UWS Weekend Worksheet
May 31-June 2, 2024
Today I launched a column called “WSR Weekend” in the West Side Rag, a local paper that covers the best neighborhood in NYC and my home turf, the Upper West Side. WSR Weekend is a curated list of UWS-focused recommendations of things to do in your weekend downtime. It’ll include a mix of exhibitions, performances, food, books and other cultural content and experiences, a real “Rag-bag”, that I’ve enjoyed or am excited to explore. Since I’ll be making the selections, let me introduce myself. I’m an Upper West Sider of 25 years, a journalist, a mom, an art historian, a former lawyer, and the lady you might’ve seen being pulled through Riverside Park by a poorly trained if adorable labradoodle named Gary. I love working in New York’s art world, but I also grab every chance to explore other corners of the cultural wonderland that is NYC. I’m excited to share the best of it with WSR readers.
Each week, I’ll also post an interview here with someone involved in one of the recommendations who’ll share things they love, and love to hate, on the UWS. For the first installment, meet David Krauss, Principal Trumpet at the Metropolitan Opera and host and creator of the podcast “Speaking Soundly”, which is featured in the inaugural WSR Weekend.
David’s not only the Beth W. and Gary A. Glynn endowed chair of the Met’s brass section and a podcaster, he’s a teacher, a marathon runner, an accomplished cook (he makes his own lox!), a dad and a husband, and he’s a quintessential Upper West Sider. Having lived on the Best Side for more than 20 years, he’s the ideal person to offer some of his own UWS suggestions. Here they are!
My Upper West Side
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
Normally, my Saturdays start at 9am teaching four hours at Juilliard before running across the street to the Metropolitan Opera to perform in a matinee and/or evening performance. This weekend I only have a matinee performance of Puccini’s grand opera Turandot (which is so amazing to be a part of), and no teaching or Sunday performance, so I’m looking forward to staying home and doing nothing with my family.
How’d “Speaking Soundly” get started?
In 2021, I met my podcast partner Jessica Handelman (a fellow Upper Westsider) who at the time worked in book publishing. She had the idea to use discussions with musicians about their creative processes as inspiration for a children’s book. Well, after conducting interviews with people like Rufus Wainwright, Rhiannon Giddens, and Joyce Didonato, it was clear that these chats needed to be heard in their entirety, so we pivoted to a podcast. We’re in our 5th season and looking forward to more.
What’s your schmear?
My go-to is a sesame bagel with sable, plain cream cheese, tomato, and onion. Oh man, now I want one. I love Absolute and Barney Greengrass, but I grew up on my favorite Russ & Daughters. Sorry UWS!
Get Tracy Zwick’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Pick a Park
Central Park for sure. I love to run the loop, and ya don’t need music or a podcast to stay entertained. I like to play “What’s that smell?” “How much is that apartment?” and “OMG DO NOT step in that.” So fun!
If you could have a coffee klatch with any New Yorker, living or dead, who would it be and where? Gustav Mahler. He lived in Manhattan from 1908–11, in fact on the UWS (72nd St) while conducting at the Met. His symphonies all have incredible trumpet solos that I love to play, so I’d talk about them over an espresso at Zibetto Espresso Bar since it’s close to Carnegie Hall.
Have you featured any Upper West Siders or folks with an UWS connection on Speaking Soundly?
Absolutely! So many episodes feature NYC-based musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Nathalie Joachim, and Midori, and it’s a thrill for me to connect with fellow UWS musicians like piano legend Emanuel Ax who I’ve bumped into at Fairway and Citarella. During his episode, he revealed that he’s memorized the number of steps to most subway entrances on the UWS. Another episode features 18-time Grammy award-winning UWS musician, Bela Fleck. America’s preeminent banjo player. Since he plays the banjo and is an expert in all things bluegrass, I assumed he was from the South but it turns out he grew up on West End Avenue! Who knew?
West Side Drag/West Side Brag
I’m a native New Yorker so I’ll start by complaining. The 1 train sucks. I ride it to and from Lincoln Center sometimes 4 times a day and I can’t remember a time in the past 35 years that it’s been worse, particularly on the weekend. The only thing more tragic than an opera is performing in one, running to the subway and seeing “DELAY” on the announcement board. Tragic! But no matter what I face on the subway, I’m always excited to arrive in Lincoln Center. It’s a crown jewel of the UWS and a special place for me. I went to Juilliard and my wife and I raised our 4 kids just 2 blocks away on 67th and Amsterdam.
Don’t Curb Your Enthusiasm. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever found on the curb?
Once I found a fallen NO PARKING Mon-Thurs 9am-10:30am street sign on the curb. It’s my prized possession. I put it up next to my kids’ playhouse in the yard of our house in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Picture toddlers moving their play cars because alternate side parking rules are in effect.
New Yorker, New York Magazine, or NYT?
The New Yorker caption contest is amazing and gives me faith in humanity. I will stare at a cartoon drawing for days wracking my brain for a witty caption only to come up with a bad Dad-joke pun at best.
Let’s talk pie. What’s your slice joint? Fold, fingers or fork?
The best pizza is the closest pizza, so I’m thankful Koronet pizza is on my way home after I get off at the 110th St subway stop. They have a jumbo slice that is hilarious to pick up and eat because it’s bigger than the tray it’s served on. Still, any true UWSider could handle it with one hand. Forks and knives are for children and Chicago deep dish “pizza”
