I Heart Rachmaninov

My two favorite pieces of art music are Rachmaninov's 2nd and 3rd piano concerti. Most people are familiar with the more flashy 3rd because of the movie Shine. In 2001 Russian-born Olga Kern co-won the Van Cliburn with the 3rd concerto. Her performance was a stunning display of power, nuance and an intimate understanding of the piece. Her co-winner was Stanislov Ioudenitch. It was impossible to compare the two, because Ioudenitch's graceful, elegant style was every bit as worthy of the award. I hope to see him play some day. One of the highlights of my life has been seeing Kern play the 2nd Concerto live at TPAC. I miss hearing the Symphony play at TPAC. The Schermerhorn is very elegant, but the entire hall is incredibly live, and every cough, seat shift, and rustle competes with the music.  It is probably fine for Pops performances, but for art music or anything with very soft passages the balance at TPAC was better for me. 

  The first movement of the 2nd concerto begins with chords on the piano that build leading up to the entrance of the theme in the strings. Every time I hear those opening chords I am on the edge of my seat waiting for that gorgeous theme to begin. 5 1/2 minutes in I am once again in breathless anticipation of the reappearance of the opening theme, more powerful this time as the theme takes the form of a march. If you are familiar with pop ballads of the 70s you will recognize the theme in the 2nd movement, and possibly be reminded of a very funny scene in Bridget Jones's Diary. The 3rd movement is powerful, though not as lush and satisfying as the 3rd movement of the 3rd concerto. Both works are too beautiful to describe with words. If you are not familiar with them and have an hour to spare, download all 6 movements on i-tunes and listen to both concerti back to back, starting with the 2nd. I like the Brailowsky recordings, mainly because I am not crazy about the 1st movement of the 2nd concerto on some of the other recordings. Try a search on i-tunes for Brailowsky Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 2 (ditto for 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8KKn9Is1Wk

Yes! I'm a liberal!

"If you're not a liberal when you're 25 you have no heart. If you're not a conservative when you're 35 you have no mind." This statement is often attributed to Winston Churchill, although it is highly unlikely that he made it given that he himself was a conservative at 25 and a liberal at 35. This is just one of the phrases tossed at me at lunch a few weeks ago by an acquaintance upon learning that I am a liberal. As my friend Heidi puts it, people have already made up their minds that they like you, and then they experience that "shock and awe" when they find out you are liberal. And they DON'T bother to hide it ;) This is one of the hazards of being blue in a red state. I attend a very conservative church (for now), and the bumper of my car feels terribly lonely in the parking lot. I could make it easier for him and pull the Obama sticker off, but I think it's important to stand up for your beliefs, even when they are unpopular. It will make him stronger in the long run, and given my proclivity for backing into things, that can only be good (for me, anyway).

In my experience, thinking people tend to become more liberal with age. The older we get, the more we realize how little we really know. That realization forces us to open our minds to new ideas. And liberalism is characterized by an open mind and a compassionate heart.

Thank God the word "liberal" is becoming less of a dirty word. A few years ago, Democrats went to great lengths to avoid being painted with that brush, but now more and more of us are standing up and saying, "Yes! I'm a liberal!"

And for those who have trouble reconciling my liberal politics with my Christian faith, let me just say that I have come to my political views not in spite of my faith, but because of it. Jesus was (and is!) a champion of social justice, and, according to the Bible, no issue received more of his attention than compassion for the poor. Remarkably enough, he did not tell his followers to help the poor as long as they were absolutely certain the poor had done everything they could to help themselves first. He just told them to help the poor. I read once that 75% of Americans believe the statement, "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible. In fact it was Benjamin Franklin who said it. But, that statistic explains a great deal of ignorance. Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is an American value, not a Christian one. Following Jesus means admitting that we are dependent on mercy and grace. We want the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, but how about posting the Beatitudes instead? Mercy in the courthouse? No. We want this to be a Christian nation, as long as we can leave Jesus out of it. The teachings of Jesus really get in the way of Christian Conservatism.

I am a liberal because I believe that every life has value, whether that life belongs to someone exactly like me or not. The life of a child in Iraq has as much value as the life of an embryo in America. The life of a homosexual has as much value as the life of a heterosexual. The life of a person of color has as much value as the life of a WASP. The life of a convicted criminal has as much value as the life of a model citizen. The way I vote reflects my desire for every life to be treated as valuable.

And I hope that the shock and awe will start to wear off as more believers come out of the closet and proclaim proudly, "Yes! I'm a liberal!"