Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Relying solely on a speculative hunch, I attended Yujia Shen’s doctoral recital at Diastole Scholars' Center on Saturday, May 6. I was rewarded for my intuition. An appreciative party crasher, I joined a small coterie of Shen’s friends, family and representatives of the UMKC Conservatory in the magnificent facility that closely resembles my dream home.
I struggled to maintain my composure during the first and third movements of Jean-Marie Leclair’s Sonata in D Major. The profound playing of Shen and pianist Hyunah Noh provoked an outpouring of emotions I’d bottled up during a busy week. Shen and Noh balanced Leclair’s romanticism with the modernity of Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 2 in D Major in the first set.
Belatedly aware of the presence of cameras, I managed not to break down during renditions of compositions by Arvo Pärt and Robert Schumann performed by Shen and pianist Jenessa LeMmon the recital’s second half. I fear my ridiculous hysterics may have marred footage of the otherwise transcendent event.