The piano is an instrument I’m working on this year; originally, to learn how to read music (so much more to say about that later!) but increasingly I’m interested in the instrument of its own accord. To that end, lately I’ve been focused on the first few episodes of The 23 Greatest Solo Piano Works, presented by Robert Greenberg. As part of The Great Courses, the 24-episode series isolates a particular solo piano work and not only breaks down the piece but contextualizes it amid the life and times of the composer. If one is ever interested to know what makes a Toccata different than a Bagatelle–which I admit is not something I was desperate to have answered a week ago–or perhaps learn new ways to spot and understand what is going on within classical compositions, this may be of interest. If you prefer books to lectures, he seems to have you covered there as well.

The lectures on Bach have me revisiting J.S. Bach, to the point where I can’t leave it to listen to other things. Not covered in the course listed above, but particularly ridiculous, magnetic and magical, is Bach’s Partita in D minor for solo violin – played here on piano (Spotify link). 

Working from home during this first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (West Coast, USA) has allowed me to play banjo and keyboard mid-day, which is a real treat, and also to spend those commuting hours getting more sleep in the morning and playing more music (or more Playstation video games just as often) in the early evening. I also find myself paying less attention to podcasts, twitter and news throughout the day now that my routine is altered; I suspect I’ve been using those more as entertainment during commutes than as the intentional choices I previously would have held them to be.

Turning to photography, we and the color recently turned me on to Ludwig Favre who is killing it with color and composition. This pastel palette he’s using turns the everyday into something that’s —

— really, quite something. Check him out.

currently reading: Agency by William Gibson
last full listen: Bach by Helene Grimaud

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