Washington, DC (USA)

Kim told me a few weeks ago that she would be playing in an organ recital in Downtown DC - so I had it on my calendar for today. It was another matter to get away from the office, but I eventually ducked out the back door for the lunch hour and caught the Metro from L'Enfant to McPherson Square (after a long wait for a train...). I'd been there recently (see MAR 2012), so I knew where the station escalators would let me out - near the north end of Lafayette Square. The recital was in historic St. John's Episopal (built in 1816). The little building was dwarfed by the buildings around it, but the view from one of the side windows was the green park and slight glimpses of the White House. From the history I read, I learned that every U. S. President since Madison has attended services at the little church - there was even a pew (#54) with a plate on the armrest that designated "The Presidents' Pew." The musical event was part of the "First Wednesdays" series offered by St. John's from Fall to Spring. The recital started at 1210, and Kim began with a Bach Fugue, which sounded familiar (probably banked in my brain since about 1989...). In between other pieces (all an "Homage to Bach"), she gave background information on the stories of the composers - the remaining music was influenced (but not composed) by J. S. Bach. At one point, she pointed out that musical notes had alphabetic correlation, which formed the basis (via the letters B. A. C. H.) for the final piece (by Liszt). She did a great job - and just watching her play the complex music (including multiple foot pedal sections) was really something. The performance lasted almost an hour, so I only had a few minutes to congratulate her before I headed back to the office. It was a real treat, though.