Olympic Instrumentalists

Throughout mid-February, I was suitably entertained watching the Winter Olympics. I thoroughly enjoy the amazing feats of skill, endurance, agility and downright courage the athletes display and I’m nearly as exhausted as they are at the end of a competition. Sports in general, however, rarely interest me beyond our international biennial spectacles. I was never very athletic though I do still hold a 55 year old record in golf for the longest drive ever recorded at my college. That accomplishment would be a far greater source of pride had the ball not landed three fairways over. Powerful, yes but accuracy was not my strong suit. It was like hitting a foul ball out of Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City into Arrowhead Stadium next door…or something like that. Nevertheless, I admire great athleticism when I see it though given my aversion to watching most athletic events, I don’t tend to look for feats of great athletes inside sports venues. Let me explain. My experience listening to live musical performances over the years has been generally at festivals where individual headliners play two or three pieces in a concert or set. I was always impressed by how much physical skill and energy a pianist or instrumentalist has to exert to render a syncopated piece, but I tended to reserve my admiration for the performers technical skill and the emotive quality of their rendition.