This morning started very, very early. It started at the end of last, night, actually. The calendar rolled around and I was still up, writing my paper. I went to bed and woke up a mere six hours later, to find my drunk and giddy roommate stumbling into the room after a sleepless night.
Two hours and fifteen minutes later, I was home.
Two hours and eighteen minutes later, I was running in the backyard after a white rabbit with white ears. The Beast was finally cornered and Dad grabbed him by the skin of his back. The little bugger had been eating our strawberries through the fence and eaten the very first figs we'd gotten from the little tree in addition to increasing rabbit populations in the park behind the house. Dad, farm-raised and well-practiced in the matter, took him to the shed to finish the job and provide prime stew material, but Very Smart Neighbor, who is a very sweet and compassionate girl (as well as a vegetarian), burst into tears. Dad tried to explain that it was the only way to deal with it, as this was clearly a rabbit that had been relieved of duty as someone's pet (or a descendant of one) and was a danger to native wildlife as well as a garden pest (not to mention a potentially delicious stew). No matter, she was inconsolable. Dad, though a gruff caveman most of the time, is not a monster and asked her what she would rather do with it. She said she would keep it as a pet. Dad, squirming rabbit in hand, went over to their backyard and knocked at the door. Very Smart Neighbor's father emerged and accepted the extra pet. After The Beast was secured in a metal tub with a screen on top, two grownups and three ecstatic kids piled into a car toward the home improvement store to buy chicken wire for a suitable enclosure.
Meanwhile, Mother and I had lunch, battled with the car (which has a grumpy disposition and does not like to start until it has been thoroughly cajoled and/or offered the blood of five hundred virgins in sacrifice) and headed to a church on the other side of town. There, we sat down and opened our ears for the recital of Beautiful Music Friend.
I have mentioned before how talented a musician she was. The thing is, I hadn't heard her play since last May. From the very first notes, I was chastised. Her music was not wonderful, it was beyond words. In a year, she had improved so much, her technique perfected, her sound enriched... I cannot even begin to imagine what she will be like after a year at a conservatory.
She played four pieces, Sonata in G minor (or Devil's Trill) by Tartini, Sonata no. 3 à George Enesco by Ysaÿe, Sonata no. 3 in C minor, op 45 by Grieg, and Ziegeunerweisen by Sarasate. My favorite was the Ysaÿe, then Sarasate, then Tartini (although I really liked both of them), and finally Grieg. I do not like Grieg very much (this is one of the main point on which Mother and I disagree, he is her favorite composer). I knew I'd heard Ziegeunerweisen before, and was struck halfway through when I remembered that Itzhak Perlman played it at the concert*.
Afterwards, my friends and I went to a fancy-ish restaurant (Quote Bookish Friend: "When the New York Times comes to town, that's where they eat."), then to a fancier restaurant/bakery for dessert. We were sat down at a large round table and brought a silver platter of desserts to choose from. I had a chocolate truffle, which I'd had before at a coffee shop (they are so famous around town that the chef is in rather high demand). As always, the hot, melty truffle was bliss personified (chocolatified?). The feeling all around the table was the same.
Some days go downhill, and some end up on Cloud Nine. This was one of the good ones.
***
Scriptor Senex, I'm sorry I never got down to telling you what the concert was. I wrote it down for you but never posted it.
He played Handel's Violin Sonata No. 13 in D Major, Franck's Sonata for Violin & Piano in A Major, Messiaen's Theme and Variations for violin & piano (those three were listed on the program) and many other works he picked onstage, including several Kreisler arrangements of other composers' pieces (one of them Corelli), Ziegeunerweisen by Sarasate, the theme from Schindler's List, and a brilliant (and breathtaking) finish with a piece from a composer whose name I have unfortunately forgotten (but may have had something to do with Goblins).
Two hours and fifteen minutes later, I was home.
