The Last Day of July!

It is a little hard to believe that July is over! The summer is fleeing fast away. Last night we had our movie date with Tom and Nancy Ragle. This is something we do now and then. I was asked to suggest the movie, and I chose Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal. It is a film I saw back in the late 1950s, when it first came out, and at the time,  I felt it changed my life. It was unlike any movie I had ever seen. It is basically about death. A knight (played by Max van Sydow) and his squire return from the Crusades at a time when the Black Plague is rampant. People are dying everywhere, and there is fear everywhere. A black-robed figure who announces himself as "Death" challenges the knight to a game of chess. If Death wins, the knight dies. If the knight wins, he lives (for now). Around the central figures of Death and the Knight are a host of others who variously confront the reality of death: an innocent juggler, his wife and toddler son, a haunting young girl who is being burned alive as a witch, a caravan of self-flagellating priests, various ordinary folk in a tavern, preachers of the end of the world, etc. A dark film, but a powerful one. 

Death and the Knight

Later:

This evening, Ellen is having supper with her daughter Julie down in Northampton. I am home alone, and I have just done The dishes after fixing my supper and doing  my exercises. Now I’m going to tidy up my study area, which has suffered from hurried changes of clothes and shifts in activity.  I guess you could call it an average evening at home.

Rain, Rain, Rain! - and more music!

Last night, we really got hit with heavy rain that went on and on. We must have gotten several inches. We saw the effects on our driveway going out this morning - we got out ok, but there are some pretty serious washouts.  But now we are at Marlboro and Katie Tolles met us here. The Mozart String Quartet K. 464 just started. I am sitting in the way back where my computer won't distract anyone. The sound is great back here - indeed, any place in this hall. But the blend is particularly good in this spot. 

The musicians in this piece are Robyn Bollinger & Stephanie Zyzak, violin; Samuel Rhodes, viola; Alexander Hersh, cello. Robyn Bollinger and Alexander Hersh are well-known to us by now- we have heard them several times. Robyn is immediately recognizable by her laugh, which is frequent. Samuel Rhodes is older, and is faculty. Let's see - indeed he is - he has been here at Marlboro since 1960! 61 years! He is also on the faculty at Julliard, and a member of the famed Julliard String Quartet. 

"Violist Samuel Rhodes, born in New York City, has appeared as soloist with orchestras in Oregon, New Jersey, and New York. He has played solo recitals at Columbia University, Princeton University, and Carnegie Recital Hall. He has participated in the Marlboro Music Festival since 1960 and several times was the featured artist in the Music From Marlboro series at Town Hall and on tour throughout the Eastern U.S., Canada, in a State Department-sponsored tour of Europe, and in the Near East. Rhodes was a member of the Galimir String Quartet from 1961-69. He joined the Juilliard String Quartet in 1969. He received his B.A. from Queens College and his M.F.A. from Princeton University. He has studied with Earl Kim, Roger Sessions, Sydney Beck, and Walter Trampler. Rhodes has been a faculty member since 1969 and was co-chair of the viola department from 1992-2001. He has been chair of the viola department since 2002." 

Samuel Rhodes, violist

Stephanie Zyzak made her first solo appearance at the age of seven with Cincinnati’s Starling Chamber Orchestra at the Aspen Music School, where she became the youngest recipient of a New Horizons Fellowship. The following year, she performed in Germany as an invited guest of the Internationale Kunstakademie Liechtenstein. A passionate chamber musician, Stephanie has had the privilege of collaborating with artists such as Ralph Kirshbaum, Steven Tenenbom, Kim Kashkashian, Miriam Fried, Paul Biss, Marcy Rosen, and Robert McDonald. She has also performed at the Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, and Marlboro Music Festival. Stephanie studied with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory and with Mark Steinberg at City University of New York. She performs on a 1778 Joseph and Antonio Gagliano violin, generously on loan from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. As part of her fellowship with Ensemble Connect, Stephanie teaches at Brooklyn High School of the Arts in Brooklyn.

Stephanie Zyzak, violin

Later - Noon:

We had almost an hour break and I took advantage of the time to do my exercises. Ellen and Katie took a little walk. 

