Friday 21st November 2014 - The Prophet Bird

One of my piano students wants to learn "Vogel als Prophet" by Robert Schumman. Here is Artur Rubenstein playing it on youtube; so delicate, so fragile, so light, so balanced;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEQ_YExRo5g

Listen. Breathe. Relax.

I wonder if it is this bird:

Gamayun is a prophetic bird of Russian folklore. It is a symbol of wisdom and knowledge and lives on an island in the east, close to paradise. (Wikipedia)

Gamayun, in a painting by Viktor Vasnetsov