MILLERTON — Keen to preserve a rare cultural institution in the village of Millerton, community members are lending their support to Jonathan Grusauskas — best known as Jonny G — the founder and visionary behind The Music Cellar. Jonny G is trying to raise $25,000 — enough money to put a down payment on the building where his music studio is located — a hard to miss 1,920 square foot building that’s painted an unmistakable shade of raspberry located at 14 Main St., which sits on a lot of roughly three quarters of an acre right alongside the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.
A resident of Millerton, Jonny G, 33, first opened The Music Cellar about a decade ago with Kealan Rooney at 64 South Center St. (currently occupied by Relief Chiropractic & Wellness), which is the space under where the T-Shirt Farm is located on Main Street before moving next to the Rail Trail about five years ago.
The two musicians initially opened The Music Cellar as a place to teach music lessons to people of all ages. Jonny G said he had been driving around teaching lessons all over the area, from the former Millerton Elementary School, throughout the North East (Webutuck) Central School District and at the North East Community Center (NECC) in Millerton when a parent of one of his students suggested he get his own studio to teach music in one central location.
Though music lessons were at the heart of its opening, The Music Cellar was never limited in terms of its musical possibilities or in the ways in which it’s enlivened the community. From Story Hour and Toddler Jam at the NorthEast-Millerton Library to Mom’s Morning Out at the NECC, Jonny G has engaged with residents of all ages through playing music and singing songs, even offering summertime open-mics on The Music Cellar’s lawn.
“It’s a great resource for the community,” remarked NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson. “When we had in-person programs, he would come to the library and it was wonderful watching him interact with the kids. The kids would come alive with him.”
As for music lessons, Jonny G said he encourages students to explore multiple instruments. Over the last decade, he’s taught about 200 students of all ages and instructed them in guitar and drum as well as given lessons in ukulele, piano and bass. Open to anyone with an interest in music, Jonny G said The Music Cellar doesn’t turn anyone away; if students are unable to afford the lessons, he offers a discount.
Jonny G now runs The Music Cellar himself, with help from the community and his instructors, which includes his Lespecial bandmates.
When asked what drew him to 14 Main St., he remarked that the central location is ideal with its side porch and deck — perfect for concerts. When the weather is good, students often perform on the porch. When people show up to listen, he said they’re not charged a fee but instead offered free performances.
Recalling fond memories of the connections fostered at the village’s former Spring for Sound festivals and how that event created a rare opportunity for people to meet and mingle, Jonny G said, “If we can carry that torch in some way and give people a chance to get together, it makes us happy.”
With the arrival of COVID-19, The Music Cellar switched to teaching via a virtual platform. While the shift has allowed it to continue its programming and he’s received positive feedback, Jonny G admitted it’s not perfect and has cut into his business quite a bit.
Yet COVID-19 has also generated an influx of newcomers to the area, leading to an increase in real estate value, which led the building The Music Cellar rents from to be placed on the market. It was around last year that Jonny G said his landlord announced she plans to sell the building. In that instant, he knew he wanted to buy it.
“We sort of considered what options we had because we like this community and we want to continue to serve it,” Jonny G said in reference to himself and The Music Cellar family.
On Tuesday, March 9, Jonny G set up the “Keep The Music Cellar in Millerton!” GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $25,000 for a down payment. Within a day of launching the page, the studio raised $1,450.
When asked why people should contribute, Jonny G said, “They should support it if they like to have a hub for music in the community of Millerton. Again, it’s a concert space and it’s a training ground for young musicians to form bands and contribute to a vibrant arts community… it’s like a big family.”
“I think the Music Cellar is a vital part of the community,” said Brooke Lehman, who has rallied to support the place that has supported the village in so many ways throughout the past decade. “And it is a space where so many different members of our community come together to enjoy each other and to enjoy the creativity that is such a part of Millerton… We are very lucky to have an institution like The Music Cellar within the heart of our town.”
Lehman, who is the co-founder of The Watershed Center in Millerton, is one among a number of community members singing The Music Cellar’s praises, asking others to help support what she describes as an area resource that “has offered so much vitality and unity to our community over the years.”
For more on how to contribute to The Music Cellar’s fundraising efforts, go to www.gofundme.com.
Ruth Franklin and Ileene Smith in conversation at Congregation Beth David in Amenia.
