What are the differences between Long Island and Manhattan?
Long Island (at least the middle part of it, where I live - I would say there are really three “Long Islands”; the fairly rural part “out East”, the part that’s actually part of NYC i.e. Brooklyn and Queens, and the part in the middle) is dense but suburban. For the most part, there is no street grid like there is in Manhattan, though there are bits and pieces of that here and there. There is no subway. (There is a commuter railroad, but this exists more or less exclusively for the purpose of moving people between Long Island and Manhattan.) Long Island has a lot more highway-type roads than Manhattan does. Generally, the traffic is not nearly as bad, except when it’s intolerable.Manhattan clearly has it all over Long Island when it comes to culture - there are relatively few museums, stage theaters, concert halls, etc. on Long Island, although there are plenty of good places to eat and drink.There are no really tall buildings on Long Island. Most people live in houses (either renting or owning), though there are garden-apartment complexes here and there, and in the denser areas people live in apartment buildings more like in NYC.Real estate is much cheaper, naturally, though taxes can be pretty high. Unemployment is significantly lower in Nassau/Suffolk counties than in Manhattan, though salaries are also lower.Long Island is lot like other suburban parts of America, with the advantage of being an hour’s train ride from the bright hot center of the universe. ;-) HTH.
Is it feasible to commute daily between Long Island and New York City?
As Mike Smith wrote, lots of people do it. I just wanted to mention that if you're considering driving into Manhattan - no, not feasible, forget about it.Feasibility of using mass transit depends on how long you're willing to commute and hence on where in NYC you need to go. I read that most people start to dislike their commute when it takes over an hour. So, for example, if you can walk to LIRR, ride that for an hour or less, and then walk to your destination near Penn Station; or if you take a bus from Nassau County to Queens or Brooklyn (which are NYC); then many people living in Manhattan, and spending comparable time on the subway, would envy your commute. But if you're thinking of spending 2 hours on LIRR and then another 40-60 minutes on NYC subway from Penn Station... well, some people actually do this too, but most would not like it.
What are the best ways to get from Long Island, NY to Manhattan, NY?
That really depends on where you start on Long Island and where you want to go in Mahattan. I’ll just list some examples.Long Island Railroad - drive to the nearest station on Long island, and take the train to either Penn Station MTA LIRR - Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan or Atlantic Terminal Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, and then take the subway/bus/Uber to wherever you actually need to go. (Atlantic Terminal+subway may be better if you’re headed for downtown Manhattan.) (Taking the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal will become another option in a few years.) If you do this many times in a month, then it may be cheaper to buy a monthly ticket for the LIRR.Drive to a convenient subway station in Queens (e.g. Flushing or Willets point on the 7 train; or E train in Jamaica; or A train in Far Rockaway), park the car, and take the subway to Manhattan. This is most feasible if you’re coming from Nassau county not far from Queens; and in this case you can look into Nassau bus - http://www.nicebus.com/NiceBus/m... - several of their routes end at subway stops in Queens.I recommend against trying to drive a car all the way to Manhattan, because it’s very likely to become a very frustrating experience for you due to traffic and parking problems. If you do want to try, do it on a Sunday, and keep in mind that other days of the week are even worse.A high-end bus called Hampton Jitney Hampton Jitney makes stops in Manhattan and in several places on Long Island. There are some cheaper, less luxurious buses to downtown Manhattan. All of them are likely to get stuck in traffic, but it may be something you want to experience once.
What should a violinist do if his string breaks on stage?
User-11269828491552562556 has written an excellent answer. I will give you several anecdotes, which show how different players cope.The first happened to me. I have had a string break only once in performance. I was performing the Franck Piano Quintet with a rather motley group, which was making heavy weather of it. We reached the final page, somehow together, when a string snapped in my face. I couldn't stop to check, but it felt like my G. (It was.) I had one descending fast run to the end, went down the D, jumped to a high position on my C, and nailed that sucker! THAT is why our systems make adrenaline!Another was at a concert of a top string quartet. This story sounds made-up, but I swear it's true. I no longer remember which work they were performing, as it was about forty years ago, but they'd gotten into the recap of the first movement when the first violinist had a string snap. They stopped, he patted his jacket pockets, no string. Turned to the audience. Said “excuse me”, went offstage, put a new one on. They went to the start of the recap and finished the movement.Now here's where it gets nutty. They were a few lines into the slow movement when the second violinist had a string break. Same deal. Came back onstage, started the movement from the top, and played through. Beautifully, I might add.OK. Third movement, a scherzo, I kid you not, the violist breaks a string! He had spares in his pocket, changed onstage. Started from the beginning of whatever strain they'd been in.They got to the fourth, final movement. All three turned to the cellist and chorused “OK, (name), its your turn.” He grinned, they started, and… played through the entire movement without further mishap!The final one was with the LA Phil some years ago. Yo-Yo Ma had a string break in a concerto. Ron Leonard, principal at the time, got up and swapped cellos with him. When he got back to the section, I believe I remember one of the other cellists swapping with Ron, and going offstage to change strings. (I'm not absolutely sure of this last swap.)So that tells you that it happens to the best, and to the rest. We do whatever seems the least disruptive.