What's on the iPod- From Bach to Piazzolla

I have to start this review with a disclaimer. Ever since I heard Maria Luisa Rayan-Forero play live at the 5^th Australian Harp Festival I was a fan (read more about that concert here). Then I had the pleasure of working with her myself on some pesky Bach ornamentation and became an even bigger fan. She’s just such a lovely lady!

So naturally I went out and bought her latest CD ‘From Bach to Piazzolla’ to relive the performance and to study her Bach a little more closely. While it’s impossible to completely capture the magic of a live concert in a studio recording I am not at all disappointed in what I got.

Maria Luisa Rayan-Forero has put together a wonderful CD of old classics, new classics and harp classics.

Here’s the track listing:

1.        Marcel Grandjany- Rhapsodie

2.       J.S. Bach Partita in B-flat major BWV 825- Praeludium

3.       Allemande

4.       Corrente

5.       Sarabande

6.       Menuets I & II

7.       Giga

8.       Heitor Villa-Lobos- Preludio from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4

9.       Astor Piazolla Cuatro Estaciones Portenas- Verano Porteno

10.   Otono Porteno

11.   Invierno Porteno

12.   Primavera Portena

13.   Serie del Angel- Milonga del Angel

14.   Muerte del Angel

15.   Resurreccion del Angel

16.   Libertango

 I came across a listing of the cd on the CD Universe website http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8776380 which categorises the music on the recording as

Category

Classical, Modern, Baroque Period, Dance - Classical, Rhapsody, Partita, Tango

 Which makes it sound a little indecisive in it’s make up. It’s anything but.

Maria has researched at length the influence Bach had on Piazzolla, so from that angle pairing the two otherwise vastly different composers makes sense. Working off her own transcriptions brings out her background learning still further, making for a very detailed performance throughout. The harmonic richness of the opening track (Grandjany) is then reflected in the language of Piazzolla, so it all wraps up very nicely.

Maria announced on Facebook recently that the album is being considered for a nomination at the Grammys, which is an amazing achievement for a solo harp CD. Here’s hoping she gets the nod for a nomination and, even better, a win!

Either way, grab yourself a copy and enjoy!

5 tips for tax time

Ahh, tax. There’s no avoiding it. And around these parts it’s that time of year.

In Australia, our financial year runs from the beginning of July until the end of June which always seems very neat. We then have until the end of October to get all the paper work done and submitted to some nice accountant who knows what they are doing. Only once did I try to do my own tax return and I spent the whole time crying. Never again.

So I spent last week putting it all together and was pleased to see that a few new initiatives I had implemented this past financial year worked really well for keeping on top of all the paperwork. Plus the old reliables are still doing their job, which is always good to know. So here’s a few tips for anyone who shudders at the idea of doing their tax return!

1.      

      The big success for me this year was making myself spend just 10-15 minutes every Monday on bookkeeping. I chose Mondays because there were usually invoices to write following the weekend gigs so I was in a financial state of mind anyway. But just that short time spent adding income and expenditure to my accounting software has paid off big time as there is no scrounging around for paperwork or trying to remember how that mystery $100 came to be in my bank account.

2.       Have a separate bank account solely for business transactions. Nothing makes tax life easier than transparency of transactions (account for everything) and no confusion between business and personal transactions. A separate account for receiving all your income makes this LOADS easier.

3.       Have some kind of accounting system, anything from MYOB with all the bells and whistles to a humble notebook and pen. The important thing is that it works for you and YOU USE IT!

4.       A plastic loose leaf folder. This is a little strange but we own 4 filing cabinets. And I hardly use any of them. But I love filing things in plastic loose leaf folders. I always remember being told that any person can play an instrument if they can just get to the right instrument and I think the same is true with organisation. Find what works for you and you are more likely to use it.

5.       Keep an envelope in the car for all your parking tickets. I mark mine with the details of whatever financial year it is and then bring it inside while doing my tax return, and, hey presto, there are all my receipts for parking. And if I park at a meter which doesn’t issue a ticket I write the date, location and amount on the back of the envelope. This year my parking costs were in the vicinity of $350, which I can claim back as a necessary expenditure. That’s a lot of money that could have been lost with parking tickets just floating around the car and then getting chucked out.

What tax tips work for you?