Next up is the Schumann Piano Trio that we heard Wednesday, with Jonathan Biss, piano, Maria Ioudenitch, violin  and Zlatomir Fung, cello. As I mentioned last time, this is an amazing piece of music.

The Schumann Trio from the back of the hall

Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

The Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 63, by Robert Schumann was written in 1847. It has four movements:

1. Mit Energie und Leidenschaft
2. Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch
3. Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung
4. Mit Feuer

The first piano trio (first of three works with this title plus the Fantasiestücke Op. 88 for the same forces) is in an intensely romantic style, and is the most celebrated of Schumann's trios in the modern repertoire. The opening movement begins with a surging theme that is heard in counterpoint initially between the piano's bass and the violin; the scherzo's driving dotted rhythm shares its smoothly ascending contour with the flowing trio section. The third movement features a duet between violin and cello, and moves without pause to the heroic tonic-major finale.

Done!

Just a quick note to say that I completed my physical therapy sessions today with a very successful assessment. My original assessment at the first session was 18 points out of 28. 28 meant very low risk of falling. Today, my score was 27 out of 28! That is an impressive gain! Amy, my therapist, was thrilled.

It has been raining all afternoon, and I have been resting. A well-earned rest. But now comes the hard part - keeping up the exercises every day without the prod of PT sessions! That will take some self-discipline.

No Marlboro today, but we'll probably go tomorrow. Tomorrow night, we have a movie date at the Ragle‘s house. 

A vocal quartet singing Brahms yesterday  

Another full day

Noon: Well, here it is, Wednesday, July 28th, and today is a day full of activities: my 15th PT session this morning, an afternoon at Marlboro, and an evening course in the Zohar! At this very moment we are at Marlboro, listening to a Piano Trio in A-Minor by Ravel (1914). It is lovely (as expected). The pianist is Ariel Lanyi, whom we have heard before. The violinist is Emilie-Anne Gendron, whom we have not heard before, and the cellist is Alexander Hersh, whom we have definitely heard before,  most notably in the Villa-Lobos - I think it was his birthday that was celebrated with the T-shirts the day of the Villa-Lobos rehearsal. So, I'll settle back and listen. 

Later:  This Trio was influenced by Basque dance music and rhythms. Ravel's mother was Basque and he felt a strong affinity with Basque culture. I know little about the Basque culture, but years ago we went to a Basque dance recital in Boise, ID where there is a large Basque immigrant community. 

Maurice Ravel, c. 1914

Emilie-Anne Gendron, violin. Ms. Gendron is the daughter of French-Canadian and Japanese parents,

Later still:

The Ravel is over. "Lovely" is perhaps not the best word for it - it is voluptuous and the final movement is almost violent in its impetuosity. It must be very difficult to play (I heard the cellist say something about "panic mode"). But of course, they play it beautifully and seemingly without effort, Now we have a break and then at. 2:30 we hear a Schumann Piano Trio in D-Minor, Op. 63, which will feature the co-director of Marlboro Music Festival, Jonathan Biss, on piano. 

Afternoon @2:30p.m. We just had a little picnic lunch outside. Now it is Schumann! The violinist is Maria Ioudenitch; the cellist is Zlatomir Fung. This should be a real treat. 

Maria Ioudenitch

"Maria Ioudenitch was born in Balashov, Russia, and moved with her family to Kansas City when she was three years old. An American with a Russian heart and soul, she began her violin studies surrounded by the sounds of the piano, played by both of her parents. Her teachers have included Gregory Sandomirsky and Ben Sayevich. She studied with Pamela Frank and Shmuel Ashkenasi at the Curtis Institute of Music and is pursuing her master’s degree at the New England Conservatory with Miriam Fried."

Later: Wow, that was some piece! I continue to be amazed at the virtuosity of the musicians here at Marlboro. I wonder sometimes if these pieces are familiar to the musicians before they come here, or do they learn them here. They always sound so polished in rehearsal. Of course, we are hearing pieces that will be performed this coming weekend, so this is late in the process. These are like dress rehearsals. But still, they have only been here for a month or a little less. How can they know everything so well? I would love to know more about the process of learning a piece here. 

