Portraits and Dedications

Coming to Europe has always felt like a homecoming. Many Americans certainly can lay claim to European heritage: my own ancestors came from Italy, Wales, Switzerland, and (former East) Germany. Moreover, much of the music and literature which classical music students in the USA study comes from continental Europe. Even the cuisine of Germany has permeated the area of the country where I was raised. 

Part of the "Albuquerque meets Darmstadt" project is to present composers who are currently living and working as composers in Germany (and that have a tie in some way to either city). I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with composer Cord Meijering, director of the Akademie für Tonkunst, DA. 

His pieces are called "Portraits and Dedications." I got to hear the full story about his time at the Macdowell artist colony (New Hampshire, USA) and the people he met. I loved the tales - artists creating things out of frozen spiders; a Pulitzer Prize elderly author going for walks in the rain and hiding in the mist (she also often repeated herself - her "piece" shows it); a literature professor from the Pacific Northwest who had a quirky, wonderful sense of humor. 

Composers need a "point of entry" and why not start with living, breathing, people? 

PHOTO: the Akademie für Tonkunst (musical arts) sign.