The Other Side of Magic
by Lisa McDivitt
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At 2:00 PM on a Monday afternoon, Liz and Greg sat at one piano in a fifth-floor Juilliard studio. Liz’s teacher, Veda Kaplinsky, sat in an armchair nearby, score in hand, and waited for them to begin.
Without looking at Greg, Liz started in on the discordant notes of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” – a piece written for an orchestra, originally intended as a ballet, that tells the story of the tribal sacrifice of a virgin who dances herself to death. But Liz and Greg, their four hands and 20 fingers, did the work of every orchestral instrument. These piercing, off-putting notes filled the office. Ms. Kaplinsky followed along in her own score, as Liz and Greg’s legato flutes held in the air for just seconds before breaking into what they do best – a symphony of sounds.
“Bravo,” Ms. Kaplinsky said when they finished, the piano still warm from the workout. What had passed in 20 minutes had been the fighting chords of the timpani, the longing cry of a bassoon, and what Greg calls “a pile of clarinets.” Ms. Kaplinsky, who has heard them play many times before, was won over all over again. She told them their Stravinsky couldn’t get much better.
A little after 3:00 PM, Liz and Greg headed down the hall to Mr. Martin’s studio which was the same size as Ms. Kaplinsky’s room, but much more sparsely decorated. They played the “Rite of Spring” and Mr. Martin shook his head in disappointment. The same discord of the Stravinsky, the same energy from the piano, but he didn’t know what Ms. Kaplinsky found so interesting about the way they played the piece. While Ms. Kaplinsky had recommended they start their concert with the “Rite of Spring,” Mr. Martin encouraged them to begin with the Schubert – even though he didn’t find it that interesting either.
Liz and Greg left the firing range of Mr. Martin’s office. The two walked quietly for a moment, then Liz turned to Greg and she smiled. He let out one of his laughs. While Liz knew part of Mr. Martin’s approach was to make them practice harder and not relax, it still set a different tone for the rest of the day. They would from that moment on refer to the one bright spot in their lesson with Mr. Martin as “that page of the Schubert that Mr. Martin liked.”