Here is a bit about this Trio:

"The first piano trio (first of three works with this title plus the Fantasiestücke Op. 88 for the same forces) is in an intensely romantic style, and is the most celebrated of Schumann's trios in the modern repertoire. The opening movement begins with a surging theme that is heard in counterpoint initially between the piano's bass and the violin; the scherzo's driving dotted rhythm shares its smoothly ascending contour with the flowing trio section. The third movement features a duet between violin and cello, and moves without pause to the heroic tonic-major finale."

This piano trio was not familiar to me, but then, I am not deeply familiar with chamber music. Ellen is much more familiar than I am. She was introduced to it at an earlier age, and I think it has played a bigger role in her life. For one thing, she played the oboe for several years in her youth. She was also married to a pianist for several years (John Peel) and I think chamber music was a big part of their life. She has undoubtedly heard many more performances than I have. But I feel that having over 30 years of singing Bach and other classical composers with Blanche Moyse under my belt has given me an advantage in the appreciation of this music, even though I am not an instrumentalist (though I did study piano for about 8-10 years in my childhood and youth - up through high school - and then studied organ for a year in college. All of that helps. 

Zlatomir Fung, cellist

"Of Bulgarian-Chinese heritage, Zlatomir Fung began playing cello at age three and earned fellowships at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Heifetz International Music Institute, MusicAlp, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. A proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship, Fung currently studies at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy. Fung has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and has appeared on From the Top six times. Fung plays a W. E. Hill and Sons cello from 1905. In addition to music, he enjoys cinema, reading, and blitz chess."

I've neglected Jonathan Biss a bit:

Jonathan Biss, piano

"Biss was born into a family of musicians in Bloomington, Indiana. His paternal step-grandmother was one of the first well-known female cellists, the Russian cellist Raya Garbousova, for whom Samuel Barber wrote his cello concerto. His parents, Miriam Fried and Paul Biss, are both violinists. His older brother Daniel, is a politician serving as the mayor of Evanston, Illinois. After studying at Indiana University, where both of his parents taught, Biss entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 17 to study with Leon Fleisher. Interviewed by The New York Times in 2011 in the run-up to Biss' Carnegie Hall debut recital, Leon Fleisher said of his pupil: 

His ability and interest go for things of transcendence and sublimeness. That made a great impression on me. He took a very healthy road that started with chamber music, both with his mother and then more extensively at places like Ravinia and Marlboro, and he got to be known by the elders in the profession as somebody to look out for."

And indeed he has been!

Still later: 4:30pm

And now = Fauré, the Piano Quartet in G-Minor, Op. 45. This is Fauré's Second Piano Quartet. It  is famous for it's 3rd movement - the Adagio non troppo. 

"Aaron Copland wrote that the Second Quartet shows the composer "less carefree, less happy, more serious, more profound" than in the First. To Copland the adagio was "the crowning movement of the quartet". He described it in a 1924 essay, as "a long sigh of infinite tenderness, a long moment of quiet melancholy and nostalgic charm. Its beauty is a truly classic one if we define classicism as 'intensity on a background of calm'."

Zlatomir Fung is doing double duty today - he just played Schumann, and now Fauré. We heard Janice Carissa, pianist, last week. New today is the violinist and violist, Elizabeth Fayette and Sally Chisholm. 

Janice Carissa, pianist

Janice Carissa, from Surabaya, Indonesia, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2013 and studies piano with Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Carissa is the Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Fellow. Ms. Carissa has been featured on television and radio, including Indonesia Mencari Bakat, Ispirasi Pagi, Sang Juara, Global TV, RCTI, Trans TV, BC TV, Metro TV, TV One, Voice of America, WHYY-TV (Philadelphia), WXQR’s Greene Space, and National Public Radio’s From the Top. Ms. Carissa has participated in the Aspen Music Festival and School, Oxford Philomusica in England, and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Maine.

