The premiere of the Episodic Concerto  took place. It couldn’t have been performed better. Everything in the score sounded, and perhaps even more. Thank you very much.

I was supposed to return to Beethoven. So, here I am. Paraphrasing Nanny Plum from Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom: when I said Beethoven bored me, I didn’t actually mean he bored me. Truthfully, I can hardly remember what I meant. It seemed important, new, and bold at the time. But it no longer does.

I’m haunted by conventions. I’m amazed at how much past eras were bound by conventions. Though probably, for most people living in those times, it didn’t feel like they were bound by anything. They likely felt more as if they were stepping freely into the unknown. For some, exhilarating; for others, paralyzing. And I suppose it’s the same with our present age.

Something draws me back to the early 20th century. It’s dark and stifling there. But I have a hunch that a lot is hidden in that darkness and suffocation. The curtains need to be torn down, and the windows flung open.

And Beethoven must have been a stubborn ram at times.