In agreement with the Conservatory’s tweet, I feel this music is apropos of yesterday’s tragic Patriot Day bombing:

What just happened in Boston is heartbreaking to me. Boston is like a second home. I walked down Boylston Street almost every day, right past where it happened. I lived just a few blocks from there, and remember just about every building and landmark I see in those horrific pictures coming across the news. I miss that place and wish I could be there during this time.

To me this piece is not just a requiem, but evocative of a particular place in time. A nostalgia. And yet today, it is ever so more a requiem mass. I hear this today in sadness. My thoughts are in Boston.

Drawing on his training as a musician and what he has learned traveling the world for more than 30 years as a touring performer, Yo-Yo Ma will discuss where in nature, society, and human interactions we can find the greatest creativity, and what we can all do to help students grow up to be contributing and committed citizens.

The Stars and Stripes Forever by sanbeiji

I have sought this piece out every chance I could get, ever since hearing Alexander Barantschik of the San Francisco Symphony perform it at a private event many years back. This is the most enigmatic and heartwrenching thing Bach ever wrote.

The Chaconne is the last movement from Bach’s Violin Partita No. in D Minor. The story is that Bach wrote this in memory of his wife who had recently passed away, and whether this is true or not you can hear a fair amount of sorrow, longing, and pain in this music – qualities Bach is not typically known for.

More about this work from an interview with Arnold Stenhardt on NPR.

For my students and for students of the double bass from anywhere who might be reading, pay attention to the left hand – how he is holding the bow. Very flexible, relaxed, agile. Also note the right hand and arm position – how it is angled for the most part at 90º to the neck of the bass, and the hand and wrist is never over-extended. Enjoy!