Eustacia
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 Posted: Nov 17, 2004 7:07:43 pm |
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Tomorrow, Nov 18, will be the one-year anniversary of Michael's passing. A year - and I'm still as sad as I was on the evening one year ago that I saw the news flash on CNN saying that he was gone. I remember feeling that CNN must have made a mistake, that it couldn't be THE Michael Kamen.
Then in the weeks that followed, I remember feeling incensed that Michael wasn't at least on the cover of Time magazine or that his passing wasn't noted in the media to the degree that it should have been. I thought, 'Don't these people realize who this man WAS?' Some of his fans weren't aware that Michael was gone until they saw a clip of him months later on the Academy Awards show in the tribute to the departed artists!
To this day, I can't listen to any of Michael's music or watch his DVDs without crying like a big baby. If I listen to my favorites, such as 'Rowena' from the soundtrack of Mr. Holland's Opus, or the Band of Brothers CD, I'm devastated. When I watch any of his DVDs, particularly the Metallica S&M documentary and concert, the David Sanborn 'Concerto for Saxophone' interview and performance, or one of his concerts with Pavarotti, I have swollen eyes for a week.
Having been such a fan of his work and having admired him tremendously for the incredible person he was, it's difficult dealing with his loss, even a year later. I'll always remember meeting him in Seattle when he conducted the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in his 'The Seattle Symphony Goes to the Movies' concert -- God, he was so charming. I always thought Michael had a beautiful and noble face --- a face you couldn't look away from. Michael was the epitome of 'cool', whether he was conducting (sometimes he looked like he was dancing), conversing, or simply walking down the street.
Michael was so talented and charismatic. He was truly a 'Renaissance man'. I just returned from Florence, the 'Renaissance capital of the world', and I thought of Michael then. To me, he was in the same class as Leonardo, Dante, Galileo, and yes, even Michelangelo.
Anyway. All I can do is continue playing his music, contributing in his memory to the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, and recommending his works to people who aren't familiar with them so that his legacy continues to grow. And I can take small comfort that Michael's spirit, like the Anasazi evoked in his millennium symphonic poem 'The New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms', will always be with us.
My best to his wife, daughters, brothers, and friends.
Eustacia
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