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Rockin’ Little RockTuesday, November 10th, 2009Home sweet home. Wait, this is O’Hare again… and yet I recognize more shops around this gate than I do around any of the other places I’ve been in the last few months. If only I could do laundry here, too! On the way back to New York from Arkansas, looking forward to a longer stretch at home where I can explore some of the ideas that have been ruminating and really focus on the Popper Project. Midge is still reeling from the unintended insult by a woman in near the security line at the first airport, who decided that instead of a cello, she was a “guitar with a gland problem”. I tried to convince her that it wasn’t a big deal, that it was better than “hey, is that a coffin?”, but it seems she’s going to be stubborn until I can coax some soothing Bach out of the strings later. The Popper Project: Part OneWednesday, November 4th, 2009The Popper Project. Even just saying makes me feel a range of emotions far beyond the norm. I get a little rush when I think about it – pure excitement about the idea of doing a “project”. I also feel like a complete nerd… as a cellist who is geeking out about cello etudes. The shiver of energy also has a bit of trepidation – maintaining a practice schedule that allows for constant improvement, setting unedited recordings of very challenging music out for anyone to see (in particular cellists, who know these very well!), meeting my own goals and expectations… MidgeTuesday, October 27th, 2009I am often asked about my cello, Midge, and I’m very happy to play the beautiful instrument I have been loaned. She’s a late 19th century Venetian cello by Giulio di Eugenio Degani (translate: Giulio Degani, son of Eugenio Degani). He started at a young age and made my cello when he was only 24! We fit very comfortably, Midge is tall and rather skinny, and has a very powerful and sweet sound. If you check out my blog post from Chicago you can follow the video links to see us playing Bach and more on Chicago tv stations. Good Ol’ LexingtonMonday, October 19th, 2009Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky. A VERY different work from the previous week’s Shostakovich Concerto. Not too much is shared mood-wise between these two Russian giants. This week was a lot of fun, I met many new people and also got to see an old friend as well as my Aunt Judy and Cousin Sarah, who came to see the Friday night concert. It was another orchestral debut – my first time with the Lexington Philharmonic. It is also the first season for their conductor, Scott Terrell. The Maestro seemed to be working with the orchestra very well, and I was happy to have the opportunity to face the group during our first rehearsal in order to get a sense of the players’ engagement. Throughout the week the details came together more and more, and by the time we got to the performance I felt that we were really able to let go and just have fun. A Week in ChicagolandMonday, October 12th, 2009Sitting in the airport – O’Hare is a place I’ve come to know quite well, but this time I arrive almost two hours early for my flight! It’s a bit too crowded to practice at the gate, so I’m glad I have my laptop as a carry-on. I had a lot of fun this week in Chicago. It was surprisingly cold for October, but most of the activities I engage in are inside anyway, and the hotel room temperature knob and I have become fast friends. The level of intensity around the engagement was enough to keep the blood flowing at a good rate, too! There were television interviews on ABC 7 Chicago and Chicago Tonight (WTTW/PBS – where I performed Julie-O by Mark Summer as well as the Prelude from the 1st Suite by J.S. Bach) , along with the Sun-Times interview I had done before arriving in Chicago. Following the TV airing of Julie-O there was enough positive feedback that I ended up playing it as an encore after both nights’ performances, with the addition of J.S. Bach’s Sarabande from the 1st Suite on the second concert. Fun stuff! |
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