I played my violin this evening at a nursing home fund raiser. It wasn't because of any altruism on my part or because of the pristine condition of my heart. I played tonight because the lady recruiter was insanely sweet and my mouth was unable to utter a resolute "no" when she asked me.
I chose to play a medley piece that cataclysmically collides three short songs together, and cleverly fills in the gaps with arpeggio structured cadenzas. The piece was simply chosen because I figured it would fullfill my alloted minute quota. My favorite sliver of the repertoire is the last breathtaking 10 bars that unite to bravely form the piece's conclusion. The last section is composed of mad running sixteenth notes, whose sole purpose in their short-lived lives is to propel everything forward. The notes build hyper-tension by picking up tempo as they climb several octaves and push toward the brilliant dynamic of fortissimo (Voila!). The whole piece is built around that finale ending. It careens maniacally forward and then when it cannot soar any higher in that blue cloudless sky it spits out a few notes, as if in afterthought. Kind of like "Here are some double-stop Ds. Take that!" It gives me a head rush to greet those notes and they are usually played with an extra fiesty foot stomp, just for affect. It's all about attitude. No room for timidity here. Risk-taking-anxiety is thrown out the window. It's all about abandonment, really.
It really is all about abandonment. Letting the hair down. Daring the instrument to catch on fire!
...perhaps a bit bewildering for the elderly... next time, maybe, I should play Brahms... or something.
5 comments:
"arpeggio structured cadenzas" - I will have to remember that phrase at the next cocktail party I go to - to impress others with my vocab.
I'll say, "So, are you have you tried the arpeggio structured cadenzas? they are quite delish." or "Quit being arpeggio, dear or you will structure your cadenzas."
(Ok, that may be taking it a bit to far)
The poor elderly.
Tee hee, just kidding - I'm sure those with reasonable hearing abilities enjoyed it immensely. :-)
lol
Maybe they'll talk about it at their next cocktail party.
So... Was it Franck or an Irish jig??
Wow, for the first time, I think I got a visual picture of a song in my life. It was like I was in a jet plane rocketing into the end of the sky, where the atmosphere meets outer space. And then my plane ran out of fuel and I had to eject. Not to despair...it takes attitude to eject on the edge of eternity. I fired my 9mm to correct my trajectory and glided safely back to earth, landing in a curry noodle shop. Hummm, I'll take the extra spicy #8 please - to go.
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