Friday Listening: May 20, 2022

• "LYS" - this release from Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelsen is a collection of music influenced by light, written by thirteen female composers
• "Rachmaninoff: Suites for Two Pianos" - a spotlight on the composer's sumptuous suites for two pianos from pianists Marianna Shirinyan and Dominik Wizjan
• "Multiple" - a new album of works for electric viola from violist Nic Pendlebury
• "A Gathering of Friends" - Yo-Yo Ma and the New York Philharmonic join forces for a solid tribute to John Williams's music, including his Cello Concerto
• "Musa Italiana" - Filarmonica della Scala and Riccardo Chailly take on Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, paired with Schubert and three Mozart overtures to operas premiered in Milan

"Invitation" - Mary Oliver

Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy

and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles

for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,

or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air

as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine

and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude –
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing

just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,

do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.

It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.

Mary Oliver, “Invitation,” A Thousand Mornings (New York: Penguin Books, 2013).