Original image by There Stands the Glass.
The recent misfortunes affecting all global citizens have been paralleled by personal setbacks in recent weeks. My gloom resulted in an insatiable craving for chamber music.
Seven of the 13 performances I’ve attended so far this month fall into the category. And while I wasn’t interested in tuning into broadcasts from the Coachella festival, I’m currently obsessed with The 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition.
I was impelled to claim a front-and-center seat amid an audience of a few dozen at a free faculty recital by pianist Sean Chen and violinist Joseph Genualdi at White Recital Hall on Wednesday, April 23. The UMKC Conservatory professors’ interpretations of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Fauré hit home.
Accompanied by rolling thunder, Genualdi’s take of Bach’s famed chaconne may be the most transcendent thing I’ll hear in 2025. My passion for a piece written more than 300 years ago almost certainly correlates with my malaise.