The two weeks before a recital are, for me, not just busy ones, but intense ones. There is usually so much to finish up. Pieces that have sounded pretty good for the past few weeks now require tightening up. Difficult passages require extra practice, and easier ones that have been all but ignored lately need to be brought back into the game. I am fortunate in still being able to find an audience. Often that turns out to be the most difficult part of the process. I have no students interested, other than an adult one. Randy came to the recital last night, and Jenn, from Cambridge, a three hour drive! My adult student came, and brought her 14 year old son, at his request. And our two young next door neighbours came; I used to teach Amanda trombone ten years ago, and we seem to be still on good terms. Her boyfriend, Brandon, also came.
So now that the pieces have been played for a small audience, it could be the chance to continue working on the pieces, or put them away and take out a new program. If it was easier to get an audience, I would happily continue to work on the pieces for a few more weeks in order to perform them again. But after nearly one year, I think the time has come to say goodbye to Bach, Haydn, Schumann, and Louie,and move on to my next program: Bach, Haydn, Schubert, and Bartok.
Because of my January eye surgery, my performance was delayed by nearly two months. Those two extra months were good to have, but not entirely necessary. So perhaps next year, if I am ready to perform sooner, I will hang on to those pieces longer and try to perform them a few times, instead of just once.
Today I find myself with time on my hands. It is pouring rain and quite cold outside, so it will be a somewhat carefree day, with some gaming later in the afternoon. I hope to get back to Syberia 3, also, a PC game I started a while back but had to abandon because of the approaching recital.
Now, it is time for our visit to another work of art from the DIA.
The Talking Oak, William Maw Egley, 1857. British.
76 cm x 63 cm. Detroit Institute of Arts.
Egley took as his inspiration the poem of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. You can read it here. Talking trees are important to several mythologies, and I have even used one in my short story about a young vegetarian vampire. This maiden is 15, and newly awakened to love. She spills her secrets to the tree, who in turn talks to her lover. A somewhat strange love triangle is thus formed. This is one of the more unusual paintings in the collection, and is usually on display. It's a difficult work to walk past without stopping for a moment or two.
Detail of above. Note the ferns around the tree, which are mentioned in the poem.
Egley's version of Tennyson's tete-a-trunk.
Detail of the landscape.
It is nearly time for my end of the month review of the books I have been reading. I am currently finishing up an epic novel by Spinrad, which has taken a week so far. Check back soon.
Mapman Mike
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