Butler 4

Stephen and I were on our respective bunks when he received an email offering tickets to go to a piano recital at Carnegie hall. I have never been to Carnegie Hall so I jumped at the chance. We got dates and went on a double date.
This is the sign to Carnegie Hall out front. We rode the subway there which has a stop right on the corner in front of the hall. I was hungry so I bought a hot dog with mustard for a dollar from the street corner before we went in. The hot dog was great and it made me very happy.
This is what Carnegie Hall looks like from our seats... It's also what Carnegie Hall looks like from the highest tier and the last row. Denis Matsuev was playing that night. He is from Russia and looks like he could have been a boxer in Rocky IV. Turns out he's real good at playing the piano too. He played Schumann, Liszt, and Prokofiev. He didn't have any sheet music. That alone was amazing.

Jordan really liked it. She plays the cello and the piano. So this was right up her alley. The playbill gave a short synopsis of each of the pieces. Here is an example of one of those synopsis, "The heavy desire pulls them down. And they are swallowed in the boiling sea of ecstasy." I didn't get that from it when I heard. I guess I'm not that "cultured". I think that Jordan (being trained in such things) understood that musical ecstasy was occurring.

One of the best parts of the night was when Peter would finish a section of the program he would get up, bow, and walk off the stage and the door would open magically unaided and close behind him. Then it would swing wide open and he would strut out, bow, and sit and play. After the program was finished there was more bowing and flowers were brought out. He left the stage and came back out, bowed and left the stage again. Then the door opened again and he walked out and bowed behind the piano. Then sat down and played an encore. He got up. Bowed and left the stage. The door magically opened and closed behind him. Then the door opened and he came back out. He stood in front of the piano and bowed. Turned around and left the stage. The door opened he strutted out, bowed behind the piano then sat and played another encore. In all he played 5 encores following the same strutting, bowing, walking off and on the stage each time. A pattern emerged to tell if he was going to play or walk off. If he bowed in front of the piano he would walk of the stage. If he bowed behind the piano then he would sit down and play another encore.

The last encore was the best. He got all into it and at the very end he hopped up out of the piano bench kicking it from behind him. He came down on the last notes fiercely with his legs spread to keep his balance like he was steading himself on the subway. He stood up composed like his display of emotion never occurred and bowed twice slowly and then walked off to the stage.
After the show we walked down the spiraling staircase out to the street. We hopped on the subway and headed home. I would have to say that it was a successful first venture to Carnegie Hall.