Cruisin’ the Muses: The asymptote of perfection

Perfection is a laudable but impossible goal. “Gold cannot be pure and people cannot be perfect,” according to a Chinese proverb. Confucius, also a purveyor of Chinese wisdom, in his Analects said: “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”So when Sweden’s Carl Petersson, a featured guest soloist, played Edvard Grieg’s Concerto for Piano in A minor, Op. 16 with the Carson City Symphony Orchestra, the audience more than overlooked a flaw.It was apparent to all in the crowd at the Community Center last Sunday that the brief slip bothered the pianist big time. Yet, when he finished, he received the standing ovation he deserved. If you missed it, you missed a diamond who left the rough a long time ago. The performance was bravissimo.• • •Writers in the arts deserve laudatory remarks in these precincts as much as performance artists, directors, painters and sculptors, etc.So a tip of the hat goes to the late Tony Thornburg of Dayton and his living associates for their melodrama script “Hollywood Hearthrob, or Unrequited Love to the Rescue.”Performed the past two weekends in Dayton, it reminds you scriptwriters can be crafty. Shouldn’t it be “Hollywood Heartthrob”?Then you think about the plot, which featured a bid to fleece an aging Hollywood actress called Heddy Hearthrob, and you get the play on words. It’s not “Heart-throb,” it’s “Hearth-rob.” Gotta read ... the T leaves.• • •This is National Arts and Humanities Month.It honors the more than $135 billion in economic activity generated annually by a non-profit industry employing 4 million people.Gov. Brian Sandoval joined in with a state proclamation encouraging Nevadans to celebrate arts and the humanities. Susan Boskoff, Nevada Arts Council executive director, weighed in as well, saying, “The arts and humanities embody much of the accumulated wisdom, intellect, and imagination of humankind, and they enhance and enrich the lives of everyone.”• • •Sometimes an artistic endeavor boils down to a lone performer doing schtick. Such is the case with Ted Neal of Minden, historical actor and stand-up comic. Neal, who played Kit Carson in the recent Carson City Ghost Walk, also does stand-up routines as “The Cowboy Comic.”Schtick for both the serious and humorous among us. • Email John Barrette at jbarrette@nevadaappeal.com or call 775-881-1213.