Eliot Norman, Chopin and The Joy of Music

On May 16th, Classmate Eliot Norman shared his journey, moving from ‘one form of practice (law) to another (piano)‘ as his primary retirement activity. Organizing his remarks around Chopin’s astonishing Prelude No. 24, “Of Blood. Of Earthly Pleasure … of Death,” Eliot wove together Chopin’s personal journey and Eliot’s own.

In truth, Eliot has played piano since early childhood, rendering it not only a lifelong avocation but an ongoing central theme to his life.  Piano playing, performing, musical adaptations, and community musical outreach — individually and as part of musical groups — have been a major part of his life.  Given his proficiency and skill, one concludes he must have worked to support his piano playing!

To the delight of his audience and musical colleagues, Eliot’s retirement is a rich and welcome chapter of his life: a period filled with musical friendships, YouTube-disseminated concerts, and further focus on the classical work and composition he so ably plays.

Moreover, Eliot brings the work to life with the compelling social commentary of the composer’s life  (Chopin being one of his favorites) and the social milieu in which they created the classical music he plays so joyfully.

Eliot gave a compelling explanation of the music he has mastered while holding the audience spellbound by his ability to integrate the playing skills required with a detailed explanation of the challenges and background of Chopin’s work.

In so doing he truly brought the ‘Joy of Music’ to everyone in attendance.  Here is the recording of his remarks:

Closed captions available within the recording.

(Click on the “CC” icon at the bottom right.)

Note: the video is of the screen share when it’s active, not of the speaker, so it doesn’t change until 2:55 … 

Note 2: listen with earphones for best results.