Full, lovely day yesterday

Yesterday it rained, so both church and the Ragle vow renewal ceremony took place indoors. Church was a Union Service in Dummerston, in-person, with a choir which sat socially distanced and wore masks. There was an amazingly good turn-out both for choir (preponderance of men!) and the congregation, and Shawn preached a very interesting sermon on God as the God of thunder. All the hymns and the anthem mentioned thunder. Mary Westbrook did a great job leading the choir, and it was a joyous occasion, just being together. 

I was concerned about the Ragle event being indoors - 18 people in a small space - but everyone was vaccinated, so I did not wear my mask. Putting a lot of faith in that vaccine! It was a truly lovely event. Six of the Ragle's children (five children from previous marriages - 3 of Nancy's, 2 of Tom's, and one daughter adopted by both) were there with their significant others, plus two grandchildren. A seventh child, Beth, was in Arizona but present via the cell phone. Tremendous amount of love flowing back and forth. Lots of stories shared. I didn't have a chance to take photos, but I've asked Tom if they have some they could share, and I'll share them here if I get some. I found a lovely one of Nancy & Tom online - below. After the event, we all went to the New England House restaurant for supper. Ellen did not come - she was feeling like she was getting a cold - runny nose and scratchy throat - and didn't want to expose others, but she took me there and picked me up later at the restaurant. 

Today I had my 13th PT session - 5lb weights on my ankles this time! I did well, and also got good news - Humana will cover all 16 sessions, not just 6. Yay!

Nancy and Tom Ragle

Our table at New England House restaurant

Clearing Out

It is Saturday morning and we are cleaning out the cottage at Oxbow lake. There has been a flurry of packing, cleaning, vacuuming, mopping, etc. It is now 10:30a.m. and we are pretty much packed up and ready to go. It is a lovely morning, partly cloudy and seasonably warm, but not hot. We will be back home this afternoon and I'll get ready for tomorrow when I am due to lead a service for Tom and Nancy Ragle, at their home,  in which they will renew their wedding vows after almost 56 years of marriage. Almost their entire family - seven children and significant others - will be there, all of whom I know but several I have not seen for decades. The most famous of these children is Bill Koch, Nancy's son by a previous marriage, who won the Silver Medal in Cross Country skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, the first American to medal in that sport. He won several other "firsts" before retiring from skiing.   After the ceremony, we will all have supper together at a local restaurant that has a private dining room. 

Bill Koch

Tomorrow morning is a Union Service of five UCC churches that will take place in-person at the Dummerston Congregational church, outside if it is not raining. There will be a choir, but we will sing masked. So, tomorrow will be a full. day!

Supper by the cottage

Brendon bought a lantern

Looking up the lake

Supper by the lake (same table as above, different perspective)

At Oxbow Lake

Here we are! We left home at about 2pm, and arrived here at the lake at about six. It was mostly a lovely drive through rural Vermont and upstate New York. We had to go through downtown Saratoga Springs, which was busy, but that was interesting to see and didn't last long. We have come here many times in the past, but this visit is different in one respect: the cottage is new. It is next door to the one we have stayed in past years, but it is also totally redone. The one we have stayed in before was sort of shabby in a charming way, but it has also been totally made over and is now reserved exclusively for the use of the owners.  So that familiar experience of the past is now but a memory. The old cottage had a cement floor with  big crack in it, hidden partly by a threadbare rug. This one has new, synthetic wood flooring, and no rug. It also has new pine paneling. And a new bath with gorgeous shower (old one had a metal shower stall). But we are told the beds are still clunky. We'll see!

We just had a game of "Scotch Bridge" (or, "Oh Hell") with two friends, Betsy and Ginny, who are staying nearby at another lake. Six of us played-Betsy, Ginny, Katie, Savanna, Ellen and myself. It's like bridge in that you bid on your hand (i.e., the number of tricks you think you can take) and there is a suit named trump. But, you start with (in this case) eight cards, and then each successive hand is one card less, down to one card. Bidding gets harder with each hand, obviously. However, the last hand was an easy bid for Katie - she was dealt the Ace in the suit named trump,  a surefire winner. You can bid 0 up to the number of cards in your hand. You score 10 points if you make your bid, plus the number of tricks you take. There is some skill involved and a lot of luck. 

