My copy of this arrived in the mail yesterday. When I sat down to read it I discovered that the first story is also in the other collection I recently requested free from Paperbackswap.com.
It turns out that the New Directions collection Eight Stories by Dylan Thomas contains only four unique stories. The other four are from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.
It remains to be seen whether the stories in Young Dog form any kind of narrative. I did notice that the story I have read that is common to both of these books, “The Peaches,” uses the name of Dylan for the narrator.
Anyway, I mostly love Thomas’s poetry and have decided to put him on my “no stone unturned” list and read everything I can lay my hands on by him.
Much of Bach’s music seems to have been written with private use in mind. His written instructions around some of his keyboard collection make it plain that they written primarily for the edification of the player.
Book I’s dedication includes this phrase:
“For the use and profit of the musical youth desirous of learning as well as for the pastime of those already skilled in this study….”
original title page of the Well Tempered Clavier by Bach
Yesterday it felt like I was in a conversation with Bach and his ideas on musical beauty as I returned over and over through out the day through several of his preludes and fugues.
I can remember when the mother of a friend of mine who was also a piano teacher first mentioned this work to me as a kid. She smiled and said that I would have many hours of pleasure from it. Man, was she right!
I’m up and running on my net book today. The cords that I ordered came in the mail yesterday. I am expecting my net book to eventually crash due to its age before too long. But in the meantime, I am keeping my eye out for a sale to purchase a replacement and keep on using this one.
I found the music score for the Gershwin piano preludes online. Gregory Stone significantly changed the second one when he did the arrangement my piano trio is going to perform in a week. He changed the key from C# minor to G minor, added new parts including a radically original part for the violin in the middle section.
I read in a biography of Gershwin a confirmation that the piano figure that begins this prelude is an homage to Chopin’s E minor prelude for piano, both share a moving middle part in the accompaniment.
Yesterday I walked through the snow storm to ballet class only to discover that I was not needed for the day. The teacher was very apologetic and planned to run the students through some exercises so I could play a bit. I asked her not to do this just on my account. After some dithering we agreed that I would bill the college “something” for my time. I told her (honestly) that I didn’t care that she hadn’t remembered to warn me on Friday that she wouldn’t need me on Monday.
It was a beautiful walk in the snow.
I billed for a half hour.
I am looking forward to another beautiful walk in the snow this morning in about an hour.
I do think that snow is beautiful and I love walking in it.
I can say this after getting my cars in and out of the driveway successfully yesterday despite the deep snow.
I was thankful that both cars instantly started. I can remember owning vehicles that were not so cooperative. Heh.
0 thoughts on “Thomas, Bach & Gershwin on my mind”
Always enjoy reading your thoughts. I am about 40 miles to the East of you and we have very little snow and the sun is shining here. Who knows what the wind will bring you.
Always enjoy reading your thoughts. I am about 40 miles to the East of you and we have very little snow and the sun is shining here. Who knows what the wind will bring you.