The City & the Country no.77 – May 28 2015

Glorious spring/summer weather, amplified for me by a trip to the West Coast for another performance of Nolan’s Narrated Symphony, Cosmic Reflections, this time with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra under their splendid maestro, Jindong Cai. Stanford gave me a rented car (the glorious compact Toyota Yaris, goes like a bomb, with epic stereo) a hotel room at the fabulous Cardinal Hotel, a preserved & updated ’30s hotel, whose corridors still suggest that Raymond Chandler will come round the corner at any instant, and the freedom once more to screw up Nolan’s magnificent symphony (as the Cosmic Narrator). This I did faithfully at both dress rehearsals, just as in D.C. before the premiere, and somehow nailed all 200 cues on the first performance, as in D.C.. Alas there was a 2nd performance. I got complacent, didn’t work hard enough in preparation, and blew the 3rd movement. Nailed the 4th better than ever before, but nothing could alleviate Nolan’s grief. Audience noticed nothing, of course. The maestro did, of course, and the orchestra, who the day before had given me that most glorious of ovations – sitting ovation – banging their bows on their music stands as I came through them to embrace the maestro. What a thrill!

Best of all I was able to eat three evenings with Pierre and dear sweet loving Rigi. What happiness!

Another West Coast delight: the Palo Alto YMCA – like all West Coast Ys, and so unlike the dear collapsing Kingston Y, it’s deliciously modern. Daily swim! Not supposed to take a picture of the pool, and was chased out, but got my photo in quickly first.

Back to Woodstock for Chiara’s graduation – o bliss! Perfect day, gorgeous sunshine, even a fine speaker at the ceremony (NAACP Prez, best Commencement speech I’ve ever heard), Chiara rapturous, embracing all the diasporing fellow-students in the evening sunlight – ah nostalgia! Then we took her to the Canard for a fine meal with voucher from Jean-Jacques, the patron. A perfect, perfect day.

Then back to Brooklyn College, and to the Junction now bathed in sunlight too.

And some landmark news: the Berlin Wissenschaftskolleg voted to invite me as Visiting Fellow, 2016/17. So now in midst of grading 100 finals, but – with a pause through ’16 and ’17 to follow. Marvellous.