I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: YUJA WANG-“Toccata in D minor, Op. 11” (Field Recordings, February 19, 2014).

I have never given much thought to the physical creation of a piano.  This Field Recording [On A Chilly Factory Floor, Yuja Wang’s Piano Sizzles] is set on the factory floor of Steinway & Sons.  As it opens you can see the craftsmen putting some touches on a piano, which really makes you think about how these machines are created.

This episode also introduced me to Chinese-born pianist Yuja Wang.

She is a [at the time] “27-year-old ultra-glam artist” who came to the factory in

one of her trademark dresses, significant stiletto booties and a Gucci fur stole, as well as some wrist warmers as a concession to the temperature.

The piece she played was also one I was unfamiliar with, played a piece that would chop shrinking violets to mulch: Prokofiev’s “Toccata in D minor, Op. 11.”

The blurb calls the piece “blisteringly difficult” and I totally agree.  It is nonstop notes for nearly five minutes.  Wang is up and down the keyboard, banging out notes in a nearly atonal piece (how she even remembered it much less played it is amazing).  And to see her pressing pedals in stilettos is pretty amusing too.

On a third listen, it’s not so much atonal as just very busy.  The melody is in there, it is just surrounded by so much else.  And watching the blurs that are Wang’s hands is jaw-dropping.

[READ: January 6, 2017] “Cold Little Bird”

I feel like Ben Marcus stories resist me, somewhat.  But this one was fantastic.

Martin and Rachel have two boys: a ten-year old-and a six-year-old.  As the story opens, Jonah, the ten-year-old says he doesn’t want to big hugged anymore. That he doesn’t like it.  He hopes that they will respect his decision about this.  He tells them that they can always cuddle with Lester, the six-year-old.

The parents shrug this off and think it is a phase.  Even when Jonah flatly says “I don’t love you.”

His parents tried to respect his wishes even as it went on for several weeks.  Martin was getting more and more exasperated, but Rachel seemed to be okay with it–telling him to back off and give the boy some space.

Soon enough, Jonah started playing with Lester–being very chummy and lovely with him.  And yet he did not warm up to his parents.

Eventually Martin had had enough and he sneaked up on Jonah and gave him a big hug.  But Jonah was limp the howl whole time and eventually asked, “Even though I’m only ten, don’t Ii have a right not to be touched?”  And then he said he would hate to have to report them to Mr Fourenay the school “feelings doctor.”

A few day later he saw Jonah on the couch talking with Lester.  He was reading a book.  The previous book Jonah had read was a kids book but today’s book had the Twin Towers on the cover and was called “Lies.”  He had bought it with his birthday money from Amazon.  He looked at his father and said “The Jews caused 9/11 and they all stayed home that day so they wouldn’t get killed.”

Martin flipped out, not the least reason  was because they were Jewish.  Jonah says they don’t go to synagogue and don’t even mention Yom Kippur or Rosh Hoshana.  When Martin is done yelling, Rachel tells him that he went too far.  She finally reveals that she is really upset about it too, but that he’s not dealing with it in healthy way.

It starts to drive them apart until he concedes to her idea and agrees to try to be quieter about it.  Then he agrees to see a doctor about Jonah.   The doctor says that maybe Jonah should take antidepressants.  But Jonah resists:  I never think about hurting myself but you want to give me a medicine that might make me think about hurting myself?…Its called suicidal ideation.”   When the doctor asks how he knows about it, he says the Internet and comments “How come people are so surprised when someone knows something?  Your generation had better get used to how completely special it is that a kid can look up a medicine online and learn about the side effects. That’s not being precocious, it’s just me using my stupid computer.

When Jonah is asked to leave, the doctor tries to talk to Martin and Rachel.  He says that Jonah is not depressed, really–it is not a medical condition.

Martin retorts: “he’s not sick, he’s just and asshole is what you’re saying?”

There’s no solution to this story, but I loved that this story was a parent’s worst nightmare taken to a logical extreme.