music

2019-10-152019-10-16

3 things came together in my mind

I recently attended a concert by the wonderful Takács Quartet and, as is not unusual for me, listening drew correspondences. Three things came together in my mind:

Movement 3 (Lento) of Bartók quartet No. 2 (the recording in the link is not Takács, unfortunately)
The Ursula LeGuin short story “Imaginary Countries” (it’s in The Unreal and the Real but I’m sure it can be found elsewhere as well)
Recent events in Syria.

I wept as I listened. I am often a weeper, particularly at musical performances, but this was some heavy-duty weeping even by my standards.

I have some sense of what this set of correspondences is about, but I don’t think I’m able to capture it in words, at least not yet. So instead, I will simply leave this list here.

2016-06-27

Listening

I have been listening to Performance Today this morning, featuring Andre Watts and Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto. When asked about his relationship with his teacher Leon Fleisher, Watts said that the most important thing Fleisher taught him was to listen – to listen to everything.

It reminded me when I took a class in drawing, many years ago. The class’ first rule was to really look, to see.

Writing, like music and drawing, sharpens my senses. Look, listen, touch: such small things, all a part of everyday life, and yet magic when given full attention.