

So until next week, —-“Writing your own biography and other ways to fast-track your way into a mental institution” (Okay, so it’s a working title)—- let’s play the name game! Introduce yourself and say something you like that has the same initial as your first name. Bonus points for unconventional mammals and/or reptiles. Meanwhile, I’m going to get the toothpicks and lifesaver candies ready.

Welcome to The Beckthoven Blog