Concert

Out this evening to a Pacific Symphony concert - Strauss, Strauss, Brahms. The Brahms was his second piano concerto with Andre Watts. What a treat! Watts is a powerful pianist, and it was beautiful. Alwyn was playing in the concert, Dan, Ruby, and I had great comp seats. And to continue with musical notes (ahem), I'm pasting in here an email Alwyn got today:

"I heard Liebesleid on Sirius this morning, played by Itzhak Pearlman.
Naturally I turned up the volume to compare it to yours. “AH! I get to compare Alwyn’s with one of the masters!” I thought.
Naturally Pearlman played it with ease and total command. It was very beautiful, to say the least. (And – as you would expect.)
But – If you don’t mind me saying so – I still liked yours better!
His transitions from one note to the next were always smooth and predictable.
Many of your transitions were smooth where appropriate but others provided a crisp captivating flare.
Also – His accompaniment was clearly in the distant background. This was a “Pearlman showcase,” not a “Liebesleid masterpiece.”
Your accompaniment showed a humble violinist who is not afraid to share limelight with the accompaniment.
Great job!"

On another note, I have not mentioned reading in a while. Since I started to pack, way back in Murphys, I've been reading - minimally - Fire in the Lake. It's wonderful, and opens all kinds of thoughts about our country in the 60's, and of course most specifically about the Vietnam War. I guess I don't have a lot of reading energy, because I keep not getting very far with it. Tempting to put it aside and read one of the light books I've gotten from bookbub.com, but every night I return.

One more thought for the night. I just read my last blog and it's full of bad typing! Sorry about that. I'll work on a little light proofreading.