INFEMNITY™ Arts and Culture News

Ludwig von Beethoven In honor of Ludwig von Beethoven's 250th birthday next month (December 17th), I am putting to rest the mystery around the meaning of the lyrics of the chorus in his famous Ninth Symphony, which Anglophiles have called the "Ode to Joy." "Freude," the subject of the poem by Friedrich Schiller - literally translated as "Joy" - is really a Goddess. Joy is her name, and Elysium in mythology is the dwelling place of the gods, or can be loosely translated as "Paradise." I am especially frustrated when I hear English translations of Schiller's poem making references to "God the Father," etc. This poem has nothing to do with God. In fact, it can be loosely translated as a hymn in praise of "Joy" within the context of a pagan orgy. The poem reads as follows:           "An die Freude"                                                 ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: April Gibson, 646-853-3217 As part of the Jubilee Day celebrations at Fisk University next month, pianist Nina Kennedy will be performing in the Jubilee Heritage Award Concert at Fisk Memorial Chapel on Saturday October 5th at 7:00 pm. Rock and roll icon Little Richard is one of the honorees, as well as gospel personality Dr. Bobby Jones and hit maker Eddie "ET" Thomas. Kennedy's father Matthew Kennedy was on the piano faculty at Fisk, and also served as director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers from 1957 to 1986 (intermittently). Her mother Anne Gamble was also a member of the piano faculty and served as piano accompanist for the group. Nina Kennedy was presented in her first complete solo piano recital in Nashville at age nine. She made her debut as piano soloist with the Nashville Symphony at age thirteen in a performance of Gershwin's  Rhapsody in Blue  before an audience of over 4,000. After graduating fro...

Myra Hess photographed by Carl Van Vechten A continuation of our tales from Vienna...   One of the works performed and recorded by Nina Kennedy at the  Bösendorfer  Salon was the arrangement for solo piano of the Chorale from Cantata number 147 called "Jesu bleibt meine Freude," (loosely translated "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring") by Johann Sebastian Bach. That published arrangement was made by Dame Myra Hess, a world-renowned concert pianist and hero to the people of London because of the free afternoon concerts she organized and in which she performed at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square during the Second World War. Since there was an official black-out declared at the onset of the bombings by the Nazis, this meant that there were no evening concerts or gatherings because no lights could be turned on at night.  Nearly 2,000 of these lunchtime concerts took place during the war, for six-and-a-half years .   For this contribution to maintaining th...

As you may recall, in our last newsletter we announced that The Noshing with Nina Show would be spending the bulk of the month of August in Austria and Great Britain. Nina Kennedy in her role as concert pianist was invited to film a music video at the  Bösendorfer  Salon, which happens to be inside of the Musikverein building in the heart of Vienna. Vladimir Bulzan and Nina Kennedy Our gracious host, Vladimir Bulzan, was kind enough to sit down with us for a short interview on the history of Bösendorfer in Vienna, and to share some details on the beautiful Imperial Grand piano on which Nina performed. That instrument was the model owned and preferred by jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, and Vladimir discovered later that afternoon that the day we were filming happened to be Oscar Peterson's birthday. Happy belated birthday, Oscar! You are our favorite jazz pianist. Vladimir also pointed out the Bösendorfer model owned by Michael Jackson. Franz Schubert Nina and...

UPDATED: September 28, 2019 A YouTube clip of a music video was added to the article Nina Kennedy Nashville-born concert pianist Nina Kennedy returns to Vienna in August to film a music video of her performance of Robert Schumann's Widmung at the Bösendorfer  Salon. The New York Times called Kennedy "a fine pianist," and described her playing as being "sensuous and piquant" in the review of her New York Debut Recital at Lincoln Center. She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Fellowship. Kennedy resided in Vienna for several years after she graduated from the Juilliard School. She was presented in her Vienna Debut at the Musikverein as piano soloist with the Chicago Sinfonietta in performances of Gershwin in the opening night concert of the Jeunesse Musikalisches Festival. She is also currently promoting the release of a new single titled "Blue White and Red,"  featuring American rapper Nejma Nefertit...

The sounds of Strauss waltzes will be in the background for The Noshing with Nina Show during the month of August, as INFEMNITY Productions crosses the Atlantic to film in the Austrian capital. Host Nina Kennedy has been invited to perform in the beautiful  Bösendorfer  Salon, and INFEMNITY Productions will be on hand to record the event for posterity. Vienna, Austria The New York Times  called Kennedy "a fine pianist," and described her playing as being "sensuous and piquant" in the review of her New York Debut Recital at Lincoln Center. She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Fellowship. Nina Kennedy Nina resided in Vienna for several years after she graduated from the Juilliard School. She was presented in her Vienna Debut at the world-famous Musikverein (from which the annual New Year's concert presented by the Vienna Philharmonic is broadcast), as piano soloist with the Chicago Sinfonietta in performanc...

Coming this Fall! PRACTICING FOR LOVE: A MEMOIR by Nina Kennedy Practicing for Love: A Memoir by Nina Kennedy , is written from the perspective of an African American woman who tries to make her way in the white male dominated classical music field. A child prodigy, Nina Kennedy gives her first complete piano recital at age nine, and is one of three accepted from a pool of 72 pianists for study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She earns a master's degree at the Juilliard School in solo piano performance and orchestral conducting. Kennedy then presents her New York Recital Debut at Lincoln Center, and receives a rave review in the New York Times . She later served as conducting apprentice under Maestro Kurt Masur during his stints with the New York Philharmonic and L'Orchestre National de France. But unfortunately, she discovers that as a black female, she is not allowed to compete at American international competitions or for American concert mana...