Bargain in Barcelona

Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique"; Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composer; Pulcinella Suite (1949); Igor Stravinsky, composer; NDR Sinfonieorchester; Gunter Wand, conducting

On my way back to the ship after visiting the Museu Picasso in Barcelona, Spain, on a rainy autumn afternoon in 1990, I happened upon a CD store. They were just getting ready to close. I looked quickly. There, in the bargain bin, I found a recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 for the equivalency of four dollars. The proprietors seemed pleased to make one more sale before pulling down the shade. That evening, after the late night festivities, I had a little Tchaikovsky party on the Mediterranean Sea with my Sony discman, headphones and the lights from the Spanish coast.

Picasso and Tchaikovsky - within just a few hours of each other. Now, THAT’s a good day.

Credits: To Pablo Picasso, for seeing the world a little differently than the rest of us, and for recreating that different view with a brush.