Beauty.....eh?

well, no, this isn’t going to be about hockey, or even Canada. It’s about “Beauty”. Originally, I was just going to comment on how gorgeous the trees are this year; just about every flowering variety seems to be more luxurious than I can remember for a long time. Maybe that brutal winter was good for something. I think maybe as one gains some age, one begins to appreciate the beauty that nature brings. So I was pondering that thought of beauty as I drove down to St. Mary’s College yesterday (past what’s left of the cherry trees in the old “flattop” area) to hear the piano talk by Brian Ganz.

A somewhat curious observation, it seems that the majority of the audience sits on the left side of the auditorium, which is the keyboard side of the piano, and relatively few choose (as I do) to sit on the right hand side. I would say that approximately 80% of those in attendance were on that side. The only thing I can think of is that it does afford a view of the pianist’s hands, but I’m not sure that adds anything (remember I’m a neophyte). In fact, I might offer the thought that you could get caught up in watching the technique to the detriment of enjoying the music. That used to happen to me when I watched finger picking guitarists.

Anyway, Mr. Ganz came out on stage, and the first thing he did was move the piano closer to the audience. To my surprise, after saying that this was the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth (there is some confusion as to the exact date), he recounted a story from his youth, about age 11. He said he was listening to a Chopin piece, and he literally doubled over in pain trying to figure out why it was so “beautiful”. That term again, which led him to wonder “what is beauty”. He said he had arrived at eight words that to him embodied (I think musical) beauty. They were: Mystery, Soulful, Counterpoint, Cantabile, Creativity, Sophistication, Brilliance, and Strangeness.

He then proceeded to demonstrate each of these in a few pieces by Chopin, two Mazurkas, and one Etude. We learned about “resolving”, counter point (and how Chopin differed from Bach) Cadences, which were demonstrated before playing the complete piece. “Listen for this”; “remember this phrase”; “here is a 2-1, a 5-1, and even a 4-1 cadence”. Unfortunately with the Feeder’s untrained ear, it was hard for me to pick out those when the complete pieces were played.

What I do know was that all three of the pieces (Op 17 #4 (the “mourner’s face”; 24#4; 25 #7 (the “Aeolian Harp” etude), were in fact, beautiful. So what makes it beautiful? Who knows. Maybe you can’t describe it, and it may be in that eye of the beholder, but you know it when you hear/see (and okay, taste) it. Keep those eyes and senses open, it’s all about us.

And, lastly with Easter approaching don’t forget to

DFD

Even if it’s for that slice of ham, canned yams with marshmallows, pineapple rings and cherries. It’s about the family and friends.