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Béla Bartók - Contrasts
Somewhere sent my mind in many directions! But finally it has come to rest (for the moment) in Austin, Texas - where I went to school.
I held a position in the Music Department as an accompanist, which had come through an audition. I lost count of how many recitals I accompanied. The Old Recital Hall was surprisingly small, with absolutely perfect acoustics, graceful wood paneling, and the most wonderful old Steinways - everyone agreed it was a perfect room for music. My favorite person to accompany was also a friend: a tall, bearded clarinetist - Robert Williams. I played two recitals for him. Almost unheard of, he asked me what I wanted to play and then followed through by programming those pieces. We played the Brahms Clarinet Trio, the Berg pieces for clarinet and piano, and Bartok's Contrasts. The violinist on the Contrasts was Judy Mass - who eventually became a member of the L.A. Phil. Unfortunately I lost touch with Robert.
Thinking about Robert and his girlfriend, Catherine Schieve, brings back many Austin memories: the Thanksgivings with her family, the times the three of us would go boating on Lake Travis, the late night desserts we would have at the Old Pecan Street Café on 6th Street. But the most intense memory is just stepping out of the Old Music Building into the Austin night: the moist, heavy air which seemed to carry so much energy, the live oak trees, the sound of traffic on Guadalupe Street mingled with the water splashing in the Littlefield Fountain.
I googled Catherine's name and actually found a recording! where the three of us can be heard. The piece is Serpentine. I had no idea.
Somewhere sent my mind in many directions! But finally it has come to rest (for the moment) in Austin, Texas - where I went to school.
I held a position in the Music Department as an accompanist, which had come through an audition. I lost count of how many recitals I accompanied. The Old Recital Hall was surprisingly small, with absolutely perfect acoustics, graceful wood paneling, and the most wonderful old Steinways - everyone agreed it was a perfect room for music. My favorite person to accompany was also a friend: a tall, bearded clarinetist - Robert Williams. I played two recitals for him. Almost unheard of, he asked me what I wanted to play and then followed through by programming those pieces. We played the Brahms Clarinet Trio, the Berg pieces for clarinet and piano, and Bartok's Contrasts. The violinist on the Contrasts was Judy Mass - who eventually became a member of the L.A. Phil. Unfortunately I lost touch with Robert.
Thinking about Robert and his girlfriend, Catherine Schieve, brings back many Austin memories: the Thanksgivings with her family, the times the three of us would go boating on Lake Travis, the late night desserts we would have at the Old Pecan Street Café on 6th Street. But the most intense memory is just stepping out of the Old Music Building into the Austin night: the moist, heavy air which seemed to carry so much energy, the live oak trees, the sound of traffic on Guadalupe Street mingled with the water splashing in the Littlefield Fountain.
I googled Catherine's name and actually found a recording! where the three of us can be heard. The piece is Serpentine. I had no idea.
