Lucky Jeff Jones

Stuck at Oberlin with that huge music library. Dang, dude! When I was in college in Brockport, NY, I had access to the music library at the Eastman School. At that time, you could take first editions off the shelf and Xerox them for 5¢. Look into weekend trips to Bloomington, Indiana. Oberlin has a cool website, by the way. Am I jealous? YOU BET.

I spent the afternoon with Mackerras' DVD of Janacek's opera Cunning Little Vixen. I pulled out a vocal score from upstairs, signed up for a listening room, and sat through the whole thing. Even better, there are literally about a dozen other recordings of the same work just waiting to be heard. A couple days ago I pulled out Robert Casadesus' four piano sonatas and listened to a recording of the Second Sonata. What absolutely incredible music! These works are absolutely peerless in their unfiltered refinement, like a vintage wine...and the Piano Concerto is breathtaking. As soon as the library opens tomorrow I'm going to hunt for some Sofronitzky recordings. I have never had this much fun in my entire life.

Oh, and did I mention that I met a very pretty violist, and we might play the Casadesus Viola Sonata and the Enescu Concertpiece together? I love this place.

-Sonarrat Citalis.

And what about your audition for the Con?

Find a pretty fiddle player and do the Mozart Sonatas. They are way cool.

Or a pretty soprano and do the Messiaen Trois Chansons, they're fantastic! Oh yeah, and if she's a high sop, you can do LOTS of Richard Strauss! Rubberband Girl

That's still up in the air, but I've already sealed entry into most of the Conservatory courses I need, and there's a chance I might be studying with Peter Takacs (I will definitely be with a faculty member and not a student), so I don't even need to be in the Conservatory yet. But I will transfer. I can't stay in the College.

-Sonarrat Citalis.

That really will be the faculty's decision rather than yours. And if your request to transfer is denied, what will you do? quit school?

Try again next semester, and so forth until they give in. There's a 98% chance at this point I'm going to be studying with Peter Takacs, getting either half-hour or hour-long lessons four days a week...so there's no dire need to transfer right away.

If the department chairman is willing to take you on, you have my congratulations. If the 2% chance prevails, you still have a lot of opportunity there.

It turns out the position of department chairman gets passed between faculty members on a yearly basis. Prof. Takacs' position doesn't mean a whole lot, but I feel he would be the best teacher for me in many ways. He calls himself an 18th century classicist, which means to me a focus on mental balance...something I've always lacked. I look forward to learning how to interpret Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and perhaps Rejcha, KPE Bach and Salieri. He also happens to be an Enescu fan...the score of the Quintet is available in the library, as well as the 3rd sonata in manuscript.

Prof. Takacs told me last night that he really does want to teach me, but it's not entirely up to him. All he can do is exert pressure on the guy who is making that decision, which he has been doing.

-Sonarrat Citalis.

<< He calls himself an 18th century classicist, which means to me a focus on mental balance...something I've always lacked. >>

Don't be so hard on yourself, Jeff. The folks at the senior center think you're quite lucid even if they don't like your music.