Songs for the End of Summer

Northeastern University crew team members practicing on the Charles River.

Well, I seem to be neglecting my blog lately, and a lot of it is due to the fact that in August, we northern people tend to get a little desperate about the end of summer. Just as happens around the holidays, there's a flurry of last-minute warm weather activity and invitations from friends who've been meaning to get together for months. Picnics that were talked about in June finally materialize on the spur of the moment, hikes and swims and trips out of the city suddenly loom in importance, and people who've wanted to visit the city in good weather turn up on your doorstep. All of that has been happening, and I just haven't been "here" very much.

Jon Appleton and Yoshiko Kline discuss one of the pieces in Jon's "Suite des Hommages"

I also flew to Boston for a few days, working in the WGBH recording studios with composer Jon Appleton, pianist Yoshiko Kline, and audio engineer Frank Cunningham, to produce a new CD of Jon's piano music that will come out this fall.

Yoshiko practicing.

One of the days I was there was Hiroshima Day, and I thought how life-affirming it was to spend that day remembering, but also making music with a Japanese-American pianist. We didn't speak of it, but the thought was in my heart. And the performances were absolutely fantastic: I'm very excited about the recording, and anxious to share it with some of you who've become fans of Jon's music.

During breaks from the studio, I was able to take a few walks along the Charles River, watching the crew teams practice, and taking a look at community gardens, Boston-Style. There were a lot of bunnies living a gourmet life in the gardens, and Jon, who speaks many languages, enjoyed talking to some of the Russian gardeners who had plots in the area.

I send apologies to my Boston friends: there was no time to come and see you on this trip, but I really hope to rectify that sometime soon -- probably not before the end of summer though!

Comments

[Hattie]

It's been travel time for us, too. It looks very lush there. The west is absolutely parched. It was nice to get home to wet and rainy Hilo.

[Roderick Robinson]

"Walks by the Charles river". I was at the time working in Pittsburgh but attending an industrial exhibition in Boston (which I'd reached by bus because of disrupted air travel). In the evenings I did the things first-time visitors do (Faneuil Hall, Antony's), in the mornings I watched the racing shells on the Charles. This was before I'd discovered Ives, otherwise The Housatonic At Stockbridge might well have fitted in. Like many Brits I responded to the nature of New England and vowed I'd find a job in Boston. I came close but it didn't happen. Thanks for the madeleine.

[Andrea M.]

That last recording you did with him was lovely. Happy to hear you are working on another one.

[Duchesse]

I am so happy you had such a fulfilling trip!