But then, last night, the miraculous occurred. Jennifer Koh took the stage with Maestro Stern and the symphony complete with an interesting assortment of percussion filed in. The piece began.
So many bits of beauty filled in the empty holes I had gotten used to. The rests were no longer lonely acres of prime compositional real estate, they were landscapes of rolling triplets, cascades of thirty second notes, flute trills and the most agonizingly georgous English Horn duet with violin. It started making sense.
I’m glad I stuck it out. I’m glad I challenged myself and made it to the finish line.
You can read the whole thing and see what I’m talkin’ about.
I often make snap judgments. I often later have to eat my words. This is why I try not to say much about a work until I’ve lived with it for a time. Sometimes something I thought was the best music ever doesn’t wear well. Frequently it works just the opposite, of course. I prefer it the latter … I love being proved wrong in that way!
