Jay was, for many years, our State Rep. and a great champion for us. He shepherded us thought the difficult process of ensuring Hanscom Air Force Base remained open. He ensured we had a seat at the table with Sen. Kennedy and Gov. Romney.
Now, he offers eloquent respites from these anxiety-ridden times. Enjoy…and subscribe! > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Jay R Kaufman from Uncertain Times <[email protected]> > Subject: Yo-Yo Magic > Date: August 27, 2025 at 11:40:37 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Reply-To: Jay R Kaufman from Uncertain Times > <reply+2ugmmx&ecq7&&da530a62fa5b12eb80ddc35fb568d352c7f597fe8e2ece6357734f1a19e9b...@mg1.substack.com> > > > Forwarded this email? Subscribe here > <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9qYXlya2F1Zm1hbi5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vc3Vic2NyaWJlP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWVtYWlsLXN1YnNjcmliZSZyPWVjcTcmbmV4dD1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmpheXJrYXVmbWFuLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbSUyRnAlMkZ5by15by1tYWdpYyIsInAiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwicyI6MjAzOTEzOCwiZiI6dHJ1ZSwidSI6NjY5Njc5LCJpYXQiOjE3NTYzMDkyNTUsImV4cCI6MjA3MTg4NTI1NSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.lmh4FYTIlnHvQKPL9G3mS8yb4C-OWeX_4Y7su4JsbmQ?> > for more > Uncertain Times > > Yo-Yo Magic > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2039138&post_id=172096665&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=ecq7&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2Njk2NzksInBvc3RfaWQiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwiaWF0IjoxNzU2MzA5MjU1LCJleHAiOjE3NTg5MDEyNTUsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yMDM5MTM4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.NEFi-Fe882y_2kN1jhuhfby9IQJpRL1KfkNp-B0ZQ-M> > JAY R KAUFMAN <https://substack.com/@jayrkaufman> > AUG 27 > <https://substack.com/@jayrkaufman> > > > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2039138&post_id=172096665&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2Njk2NzksInBvc3RfaWQiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwicmVhY3Rpb24iOiLinaQiLCJpYXQiOjE3NTYzMDkyNTUsImV4cCI6MTc1ODkwMTI1NSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTIwMzkxMzgiLCJzdWIiOiJyZWFjdGlvbiJ9.gzss8LAvyNzmXfH_N0-tcoJe3e3HrbaYm6vJlL6avkc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=ecq7> > > > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2039138&post_id=172096665&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2Njk2NzksInBvc3RfaWQiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwiaWF0IjoxNzU2MzA5MjU1LCJleHAiOjE3NTg5MDEyNTUsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yMDM5MTM4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.NEFi-Fe882y_2kN1jhuhfby9IQJpRL1KfkNp-B0ZQ-M&r=ecq7&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> > > > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2039138&post_id=172096665&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&action=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=ecq7&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2Njk2NzksInBvc3RfaWQiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwiaWF0IjoxNzU2MzA5MjU1LCJleHAiOjE3NTg5MDEyNTUsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yMDM5MTM4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.NEFi-Fe882y_2kN1jhuhfby9IQJpRL1KfkNp-B0ZQ-M> > > > <https://substack.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.kBXBIfKijiv4vphSVhVC7iPyVwpFfbdMsvPnsonwidM?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> > > READ IN APP > <https://open.substack.com/pub/jayrkaufman/p/yo-yo-magic?utm_source=email&redirect=app-store&utm_campaign=email-read-in-app> > > Tanglewood – “where music goes for the summer,” the Boston Symphony asserts. > At 10:30AM on eight summer Saturdays, the bell sounds the call to music > lovers inside the Koussevitzky Music Shed and on the lawn beyond, announcing > the start of the day’s rehearsal. On these Saturdays, the world’s top > orchestra members, conductors, and soloists come together to shape, reshape, > and perfect Sunday’s performance. > > Today’s feature, Camille Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Opus > 33. Samy Rachid, the BSO’s assistant conductor leading, Yo-Yo Ma, consummate > musician and mensch, the cello soloist. They enter from stage right in shorts > and sandals, the Saturday morning casual replacing the