“If music be the food of love; play on”

- William Shakespeare  

I used to regularly cross swords with my piano lesson teacher.  “Count out loud!” she would insist in an exasperated voice.  I would resentfully ping a couple wrong notes to irritate her further until the lesson was over so I could play again by ear. 

Ironically my grandmother was a well-established pianist and teacher.  With two grand pianos in her living room, the family would delight in listening to her play.  She always believed my creative and rebellious side towards the piano had potential. Armed with gifts of chirpy sheet music from “The Sound of Music” and a little Hayden and Bach thrown in, I would relish banging out the notes – MY way.

Friday night, LeJaguar and I had the spontaneous opportunity to hear Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky play Janacek, Prokofiev and Chopin.  At 36, Lugansky’s inspiring repertoire has gained him worldwide acclaim. We were awed by his ability to hit the perfect notes in his interpretation of these great classics entirely by ear.  It was also a reminder how important it is to make the effort to hear live performances.

The keyboard may now be closed on my ebony and ivory future as a concert pianist, however music continues to bring joy to my life.  My collection of favourites is as eclectic as my personality.  Alicia Keys, ColdPlay, Moby, Garth Brooks, Jem, The Fray, Duran Duran, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Akon, Faith Hill, Andrea Bocelli, Vivaldi, Mozart and many, many more…

Whether it’s dancing around the living room with friends, singing off-key in the car, leaning over to hold a sure hand at a concert or dancing until the wee hours of the morning, there is an association with each artist and song: a memory of the person or people I was with, the circumstances and emotion of the moment.

And when all is quiet, the Bose stereo system turned off, the iPod stuffed into my coat pocket, if I listen carefully and tune my ear, I can still hear my pianist grandmother practicing (but not counting out loud).