A saxophone recital

I took my final nap in the office today, and I also turned in grades for my students. And then I cleared out my books. It was a little wrenching.

I cheered up in the evening when I attended my friend's saxophone recital. Tom is a writer, musician, and fluent in Italian. Also a fan of Astor Piazzolla, though he's taken his interest a step further by actually taking Argentinian tango lessons.

I'm not familiar with classical saxophone pieces, but what I heard was quite spectacular. Mostly contemporary work by composers like Paul Ben-Haim, Paul Hindemith, and Francis Poulenc. Alexandre, Glazounov, Debussy, and then two lovely arias by Puccini.

The recital just got better and better, and when Tom got to the two arias, I was ready to give a standing ovation. (I didn't though.) Tom was accompanied by Kathryn Goodson on piano for the arias. Both were beautiful duets, though my favorite was "Vissi d'Arte" (I Live For Art) from the opera, Tosca.

The food at the reception was terrific. Crabcakes, cheese, dips, and other great munchies. I hung out with Andrea, the lady who works in the Hopwood Room, the one who brought me to the dog show last year. Andrea, Tom, and I flock together because of our overlapping interests in Italian, Italy, music, and books. We're always huddling together at the teas. But well, not anymore, since Tom and I are both graduating.

Posted by Monoceros at April 25, 2005 11:19 PM