RONDO IN C

From a gifted novelist and poet for children (Joyful Noise, 1988), 13 neatly phrased lines of verse, each a succinct expression of the memory that Beethoven's piano piece evokes for one of the listeners at a recital in a large, comfortable living room: "The first squint of sunlight on the water in Maine/Lightning bolts! Thunder! Rain pounding the plains! Watching Ray's train leave the station last fall/Life back in Vienna—the concerts, the balls. . ." Wentworth's dramatically individualized portraits of the audience members are coupled with striking representations of their memories, executed in vibrant pastels; the literal-minded will discover that she has made a close but not a perfect correlation with the full audience pictured on the first and last pages. An unusual tribute to the power of music, and to the depth and diversity to be found in any group of people.