performance blacks and > whites. Rachid is holding his baton, Ma one of his precious cellos. I know of > two – a 1712 Stradivarius, valued at $3.5 million, given to him by the > incomparable Jacqueline du Pre when she could no longer play it because of > her advancing multiple sclerosis; the second a 1733 Montagnana, worth a more > modest $2.5 million. They smile and wave to audience and orchestra members, > then settle in. Ma nods to signal his readiness, Rachid raises his baton, and > we’re off – the orchestra’s A minor chord and then, a fraction of a beat > behind, the cello’s high E. > > Thanks for reading Uncertain Times! Subscribe for free to receive new posts > and support my work. > > Subscribed > <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9qYXlya2F1Zm1hbi5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vYWNjb3VudCIsInAiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwicyI6MjAzOTEzOCwiZiI6dHJ1ZSwidSI6NjY5Njc5LCJpYXQiOjE3NTYzMDkyNTUsImV4cCI6MjA3MTg4NTI1NSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.ZE1uxiLE6Nmmqw0yozvf-EY_i-HA_APixH_b9vtLBmY?> > ***************** > > I’m spoiled. As a young adult, I saw childhood hero Leonard Bernstein on this > stage several times late in his life conducting Mahler, Beethoven, and his > own creations. > > Four years ago, I heard Anne-Sophie Mutter in rehearsal playing the world > premiere of John Williams’ second violin concerto, with the composer talking > with her after she had played it – and he had heard it in concert for the > very first time – and then repeating the entire piece with different > phrasing, timing, and color. I was seated directly in front of them, just a > few rows back, close enough to see and hear the conversation about > fine-tuning the piece. > > Two years ago, I savored Joshua Bell rehearsing the Paganini Violin Concerto > No.1, offering a master class to the orchestra’s violin section and > coordinating timing and phrasing with Anna Rakitina in her last concert as > assistant conductor of the BSO. > > What stories that stage can tell. > > ***************** > > When Ma’s eyes aren’t softly focused on his muse in the distance, he’s > offering a smile, a nod, a wink, fingers waving a friendly hello, or a goofy > grin to someone in the orchestra or in the front rows. He repeatedly makes > eye contact with the first violist seated nearby, someone I couldn’t see in > the woodwind section or maybe brasses (requiring Ma to shift nearly 180 > degrees to his left in his seat), and the cellist in the second cellist chair > just on the other side of the conductor’s podium. > > ***************** > > I’m at the edge of my chair, leaning forward, eyes and ears at the alert to > catch every nuance, every hint or demonstration of Ma’s virtuosity and his > well-known and very-human warmth. > > ***************** > > Applause echoes in the shed at the concerto’s end. After briefly > acknowledging the audience’s appreciation, Ma takes the microphone. “I’ve > been playing this piece for…” – a pause to think and do the math – “57 years” > (gasps in the orchestra and audience) “and I learned something about it today > from Samy that will forever change how I think about and play it.” Then he > handed the microphone to Samy Rachid with the invitation to offer this new > learning to us all. Rachid talked of an 1899 rehearsal of this piece with > composer Saint-Saens conducting and Pablo Casals as the cello soloist. > Saint-Saens told Casals that one particular section of what was then his > newest work had been inspired by a stormy passage from Beethoven’s Sixth > Symphony. Saint-Saens then asked Casals to bring that storm into how he > played those measures. Now, Rachid and Ma, tutored by the composer, brought > that understanding, that new learning, to us. > > ***************** > > How the old can be remade, renewed. How modesty and being open to new > learning is a mark of true virtuosity and mastery. > > ***************** > > Then, Ma and Rachid stand together on the conductor’s podium looking over the > score, focused on measures to revisit. As their conversation is ending, Ma, > cello in hand, walks over to the cello section, smiles and chats with the > second cellist, and then hands him what I assume is his priceless > Stradivarius to play for the Saint-Saens reworking and returns to center > stage for the rest of the performance with his friend’s instrument. I thought > I saw this second cellist hold Ma’s cello just a wee bit tighter and closer > than he had