Playing through The Art of the Fugue lately, I get the feeling that Bach is pushing his own practice beyond its limits. I feel in it a rebellious, even angry quality. It feels bloody, not safe.

My art professor uncle didn't believe that art could be abstract. He said that all art was representative. I pointed out that music was an 'abstract art.' He said no, music also represents things. These days, I'm sure that he was right. Representation is the basic, critical technology of humanity.

I just cancelled my Washington Post subscription. Reason given: "concern about its content," which really means its editorial shift since Bezos intervened to avoid conflict with the White House. Are they burying stories or even truthful any more?

Inspired by playing Chopin's mazurkas (slowly and with lots of mistakes), I recently composed a dozen mazurkas of my own. Some of Chopin's mazurkas seem quite avante-garde for their time. I would call my own pieces 'anti-avante-garde' for our time.

Re-reading the first poem in Roget's Illusion by Linda Bierds has given me an idea for a piece of music. "wheel spokes glimpsed through vertical apertures..."

Nine of my choral pieces are now available from JWPepper. Just search on 'Charles Turner' from their web page and a list will come up.

Three months of my intermittent labor, revision, revision, and more revision, grappling with doubt and despair, etc. Out of this has emerged a somewhat pleasant and rather humorous Divertimento for five clarinets (Eb, 2 Bb, 2 Bb bass), written for the Namaste Ensemble at the Conservatory in Perugia.

Though it isn't as cold here as in Massachusetts, we discover that our apartment building turns off the heat between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. It is pretty chilly as I write at 4:50 AM, awake because of jet lag.

Arrived in Bologna, Italy yesterday We will be living here until April 1.