Alfred Brendel was awesome!

Last night was truly a great way to spend a birthday. I met Chris for a quick dinner near his work, then we made our way uptown to Carnegie Hall. Since we had some extra time before the recital, I suggested sharing a piece of cake from the Carnegie Deli...just a few doors down from the Hall. The deli was crowded with folks there for dinner, and with the tables lined together in community-style seating, we giggled at the mound of pastrami on my left and the mound of corned beef to my right..."Quite a place for the vegetarians to pick for dessert!" I said quietly to Chris across the table. And, our waiter scolded us for only splitting a dessert during the busiest part of the dinner rush. Still, he brought us our lovely seven layer slice of heaven, and we ate with earnest delight. Perhaps he took a look at my pregnant belly and thought best not to argue, or he felt sorry for how cumbersome it was to get me seated in their tight quarters in the first place. We tipped him well and vacated our seats quickly enough that he didn't seem to regret accommodating our order.

The concert was wonderful. The balcony could easily induce Vertigo for the uncommitted concert-goer, but the great thing about Carnegie is that there is not a bad sounding seat in the house. Mr. Brendel played a Haydn Sonata, a Mozart Sonata, and several Schubert Impromptus. The most exceptional performance of the night was his late Beethoven Sonata. This man plays Beethoven in a way that makes you believe it is exactly as Beethoven would play it himself. The audience was appreciative, and would have cajoled him into one encore after another if he hadn't made it clear that he was done after one encore and about 10 curtain calls. The man earned his cake, as far as I am concerned.