Congregation Beth David in Amenia hosted a conversation on the enduring legacy of Anne Frank, one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures. Ruth Franklin, award-winning biographer and critic, shared insights from her highly acclaimed book “The Many Lives of Anne Frank” with thought-provoking questions from Ileene Smith, Editorial Director of the Jewish Lives series. This event, held on July 23 — the date Anne Frank would have turned 96 — invited the large audience to reconsider Anne Frank not just as the young writer of a world-famous diary, but as a cultural symbol shaped by decades of representation and misrepresentation.
Franklin and Smith dove right in; Franklin reading a passage from the book that exemplified her approach to Anne’s life. She described her work as both a biography of Anne Frank and a cultural history of the diary itself, a document that has resonated across the world.
“The diary,”Franklin explained, “has been appropriated in ways that sometimes obscure the reality of who she was and the historical context of her life.” By weaving together different perspectives, including testimonies from those who knew Anne or whose lives were shaped by her, Franklin sought to rehumanize a figure who has, for better and worse, been turned into a symbol.
Franklin’s book examines the many faces of Anne Frank that have appeared in the public consciousness: the girl whose diary became a universal symbol of the Holocaust, the teenage diarist whose words offer an optimistic glimpse of humanity, and the historical figure whose Jewish identity has at times been obscured in favor of a broader, universal message. Franklin highlighted how Anne’s legacy was shaped by her father, Otto Frank. Many of Otto’s decisions have been viewed as controversial such as removing passages that could have alienated potential readers. While often criticized, Franklin suggested that his editorial work was driven by the desire to reach the broadest possible audience.
“I think we have to be so generous in thinking about Otto Frank and the choices that he made,” said Franklin. “He made the decision that he wanted the diary to be read by the greatest number of people possible. He wanted Anne’s message to go out into the world and work, as he said, against prejudice, understood in the widest possible sense. The Anne Frank House today in Amsterdam is carrying on his mission in making Anne’s story relatable and accessible and comparing it to many other different kinds of prejudice around the world. Not everybody agrees with this approach, but that’s what he decided to do.”
The conversation turned to a quote from author Cynthia Ozick, who argued that Anne’s story has been “vulgarized, distorted, and infantilized” in adaptations of the diary, particularly those created for mass consumption. While acknowledging the validity of Ozick’s concerns, Franklin pushed back. The desire to make Anne’s story accessible to a global audience, Franklin suggested, began with Anne herself, who rewrote her diary with an eye toward future readers who might not understand her specific historical context.
The conversation also delved into the profound grief and ambivalence Otto Frank must have felt as he worked to preserve his daughter’s legacy. Franklin’s expressed deep empathy for him, burdened with making Anne’s diary into something more than a personal testament. “He was working with a tragic loss, with an immense responsibility,” Franklin noted.
The evening’s discussion expanded to include the contentious debate over the graphic version of Anne Frank’s diary, which has been banned in several U.S. states. Critics of the graphic adaptation have condemned it for including depictions of Anne’s developing sexuality, citing them as “pornographic.” Franklin pointed out that this outrage stems from “the intersection of homophobia and anti-Semitism” in today’s political climate, highlighting how Anne’s legacy continues to be embroiled in ongoing cultural and political struggles. “The books that are most frequently banned in the country right now are those that have to do with LGBTQ content.This is a serious issue of the Republican Party persecuting gay people and trans people more generally,” said Franklin.
Smith pointedly asked Franklin about what is widely considered the most famous quote from the diary: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Franklin responded, “In many ways, Anne Frank was an optimistic person and that quote is an accurate reflection of who she was. At the same time, that quote is incomplete. It actually comes in the middle of a much longer passage in which she describes feeling hopeless about the future of the world.” Franklin continued, “That quote is often dismissed by Holocaust scholars or other people who have said with a lot of confidence that if Anne Frank had survived the camps to write about it, she would no longer have believed that people are truly good at heart. My own position, which is the perspective I adopt in this book, is that none of us can know what a surviving Anne Frank would have thought about anything at all, and it is irresponsible to speculate about it.We simply can’t go there. “
As the conversation concluded, the room was filled with a sense of reflection and appreciation. The crowd was invited to continue the conversation in the Community Room, where Franklin signed copies of her book, which were available through Oblong Books. Her visit left attendees with much to ponder about how we interpret history, memory, and the cultural artifacts that endure.
