In love with Chopin
A fifty-minute YouTube Chopin recital takes me away. A nocturne, a waltz, the G minor ballade, a few mazurkas, another nocturne, and the Fantasy in F minor. The pianist is a young Polish man, serious minded, introspective, besotted with the music he is playing. It shows on his face. Occasionally he shakes his head as if in disbelief of such beauty. I shake my head too. How fortunate I am to be able to love this music, to be able to wallow in this beauty, the zenith of human expression. This beautiful piano performance demands my attention. Maybe early morning has something to do with it too. I am alive and receptive.
From the first notes of the beginning nocturne, I am swept away. Some impossibly beautiful moments moisten my eyes. The waltz in A flat major which I first played as a teenager is beautifully balanced between liveliness and restraint. The ballade is not without blemishes, but the performance is very convincing. The mazurkas are gorgeous, again introspective, but richness and intricacies gush out. The nocturne is F minor is sad, nostalgic, then becomes angry and turbulent, and ends the way it begins. The Fantasy is a pouring out of sheer beauty.
I could listen to this music all day but I now have to pull the plug. The day beckons. I have things to do. I cannot let time run away from me. The cruel clock is relentlessly ticking. Time for me to produce some music myself.
Gerry Roberts 