This morning, with the temperature hovering freezing, I celebrated the midweek Eucharist again at St John's with eight others, then went to Riverside Surgery for a change of dressing before walking home in time for lunch. By teatime, rain was turning into sleet, with snow promised later. We went to town by bus in the evening walking to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for a piano recital. By this time, pavements were treacherous and I regretted my choice of footwear.
Llyr Williams played a couple of Schubert's last sonatas, plus two of the elaborations on a couple of songs from his 'Winterreise' cycle by Franz List. A powerful evening's music. Schubert's sonata in B Flat was the subject of BBC Radio 4's 'Soul Music' programme earlier in the week. By coincidence, an unfamiliar musical masterpiece was given its historical context, and its key music themes were already familiar by the time we heard it performed live. And what a performance!
Wales has to be most proud of one of its great Classical music interpreters and performers. I love his passion and the energy he brings to the work. In performance, he doesn't forget that that Schubert had just passed thirty when he went through his final phase of creative output, knewing, like Mozart that he didn't have long to live.
To get home after the concert, we caught a 63 bus going up Cathedral Road. The driver announced a change of route just beyond our stop, avoiding the last and steepest part of Penhill, just in case the falling snow was unsurmountable. Meadow Street looked beautiful and quiet under its fresh white blanket. It never lasts long, but it gives an excuse to get a camera out for some special night shots.
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