Yuja Wang performs with the TMCO and Andris Nelsons.
Sunday, July 20 was sunny and warm. Nic Mayorga, son of American concert pianist, the late Lincoln Mayorga, joined me at Tanglewood to hear Yuja Wang play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16. I first saw Wang on July 8, 2022, when she filled in for Jean-Yves Thibaudet on the opening night of Tanglewood’s summer season. She virtually blew the shed down with her powerful and dynamic playing of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Nic was my guest last season on July 13, when Wang wowed us with her delicate interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. We made plans on the spot to return for her next date in Lenox.
As we found our seats there was a buzz in the Shed. A huge crowd had gathered. Nic went for tall cans of cold mineral water — essential. The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra was on stage. The door opened, and out stepped Wang in a brilliant shear and sparkling silvery light dress befitting the warm day. Conductor Andris Nelsons followed. They greeted concertmaster Nathan Cole, and settled in.
The first movement, an Andandtino -Allegretto - Andandtino, is one where a 22-year-old Prokofiev distinguishes himself as an entirely new breed of concerto composers. It is far from typical. There is no conventional drama between opposing forces of piano and orchestra — just a light, gentle phrase with intentionally muted strings (pizzicato) and clarinets, giving way to Chopin-like left-hand figures from the piano, and a lengthy, divine melody in the right. There is beauty in this.Wang is in charge.
She transitioned to a faster march section that evolved into an extended solo played with great precision and attention to detail. The soloist had the floor until a raucous return of the full orchestra, followed by a pianissimo recollection of the opening. The two great forces now united, everyone was on the edge of their seat.
The second movement is a Scherzo: Vivace. Here, Wang showed her mastery over one of the most challenging sections — a relentlessly demanding moto perpetuo where the soloist must play unbroken sixteenths, both hands, in octave unison. Nic agreed that one must see this type of playing live to fully appreciate the artist. The orchestra added wonderful, subtle color and counter moods to this virtuoso spotlight. Wang’s command of the minutest shifts in tempo was astounding. The piano, here, produces melodies but also becomes a percussion instrument of the highest order.
In the third movement, an Intermezzo: Allegro moderato, the soloist gets a breather from the speedy tempos — but not quite, as she must alternate between delicacy and great force in figures while the orchestra layers a backdrop of a heavy march. Wang displayed her versatility here, commanding the tone, volume and moods as dictated by Prokofiev’s adventuring. Tempos changed. Everything changed. Yet throughout, each mini stanza and bar stood out — authentic, independent, real. Likely exactly what Prokofiev had in mind, but likely to elude all but the finest musicians.
In the Finale: Allegro tempestoso, Prokofiev reverts to the more conventional opposition-of-forces theme — the piano trying to overwhelm the orchestra in a barrage of flittering bright passages offset by heavy-handed chords. Wang chose a more collegial approach here. She was firm but polite; it never felt like a struggle. This made the transition to the next idea — where clarinets and violas offer a contrasting tranquility — smooth as silk. The solo piano continued with elements of Russian folk music, joined by the orchestra, building intensity before another solo piano display, and then a traditional buildup to a sweeping conclusion.
I glanced over at Nic’s joy and bewilderment. A standing ovation was followed, with encore performances of selections from Sebelius’s 13 Pieces for Piano, Op. 76, No. 2: Etude; Schubert’s “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” D. 118, arranged by Liszt; and Horowitz’s Variations on a Theme from Carmen.
Prokofiev’s debut of this concerto in 1913 did not go over quite as well. Some in the audience expressed displeasure at his ideas, hissed and rushed out. But Prokofiev expressed his displeasure at their poor taste, played an encore nonetheless, and fanned the flames. Sometimes a genius from one generation is misunderstood in his time but vindicated generations later by audiences and musicians of a different era. Such is the case with Prokofiez, who had the last laugh. Yuja Wang has her place in this saga. That she performs with the young musicians of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra shows her generous nature and kind heart — she cares about the future of classical music.
If you are curious and like to travel, Wang will play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 again several times this season: Nov. 13 at The Philharmonie de Paris; Dec. 4 and 5 at The Konzerthaus, Vienna; and Dec. 12 at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. I highly recommend it.
