Chopin on the Piano

Saturday 17 April 2010 --
The Grand Mother and Grumpy, with friend Margaret, journeyed again to Bellingham, this time to hear 24 versions (Etudes) of Chopin. We had heard about this performance the previous week when we went up to Bellingham to listen to Rachel's Junior Concert. Great enthusiasm about listening to Chopin was expressed by members of our tour group, so an immediate commitment was made to return this Saturday for more music. Besides, Rachel would again be playing!

We didn't have to start so early in the morning as we had the week before, since we were not going to tour the Tulip fields again. However, the Grand Mother had desired to preview a motel at which we might stay when we come up (again!!) on 24 May when Rachel will be accompanying the University Orchestra. Reviews on the Internet indicated that the Day's Inn tentatively chosen by Grumpy might be "in a dangerous-looking area". Upon arriving at the motel for the "inspection", we were greeted by a young lady, "who was not the manager!" who explained where the "dangerous area" was: a grove of trees about two or three blocks away, in which allegedly "the gangs do their business" when it gets dark.

A visit to a typical room, and the observation that this motel had an elevator, resulted in a unanimous conclusion that this motel was acceptable. Grumpy made the reservations and then instructed Margaret and the First Wife that they should think twice before taking a walk "over there towards those woods" after 10 pm or so at night.

The performances this evening consisted of twelve Etudes of Chopin, Opus 10, played by twelve different students or faculty, an intermission, then six different performances of music by other composers; another intermission, and finally another twelve Etudes of Chopin, Opus 25, played by yet another twelve different students or faculty.

Prior to the start of the first twelve Etudes, of which the eleventh was to be played by Rachel, Grumpy had his camera calibrated (see left) to take photos in the ambient artificial light, using ISO 1600. Being fascinated by the markedly different postures of the hands of some of the pianists, Grumpy's camera "clicked" as he photographed four of the earlier performers as well as six or eight of Rachel (see below, right).
At the first intermission, the professor who played the Etude just before Rachel's, approached me to complain about the camera flashes and lens clicking, both of which were distracting to the pianists. I plead guilty to camera clicks but "not guilty" to using a flash. Later we discovered the guilty party who used the flash was several rows behind us.

Grumpy examined his camera very carefully to see if there was a mode in which the artificial "click" sound could be turned off (for taking photos of birds or animals, for example). Finding none, he took no more pictures during the remainder of the performances and has vowed to be more considerate in the future.

We enjoyed all of the musical performances and, after a dinner together with Rachel and her parents, we returned home, with Grumpy crawling into bed at 10 pm -- long after his usual bedtime. The next three days were all going to be busy for him, driving hither and thither!