Here is a page with a selection of photos from my years in Los Angeles, working as a violinist and also in other areas of the film and entertainment industry. The next photo shows me in my tuxedo, violin in hand in the 1980s. Anyway, I had enormous fun participating in the Los Angeles entertainment scene. I used this photo in the beginning, for the Musician's Union files. In L.A. one might end up playing for just about anything, or anyone. I have played in chamber groups for many celebrities, including Dustin Hoffman ( Haydn and Beethoven trios), Ronald Reagan ( Cancer benefit gala ), and Arnold Schwarzennegger, oil magnate Marvin Davis, Warren Beatty, and a host of others on various occasions. Of course, there are more famous people per square meter in L.A. than anywhere, outside of perhaps New York. So it's less than a miracle. I also played in Orchestras, theatrical ensembles, and for soundtracks on films, and videos. Sometimes as musicians, my colleagues and I would be asked to appear in films and on commercials. I played in nightclub orchestra's too, where one would back up famous singers and popular musical artists such as Natalie Cole, George Benson, John Denver, Tony Bennett, Roy Orbison and others. I also got a chance to do some other artistic work on films and commercials outside of the music area, and to do work for the theatre. I am on a video with the American popular singer, Roy Orbison. It is on youtube. The video is called "In Dreams." I am the first violinist you see on it. The video is quite interesting because it was made by a famous American film director, David Lynch. He is something of an avante-garde director. Click here to view me in the Roy Orbison Video "In Dreams." And so, here's a photo of a very enthusiastic young violinist: |
Here is a typical Hollywood story. Since, one never knew if at some time there might be a commercial one could do, it became neccessary to have regular theatrical photographs for such times. An agent, who had scouted me at a workshop, asked me to get some photographs. The first thing he told me was this: "Einstein! That's much too ethnic sounding. We'll have to change your name." I think he believed the pose with the books would make me look like "Joe College, all American boy." I don't know if it worked:
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Here is a photo with a ticket. That's the Hollywood Bowl in the photograph. You might at one time been to a concert there. It's quite beautiful. I used to love to go to the rehearsals in the mornings before the concerts. Anyway, here I am in the Orchestra in a concert that featured Andre Previn and the Los Angeles philharmonic. I played in in the orchestra. Cassandra kept the ticket to the concert that she had, and placed it with the photo:
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And this is the rest of that page. There's a photo of me after a day's or an evenings work playing music at an event or party or for a film in Los Angeles. I've taken off the warm tuxedo jacket and the bow tie, to have some beer, some bread and some salame. Not a terribly glamorous life, but the life of a working musician in Los Angeles, California. On the left, there is a much earlier photo from our wedding. I am standing next to Cassandra. The wedding took place outdoors in the late 1970s, in a little park overlooking the sea in San Francisco:
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Well, now it's time to get this page of the album finished! Here are some bits and pieces. Here I am with shorter hair, probably cut for a comercial or film. This is before going off to play for the evening. I think she made this page in the album in 1991 for our anniversary. The other photo is one of Cassandra, about the same time, in our home in Pasadena. If you click on the photo, you might see a larger version of the photo of me. The first photo is of Cassandra:
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Oh, oh! Here is something that I should have shown you earlier. This is a program for a gallery opening by a famous Swiss artist, named Alex Sadkowsky. This was at the Art Room Gallery in Canton Argau, just outside Zürich. I played at the opening - a solo Bach Sonata. It was in many ways the same sort of situation as up in Ulm, where I played Albert Einstein's favorite Mozart Sonatas for a group of physicists - to celebrate his 125th birthday. This was an event that wanted a "grace note" added to it. The program below was of course designed by Alex. It's very exotic, and Alex is an exquisitely skilled draftsman, painter and sculptor. (News Flash: More about the Rahela Oppenheim's Art Room Gallery and Alex Sadkowsky's most recent show in 2009 coming up on soon on page 7). Here are the cover and the program for the opening. My name and the fact that I will play for the opening are mentioned there:
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| Photos & News Articles From The Albert Einstein 125th Birthday Celebration in Ulm Germany, March 2004:
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In March of 2004, I was invited to Ulm, Germany to help celebrate the 125th birthday of Albert Einstein, who was born there. I was asked to give a concert featuring Einstein's favorite Mozart violin sonatas. As I mentioned earlier, the playing of these works is a kind of family tradition, which has been handed down to me through my grandfather, Mileva's son, Hans Albert Einstein, with whom I played these same works. He in turn played them with his father and my father Bernhard, who gave me my first violin lessons. Here is a photo of me at the museum exhibit in Ulm, honoring Einstein. The photographer forgot to tell me to tuck in my shirt. With age the typical Einstein starts to find it more and more difficult to keep his clothes in order. If you wish to see a larger photo, just click on the image:
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Here is photo of the article as it appeared in the newspaper in Ulm. On the right is a photo of Bundespräsident Johannes Rau, the German head of state, who spoke at the birthday gathering. If you would like to read some of it, just click on the image:
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Here is another article about the celebrations in Ulm. Here I am introduced to Johannes Rau, the President of Germany at the time. If you would like to read the article, just click on the image:
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This article which appeared in the Ulm newspapers tells a little about my background and reports that I played Albert Einstein's favorite Mozart sonatas at a scientific conference for physicists organized to celebrate the 125th birthday. The photo was taken at the museum exhibition in front of a large poster. If you wish to read a from a larger photo, just click on the image:
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| Breakfast with Picasso ~ in Provence:
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In 2006, Cassandra and I were invited to be artists in residence for two weeks at the Dora Maar House in Menerbes in the Provence of southern France. Menerbes is the town that Peter Mayle wrote about in his book A Year In Provence. The artist, Dora Maar had been the friend and lover of Pablo Picasso. He had given her this house, where he had also stayed and worked. The enormous house had just been restored, a huge project with an architected garden, and we were among the first to be invited to make music and to paint there. I gave several small concerts at the house with a group of chamber musicians, playing quartets and trios of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Schubert. Here is a watercolor that Cassandra made of me playing in Menerbes. I think it captures perfectly the passion and joy of playing chamber music. I hope you enjoy it.
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News Flash: Paul Einstein's Journey to the East. All Aboard for China!!!
cmeinstein2@yahoo.com
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And now, you are invited to click on Herr Mozart below, and you will join us on our voyage to the Far East. Above, I am standing in a photo with one of our charming hosts.
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