Normally I wouldn't have been interested in a hard copy of a newspaper, but a homeschool project necessitated a trip to the corner grocery store. Time seemed to stop as I stared in disbelief at the headline that read, "Pianist Touched a World". There below was Van Cliburn's picture and the dates 1934-2013. My heart sank as I realized that my piano teacher Judy Beall probably didn't know about this yet. My voice cracked a bit as I picked up the phone and let her know of Van Cliburn's death. Although he is not a direct link in our chain of "piano ancestors", it felt like we had somehow lost a great grandpa. Our piano genealogy is as follows: Ludwig van Beethoven taught Carl Czerny who taught Franz Liszt who taught Arthur Friedheim who taught Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn who taught Barbara Bowling Drill who taught Judy Beall who taught me. Rildia was Van Cliburn's mother who taught him piano at an early age. Judy loves to tell me stories about all of the piano ancestors and I love hearing them. Just two hours earlier in the day I had sat in the temple trying to figure out why I just don't care that much about my own genealogy and family history. Why did I lack an interest in finding out about my own ancestors? One of the answers to this question has to do with my lack of knowledge about my ancestors. How can I care about them if I don't know who they are and what they accomplished. My piano ancestors are near and dear to my heart only because I've read and heard about them for years. My temple prayer had been answered as I made the commitment to learn about my ancestors in order to develop a love for them.
By Rachel Roark
Friday, March 1, 2013
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3 comments:
Rachel, this is a beautiful article. I, too, was saddened to learn about Cliburn's death. It is always sad to lose such an icon. I have recently begun to research my husband's family and have found it fascinating to learn about his family. People I've never met. One of his ancestors used to like to tell stories about going to the first Lincoln/Douglas debate. As you said, as we learn to know about them, we can learn to love them.
B. Doerk
Ratchet,
Every time I read one of your articles, I think "Rachel is such a great writer" and indeed you are.
Shirlee Chaillet
As always you are so insightful!! Love you girl, sorry for your loss!!
Brenda
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