Chopin Nocturnes + Dark Chocolate

            The Nocturnes of Frederic Chopin will always be like oatmeal on a cold morning for me. There is nothing quite as comforting, as universally warming, as a piercing and melancholy melody supported by the simplest of tasteful chords; the utmost intimacy, they express feelings we’ve all felt but can’t quite express verbally.

            I say oatmeal on a cold morning, but also, a croissant at a dark café on a rainy day in winter. These pieces are Paris to me – I’m not sure why, it could be some subconscious memory of listening to them during one of my stays (and it happened to be raining every time), or it could be what they represent. Unabashed passion, but bundled into something of the utmost taste and beautiful aesthetic. That is the root of Francophilia as we know it, I think. Maybe that’s what I love about these pieces the most – their obvious focus on plain and simple beauty, with virtuosity, craft, and innovation all coming in second. The classical world lacks such beauty without flamboyancy; such pieces as these are refreshing, cleansing, honest.

            I’ve included my favorite, C minor – I have hoards of associations with this piece, but let’s just say that if I were a piece of music, I would be this. I have plans to tattoo it all over my body. More on that later. There is one measure - the one immediately before the slow B section begins - that I believe to be the most divine moment in most piano music, solely because of the exposed and simple melody, basic chord progression. I've always said that if a composer can make something so basic delicious and heartwrenching, he has succeeded as an artist. Mozart and Chopin, among few others, are winners in this respect.

            Enjoy this piece, and look up the rest. They sound as short vignettes of a sad but beautiful life, which is the true artist’s destiny.

           

My preferred pianist for this piece, at the moment, is Alexis Weissenberg; didn't find him playing on youtube, but certainly look up the album if you have time. He plays with a raw gruffness with which purists might take issue, but for my taste, it's just right.

 What would I eat with this? Definitely chocolate. No recipe, because the simplicity of this piece can only be savored with something equally simple - a bar of 70% cacao Scharffen Berger chocolate. Go forth. Enjoy.

            In the wake of my mother’s passing, I wrote. Not unusual for me - flamboyant, insatiable, life-loving, pain-relishing artists like me often like to indulge in a little harmless, narcissistic me-time, during which we relish all of our musings, thoughts, pains, and desires, as if to put them on paper was to  actualize them. But what was significantly unusual about my “in memoriam” posts was the response –my thoughts reached people. To the extent that my first post, “me-mo-ry”, was blown up and printed on poster board at her funeral.

            So, everyone told me, “you are a beautiful writer. Keep writing. You should be a writer!” Interesting. I’ve never “tried” at writing. It just sort of happens, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a talent, but rather a defieciency, one where I am incapable of filtering the rambling, ponderous fireworks in my head as my fingers shatter away at the keyboard. So, what results, is apparently effective, since it is nothing but the truth, and in no other way than how I would say it if I was speaking to you. Hence the confusion of these first two paragraphs. (How many of you are thinking, “where the hell is she going with this?” Yeah, yeah. Hold on. I’ll get to it).

            At any rate. Once upon a time, I started this blog because I knew I needed to set the fire underneath me to start writing regularly, with a purpose other than my prose-poetry that, while I think it is quality work, probably won’t ever make sense to anyone on a recognizable level. Then my life took over, and I realized my purpose in life, yadda yadda, and the blog disappeared; and somewhere along the line I subconsciously decided that a career in music , a career in food and a career in writing were not the same thing. Not the case: as a composer, music scholar and arts administrator , my new career path of choice, I figure that some sort of combination of music criticism and lifestyle writing will suit me well. Especially because my ultimate goal is for classical music to become “everyday”, as enjoyable in sweats with a side of peanut butter as in a gown with a nice Shiraz.  Food, of course, is inescapable in the realm of art and sensuality.

            This blog is the experiment.

            So, the Culture Queen: bringing snobby music and snobby food to nice people.

            This summer, everything in my life took flight, and things started falling into place. So, I’m hoping that they can fall into place here too, and you can read about it.

            Happy listening, and happy eating! A new post with a recipe and some musical thoughts will come soon.