In the Flow

Music helps me stay "in the flow". Recently I had a disagreeable task - - sorting through three file drawers of piano music, which was in no particular order at all! Luckily I had my new headphones with a very long cord. I listened to music as I worked and it kept me going forward, until - - VOILA! -- it was done!

The Woman and the Young Man (A true story)

The woman sat in the great hall of music in Geneva, as she did every year, watching the international piano competition. The next contestant approached the piano. He was young, about twenty, and rather "dumpy" looking. The woman had no expectations about this unknown young pianist from South America. He certainly didn't look very exciting. Suddenly, he began to play a Rachmaninov Piano Concerto. As soon as his fingers touched the keyboard, the magic happened! The woman felt tingly all over. She was captivated by this young man's playing! Indeed, he won the competition that year. The woman went back stage to greet the young man. Perhaps he was pleased to meet this woman, who eventually became his number one fan.

The young South American went on to begin his concert career, performing all over Europe. The woman often traveled to one of the cities where he was playing to watch his performance. They became personal friends despite the difference in their ages and nationalities. She stands by his side, supporting him with her admiration and affection. Now the young man has become almost middle-aged, with a lovely wife and children. The woman is passing through her 70's, while mourning the death of her beloved husband, seeking solace in the beauty of music and taking pleasure in this remarkable musical friendship.

My First Piano Lesson

Night after night, as I lay in my bed waiting for sleep, I would hear my mother playing the piano. Oh, it was so beautiful! I wanted to learn how to play! I begged her, from the age of 4 or 5, "Please, Mom, please teach me the piano!" "No," she answered. "We must wait until you are 8 years old and you can read very well." I was very sad that I had to wait.

Finally, the day came for my first lesson! I was so excited. Soon I could play like Mom!

Here is a picture of my first piano book, the one Mom put on the piano for me that day.


"Oh, wow", I thought. "This is going to be great", as I saw the proficient mouse playing deftly with two hands!

I opened the book to the first picture. Papa Bear says, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"


And now, for the first page of music. "At last, I will learn to play like Mom!", I thought. I was very excited about this. But, what? Oh no! As my mother showed me how to play the first page, I complained, "NO, MOM! This is not what I want to play! I want to play like you!" She calmly explained that this was the way to start out. Later on, I would learn to play with two hands. What a disappointment! What a little dummy I was!! Hahahaha!

How I Met Some Famous Musicians

One day, I spoke to the famous conductor, Sir Georg Solti, who conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for many years. I had attended an "Open Rehearsal". Arriving early, I was able to sit in a box seat and I had an amazing view of the orchestra. After the rehearsal, I left. As I was leaving, I realized I had left my knit hat in the auditorium. So I scrambled back in there and got it. This time as I left Orchestra Hall I saw Georg Solti, about to get in a limousine, right in front of the Hall. There was no one around at all. I ran over to him and asked him for his autograph. He gave me a very stern look of annoyance, but he scribbled his name on the paper I gave him and flung it back to me without a word.



My next experience was much more pleasant. I met the great cellist and conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich. It was after a concert in which he conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I had been back stage (down in the lower level, where the musicians gather and where the dressing rooms are) for a memorial get-together for our former conductor who had died the previous year. This concert was played in his memory (Perry Crafton, conductor of the Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest and a first violinist with the CSO). I left the gathering with my husband and daughter and we walked down the hall. Suddenly, I saw him: Rostropovich was walking down the narrow hallway, too, accompanied by a young assistant. I ran after him, calling, "Maestro"! He turned around and welcomed me. He signed my program. I looked into his face. He was the very same height as I am! So, short for a man, hahaha! I looked into his very blue eyes and I couldn't believe it! I suddenly thought, "Here I am in front of one of the greatest musicians in the world." And then, and then, and then . . . . . . he kissed me on both cheeks! I'm not making this up! My husband and daughter saw it.

Later, I attended another concert which he conducted, another concert of the CSO. Rostropovich was apparently very pleased with the performance. He went around the entire orchestra, kissing all of them on the cheeks, as he had done to me! What a guy! Very warm!! But, when I saw that, the kisses he gave to me were less remarkable, actually! Hahahaha!

Joza Karas Has Died

Joza Karas, Czech musician who lived in the U.S. since 1958, has died. He was a wonderful violinist and conductor, who lived in Bloomfield, Connecticut, a suburb of Hartford. It was my pleasure to meet Mr. Karas, at his home, because my parents knew him and adored him. Later, I bought his book, "The Music of Terezin", which describes the music-making at a Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovaki during World War II. Mr. Karas researched music written by composers who were held in concentration camps. He discovered over 50 such compositions. He formed a string quartet whose main purpose was to perform works which were composed in the concentration camps.

From the New York Times newspaper of December 6, 2008:

"Joza Karas, a musician and teacher who became a sleuth in his quarter-century search for the music and stories of composers who managed to do masterly work in a Nazi concentration camp, died on Friday in Bloomfield, Conn. He was 82. . . ."

To read more, go here: Article About Joza Karas

Here is another obituary from The Washington Post

One of the works he conducted at the American premiere in 1975 is called "Brundibar", a children's opera in two acts. Later, Mr. Karas conducted a version in Czechoslovakia, which is published as a CD. Originall, in the camp, "Brundibar" was used as a show piece for visiting dignitaries of the Red Cross to show them how wonderful everything was at the camp. However, there was a subversive message in the story: The starving children decided to imitate Brundibar, the organ grinder, in order to get money. But, Brundibar stole the money back. He representated Hitler. In the end, the children were victorious and Brundibar was vanquished.

This is a picture of the children who performed Brundibar at the Nazi camp.

Here is an excerpt from the Brundibar (Act 1 Scene 1)

Merry Christmas!

Here's a new version by the a capella group, "Straight No Chaser":

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Music

It used to be that I just had to hear certain pieces of music every Christmas. These songs were connections to my long ago past, to my childhood, to my teenage years. Some of these pieces included: Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, and so on. This Christmas, however, I haven't sought out any of those things . . . am I getting old? Am I getting "beyond Christmas"?