TWO CENTS FROM SPENCE: Under Pressure

I was a student of Shannon's many times - at least 6. If she was teaching a class I took it. Her knowledge of the subject matter and her zest for storytelling made learning a pleasure, and she instilled a lifelong interest in the topic in her students. She was unique, and is sorely missed. RIP, you wonderful, lovely, soul.

Ms. Jorgensen,

Many thanks for attending my performance and for your comments about my playing. One of the wonderful things we enjoy in this country is the freedom to express our opinions and through freedom of the press allowing others to see those views freely.

Perhaps if you had known some of the circumstances behind this performance you might have a slightly different take on my playing. I am sorry if the Debussy Elegie was too sad and not "upbeat" enough for you--I played this piece in memory of my mother who I lost several weeks ago to metastatic cancer, hence the overall "serious" tone you may have noted during the performance. It was actually the very last piece Debussy wrote for the piano, and is a very improvisational, rhythmically free and special piece--one of the most extraordinary things Debussy ever wrote. Since it only lasts about 2 and a half minutes, I didn't think it would "lull anyone to sleep," but hopefully the rest of the program would have woken anyone up who might have been in that state.

If by saying you observe that I was "expressionless" during my performance you mean that I do not subscribe to the Lang Lang (famous and popular Chinese pianist of today) school of overemotive facial gesticulation you might indeed be correct. I believe in letting the music speak for itself. Pop music (among other things) over the years has perhaps made us increasingly numb to that whole notion. That there is an element of theatre in music performance cannot be denied, but many people might agree that there is also a distinct difference between art music and musical theatre, except when the genres are mixed in performance art etc. There are many musicians and pianists for whom these gestures apparently come naturally in their own personal process of music making, but I am not one of them--and I do not believe in faking such things because it would be dishonest to myself, and to the audience. I believe we should respect everyone for who they are, and not for who they are not.

I am somewhat mystified by the "frills and arpeggios" you heard in my transcription of Berstein's 'Somewhere'--apparently you did not stay after the performance when on the stage for the audience I talked with Dr. Christian Nova (the chair of the LAVC music department)...you might have actually seen me crack a smile or two! I actually made a point of saying that I believed in keeping this piece simple and did not add much of anything to Bernstein's original accompaniment to the song--only a few chords and imitative voices. Perhaps you are thinking of the transcription of Gershwin's 'The Man I Love,' which definitely does have what could be called 'frills and arpeggios'--as I pointed out by contrast in conversation with Dr. Nova, this was done by the Australian pianist and composer Percy Grainger. The mark at the beginning of the score of 'Somewhere' is "slowly," and I try to take this to heart. As you noted how important and beautiful the melody in this song is--it's something which needs to be brought to the fore, and too much of a sense of rhythmic "beat" would surely blunt the overall effect (in the words of Stephen Sondheim)..."peace, and quiet, and open air wait for us...somewhere."

Thanks again for your comments.
Solon Pierce

All of that is fine, but what about those of us who prefer to do things in person as opposed to digitally? What if it's not just a matter of convenience? For example, the idea of e-readers and e-books is repugnant to me. I don't care what people say; they
re not books. Just having the text doesn't make something a book. It needs binding and real paper that you can feel. And what about the people that you see and interact with at Borders?

I'm not saying that the internet isn't a valuable resource and I'm not saying online endeavors should go away. Things like Amazon and Netflix have helped people- including myself- with things, and there's no denying that. Still, how does one compare an internet bookstore to a real one? You can't. Same reason why I still continue to shun online classes; the personal interaction between professor and student, and between different students, is an essential part of the learning experience to me.

So you go and conduct all of your affairs online if you like, but to me it seems kind of silly. Just remember that something doesn't have to be practical or convenient to be good.

While we are still hopeful that they'll resolve the real issues with textbooks, the good news is that there are options.
We could rent or resell our textbooks at www.collegetextbooks.net .

Great assessment on the sports bars. I agree with the writers completely. The Draft is the place to go for sports enthusiasts, ESPECIALLY if you are a Lakers Fan. It's about time this article came out. Young college students need to know vital information like this. Thank you dedicated staff for your research and hard work.

You do realize that Christmas was originally a pagan holiday right? There was no way for the historical Jesus to have been born in December in the Middle East given the conditions the bible described. His birth month was originated back to the Spring, most likely in April if we are to trust what the bible says (LOL!). The church moved his birth month to the pagan winter festival in order to kill their culture and indoctrinate them into their religious beliefs. There never was really a CHRIST in christmas, it was forcefully implanted there and then it became a tool of corporate greed to create debt slavery in a consumerist society.