Ok, it's been a few days, but we're back into the thick of things now. Tonight the Music Gallery was filled with the sounds of cello and clarinet with Frances-Marie Uitti and Lori Freedman. You know you can't go wrong...

I said this blog would be about the music, and not get personal and self-indulgent, but let me put tonight's concert in my own personal context. For me, and I suspect for most of us, a lot of the new music we hear is ultimately forgettable. Not necessarily bad, but not overly good. And we all agree that this is part of the game - this music needs and deserves to be heard. Performers and presenters haven't had the decades or centuries of filters that dinosaur ensembles have, to get rid of the mediocre and bad music. Of the good music we hear, much falls into the "good" or "great" categories, but it's all too rare that we hear a true gem.

Over the last few years I've grown much more critical and discriminating in what makes the "good" or "great" cut - I suppose that's just natural as we hear more and more music as we get older. But usually I can count on hearing one gem of a piece each season - the kind of piece that sticks with you, that you can't forget about, that you crave to hear again and again. I fully realize that these kinds of pieces can differ greatly from person to person - I've had long arguments with people over pieces that made my "gem" list which they thought were garbage, or at best "good", and vice-versa. But whatever it is that makes it into the "excellent" category, you know it when you hear it, and you can't forget it.

Tonight I got one of those in Frances-Marie Uitti's "La Notte". I'm even at a loss as to how to start describing this piece. It's beautiful, yes, but what does that mean - to me, or to anyone else? Should I describe it technically? Walk you through it? My personal reaction to it? In the end, none of these will do the piece justice, which is, I suppose, why we have music - to communicate something we can't otherwise communicate with words.

I suppose I could at least take a stab at describing it. First off, I imagine the piece would suffer in the hands of any performer other than those of the composer. What a treat to have the ultimate performer for such a great piece. And no doubt, Uitti and Lori Freedman are the ultimate performers. It starts with what at first appearances are traditional arpeggiated chords, but there's something odd with the tuning... It moves through various textures and sounds, always emphasizing the quiet abilities of both instruments, and often the lower registers. Maybe it's the relatively low volume of everything that forces you to pay closer attention. Maybe it's just that anything these two play will sound good.

I spoke briefly to Uitti about the piece, so I'll let her describe it in her own words. I'll also post a short clip of the performance, as soon as I get the audio edited up (hopefully tomorrow) so keep an eye out for that.

Look for more posts all this week, as I'll be at most of the evening events.