It all began with a traffic jam. Well, technically it began with a nice cup of coffee and an optimistic point of view, one that had me thinking I could make it in my car (parked at East 20th Street and 1st Avenue) on up to the upper west side in about half an hour to pick up Conway at 10 AM. Unfortunately for me, it took nearly an hour due to the closure of the Park Avenue Tunnel, which burrows beneath Grand Central Station. It happens to be a fantastic way to go... most of the time.
By the time I reached Conway, he had mosyed his way up to West 96th Street and West End Avenue, which conveniently is the entrance to the West Side Highway, AND he had a bagel and cream cheese for me. We Bateira's look out for one another! After quickly solving the problems of the world and filling in the holes of each other's life story during the two hour car ride, we arrived in West Hartford, CT.
Conway and I stopped at Tangiers International, where we acquired gyros and falafel to feed a hungry Bateira Trio. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but I am here to tell you, never judge a book by its cover. Baklava for all!
By the time I reached Conway, he had mosyed his way up to West 96th Street and West End Avenue, which conveniently is the entrance to the West Side Highway, AND he had a bagel and cream cheese for me. We Bateira's look out for one another! After quickly solving the problems of the world and filling in the holes of each other's life story during the two hour car ride, we arrived in West Hartford, CT.
Conway and I stopped at Tangiers International, where we acquired gyros and falafel to feed a hungry Bateira Trio. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but I am here to tell you, never judge a book by its cover. Baklava for all!
 |  |
We headed off to the Hartt School, a mere 10 minutes away, to meet Satoshi and our recording engineer, Matt Baltrucki. Matt was ready for us, all set up early, and we began warming up. After a few quick individual spot checks, we started the group sound check. Another quick pause to listen in the studio for balance, then we were on to business.
Though we had discussed starting the session off with something easier, we began with Vivian Li's piece: Anywhere That's Wild. As our most challenging work of the day's recording project, we wanted to start on this piece fresh. We worked our way through a very ambitious and challenging rep list, each of us expecting that we might tire out or have to cut it shorter, but in the end, we made it through everything!
Tracks included:
Li - Anywhere That's Wild
Schulhoff - Concertino for Flute, Viola, and Bass
Palestrina - Gloria
Faure - Pavane
J.S. Bach - Siciliana from the E-flat Major Flute Sonata
Pergolesi - Trio Sonata
Marlow - El Enigma and Bolero Clasico
Though we had discussed starting the session off with something easier, we began with Vivian Li's piece: Anywhere That's Wild. As our most challenging work of the day's recording project, we wanted to start on this piece fresh. We worked our way through a very ambitious and challenging rep list, each of us expecting that we might tire out or have to cut it shorter, but in the end, we made it through everything!
Tracks included:
Li - Anywhere That's Wild
Schulhoff - Concertino for Flute, Viola, and Bass
Palestrina - Gloria
Faure - Pavane
J.S. Bach - Siciliana from the E-flat Major Flute Sonata
Pergolesi - Trio Sonata
Marlow - El Enigma and Bolero Clasico
 Satoshi and Conway with our recording set up in Berkman Auditorium |  Matt Baltrucki, our recording engineer, with Satoshi and Conway, post-session. |
Satoshi, Sandy, Conway As soon as we were satisfied with our work, being the Bateira Trio, we went out to eat :) A proud alumna of the Hartt School of Music and a former West Hartford resident, I wasted no time initiating my New Yorkers to the best burger in town: Plan B Burger Bar. If you've never been, and you find yourself hungry in Hartford, you should go. Great beer selection, burgers, and hot wings. Just the place for the post-recording session appetite!
Tired but with a satiated tummy, I waved goodbye to my talented trio mates as they headed back to NYC. Satoshi is flying to Vail, Colorado tomorrow morning VERY early for the NY Philharmonic's Residency at the Bravo Vail Music Festival. Following quick stops at the Marlboro Chamber Music Festival and Tanglewood, I will join him to perform in the second half of the festival next week. And Conway will be keeping busy at Manhattan Center's Sound Stage recording the score for the upcoming feature film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by Ben Stiller.
 |  Bateira is on the road again! See you very soon :) Ciao! |