Savanna and Katie working on a jigsaw puzzle. 

12 down; 4 to go

I just completed my twelfth PT session in the LSVT-BIG program. It was a demanding hour, but I did it, culminating in balancing for over a minute with each foot on a squooshie pad without holding on.  My therapist, Amy, is having a call with Humana, my Medicare provider, to get them to fund all 16 sessions, instead of just six, as they initially said. Fingers crossed!

In an hour or so we will leave for a trip to a cottage near Speculator, NY, in the Adirondacks, where K, S and B are spending a week. we'll be there through Saturday, when they come home. The weather looks good. Good timing!

I'm behind the Dummerston Church, as usual, and in front of me is a shrub I can't identify, so I used the Picture this app. Here it is:

The app says this is Black Cohash, also called Fairy Candles. 

Any comments?

A surprise visit

Monday, I had my physical therapy session from 10am to 11am and then in the late afternoon, we went  up to Marlboro to hear a rehearsal of J. S. Bach's Cantata #170, Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenslust, scored for mezzo-soprano, oboe d'amore, violin 1 and 2, viola, cello, bass and organ. It is a beautiful cantata, with a  very provocative lyric, and a lot of contrast in tone and emotion. The "blessed rest" which provides the title is actually in sharp contrast to the hateful and sinful world which the believer perceives all around herself, a world which has sold out completely to Satan. So hateful is this world that the believer would like to leave it as soon as possible and join Jesus in heaven, where "blessed rest" will be complete. This is typical of the Pietism of Bach's day but not in synch with the prevailing theology of today's mainline church which would emphasize the need to work for love and justice in the world, not just let it go to hell and find personal comfort and salvation. But it makes for a powerful and beautiful cantata!

The soloist was a young woman, Rebecca Printz, who is a graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory, Univ. of Cincinnati Conservatory and the BU Opera Institute. She has also had two seasons at Tanglewood. A very fine voice! 

Rebecca Printz

Tuesday, I had another PT session and then came home, so that Ellen could go to Northampton with the grandkids.  I stayed home and rested before having a Hallowell sing at 4:30pm - Calvin was picking me up at 3:50pm. I was lying on the bed when I heard voices outside the back door - very uncommon! I looked out and was astounded to see the  face of my grandniece, Rachael Costello, and quickly I realized her entire family was there: Brandon and the four children. How could this be? They live in suburban Chicago! I invited them in and learned that they were on a somewhat hastily arranged trip to Boston and points betweenL e.g., Niagra Falls and the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame.  They had not had time to warn me, so they just came by hoping to find me at home. Fortunately, I was! They had knocked on the front door and gotten no response. I may have been dozing. So they came around the back. We had a lovely visit and then all of a sudden, we heard a car - it was 3:50pm and Calvin had arrived! So we hastily brought things to an end. Brandon took a picture and we said goodbyes and I was on my way.  The Hallowell sing was my first since early 2020, and it was extra-special because we were singing for Phyllis M., whose husband, Joe, was Shirley's and my colleague back at Windham College in 1974-75 when we were in the Dean of Students office. That went very well. Calvin brought me home and Ellen arrived just minutes after I did. 

Today I had PT and we went back to Marlboro to hear Bach again, and then to an appt. with Dr. Greene, my neurologist. That went well, and now I'm at the Dummerston Church while Ellen is at Dutton's farm stand.Tomorrow we go to the lake where Katie, Savanna and Brendon are in a cottage. 

At a concert dress rehearsal

This Sunday morning we are at Marlboro, at a dress rehearsal for this afternoon's concert. Amazing - we get to hear for free what people are paying good money to hear this afternoon. The rehearsal is not in concert order. First up is Bartok. Here are the concert notes:

 2021 Preview Notes • Week One • Persons AuditoriumSunday, July 18 at 2:30pm

1. Piano Trio in C Major, Hob. XV:21 (1795)

Joseph Haydn

Born March 31, 1732 • Died May 31, 1809
Duration: approx. 15 minutes • Last Marlboro performance: Marlboro Premiere

