Spring must be on its way, for I am listening to the Chopin/Godowsky Study #45 when I find that at about 3:30 into the piece the sounds of the piano music become inextricably intertwined with the sounds of a Mr. Softee ice cream truck sprinkling its summertime noise along the street. Having not heard Mr. Softee's noise for some months it takes me several seconds to realize that I am not hearing some new and confusing counterpoint in this piece of music (which is busy with counterpoint and what Arrau called "ants"). It takes me some time to distinguish the two, to separate the music from the noise pollution, and to conclude that nothing about this recording (to which I have listened countless times) has changed nor am I hearing some new layer heretofore obscure. All I can do is turn off my music and wait for the Mr. Softee truck to pass into the silent distance so I can resume listening to music.
