I was trying to remember who ruled Austria when Beethoven was working on his Fifth Symphony. German Emperor Francis II? Napoleon? Can you name the Holy Roman Emperor in power when Mozart was putting the finishing touches on The Magic Flute? Which U.S. President lived in the White House when Aaron Copland wrote Appalachian Spring?
Unless you majored in music in college, you probably can’t toss off these names without a little help from Google.
A friend told me that this week felt like Groundhog Day. Unhappy with the election results, she keeps forgetting and remembering and despairing about the future. Again and again.
Anger and jubilation. Uncertainty, sadness, and hope. It’s been an emotional week. (In the Washington Post, critic Anne Midgette speculates about how a Trump presidency may affect the arts. It’s worth your time. )
Let me urge you, no matter your feelings about the recent election, to seek out that which endures. Walk in the woods. Knit a scarf. Read a book.
Enjoy music. Support the arts.
This weekend, I’ll be happy to spend a day performing with friends and the RPO in a Zelda fantasy concert. Pure fun. I’ll watch my son perform in his high school musical, cheer on my husband’s garage band in their first gig, and hear Renée Fleming give the world premiere of “Letters from Georgia” by Kevin Puts.
On Sunday, I’ll have the joy of collaborating with “Harmonica” Pete DuPre in church. Pete is almost ninety and has been playing the harmonica for seventy-five years. He plays for the sick, the despairing, the heroes and veterans. He plays for crowds of thousands. He plays when he’s alone.
He’s one of the happiest people I know.
He would be the first to tell you that music is threaded with eternity.
