Dissolving Music In Mind Chapter 14

I am a human being first and an artist second.

I have many unforgettable memories of the Prades Festival, but the best of them is the second festival in 1951. It was at that festival that I first met my dear Matilda.

I have reason to thank God for many things that have happened in my long life. I have been lucky and happy. But the years I have spent with Matilda have been the happiest of my life. In my childhood I was blessed with a mother like my mother, and in my old age I have been blessed with a wife like Matilda.

I have observed a curious trait in many men: they have no hesitation in speaking of how much they love their mothers, but have great difficulty in saying how much they love their wives! I have no difficulty in saying it. Matilda is a wonderful creature in my world, and every day I discover some new wonder in her. I know I am not young, but the words I use to describe her may be those of a young lover, because that is how I feel about her. Or perhaps it is because I have lived longer than most and understand the meaning of love better.

As I said, I first met Matilda at the second Prades Festival. One day I heard that a writer from Puerto Rico was coming to the festival with his niece who played the cello, and he wanted to meet me. This man was called Rafael Montanez, and he was said to be a good friend of my mother's relatives, who lived in Puerto Rico. I had never been to Puerto Rico, and my mother often spoke of her country of birth with great nostalgia. When I became successful in my career, I often said to her: "Mom, let me take you there." But she always replied: "No, Xavier, later. Your work is more important." Unfortunately, that "later" never came. I had never met her relatives, and I was very happy to have this opportunity to meet someone who was familiar with her relatives.