Arts • Posted by OttawaStart on February 08, 2012 <!--Summary: --> Tchaikovsk’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (1878) -- one of the best known of all violin concertos -- is also among the most technically difficult. It has freshness, lightness, piquant rhythms, and beautifully harmonized melodies. The piece was written when Tchaikovsky was recovering from depression brought on by his disastrous marriage. Since he was not a violinist, Tchaikovsky sought the advice of his composition pupil and sometime lover, violinist Iosif Kotek, on the concerto’s Continue reading >>>

History came alive for the 5th grade students of Decas Elementary School Wednesday February 8 as actors from the Boston-based Freedom Trail Foundation re-enacted the turning points of the American Revolution. "They're responding great," said 5th grade teacher Renelle LeBlanc. "No one's talking, no one's fooling around, they are really intent on what's going on." The performance took the students through the events of the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and other significant "Boston" moments of the American Revolution. Students were not only enthralled by the performances Continue reading >>>

By Jason Keidel » More Column Before we plunge into purgatory, a frigid hole in the sports calendar also called February, a final nod to the New York “Football” Giants and a few football lessons from the Super Bowl… The Parade. Like their Super Bowl run, the conditions were impossibly flawless, from the oddly warm weather to the blue tarp of clear sky wrapped around our region to sober and civil fans. Just ignore the host, Mike Bloomberg. If you can get past the carpet-bagging, Bostonian emcee who pretends not only to be a New Yorker but also a Giants fan (as he reads all his stats Continue reading >>>

BOSTON (CBS) – OK, movie and TV producers, we get it. You love South Boston as a source for your products – its quirky customs, gritty streets, and funny accents. Listen to Jon’s commentary: And sometimes, we like what you turn that material into. “Good Will Hunting” was an inspirational story of the bond among working class guys from Southie and how one of them broke free to find his future. And “The Departed” was a spot-on dramatization of the criminal insanity that gripped one notorious South Bostonian. But the entertainment industry’s fascination with South Boston has Continue reading >>>

Sports-related stunts are getting stickier.Pawngo.com, a Denver-based online pawnshop, decided to test the limits of the Bostonian sense of humor by dropping 900 pounds of Butterfinger bars on Copley Square in Boston on Tuesday, according to a story on NFL.com. The roughly 8,000 bars were, of course, a not-so-subtle reference to the Patriots' Wes Welker, who suffered a case of the dropsies late in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, arguably costing the team the game.Pawngo included its logo on the accompanying sign, which said, "Thank you, Wes Welker."Pawngo headquarters referred inquiries Continue reading >>>