Music in Life


How does one convey the genius of a world class pianist in a review? It’s not easy, but I’ll try. Umi Garrett’s second album, “Music in Life,” exudes a spiritual freshness that reflects the combination of her deep passion for the piano combined with her uncanny ability to convey that passion. I was particularly enamored of her rendition of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, in which the Adagio Sostenuto sang as movingly as I’ve ever heard it performed, the Allegreto: Minuet sparkled, and the Presto Agitato articulated so beautifully, with so much feeling, that I wanted to cry in response. Ms. Garrett tells us in her program notes that she has “had passion for music throughout [her] whole life” and that she wants her music to mean something, to help people make “strong connections” with each other. She has succeeded in bringing that passion to her listeners, who will be forever grateful to have discovered such a depth of humanity, feeling, and talent.

One response to “Music in Life”

  1. Beila Organic Avatar
    Beila Organic

    Thank you, Bruce for sharing your personal response to Beethoven’s music. Check out the series by

    San Francisco musicologist Dr. Robert Greenberg on Beethoven’s quartets and his piano sonatas.

    For a layman with no technical knowledge of music (like me) learning a little of the structure of these works has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of these timeless works, so monumental and yet so profoundly personal.

    Beila Organic

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