When Robert Morley came to pick up Diana for their concert date, she still did not recognize him, and so could not place him from the gangbang orgy. She concluded that it was not so surprising considering the number of men she had been intimate with that night, and the relative brevity of time spent with each of them. The memory of the vast majority of those men had blurred in her mind such that she knew she would not be able to distinguish quite a few of them in everyday incidental contact. In particular, Morley did not possess any remarkable physical features such that his appearance would make him stand out. He was slightly overweight, but apart from that, there was nothing more for Diana to notice. She was not overly pleased, but neither was she displeased.
She simply greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Robert Morley."
For his part, Morley was shocked to see her body shape. By this time, as she was literally days before her due date, her belly had swollen prodigiously. He gasped as he stammered, stating the obvious, "You're pregnant!"
"Quite so! I'm actually due fairly shortly, but not tonight. I hope that's not a problem for you."
"Well, no, I guess not. At least I've never been with a pregnant woman in an intimate situation before. I gather since you're out with me, that the father of your baby and you are no longer an item. But is he still in the picture?"
"Love, your phraseology, Robert. I think that's why I'm so drawn to you. As for the father of my baby, I would confirm that he's not in the picture. In fact, you might say he virtually does not exist."
"You mean to say he has died?"
"Well, he might have."
From that cryptic response, Morley concluded that Diana had broken off the relationship with the father of her child, possibly before even she had become aware that she was pregnant, and had no communication with him since. If that indeed were the case, he could understand that she might be reluctant to elaborate, and so he decided to drop the subject for now.
Instead, he changed the conversation to talk about the concert. This intimate recital was to be performed in the smallish adjoining auditorium of Orchestra Hall in Detroit specifically utilized for chamber music and jazz presentations and seating a mere 450 spectators. Natasha Starikovich was the featured performer at the violin, accompanied by Johannes Ebersbacher on the piano. Ms. Starikovich had burst into international prominence in the classical music world about ten years earlier, with a recording of Enescu's Sonata No. 3, Op. 25. The CD sales went through the roof, becoming the best selling classical music recording ever, and won the classical music Grammy for that year.
What made the CD recording notorious, though, was the album cover displaying Ms. Starikovich entirely naked ostensibly in the process of playing the violin, presumably the featured sonata. The front cover showed Natasha's front side holding her violin strategically. The bow covered her nipples and areola, but otherwise, showing the remainder of her cleavage and the flesh of her breasts. With her other hand, she was holding the violin that covered her vulva but allowed generous glimpses of the surrounding skin. The back cover showed the entire naked backside of Natasha as she was playing the violin.
Ignoring the brazen nudity of the album cover, along with the prosaic liner notes purportedly justifying the provocative poses, serious music critics were most impressed by Natasha's musicianship. Their universal praise ensured the commercial success of CD sales. Since then, Ms. Starikovich's reputation had soared such that her concert dates were booked solid. She had acquired the position of Concertmaster of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia based at the Moscow International House of Music. She was also a frequent soloist for the Chicago Symphony, her hometown classical music orchestra wherein she had made her professional public concert debut. Despite her relative young age, she had also performed as a guest conductor for various concert orchestras throughout the world. As if this were not enough musical accomplishments for the young violinist, Ms. Starikovich had composed over twenty pieces of music, each of which were received with universally positive critical acclaim.
But that was not all. Partnering with Boris Varennikov, a fellow violist with the Russian orchestra, rumored to be her lover, Ms Starikovich hosted and promoted a chamber music festival every August in Tallinn, Estonia. Each year, Natasha and Boris opened the festival performing with the Estonian Chamber Orchestra with Mozart's Sinfonia concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra in E-flat major, K 364. Also, in addition, Natasha introduced a new composition composed explicitly by her for the event. In a relatively short time, this festival had become the crème de la crème of classical chamber music competitions in the classical music world.
What made the festival remarkable, and significant was the fact that only well established internationally renowned chamber music musicians were invited to perform and compete. Winning one of the competitive categories during the festival, aside from receiving the lucrative prize money, firmly enhanced the musical reputation of the winner. Accordingly, tickets for this festival were entirely sold out months in advance. This recital in Detroit was to be her last concert date in North America for the remainder of the calendar year. The next night she would be on her way to Estonia for the three-week festival, and after that, she was traveling on to Moscow to perform for the fall and winter seasons of the National Philharmonic of Russia; the orchestra founded in 2003 on the initiative and behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As Morley completed his recounting of Natasha Starikovich's exploits, Diana was suitably impressed. Appreciating the opportunity of attending a genuinely world-class musical performance in a more limited setting, she gushed, "Wow, Robert! That sounds outstanding, and I can't be more thrilled. I'm almost tempted to release you from the promise of the sexual activity to follow."
