A wonderful turn of events

This weekend I'm visiting my friend Jason in the Utica area. Today began with the usual type of tourism. We visited Fly Creek Cider Mill and wandered around Cooperstown for a bit. On the way back, we passed the open gates of the Gelston Castle Estate, which had been closed off while Jason was growing up in the area. On a whim, we decided to take a look around.

When we made it up to the main mansion, we were greeted by an extremely nice PR woman. The estate is now owned by a green development company from NYC, the Safflyn Corporation. After a short conversation, she brought out one of the two owners and we started to discuss the history of the estate. As it turns out, Mstislav Rostropovich once owned the mansion and lived there, among other places, after he left the USSR. The co-owner, Jason Safford, gave us a spontaneous personal tour on account of our connection with its musical history.

The tour reached a peak when he showed us the parlor. There, right in front of me, was a piano that was gifted to Rostropovich by none other than Dmitri Shostakovich, my all-time favorite composer. Mr. Safford even let me take a shot at playing on this remarkable treasure of musical history. It may have been in extreme disrepair, but to know that my fingers were touching the keys of a piano that both Rostropovich and Shostakovich had once called their own made me positively giddy.

Jason and I exchanged cards with Mr. Safford and the property manager, Jeff Tew, before leaving. They both told us that they would be in contact—they want us to help them organize future events for the estate. It's amazing how changing one's plans on a random whim can lead to such amazing destinations. This is certainly a day I will never forget.