Great Expectations

It may be true that the old adages about "Timing is everything" and "Location, location, location" can also apply to music. From my vantage point at the Cyr Center on July 15, this was an exquisite performance and a welcome introduction to some unfamiliar pieces -- a breath of fresh air in the sultry heat followed literally by a dramatic downpour of desperately needed rain. Some members of the audience were moved to tears at the beauty of what they heard from Jesse Mills and Rieko Aizawa, and could probably be convinced to organize a fan club without much prodding.

Others were rather jaded, having been recently immersed in music at other events and not fully appreciative of the gift of that afternoon's performance. I was impressed with the weight the piano was given; the violin did not dominate as is so often the case. Others expressed disappointment that the familiar primacy of the violin was missing and felt the piano was "too loud." I have learned over the years that most professional musicians, and this supremely talented pair in particular, were fully aware of the balance they struck, that the sounds they produced were exactly as they intended them to be and as they believe the composer intended as well. I for one found the results to be inspiring and breathtakingly beautiful.

Rieko and Jesse came to Stamford from New Hampshire, taking a day off from their work as artists in residence at a summer camp for young composers. They returned to New Hampshire afterwards and two days later would give the young artists the extraordinary opportunity to hear world-class musicians perform the works they had written. When one is a prodigy and meets with great success at a very young age, as Rieko Aizawa did at 13, how high the bar is set for them and how difficult those expectations must be to live up to. Now as an adult, she is "just" another spectacularly talented pianist. How casual we have become about such phenomenal artistry in our midst.

It is our great hope that Jesse Mills and Rieko Aizawa will return to Stamford very soon for another superb performance, and we wish them all the best in their own careers and in their work teaching and inspiring the next generation of musicians.