For all the great thoughts I have read
For all the deep books I have studied
None has brought me nearer to Spirit
Than a walk beneath shimmering leaves
Golden red with the fire of autumn
When the air is crisp
And the sun a pale eye, watching.
I am a scholar of the senses
A theologian of the tangible.
Spirit touches me and I touch Spirit
Each time I lift a leaf from my path
A thin flake of fire golden red
Still warm from the breath that made it.

Steven Charleston, “Scholar of the Senses,” in Spirit Wheel: Meditations from an Indigenous Elder (Minneapolis, MN: Broadleaf Books, 2023), 22.

Earlier today, I listened to remarks that Secretary of State Antony Blinken made during a press conference in Israel. In those remarks he referenced a text written by his stepfather, Samuel Pisar, to be performed as part of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 more commonly known as the monumental “Kaddish Symphony.”

The Kaddish Symphony is a dramatic portrayal, through the powerful interaction of words and music of humanity’s crisis of faith and the disorientation it provokes in our contemporary world. Before Bernstein’s death, he turned to his friend, Samuel Pisar and asked him to write the definitive narrative for “Kaddish,” based on the Holocaust – one of the worst catastrophes perpetrated by one group of people over another under the eyes of a seemingly uncaring God. Having been a holocaust survivor himself, Pisar felt unable to produce a text equal to the grandeur of Bernstein’s music. It would also mean a revisiting of his own lifelong struggle with reason and faith. But soon after the horror s of September 11, 2001, Pisar was convinced it was time to fulfill Bernstein’s request and write his aching and eloquent “Dialogue with God.”

The section of the dialogue from which Secretary Blinken quoted today is worth reading in light of the overwhelming tragedies we are witnessing in Israel and Gaza and indeed in so many places within our world today. I admire Pisar’s  fierce honesty with God, his “Job-like” arguments, and the urgency of his warning to turn from depravity and cherish the sanctity of human life.

I have posted a link to the entire text and the “Kaddish Symphony” below.

Majestic deity:
Whoever You are, wherever You are,
Your omnipresence in our midst
Is so old, so immense, so ingrained,
That I dare not even ask myself
If You are reality or illusion.
Either way, for us mortals,
You are an indispensable source of hope.

Still, my Kaddish is not a confession
Of sudden religious reawakening.
Like most of my fellow-men,
I remain torn between belief and doubt,
Revelation and enlightenment
Tradition and modernity.

Since my return from the valleys of death,
A rage to live and learn has pushed me
Toward the summits of existence.
Yes, providence has smiled upon me,
And today my cup truly runneth over.

But in the end, what am I,
If not a humble messenger
From a world that once collapsed,
Alarmed to see our world headed
For another collapse?

And what entitles me
To claim Your attention,
If not a duty to bear witness
To the martyrdom and rebirth of my people;
Of all peoples exposed to
Existential danger?

And what is my message,
If not that man,
Though created in Your image,
And endowed with freedom to choose
Between good and evil,
Remains capable of the worst,
As of the best,
Of hatred as of love,
Of madness as of genius.

That unless we curb our predatory instincts,
Cherish the sanctity and dignity of human life,
And espouse the core moral values
Common to all great creeds
-Sacred and secular-
The horrors of the past will return
To darken our future.

Complete Text of “Dialogue with God” by Samuel Pisar
John Axelrod and Luzerner Orchestra on Spotify

Sunset over Hydra – July 2023

Deb and I have been enjoying a good stretch of time on the enchanted Greek Island of Hydra on the Saronic Gulf. We are staying at “YaYa’s” House, a small villa on top of a cliff which looks over the port below. The house is a 15-minute walk from the port, with over 240 steps to climb (we’ve counted them), but the view is worth it.

Every morning I have been working on new repertoire while Debbie works on her drawing project based on various flowers of Hydra. On a recent evening on the porch, I recorded a run through of a piece by Carlo Domeniconi titled, “Rose in the Garden.”

This piece is the 9th movement from Carlo Domeniconi’s Hommage à A. de Saint-Exupéry – a set of sonic depictions of scenes from Saint-Exupéry’s children’s book, “The Little Prince.”  The Cicadas provide a shrill chorus in the background. I understand that the Cicadas in Greece are the largest in Europe!

 
 

 

The gifted oboist and conductor, Michael Helmrath, once asked a student the following question:

“Where is the music?”
“In the CD when you started playing it?”
“No the CD is a photo. But it isn’t the music.”
“Then is it in the score, when you write it?”
“No the music only exists in the moment when it is played. Therefore, don’t be afraid. Just play.”

Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829), a contemporary of Beethoven and Schubert, was a musician with a mission: to raise the recently invented (but rather quiet) six-string guitar to a level of musical prominence in a world inclined to favor ever-louder operatic, pianistic, and symphonic music.

During the years 1806–1819, while he lived in Vienna, Giuliani’s dazzling performances made him the darling of that city, whose press and public hailed him as the greatest guitarist of his generation. His guitar works, rich in chamber music, were published by the foremost Viennese publishers and widely acclaimed. Against all odds, this poor guitarist of modest south-Italian origin made a place in history for himself. He was decisive in launching the classical guitar in central Europe as a versatile instrument capable of moving and enchanting audiences when played with skill and musicianship.

This video performance of “Le Rose” is taken from Choix de Mes Fleurs Cheries, “My chosen and dear flowers,” a cycle of ten short pieces written by well-known Italian composer and guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829).

I performed this piece during a student concert at the recent Classical Guitar Corner Academy Summer School held at Endicot College in Beverly Massachusetts. I hope to post a video soon of the live performance in addition to this “studio performance.” Playing for others in a live setting is more exciting for sure!

Several months ago, I purchased some music from guitarist, teacher, and music journalist Mark Small.  We made phone contact with each other and had the pleasure of talking about all things guitar. Mark is a published journalist and occasionally writes for Acoustic Guitar Magazine.

Long story short. Mark was working on an article to describe the allure of the classical guitar for professional and amateur guitarists over 65, the boomer generation, and the ways they have stayed focused on the instrument as the aging process moves on. He had seen my YouTube Channel and thought he might feature me in this article. I was surprised and honored to be included.

Mark writes:

“Many players from this age group who, chose careers in classical guitar continue, touring, recording, and teaching. They, as well as those returning to playing later in life, have learned that it’s important to adjust practice regimens or adopt new ones as their bodies age. In this feature, Benjamin Verdery, Andrew York, Stephen Robinson, and Raphaella Smits–all high-achieving professionals share observations about how they maintain and  continually improve their skills, while offering advice applicable to players of all ages and styles, including steel-string guitarists. Rick Lord, a player who made guitar his focal point after retiring from a non-music profession, also shares his experiences.”

If you would like to read the article, download the pdf file here.