Here is another studio remodeling picture and water photos from my up north vacation, as we take a diversion today. Did you know that professional sites exist to rank blogs? The top 20 Classical Music Blogs were announced the other day. I read only a few of them. Many of them appear to be sponsored by newspapers or written on the side by full-time devoted writers. Some of them are quite historical and one of them political in nature. I seem to bounce around between so many topics. Perhaps I should focus my efforts as many of them did and pursue advertisers and sponsors, get increased readership and make a concerted effort to announce my writing to the world?
Why does this not appeal to me at all anymore? There was a time when, if I was going to do an official blog, I would have been swept up in the numbers game. What is changing or has changed about me? Some may leap to conclusions of age, maturity or laziness. I seem to have stepped off the bus, and watched and maybe even waved as it drove away without me. Some days, I wonder about where the bus might have gone, most days I don't miss it. That realization is even a revelation to me. Huh.
One of my student's who is now a freshman at Notre Dame is in an Impressionism class and is writing a paper about Reflets dan leau, Reflections on the Water, by Claude Debussy. I remember immersing myself in these sounds in colors when I learned this piece. I spent weeks of time exploring it. Every nuance was gauged, painted, and then I'd try it on a different piano. What? Me, like a french piece? Me, who always wanted to play fast and splashy? What a great moment to be introspective. And the ending, aah, how I relished seeing how quietly and sublimely I could sink. Look at Claudio here, celebrating 80 years of life, passion, and music.
For those who would like to hear an interpretation, please click below. Or find a nice pond, lake or river, and listen to your own Reflections this afternoon. The air has cooled and the sun will dance on the water for you.
