piano live in the humphrey

robert koopman
know as "bob" around here
played a nearly flawless concert

BRAHMS
RAVEL

IMPROVISATIONS UPON VIEWING THREE PAINTINGS
by THE performer HIMSELF

and then

CHOPIN


it may have been me
but the chopin seemed rushed
almost as if he was selfconsciously thinking
"how much chopin can anyone stand?"

at anyrate
it drove home to me
the importance of being able to hear
music live

there were some fascinating moments of
clavical sonority

his technique is amongst the best of anyone around
i dare say
he shows amazing dexterity and physical
correlation
his body and his arms particularly
moving with dramatic daring
one might think a whole choreography
is happening in his mind

that is something to see
not a recording can add that
even a video would not capture
the extraordinary soulful attentiveness
of the performer

and he played some things that
will never be heard again
so there's no need for me to comment
other than to say
he built a cognitive bridge
between some paintings displayed
on overhead photography

tunes to

wasily KANDINSKY
caspar david FRIEDRICH
georges SEURAT

AND I AM AWARE OF THE RAW FACT
OF HOW ALLURING THAT IS TO THE INTELLECT

the world is in constant need
of the blessings of live music
beauty presented for no other purpose
than to build up the human spirit
with hope
from the experience of beauty comes hope

that was my lesson this evening

live music in every town every day