Two Guys in a Coffee Shop Talking About Stravinsky

[What I overheard this morning in the Key of C Coffee Shop]

Elderly Guy with Glasses: It used to be that everyone loved Stravinsky. What they didn't realize is that what they were responding to was the silence of the Russian Orthodox Church.

[He gestures toward a table next to mine. They set coffee cups down and sit.]

Elderly Guy with Long White Hair and Black Wool Skull Cap: When I was a boy my mother took me to the Easter service at Saint Nicholas, a Russian Orthodox church in Brooklyn. I remember this one point in the service; they blew out the candles, turn out the lights, and we all stood in the dark, in silence. Then the priest whispers: "Wisdom." [Pause] "Wisdom." He then walks around lighting candles and this wall of red--blood red with gold faces...

Guy Smiling With Wire Rimmed Glasses: Icons.

Man With Long White Beard Matching His Hair: Yes. These icons--the mother of God, the crucified Jesus, the saints, the infant, the martyers-- are all suddenly visable, looking at us...with that face of....

The One Who Is Listening: Wisdom.

The One Who Is Remembering: Well, yes. Yes. Knowing. Faces that know something.

Half Bald Guy with the Glasses: This is what Stravinsky was formed in. These ideas. This presence. This mystery and sense of holy wisdom. This is what informed his music. This is where his music comes from. Standing before icons, singing hymns. That mixture of music and silence was in his bones.

Elderly Guy With Cap And No Socks Leaning Back In Chair: It was also what he was pushing against. He was cosmopolitan you know. I don't think he went to church as an adult. He was trying to overcome his background, push against the religion of his youth. What formed him was also what limited him...at least in his mind.

[The two men nod heads. Lift their coffee cups to their dry, quivering lips]

Man with Glasses Whose Beige Pants Are Worn At The Cuffs: Now of course, its all Beethoven.

Man With White Billowy Shirt and Native American Vest With Black Trim that Matches Skull Cap: Yes. This mixture of classical and pop music....a mess.

The Four-Eyed Man: [Leans forward] No wisdom.

The Long Hair: [Swinging arms wildly] No one practices. No sustained interest. No discovery of what makes something great.

Man With The Poor Eyesight: We should demand our students become members of the Russian Orthodox Church. Then they'd have something to play against! [Pounds fist on table]

The Man in Exotic Fabrics: [Points at conversation partner] Ha!