Alarmed that maybe Diana was no longer interested in having sex with him, Morley answered, "Are you telling me then that having seen me, you are no longer eager for intimate contact with me."
Diana smiled as she was continuously delighted by his euphemism in his efforts to avoid vulgarity. She responded, "Oh no, my dear Robert, I'm still looking forward to us getting naked in each other's company. I must say, though, that I do love classical music, but I'm not as well versed in the biographies of the musicians like I am for popular music performers. Before your information, I really did not know anything about Ms. Starikovich save for her provocatively decorated CD cover, and the DVD of her performance naked with Pamela Rose. Now that you've told me of her prominence in classical music, I'm overwhelmed by our date. Also, considering that she'll be performing tonight in the smaller auditorium of Orchestra Hall, I appreciate that you must have been lucky to acquire these tickets. In fact, how did you get the tickets, and for that matter, how is it that Ms. Starikovich, who I now understand, has an outstanding worldwide reputation, has even consented to perform in such a small intimate setting?"
Morley with a broad smile answered, "The main reason why Natasha Starikovich is performing here in Detroit before embarking for Estonia is in the person of Johannes Ebersbacher, her accompanist. Johannes is the son of the late Dietrich Ebersbacher, who, when he was the music director and conductor of the Chicago Symphony, discovered Natasha Starikovich and arranged for her to perform as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony. At the same time, she was still a student at Northwestern University, and apparently his mistress as well, but only for a short time. He died before she recorded and released that first CD.
"Now Johannes admittedly hasn't made the kind of mark in the classical music world as his father, but he is acknowledged as an excellent musician in his own right, and is a professor at the University's School of Music, Theatre and Dance. Johannes knew about the affair as he was introduced to Natasha by his father during a visit to Chicago. A lasting bond was formed between Natasha and him at the funeral of the senior Dietrich Ebersbacher.
"Through such a connection, he prevailed upon Natasha to perform in Detroit. In this particular year, it was feasible since she had four weeks free before she had to depart for Estonia. She spent most of that free time with her family in Chicago, so to spend a night in Detroit was not a hardship. Besides, Johannes enlisted support from Ford Motor Company and the University, so that Natasha would be adequately compensated despite performing to a much smaller audience than she is normally used to doing. Ophelia Hartley, the renowned Canadian cellist, will perform a trio with Ms. Starikovich and Johannes Ebersbacher, and in return, she will receive her usual compensation as well."
Diana was fascinated by this further background information, which made her appreciate the date even more beyond the anticipation of sex at the end.
She had to ask, "Considering all that you've told me, I would imagine this concert had to be sold out within minutes after tickets were placed on sale. So again, how or why were you lucky enough to score these tickets?"
Now Morley smiled even more broadly. He advised, "I'm a student at the School of Music, and I play the violin. Johannes Ebersbacher is one of my teachers at the University. Although he does play the piano like his father, he is more of a violin and viola virtuoso, and hence my teacher. The thing is that Ms. Starikovich and Ms. Hartley have agreed to allow several student musicians to join them for a spirited finale of the evening right after the second intermission. So I'll be playing my violin at that time."
Diana was naturally surprised by this unexpected wrinkle in their date, so she responded, "Oh, wow! You're in the program? Will I then be sitting alone?"
"Only for the last piece of music. Then after the concert is over, I'll get you to come backstage, and you can meet Ms. Starikovich as well as Ms. Hartley,"
"Cool beans!"
When they arrived at Orchestra Hall, Morley grabbed his violin from his car and arranged for it to be sent backstage for subsequent use. Diana and Morley then went to their seats to enjoy the concert. Natasha Starikovich and Johannes Ebersbacher were the sole performers in this segment. If anyone in the audience harbored any notion that Ms. Starikovich just might perform naked, such thoughts were quickly dashed. Natasha wore a strapless full to the floor purple evening gown that simply dazzled. Ebersbacher was in a tuxedo. The two of them exuded an elegant sophistication that Diana appreciated very much.