Past Life

I'm sorry. I don't speak German.

P-Polish? Speak Polish?

No, sorry. No Polish.

Papa...Baruch Milch?

Dr. Baruch Milch?

Yes, my papa Dr. Baruch Milch.

Stop it!

I'm sorry. She does not mean...

* And what is love?

* And what is love?

* A thing of soft

* Misnomers

* Is love

* So...

Two, three, "Qui la..."

Lonek?

Sephi!

Sephi.

Dr. Milch?

* With cat-like tread, upon our prey we steal *

* In silence dread, our cautious way we feel *

* No sound at all, we never speak a word *

* A fly's foot-fall would be distinctly heard *

* So stealthily the pirate creeps *

* While all the household soundly sleeps *

* Come, friends, who plough the sea *

* Truce to navigation, take another station *

* Let's vary piracy

* With a little burglary...

Sorry, I should have waited until you finished before I came in,

but the singing was so great.

Nice to see you. So, you're here.

Come, please. Boys and girls,

this is the famous and talented Thomas Zelinski.

Talented? I don't know. Famous? No, absolutely not.

Well,

famous enough for the North Dakota University

to commission a prestigious choral work from him,

which will have its world premiere in Warsaw,

unusual for a communist country.

Well, not so unusual. I write in Polish.

I'm a German, but my mother is Polish.

I want to thank Dr. Lotan for making it possible

for me to come here and fine-tune my composition.

It will be a great learning experience for all you composition students.

Actually, I hope to learn from you.

I never know if what I write is good or bad,

and I learn about it from encounters,

which can be even devastating.

And Thomas was kind enough to mentor

some of you composition students,

if you behave politely.

No, please, don't behave politely.

I had a teacher in the academy who said art is like sex--

it's no good if it's done politely.

Now, please, continue your singing.

It was really beautiful.

Well, in honor of our guest, let's take a look

at Penderecki's "Song of Cherubim," page 18.

* And what is love?

* And what is love?

* A thing of soft

* Misnomers

* Is love

* So divine

* So divine

* And what is...

Good morning. How are you?

I'm fine, thank you.

This is a little strange, no?

But you got the postcard I sent you?

Yes, thank you.

A Keats sonnet.

Ambitious.

How is it coming along?

It's difficult.

I don't think what I wrote is very good.

How do you know?

I never know if what I write is good or not

unless I feel it's not...

true,

that I'm not saying something I really care about.

Is your text something you care about?

I'm not sure.

I thought that using an important text

is the right way, but...

I'm sure that here at the academy they have a very clear idea

about the right way and the wrong way to write music.

If you want my advice,

don't take anyone's advice.

Now, please.

Lusia?

Three, four, one.

Be careful with the pronunciation.

Polish is tricky.

Three, four, one.

Great. Again, please.

So, I will come to get you in an hour.

I don't think so.

I should go to bed early and get ready for tomorrow.

Forgive me for being persistent, but that's not the way to get ready.

You'll be too tense for the concert tomorrow.

We'll go with some people from the choir

and just have a good time.

Okay?

Come on.

-Where are we? -You'll see.

You know, it's getting late, so I think I will--

It's there.

Down the stairs.

Please.

What's the problem?

Or both. You can say both.

Don't be embarrassed.

No, I had enough.

If you can finish a sentence, it means...

you did not have enough.

Come on!

So, Warsaw is not what you expected?

It's not.

Isn't your father a doctor?

Whoo-hoo!

He probably went

to the medical school here before the war.

He should visit.

Would be interesting for him to see

how everything has changed.

Did you tell him about Berlin?

How about a dance before we eat?

No, I don't know how to dance.

This is a good time to learn.

Don't be scared.

Relax.

Her husband told me she was hospitalized,

so I asked for a telegram with more information.

No telegram?

Then could you ask her to try and place an international call

to the same number I gave the operator before?

Okay, but it will take some time to get a line.

If you want, I can wait with you...

at the bar.

And they will transfer the call.

It's such a curse that we like classical music,

because rock and roll is so much more fun.

My friends were so surprised when I went to the music academy.

I was such a bad boy,

getting drunk on sacramental wine.

You and my sister would get along.

My father loves classical music.

Really?

Is he the one who got you interested in it?

He did.

But you asked before, so, yes...

I asked him...

about what your mother said.

He told me and my sister the whole story.

The boy that was killed. You know the story?

No, my mother never explained what she meant that day.

What happened there was a tragedy.

It was not my father's fault.

The only reason I want to know is

my mother did not have an easy life.

And this thing with your father,

for some reason, seems to upset her.

Really upset her.

And if I can do anything to make it easier for her,

even just a little, so I try.

I know that by talking good things about my mother

I will lose my sexy bad boy image.

So...

if it's not too big a problem,