An Evening of Chamber Music

There is something about the sound of a cello that goes to the very depths of me.

This evening, we had "an evening of chamber music". Some incredible musicians performed: Sima Kustanovich, an utterly fabulous pianist who I have seen perform before and am blown away by every time I see her again; Julian Milkis, a clarinetist who is apparently the only clarinet student of Benny Goodman (and incredibly accomplished in his own right - his bio took up half the program!); and Borislav Strulev, a Russian cellist with amazing stage presence.

They played some wonderful pieces by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Paquito D'Rivera, Nino Rota, Morton Gould, and Astor Piazzolla. The Mendelssohn was probably my favorite (just piano and clarinet, a piece Felix supposedly wrote at age 16), but the piece they did for the encore nearly made me cry. Didn't quite catch name or composer...

I think I have been waiting for something like this concert all year. It reminded me suddenly why my life has meaning - and where I derive such a thing. How can one not live and love and enjoy life when there are such beautiful things to experience?

I'm glad I went.