held his own. I thought I saw tears welling up in his eyes, > thought I saw his broad smile melting into a smile that should have its own > name, that smile with a jaw clenched to fight back a flood of tears of > overpowering joy. > > ***************** > > Or maybe I was just projecting, recalling love attacks, deeply moving moments > of my own. > > Love attack – noun. The spontaneous response to a deeply moving moment, to > seeing a loved one (a spouse, a child, a grandchild, a dear friend) at just > the right angle, in just the right light, with just the right look or twinkle > in an eye or having just said or done something that takes your breath away > for its brilliance or humor or heart. > > ***************** > > At the concert’s end and having learned his name and a bit about him online, > I went up to the stage to chat with Alexandre Lecarme, still in his seat in > the cello section. He offered that the exchanges of looks and cellos with > Yo-Yo Ma were indeed special but just what those who play with him know to > appreciate and expect from this brilliant but oh-so humble and generous > superstar. And he corrected me, told me that it was the Montagnana, Ma’s > default performance cello, not the Stradivarius, that he had briefly held and > played. Still special, still magical, he told me with a smile in his eyes. > > And so too this Saturday morning in the Berkshires. So much more than just > great music. It’s about being in the presence of abundant mastery, > creativity, curiosity, and joy. > > Thanks for reading Uncertain Times! Subscribe for free to receive new posts > and support my work. > > Subscribed > <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9qYXlya2F1Zm1hbi5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vYWNjb3VudCIsInAiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwicyI6MjAzOTEzOCwiZiI6dHJ1ZSwidSI6NjY5Njc5LCJpYXQiOjE3NTYzMDkyNTUsImV4cCI6MjA3MTg4NTI1NSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.ZE1uxiLE6Nmmqw0yozvf-EY_i-HA_APixH_b9vtLBmY?> > > LIKE > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2039138&post_id=172096665&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2Njk2NzksInBvc3RfaWQiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwicmVhY3Rpb24iOiLinaQiLCJpYXQiOjE3NTYzMDkyNTUsImV4cCI6MTc1ODkwMTI1NSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTIwMzkxMzgiLCJzdWIiOiJyZWFjdGlvbiJ9.gzss8LAvyNzmXfH_N0-tcoJe3e3HrbaYm6vJlL6avkc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=ecq7> > > COMMENT > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2039138&post_id=172096665&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2Njk2NzksInBvc3RfaWQiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwiaWF0IjoxNzU2MzA5MjU1LCJleHAiOjE3NTg5MDEyNTUsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yMDM5MTM4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.NEFi-Fe882y_2kN1jhuhfby9IQJpRL1KfkNp-B0ZQ-M&r=ecq7&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> > > RESTACK > <https://substack.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.kBXBIfKijiv4vphSVhVC7iPyVwpFfbdMsvPnsonwidM?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> > > > © 2025 Jay R Kaufman > 1 Childs Road, Lexington, MA. 02421 > Unsubscribe > <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9qYXlya2F1Zm1hbi5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vYWN0aW9uL2Rpc2FibGVfZW1haWw_dG9rZW49ZXlKMWMyVnlYMmxrSWpvMk5qazJOemtzSW5CdmMzUmZhV1FpT2pFM01qQTVOalkyTlN3aWFXRjBJam94TnpVMk16QTVNalUxTENKbGVIQWlPakUzT0RjNE5EVXlOVFVzSW1semN5STZJbkIxWWkweU1ETTVNVE00SWl3aWMzVmlJam9pWkdsellXSnNaVjlsYldGcGJDSjkuNlpXSXFjdUp3NHljOFFIbmEtYUZiTHluLU5iLUVvUzU2Wng1U0NUeXdrdyIsInAiOjE3MjA5NjY2NSwicyI6MjAzOTEzOCwiZiI6dHJ1ZSwidSI6NjY5Njc5LCJpYXQiOjE3NTYzMDkyNTUsImV4cCI6MjA3MTg4NTI1NSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.sKLExluuVCLo39fHlTkPM7U6iZXxuO4hIqW7cr-1v3w?> > > <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vc2lnbnVwP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c3Vic3RhY2smdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1mb290ZXImdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWF1dG9maWxsZWQtZm9vdGVyJmZyZWVTaWdudXBFbWFpbD1zYW1hdHRlc0BnbWFpbC5jb20mcj1lY3E3IiwicCI6MTcyMDk2NjY1LCJzIjoyMDM5MTM4LCJmIjp0cnVlLCJ1Ijo2Njk2NzksImlhdCI6MTc1NjMwOTI1NSwiZXhwIjoyMDcxODg1MjU1LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMCIsInN1YiI6ImxpbmstcmVkaXJlY3QifQ.DVwCo5alkzht-6y7KAlRtzQbCgQhkXgpM29CuzibyXU?> >
-- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
