CMP Review 2024-02-01

February 1, 2024

When Ellen Parish took over the principalship of the House of Education in 1923, she knew she would be operating on a shoestring budget. She could not even buy a gramophone (a record player) without approval from the Governing Council. After trying in vain to get one as a donation, she pleaded with the Council to approve the 15-guinea expense “for instructional purposes.”

We have no fancy entertainment center or home theater system, so our music appreciation has been somewhat hampered by tiny speakers not designed for classical music. Just as Mrs. Parish brought the House of Education to a new era with a gramophone, I sought approval from my “governing council” for two stereo-paired Sonos Era 100 speakers to place “for instructional purposes” in our home schoolroom.

Our composer this term is Clara Schumann. At age eighteen she wrote, “What, indeed, is more beautiful than to clothe one’s feelings in sound, what a comfort in sad times, what a pleasure, what a wonderful feeling, to provide an hour of happiness to others. And what a sublime feeling to pursue art so that one gives one’s life for it.”

On Tuesday my son and I watched and listened as Isata Kanneh-Mason played Clara Schumann’s Scherzo No.2 in C Minor. The rich textures of the Steinway grand piano filled our living room. Together we clothed our feelings in sound. I don’t think Ellen Parish ever regretted her purchase, and I don’t regret mine. It is a small price to pay to enjoy the art for which others have given their lives away.

@artmiddlekauff