Two hours and eighteen minutes later, I was running in the backyard after a white rabbit with white ears. The Beast was finally cornered and Dad grabbed him by the skin of his back. The little bugger had been eating our strawberries through the fence and eaten the very first figs we'd gotten from the little tree in addition to increasing rabbit populations in the park behind the house. Dad, farm-raised and well-practiced in the matter, took him to the shed to finish the job and provide prime stew material, but Very Smart Neighbor, who is a very sweet and compassionate girl (as well as a vegetarian), burst into tears. Dad tried to explain that it was the only way to deal with it, as this was clearly a rabbit that had been relieved of duty as someone's pet (or a descendant of one) and was a danger to native wildlife as well as a garden pest (not to mention a potentially delicious stew). No matter, she was inconsolable. Dad, though a gruff caveman most of the time, is not a monster and asked her what she would rather do with it. She said she would keep it as a pet. Dad, squirming rabbit in hand, went over to their backyard and knocked at the door. Very Smart Neighbor's father emerged and accepted the extra pet. After The Beast was secured in a metal tub with a screen on top, two grownups and three ecstatic kids piled into a car toward the home improvement store to buy chicken wire for a suitable enclosure.
Meanwhile, Mother and I had lunch, battled with the car (which has a grumpy disposition and does not like to start until it has been thoroughly cajoled and/or offered the blood of five hundred virgins in sacrifice) and headed to a church on the other side of town. There, we sat down and opened our ears for the recital of Beautiful Music Friend.
I have mentioned before how talented a musician she was. The thing is, I hadn't heard her play since last May. From the very first notes, I was chastised. Her music was not wonderful, it was beyond words. In a year, she had improved so much, her technique perfected, her sound enriched... I cannot even begin to imagine what she will be like after a year at a conservatory.
She played four pieces, Sonata in G minor (or Devil's Trill) by Tartini, Sonata no. 3 à George Enesco by Ysaÿe, Sonata no. 3 in C minor, op 45 by Grieg, and Ziegeunerweisen by Sarasate. My favorite was the Ysaÿe, then Sarasate, then Tartini (although I really liked both of them), and finally Grieg. I do not like Grieg very much (this is one of the main point on which Mother and I disagree, he is her favorite composer). I knew I'd heard Ziegeunerweisen before, and was struck halfway through when I remembered that Itzhak Perlman played it at the concert*.
Afterwards, my friends and I went to a fancy-ish restaurant (Quote Bookish Friend: "When the New York Times comes to town, that's where they eat."), then to a fancier restaurant/bakery for dessert. We were sat down at a large round table and brought a silver platter of desserts to choose from. I had a chocolate truffle, which I'd had before at a coffee shop (they are so famous around town that the chef is in rather high demand). As always, the hot, melty truffle was bliss personified (chocolatified?). The feeling all around the table was the same.
Some days go downhill, and some end up on Cloud Nine. This was one of the good ones.
***
Scriptor Senex, I'm sorry I never got down to telling you what the concert was. I wrote it down for you but never posted it.
He played Handel's Violin Sonata No. 13 in D Major, Franck's Sonata for Violin & Piano in A Major, Messiaen's Theme and Variations for violin & piano (those three were listed on the program) and many other works he picked onstage, including several Kreisler arrangements of other composers' pieces (one of them Corelli), Ziegeunerweisen by Sarasate, the theme from Schindler's List, and a brilliant (and breathtaking) finish with a piece from a composer whose name I have unfortunately forgotten (but may have had something to do with Goblins).
2 comments:
It's been a busy time and I'm only just catching up on blogs. Thanks for the programme (program? - must blog that word I can never spell it). Sounds like friend's recital was good - I agree with your Mum; Grieg is one of my favourites and has been my whole life. I say that because my tastes have changed over the years and he is one of the few that has lasted all the way through.
This morning I remembered that I hadn't looked up Ysaye - a composer whose works I know not. I couldn't recall how to spell the name so I re-read this posting and, therefore, the statement that you were not fond of Greig's music. It hadn't registered last time. My music tastes are very wide but my late son bought me Grieg's complete piano music and for years it has been part of my regular listening. I find something very uplifting in his music - even when it's melancholy.
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