My Father, Lenny and Beethoven; A Page From My Life by Payman Akhlaghi

My Father, Lenny and Beethoven
A Page From My Life, by Payman Akhlaghi

It took 20 years for the pieces to come together, and it might only be of significance to me. Nevertheless...
A page in the pocket notebook left by my father on the 19th of October 1990 read in Persian, and I paraphrase as I recall, "For Payman, Leonard Bernstein, Berlin Wall concert, Beethoven's 9th symphony." I thought at the time that he must have heard the news on the Persian Voice of America, but the timing of it kept puzzling me over the years, since the event had taken place one year earlier in 1989. Not until last year did I notice that the note had to do with an obituary for Lenny, who had died just a few days before, on October the 14th.

My father was 10 years younger, and he wasn't a musician. He supported my interests, however, as evidenced not the least by remembering me in the quiet of his room, in a little note, that he would not find the chance to deliver by himself.

© 2012, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.