A few thoughts about the recital and on art in general.

My son's recital Saturday was very interesteing for several reasons--The first piece, by Jairo Duarte-Lopez, was based on a painting by Tanguy. It is a surrealistic painting, and one I wasn't familiar with. On Sunday in the Menil Collection in Houston, I saw a painting by Tanguy, which according to my son was very similar to "El Miedo," the painting on which his piece was based. This was a pleasant coincidence.
The rest on the recital was made up of pieces by Elliot Carter. The Carter pieces, Figment No 2, "Remembering Mr Ives" and "Enchanted Preludes for Flute and Cello" also had some coincidences. Charles Ives made his living selling insurance--this was his day job. One of his clients was Elliot Carter's family, and he was an influence and mentor for Carter. Enchanted Preludes was based on a poem by Wallace Stevens--actually a piece that was understandable to me. Stevens was an executive with an insurance company. Another artist who had to have a day job in order to support his art. It is interesting to me that neither is remembered for his contribution to the business world. No one says that he was a great salesman, or he was a wonderful executive and he beat all of his sales projections. On the wall in the Fines Arts Building in Chicago, it is engraved--"Art Endures"
I am very proud of my son and of the fact that he commissioned the piece by Lopez-Duarte, which won a prize from the government of Columbia. Two years ago, it was just an idea, and a fragment of a piece that lasted less than a minute. Lopex-Duarte developed it, and the whole concept changed. The piece was very well recieved and many people in the audience commented on how much they liked it.
I am also proud that my son played the pieces by Carter, which were very difficult.