As I sit down to move these wrinkled hands on the piano, I try to decide what music to select. The living room is overflowing with dusty boxes filled with music: piano, vocal, organ, church, wedding, popular, art songs and more. One of my earliest memories was my mother playing "Red Sails in the Sunset." I sat near the pedal in wonderment. It was during the Great Depression; a Steinway was a luxury. For my mother, it was a necessity. And so, I grew up knowing that a piano in the home was essential for happiness, solace and discipline.
My lessons at an early age did not reveal a prodigy. Yet, the love of music incubated.
When World War II broke out, my father -- who had already fought in World War I -- volunteered. My brother joined the Army. The wonderful music which emerged eased the three-year separation. "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer" and "White Cliffs of Dover" still bring a wrenching nostalgia.
On the wall are miniature statues of great composers. I see a framed composition written for my mother by my great-grandmother. She wrote wrote one for each of her seven grandchildren. She supported her two young boys by teaching piano and composing -- after her husband died of influenza.
The piano is reflected in the antique gold Peer mirror, which was the focal point of my grandparents' home. Music was a part of the family for generations. My father listened often, while my mother played Chopin's étude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor, known as the "revolutionary étude," her recital piece at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. Our home was a place for Metropolitan Opera stars to come sing around the piano, basking in the afterglow of a concert.
My sister and I grew up giggling through our vocal duets, but later used our gifts in separate performances.
I search for music, which my husband likes to hear while he is at the computer keyboard. The first song he remembers is "Indian Love Call." His mother played and sang it.
But those pieces which stir him the most are the Navy songs and marches, which inspired him at the U.S. Naval Academy. Our son followed in his father's footsteps. He would become a member of the Academy chorus there in Annapolis.
Begun in 2012, ELK
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