After the death of his patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, Haydn took advantage of his freedom, and his pension, to travel toLondon twice. Haydn’s works had preceded him across the English Channel and were already much celebrated when the composer saw the ocean for the first time and crossed over to the island on New Year’s Day of 1791. Upon arriving, Haydnmet with even greater success. He also met the pianist Therese Jansen Bartolozzi, one of Muzio Clementi’s best students. Three piano trios were published in London in 1795, before Haydn left England to return home in August that year. The three Trios were dedicated to Princess Marie Ermenegild Esterházy, wife of the new head of the family, Prince Nicolaus II. The first of the set, the Piano Trio in C Major, Hob. XV:21, opens with a six-bar introduction, marked Adagio pastorale.

Participants: Janice Carissa, piano; Lun Li, violin; Marcy Rosen, cello

This is a delightful, joyful, piece, quite a contrast to the Brahms. It is a perfect opening to a very varied program. 

Lun Li, violim

Janice Carissa, piano

Marcy Rosen, cello

2. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (1938, 45)

Heitor Villa-Lobos
Born March 5, 1887 • Died November 17, 1959
Duration: approx. 7 minutes • Last Marlboro performance: 2018

Villa-Lobos called Bach the “mediator among all races” and regarded him as a lifelong idol. Both Villa-Lobos’s love of Bachand his fluid employment of Brazilian musical forms can be heard in this suite scored for soprano and eight cellos, the instrument that Villa-Lobos himself played. The suite of two movements begins with a sumptuous Aria with its famous wordless vocalise as well as lyrics that dreamily describe the moon’s ascent. The second movement, marked Dança, takes the form of the Brazilian embolada. The piece has only been performed at Marlboro twice before. Benita Valente, who returns every year to Marlboro to work with the young vocalists, sang Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 in 1958, just 13 years after the work was completed.

Participants: Caitlin Aloia, soprano; Marcy Rosen, cello; Alexander Hersh, cello; Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Edvard Pogossian, cello; Julia Yang, cello; Chase Park, cello; Nathan Chan, cello; Oliver Herbert, cello

The Villa-Lobos piece about to be performed

Today was the birthday of one of the cellists, Alexander Hersh, and all but one of his fellow cellists were wearing a "Happy Birthday, Alex"  T-shirt. And of course they sang "Happy Birthday" to him. 

3. Contrasts (1938)

Béla Bartók
Born March 25, 1881 • Died September 26, 1945
Duration: approx. 20 minutes • Last Marlboro performance: 2016

Commissioned by clarinetist Benny Goodman and violinist Joseph Szigeti, this three-movement work is based on Hungarian and Romanian dance melodies. The first movement opens with a lively violin pizzicato, followed by the clarinet which introduces the main theme. This theme is an example of the Hungarian dance and music genre "verbunkos", or recruiting dance. The genre of music was commonly played during military recruiting. The second movement is much more introspective and has a continuously shifting mood without a defined theme. The third is a frenzied dance that begins with a scordatura (G♯-D-A-E♭) violin section, after which the clarinet introduces the main theme. In the middle, there is a slower section in the time signature 3+2+3+2+3/8, after which the pattern of variations on the theme is resumed.

Participants: Charles Neidich, clarinet; Robyn Bollinger, violin; Ariel Lanyi, piano

This piece really grew on me - it is so varied in texture and just an amazing piece of music. These three were in an almost giddy state this morning. 

Robyn Bollinger, violin; Ariel Lanyi, piano; Charles Neidich, clarinet

4. Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 60 (1875)

Johannes Brahms

Born May 7, 1933
Died April 3, 1897
Duration: approx. 35 minutes Last Marlboro performance: 2015

Brahms first began work on what would become his Op. 60 in the 1850s. However, perhaps because of the personal meaning of the piece to him, it took two decades for the composer to complete and publish it. Brahms began writing the quartet when he was helping Clara run the Schumann household during Robert Schumann’s stay in a mental asylum. Brahms uses Robert’s own musical motif for Clara, C#-B-A-G#-A, transposed to C minor, throughout the quartet, and he made no secret of his sense of longing for Clara in his note to his publisher. “On the cover you must have a picture, namely a head with a pistolto it,” he wrote, describing the tragic end to the Goethe character, Werther, who takes his own life to resolve a fateful love triangle.

