Necessary procrastination

So, a grey afternoon here in Virginia, where I finally have a few days off to gather my thoughts, learn a truckload of music, wash my concert clothes and get back on the road again - I'm in Burlington, VT next week premiering a piece by my very good friend David Ludwig with the Vermont Symphony, and then back in Minnesota for the second installment of "Inside the Classics" shows of the season.

It's been an exhausting month since mid-December - a pretty unrelenting schedule which has been hitting me physically and psychologically (hey, conductors need breaks, too!). All of which makes it harder to be sitting here in my studio, trying to get some work done. It's nice to have some good distractions, and this is one of my favorite things to listen to when I need a couple minutes to clear my brain (it's got quite a surprising ending - don't let the meandering mood fool you):



György Kurtág's music takes you into a completely different realm, with an intensity and precision and often an altered spatial sense that is transportive. And sometimes you really, really need to get out of your own head - or at least I do, when I'm spending hours poring over dots on a page! Which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Kurtag: "I keep coming back to the realisation that one note is almost enough" - enough, that is, to sum up the essence of a thought, a gesture, a sensation. Or, as in the case of the video, a selection from Játékok, a set of "learning pieces", maybe one technique (the glissando) is almost enough.

A good way to procrastinate for a few minutes. But now, back to work!