Sonata Shuffle
Had a big break-through this week! In the ever-shifting balance to stay within one’s artistic process while navigating the larger world, such occurrences rarely come in the form of life-changing epiphany. Rather, during a work-a-day practice session, or driving between home and school, or running errands, a thought occurs. As the thought then takes hold, the ripples it casts open up fresh possibilities for seeing, hearing, playing, understanding the music you’ve come to know and love.
With the Skokie concerts on the horizon, I’d been wrestling with how to divide the Seven Sonatas into two programs. There were a couple of obvious solutions, both of which I’d have been comfortable with and that fit a narrative that I’ve long-considered when talking about Ullmann. Yet, neither seemed the thing for the October programs. So while practicing on Wednesday, it hit me. A whole new line-up, musically intriguing to me and, in that way where a piece will sound differently due to the company it keeps (something very human about that…), details that previously wouldn’t make sense to highlight I now find quite striking. New aural connections – with a new audience in a new space that already feels welcoming – we wish each other a sweet new year. Doesn’t get any sweeter than this….
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