Participants: Jonathan Biss, piano; Geneva Lewis, violin; Zhanbo Zheng, viola; Julia Yang, cello

This is a tumultuous piece of music, but also voluptuously lyrical - expressing Brahms' emotions, I suppose, concerning his relationship with Clara Schumann. It is really something to hear. And, of course, performed impeccably, 

Geneva Lewis, violin

Julia Yang, cello

Jonathan Biss, piano

Zhanbo Zheng, viola 

Church will be available on YouTube and we can "go to church" this afternoon. 

At wonderful Marlboro - what a treat!

We are at the Marlboro Music Festival for the second day.  We just heard a a fantastic performance of Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brazilieras, No. 5., scored for soprano and eight cellos. We only counted seven cellos, so someone may have been ill. The concert is this coming Sunday, so maybe she or he will still have a chance. The soprano was Caitlin Aloia, and she is fabulous. She is a recent graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, and wow, does she have an incredibly beautiful voice, with an effortless style. This is a demanding piece, and she was just amazing. Marcy Rosen, who has been at Marlboro for years, led the cellists. They were great too - and the balance was perfect. 

A portrait of Caitlin Aloia in performance at Oberlin, from her website

Yesterday, we heard the Mozart Piano Quartet in G Minor, K. 478 with Shai Wosner, piano; Maria Ioudenitch, violin; Tanner Menees, viola; and Oliver Herbert, cello. It is a beautiful piece, and it was performed flawlessly and with passion. This is not surprising. Everything at the Marlboro Music Festival is done as well as one can imagine it being done. But we were particularly struck by the incredible sound of the Israeli pianist, Shai Wosner. He was beyond belief in the smoothness, the silkiness, the perfectly flowing sound.  He is internationally renowned, so I guess this perfection is, again, no surprise. But still - to actually hear  music played that well is an incredible gift. 

Shai Wosner, pianist

Here are my photos of the two groups:

The Villa-Lobos group with Caitlin Aloia; Marcy Rosen is at left

The Mozart Quartet group; Shai Wosner is hidden by the cellist 

LSVT-BIG

Today I just completed my seventh LSVT-BIG session. Tomorrow I will be half through - that is if my insurance approves more sessions. I learned Tuesday that Humana, my Medicare supplier, had only approved of six sessions instead of sixteen!  I called Humana and also Dr. Greene, my neurologist, who originally ordered this therapy, to get this cleared up. Maple Valley which provides the therapy, has also been on the phone. But so far we have not heard anything back. So today and tomorrow will be on me if Humana doesn't extend it's coverage. If they don't, that may be it. It's $90 a session. I don't know why Humana approved only a bit more than a third of a 16-session package. It doesn't make any sense.

Yesterday evening we went to the Westminster-West Church for the first "in-person" River Singers workshop since 2019. It was just a one-session workshop, and we learned three songs: a Croation "klappa" song, a Bulgarian song, and a contemporary British solstice carol. It was really great being back together, though it was a much smaller group than usual - only vaccinated people. But it felt good. And my voice actually sounded pretty good (I think!). 

This week is also the beginning of free rehearsals at the Marlboro Music Festival. I think we plan to go this afternoon. That will be wonderful. 

The Persons Concert Hall at Marlboro where rehearsals are held

Another landmark for us

 Today, we went to church at Guilford in person. We haven’t done that for well over a year. The service was held outside. It was prepared by our pastor, but it was actually conducted by a group of lay leaders. There was a choir, and both Ellen  and I sang in it. Without masks. All of that is new. It was wonderful to see so many of our friends once again in person. After church, we came home, had a quick lunch, and then went down to the covered bridge where two Morris dancing groups were dancing. One had Andy Davis on accordion, and his son Arthur, was dancing. That was fun. After that,  Ellen and I took a walk. A good day.

