WYNTON MARSALIS AND THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA UNDER THE DIRECTION OF SEIJI OZAWA ON THE FRENCH MUSIC STATION “MEZZO”

The entire orchestra in T-shirts,

the studio in the warm colors of Hockney’s paintings.

A dozen or so of Picasso’s Bulls,

each slightly different—that’s the point of variation.

A sonata is three blocks in the shape of buildings,

the first is cut through by stairs

up which the melody climbs to the second theme.

The second building has many stairwells,

going off in different directions,

crossing each other—that’s development.

You get up in the morning, eat breakfast,

then lunch at noon

and dinner in the evening.

The next day’s the same

and the one after, too—that’s form.

At school

you have the same classes every Monday,

Tuesday’s are different from Monday’s,

but in a week Tuesday’s classes are on Tuesday again.

Everything follows

in a fixed order—that’s form.

You’re born,

grow up,

fill up the form of your bodies,

have children. And then it’s about-face,

your children leave you,

your parents die.