Feeding the Soul, Blowing the Mind

"I have this little theory that the arts were invented because life didn't measure up to what it was supposed to be. If life were wonderful, we would all dance, we would all sing, we would all be poets, we would all paint. As it is, the arts are the hospitals for our souls, so they need to be of the best integrity."

—Suzanne Farrell, interviewed by Emily Fragos in Bomb

The pre-concert recital Thursday had a distinct moment when a piece of music I'd never heard before connected with me.

Only problem was I was so spellbound, I forgot where I was in the piece. (It was either the second or the third movement of Charles Ives' Piano Sonata No. 2, "Concord, Mass., 1840-60.")

Having spent years at music lessons myself, it was nice to be reminded of what could result from patient effort. I remembered what it was to study a piece of music, and how remarkable it could be to present a new interpretation of something.

While I was only an OK musician, at least I have a little background to know great from good. And this? This was phenomenal. I sat in my first tier "box" at Carnegie Hall trying not to get vertigo though what I heard was making me dizzy.

My mind kept hearing the word, "Wow! ... Wow! ... Wow!" with every new phrase and the execution of a lot of extraordinary technique. Here was a guy laying forth crystalline ideas with authority, tenderness and consideration, and for those moments alone, the concert — which was otherwise eh — was worth it.