Après Bach, Baking Bread

by Barbara Rose Shuler

It’s late…still reverberating from Monday night’s filigree brilliance of Libby Walfisch’s evening of Bach and Mendelssohn, who wrote his magnificent octet at the age of 16. Fiery & scintillating playing by the ensemble. A treat to see these Baroque specialists tackle the octet with such enthusiasm and panache.

It takes awhile to wind down from these long days and evenings of the Bach Festival even though it is silly to stay up late because I must rise early and start writing. Today prepared two loaves of bread to bake (a really cool recipe that is easy to prepare and produces a crust like the pros using a smart Dutch oven technique)…only trouble is that long rises timed out wrong and the loaves must be baked now as the clock nears midnight. They are an offering to my family that doesn’t see much of me at this time. What is it they say? Food is love?

I missed the keyboard delights today, except for Yuko Tanaka’s shimmering harpsichord playing in the Bach selections tonight. Yuko’s keyboard music-making is a dream, smooth as silk and vibrant as starlight.

Hey! David Gordon--attracter of large crowds and willing standers packed in close to hear his splendid lectures-- is now available in real-time transmitted video in the lobby. It’s not the Jumbotron at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance but it stopped me in my tracks to hear David talk via monitor about the young Mendelssohn and his remarkable accomplishments with the octet. Sometimes it is hard to get to the lectures by start time and with the Dramaturge speaking to standing room only, coming late isn’t much of an option…so until the crowds gather so thickly you can’t see the lobby screen, check out that option over by the refreshment booth. Frankly, I think these lectures should take place in the main theater as they do at the San Francisco Opera so everyone gets a seat who wants one.

My bread’s almost finished baking but I wanted to share an audience moment. I had spotted a woman in an attractive orange jacket with an unusual purse to match during the aforementioned live video before the performance. Afterwards, she and the man with her were talking elatedly about the hall and how beautiful it is, obviously stunned by what they had stumbled upon in Carmel.

Perhaps even those of us who love our new hall and spend a lot of time there may forget how truly magnificent the design is inside and out. What a gift! Its Bruno’s doing. He called for this hall so we could hear the music better. People responded with incredible dedication, money, skill and love for the arts. Kind of a miracle wouldn’t you say? And that is beautiful too.

Bedtime.
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Barbara Rose Shuler writes Intermezzo, which chronicles classical music, in the Monterey Herald's Go! Magazine each week. She can be contacted at wordways@comcast.net.
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