Church service at Guilford

A good week at home

We got home Monday night and Tuesday morning, I started the LSVT-BIG physical therapy program at Maple Valley Physical Therapy. I have now completed my first week. What is LSVT-BIG? Here is a blurb:

"LSVT BIG trains people with Parkinson disease (PD) to use their body more normally.  People living with PD or other neurological conditions often move differently, with gestures and actions that become smaller and slower. They may have trouble with getting around, getting dressed and with other activities of daily living. LSVT BIG effectively trains improved movements for any activity, whether “small motor” tasks like buttoning a shirt or “large motor” tasks like getting up from sofa or chair or maintaining balance while walking. The treatment improves walking, self-care and other tasks by helping people “recalibrate” how they perceive their movements with what others actually see. It also teaches them how and when to apply extra effort to produce bigger motions – more like the movements of everyone around them."

I can already see that it is making a difference. It is hard work and I leave my hour session pretty wiped out. Each session gets a little more challenging. Who knows what I'll be doing by the end of July! But I just took a walk with Ellen this evening, and I was able to go farther, faster and more easily than a few weeks ago. I do the hour session four days a week at MVPT, and also a 10-15-minute round of exercises at home twice a day. I'm told I'll be doing the home exercises the rest of my life. I think it will be worth it.

This is MVPT, where I do my therapy and I think that is my therapist, Amy, on the right (it's a little hard to tell with the masks. Everyone, including me, wears a mask). 

This has become a very familiar space for me. 

Thursday, Ellen and I went to Bennington to visit Mary Anderson, her daughter Erica and her family (husband Tom, and children Julien and Clare, who live in South Africa and are visiting), and Tom's parents, Len and Nancy, who live in Hingam,  MA and were also visiting. I performed the wedding of Erica and Tom, and also performed the wedding of Erica's parents, Mary and John. That doesn't happen very often! We had a lovely time together. I had not seen Tom since the wedding (18 years ago?). We had a meal together, broiled salmon, sweet potatoes, salad, and we contributed sweets we got on the way to Bennington at Grandma Miller's bakery (added to a cheese cake Mary made). A feast! Erica manages a biogenetic lab in South Africa and Tom teaches in a primary school. It was wonderful being with them all. One of the things we did was share stories about John Nissen, Julien and Clare's grandpa, because they were pretty young when he died. That was a really good thing to do! 

Here's the group, all except Clare, who took the picture: l. to r., front row: Ellen, Erica, Julien, Tom and Len.  l. to r. back row: Me, Mary, Nancy

Here is a portrait of Clare, Tom, Erica, and Julien:

And here is a picture of the goodies:

Yesterday we went to see Katie and Savanna and had supper with them. Today, Ellen went to visit her friend, Jane, in Norwich, VT and John came over and spent much of the afternoon with me. So it has been a full week in a good way.  

I'll close with this photo of the scene behind the church at dusk - where I am right now:

A lovely time of day!

 

 

Home! Safe and sound!

We got home last evening after 9pm. Ellen was pretty wiped out but she made it ok driving from Oberlin, OH to our home, over 500 miles. Yay, Ellen! We both slept really well in our own bed. The air was fresh and cool, it was quiet, the bed was comfortable - all the things you hope for on the road but don't always get. The house did well in our absence; it smelled good when we came in the door, everything was working fine. And Ellen's garden actually thrived in our absence. It must have rained a lot. 

I just had my first Parkinson's Therapy session. The LSVT BIG program. It involves a series of exercises both sitting and standing that involve expansive, exaggerated movements. I went through them all with the therapist,  Amy, and I'll do them at home twice a day. In addition to the home exercises, I will have a session with her one hour a week, four days a week, for four weeks. It is all designed to re-program the brain. I was able to do more in this first session than I thought I could do. I'm sure it will help. 

It's good to be home. Free rehearsals start at Marlboro next week. We will have a Mary Cay Brass-led singing workshop next Tuesday, in-person, only for the vaccinated, at Westminster-West Church. That will  be fun! I also will start making arrangements to get the body work done on the car. But by golly, our little car did well, despite bumps and bruises. 

So nice to see this familiar view out the car window at the Dummerston Church, looking at the fire pond toward the fire station.

Behind the church in Dummerston