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When Mom in later years mentioned my "piano hiatus" to me it was with evident dismay at how long it lasted — for over a year, I swear she said. But in charting out a timeline I haven't found a way by which I begin lessons at age 4 for several months and perform and record on the known dates that also allows for that long a hiatus. Then again, there's no record of when I started lessons, so that's also a bit up in the air.
My best guess is that the first run of lessons was some time in the fall of 1962, when I was about four-and-a-half, and stopped just after a May 5, 1963 studio recital at Mrs. Kent's Congregational Church when I played three pieces: a Burgmüller "Study" (not the Ballade?), Ellmenreich's Spinning Song (harder even than the Ballade) as well as some piece called Guitar that I don't remember at all, isn't in the Thompson books, and was not on a surviving recording.
I hesitate to doubt Mom's memory (just as Mom disliked other people doubting hers) but I think the piano hiatus was just the summer and autumn of '63. That was probably the summer that we had a long and pleasant vacation (if lacking proper plumbing) in upper Michigan and Canada. Kindergarten started in September, followed by the holidays, a good solid Michigan blanket of snow, a visit from Santa Claus to our own front door (a door-to-door Santa!) and, naturally, the Christmas carols.
My sisters enjoyed singing together, and among our tape recordings was a long clip of them chiming out a string of folk and campfire songs. On at least one evening the whole family played a Christmas LP that had tear-out sheets of lyrics so every one could read and sing together. It was a brief but meaningful moment of reading and making music rolled up in a ball with sweeter aspects of family life.
Mom told me later that it was after an occasion like that that I asked for piano lessons again. Assuming that we've accurately reconstructed what happened, then I was already prey to sentimental kitsch at the age of five, thanks to a Christmas LP! So back I went to Mrs. Kent. And boy, was she ready for me.
When Mom in later years mentioned my "piano hiatus" to me it was with evident dismay at how long it lasted — for over a year, I swear she said. But in charting out a timeline I haven't found a way by which I begin lessons at age 4 for several months and perform and record on the known dates that also allows for that long a hiatus. Then again, there's no record of when I started lessons, so that's also a bit up in the air.
My best guess is that the first run of lessons was some time in the fall of 1962, when I was about four-and-a-half, and stopped just after a May 5, 1963 studio recital at Mrs. Kent's Congregational Church when I played three pieces: a Burgmüller "Study" (not the Ballade?), Ellmenreich's Spinning Song (harder even than the Ballade) as well as some piece called Guitar that I don't remember at all, isn't in the Thompson books, and was not on a surviving recording.
I hesitate to doubt Mom's memory (just as Mom disliked other people doubting hers) but I think the piano hiatus was just the summer and autumn of '63. That was probably the summer that we had a long and pleasant vacation (if lacking proper plumbing) in upper Michigan and Canada. Kindergarten started in September, followed by the holidays, a good solid Michigan blanket of snow, a visit from Santa Claus to our own front door (a door-to-door Santa!) and, naturally, the Christmas carols.
My sisters enjoyed singing together, and among our tape recordings was a long clip of them chiming out a string of folk and campfire songs. On at least one evening the whole family played a Christmas LP that had tear-out sheets of lyrics so every one could read and sing together. It was a brief but meaningful moment of reading and making music rolled up in a ball with sweeter aspects of family life.
Mom told me later that it was after an occasion like that that I asked for piano lessons again. Assuming that we've accurately reconstructed what happened, then I was already prey to sentimental kitsch at the age of five, thanks to a Christmas LP! So back I went to Mrs. Kent. And boy, was she ready for me.
![Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch [Expanded Edition]](https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0848064005322_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg)
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