New Music

My day was so busy yesterday that I spent very little time at home.  I can’t complain because I was the one who put so many things on my calendar.  But as it turns out, I had saved the best for last.

At 9:00 I showed up at my friend Deborah’s house to play for an hour.  It was just about the only hour we both could spare, since she works more than full time and I just overbook myself.

We’re working on a new piece by Adolf Misek, a little-known Chech composer (1875 - 1955), who wrote primarily for the double bass.  We’re attempting to play his Erste Sonata, which is quite different from anything else we have played.

It’s a powerful romantic piece of the early 20th century that gives both the piano and the bass moments of glory.  It has catchy little lyrical sections that continue to play through my head even as I am typing this.

For a first run-through, we were not half bad.  There was a lot of starting and stopping and doing over again.  But we managed to end at the same time, always a good thing when playing a duet.

As I got in my car to drive home I no longer felt tired, but instead I felt grateful to have a friend to play with after a long day.  And I felt pleased with my new haircut, which still looked good after a day of DC mist.