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December 29, 2016:

CATCHING KHACHATURIAN

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, 2016 is almost done and 2017 is waiting in the wings. As I write these here notes I am listening, as I have been for the last two hours, to the wonderful music of Mr. Aram Khachaturian. This guy could write a tune. I love both his piano and violin concertos and his concerto-rhapsody for violin and orchestra. I discovered Khachaturian back in early 1962 when I went to see Billy Wilder’s hilarious comedy One, Two, Three at the Picfair Theater (a few months after its December 1961 opening and exclusive run). I cannot tell you how long and loud the laughs were – well, I can and just did. And I cannot tell you how the brilliant music moved that film along and kept the pace as breathless as James Cagney’s amazing performance. I took note of the credit for Andre Previn but it said adapted – and I soon learned that the main music for the film, that breathless showpiece for orchestra was the Sabre Dance by someone named Khachaturian. I’m sure I bought a recording of it on some disc with other pieces. The next time I took note of the name Khachaturian was in 1968 when I saw a motion picture entitled 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was scored with classical music from start to finish. By far my favorite piece was a slow, mournful piece that later I found was the adagio from the Gayene ballet by – Khachaturian. Then in my record collecting days I discovered his second symphony and most especially his incredible ballet of Spartacus. It’s been fun going through all this stuff again, and I also found I had a CD I’d never played of his film music for The Battle of Stalingrad and Othello, which is what’s playing right now. And I’ve never heard his first and third symphonies, so they are winging their way to me now. Anyway, Mr. Khachaturian is aces.

Yesterday was a nice little day. I didn’t quite get eight hours of sleep due to the brain being awhirl with ideas, but I got enough. Once up, I did the usual morning stuff, chose all but one song, and then went out and did some banking. Then I had a chili, cheese, and onion omelet and a bagel for my meal o’ the day. At that time there were no packages to pick up, even though I knew a couple were coming, so I just went home. I played quite a bit of music, going from the A’s to make sure I listened to everything I’d uploaded – some Copland, Khachaturian, Glazunov, and others. All fun, all tuneful, all excellent, no real dogs at all. At some point I went and picked up the packages that had arrived and then came home again. I then had an irritating call with some UPS person in the Philippines – yes, the Philippines. My promised package didn’t arrive in the window in which it was supposed to but this person told me it would definitely be here by seven. It wasn’t. I got another idiot on the phone who actually lied to me and made it up as she was going along – I finally got really angry and she put me on with a supervisor, still in the Philippines, but he proved helpful and ascertained that the package had never even been put on the truck for delivery – he’d spoken to three different people at the local UPS hub and they guaranteed it would be here today. We shall see. Then I decided to have a conversation with Muse Margaret, because I was still waffling over the two book ideas and trying to second-guess myself on the direction the newer of them seemed to be taking.

As always, she was the model of clarity. She could hear in my voice the minute I told her I’d been procrastinating on the research for the original book idea, she knew there must be a reason for that, so I told her the new title, which she instantly loved and then I told her the idea of it, the one I’d been having second thoughts about, and she absolutely loved it and said, “Write it!” There was no question in her mind and it was all I needed to hear to know this was the right one to do for 2017. I’d been making notes all day, and I decided on first person for this one – Margaret totally agreed on that point – and I did the template Word doc for it and wrote two pages (using the rough paragraphs I’d written the night before) – I smoothed out everything and wrote new paragraphs, and so far what I like about it is that from paragraph one it sets everything in motion with absolutely no preamble or delay, although you don’t really find out exactly what’s happening until about page three in terms of exactly what’s about to be done, but you know something’s coming that’s interesting from paragraph one. Once the plot is in motion, then I can backtrack for any history that I may or may not need, but my idea is to give all that’s necessary in the first few pages so that we hit the road running. And that’s all I’m saying about that.

At some point I had the rest of the cherry loaf made by the Darling Daughter, and some little cheese slices and cashews for my evening snack. I took a nice hot shower and, as always, I got some really good ideas, which I wrote down immediately after drying off and putting on the bedclothes. Then I just listened to more music – right now it’s the Khachaturian second symphony, which would be an amazing recording were it not for some pretty bad occasional distortion, like the engineers weren’t prepared for the big climaxes – Mr. Khachaturian likes his big climaxes for sure – his third symphony has seventeen trumpets. But the tunes are amazing and some of the first movement sounds very Herrmann-like as in the score to Marnie. I wonder if Mr. Herrmann was a Khachaturian fan or if it’s just coincidence.

Today, I shall choose the final song, and then get everyone their music. I’ll make notes, hopefully pick up packages, maybe jog if it’s nice out, and then I’m supping with friends at six-thirty.

Tomorrow is unknown to me, Saturday I have a meeting with Kay Cole, and then it’s our Annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Bash right here at haineshisway.com, the safest and most fun New Year’s celebration anywhere. So be there or be round and let’s ring in the New Year with much light and positivity. Then on New Year’s Day I begin the new novel, my seventeenth book. Barry Pearl is not having his usual New Year’s Day partay, so I may see about going out with friends later in the day, or maybe even having some folks over as I did one year. We shall see.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, choose a song, get music to everyone, make notes, hopefully pick up packages, and then sup with friends. Today’s topic of discussion: What were your favorite performances this year, whether stage, screen, or the television? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, whilst I continue to catch Khachaturian and his wonderful music as I hopefully dream book dreams and ideas.

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