The Gasparilla Inn & Club – Photo courtesy of Gasparilla Inn
Enjoy Pianist David Ohrenstein
Live at the Gasparilla Inn!
Posted by DSO Works on Saturday, February 3, 2018
The Gasparilla Inn and Club in Boca Grande is ideal for any special occasion:
Gasparilla Inn Historic District is in the heart of an historic district. Location is on 500 Palm Avenue in Boca Grande, Florida, United States. On March 18, 2008, it was listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[1]
The National Register designation centers largely on the Gasparilla Inn itself. It is one of the largest surviving resort hotels in Florida. Originally it was built for wealthy northerners in the early 20th century.[2]
Here are just a few of the highlights the Inn has to offer:
- Great food by master chefs
- Service by a highly trained, considerate and responsive staff.
- Incredible decor with featured displays. View: (1) Spectacular seashells. (2) A pictorial history of the Inn. (3) Pictures of big fish catches and fishing expeditions.
- Of course, the newly rebuilt vintage Steinway.
David is particularly excited about this year. This is because piano technician, Larry Keckler of Sarasota Florida, reconditioned and fine-tuned the dining room Steinway. He also tuned a second Steinway grand in the “Living Room”. Both date back to the early 1920’s. Steinway parts were flown directly from Germany. Having played at the Inn over Thanksgiving, I personally witnessed how the guests loved its intimate, clean and clear tone.
When dining, be sure you ask me to play entire piano score to Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nacht Musik (A Little Night Music). I have a rare and most enjoyable German-made arrangement. Guests also love my rendition of Chopin’s Nocturnes. Gustav Holst even gets into the act. I have a unique transcription of his Jupiter from The Planets. Franz Liszt loved transcriptions. So do I. Enjoy great music in the old tradition in a special setting. I will be there six nights weekly: From December 20, 2017 through April 1, 2018.
I just want to say I am just very new to blogs and truly enjoyed this page. Almost certainly I’m want to bookmark your blog post . You definitely come with incredible article content. Thank you for sharing your website.
I am so grateful for your blog post.Really thank you!
Thank you for your kind words. Work for myself as a professional pianist is on the upswing. I just signed a contract for my 9th winter season at the Gasparilla Inn. I will play 6 nights a week through Easter 2018. However, I should mention I musical I wrote with my actress-singer wife, Sharon Lesley Ohrenstein. It features two Frenchmen. One is a French ambassador who is sent to Russia. He has to be disguised for political reasons. He literally cross-dresses. The Frenchman is the personal physician to Elizabeth of Russia. She is the daughter of Peter the Great. The play is entitled the Princess and the Peasant. The play takes place in the year 1741. France wants Elizabeth on the throne of Russia. She does not want to have anything to do with ruling: She is against violence and especially capital punishment. Historically, she finally takes the throne, thanks to the Frenchmen, in a bloodless coup. We did a full production at the Players Theater in Sarasota, Fl. Of course, since we have greatly improved the songs, lyrics and the script. The play speaks to anyone with a strong sense of decency.I am enclosing a post from that early production. In will give you a general idea about the music and story. If you are interested, perhaps could devise a plan to place the Princess and the Peasant on the throne again, but on your stage? If you have difficulty playing the music that is on youtube, go the blog itself called, Banned Music in Old Russia. This is no small undertaking. Again, thank you-David.
Banned Music was part of the politics
Banned Music in Old Russia is Featured Our Operetta
5 November 2017David OhrensteinLeave a comment
Banned Music in Old Russia is Featured Our Operetta. Wife Sharon and myself (David) wrote a musical. Once titled Elizabeth of Russia. Half Peasant – Half Royal is the new name. We had a marvelous costumed staged reading in Sarasota Florida at the Players Theater. Below are YouTube videos: The entire cast sings the Drinking Song (since,more universal lyrics have been penned). In 1740, ethnic Russian music was banned from court. As an act of rebellion against the ruling regime, Elizabeth brings in the following entertainment: The Dance of the Cossacks – performed by principle dancers from the Sarasota Ballet. And, Dance of The Russian Peasant played on a Stradivarius flown in from Houston. The link below has composer Rubinoff and his Violin playing that piece. Sharon wrote the book and lyrics. I wrote the music. It is copyrighted.
Elizabeth of Russia – Drinking Song – YouTube
Video for youtube of Lesley and Ohrenstein’s Elizabeth of Russia▶ 2:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymHT-2qiPEc
Dec 17, 2007 – Uploaded by Rudder3218
Lesley and Ohrenstein’s Elizabeth of Russia follows in the tradition of the great Broadway hits South Pacific …
Elizabeth of Russia – Dance of the Cossacks – YouTube
Video for youtube of Lesley and Ohrenstein’s Elizabeth of Russia▶ 2:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrnpBQEA9FgÊ
Sep 4, 2007 – Uploaded by Rudder3218
Lesley and Ohrenstein’s Elizabeth of Russia follows in the tradition of the great Broadway hits South Pacific …
But first, with regards to the featured medallion picture: This medallion is dated and signed on the back by Gregory Musikiiskii, the first Russian painter of portrait miniatures. It can be compared to an earlier enamel painting of Peter the Great with his family, now in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, executed by the same artists in 1717. Here, the Russian emperor is depicted together with his wife Catherine, his three daughters Anna, Elizabeth (the future empress and subject of our musical. She is reclining on her mother.) and Natalia, and his grandson Peter (the future Peter II). Musikiiskii was transferred from the Moscow Kremlin Armory to St. Petersburg to work for the court of Peter the Great, the founder of modern Russia.
What About the Banned Music in Old Russia?
Our new title unravels and hopefully will solve the problems we had with our production. Elizabeth of Russia, in fact, was half peasant and half royal. She fell in love with a peasant. He was reputed to have one of the most magnificent singing voices in Russia at the time. Unfortunately, the combination of the two together made them 3/4 peasant and 1/4 royal. So what was the problem with Russian secular music?
Early czars considered secular music to be a highly suspicious activity. Weapons could easily be hidden in instrumental cases.
Thus, no musical instruments of any sort were allowed in church or at court.
They instructed peasants to stop singing folk songs. Common people, of course, are the source of folk songs.
Troubadours (travelling minstrel singers) were forbidden in old Russia. The czars worried that they would sing seditious songs.
Thus, for the ruling elite, the act of Elizabeth falling in love with “lowborn peasant singer” was unacceptable.
In violation of the above, a case enclosed an authentic Stradivarius violin is brought and is played on stage at a court party. It has the official crest of the Russian empire. It is set with diamonds and rubies. The theatrical audience went wild with excitement. How did we come by it? I worked with Rubinoff and His Violin. His widow, Dame Darlene Rubinoff, flew the violin from Houston. It was the Stradivarius that had previously belonged to Czar Nicholas II. Now for the first time, enjoy Rubinoff himself playing his featured violin solo, Dance of the Russian Peasant. Pictures in this youtube background highlight both his life and his friendship with Sharon and myself. Feel free to share this special post with with friends. We are looking to do a full production.
Rubinoff and his Violin – Dance of the Russian Peasant – YouTube
▶
Video for youtube Rubinoff playing Dance of the Russian Peasant
4:05
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_wn9SfNdp4