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the latest
waddle: good morning, wordpress - 10:36 a.m. , 2009-07-03 elaborate murder attempt - 2:56 p.m. , 2009-07-01 building a tractor in the basement - 10:42 a.m. , 2009-06-19 ask no questions tell just a few lies - 3:17 p.m. , 2009-06-09 my long lasting flavor really lasts long - 1:10 p.m. , 2009-06-04
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I think I remember just a few weeks ago bragging about how I haven't gotten sick in ages, ever since I became an official Vitamin Freak, and of course the universe heard me and snickered. Because now I am sick. Yesterday I had that whole hot dry eyeball feverish feeling, with the aching joints and everything, and developed a lovely hacking cough. Today I feel better in my actual corporeal person, but the hacking cough has remained. But it's Friday! And time and beer are the great healers. The hacking cough was particularly inopportune last night, as LT met me down here after I got off of work, and we ate Thai food before going to the symphony. Which was: ok. I had major issues with the way Zuckerman approached the Bach (Concerto in E major). Bach is MATH, dude. Bach is RESTRAINED. Bach never meant for you to get all Israeli and passionate and bombastic on his ass. I don't think Bach calls for using 8 acres of bow for every note and a whole bushel of vibrato. me, the armchair critic....but I kind of have a vested interest in this sort of thing because I've played violin for around 20 years. Yup, I was one of those little queer Suzuki kids with the pea-sized violin. When I say, "I've played violin for around 20 years" I feel like I have to qualify that. See, I haven't touched my instrument in 5 years. There's a whole lot of complicated reasons for that. As a kid, I had a lot of "success" real early, was considered something of a prodigy, won several solo competitions, was first chair in my high school orchestra for all 4 years, music camp, honors orchestra, blah blah etc etc. And I went to a small college so there were plenty of opportunities to play without majoring in music. So what, mimi, the fame fades away and suddenly you're not interested anymore? No, that's not it. I guess I just had always been so driven, so certain that I was going to grow up and always play in an orchestra and tour etc, and somewhere along the line I realized that while I was very talented in a "school" sort of way, there was no way I was going to have a big-symphony career in this. And I didn't even think I wanted that kind of life, anyway. So what? (the argument goes). You can still enjoy playing, even if it's just for yourself. But I don't. I mean, I ENJOY practicing, and playing music, but I definitely, after all this time away, don't enjoy the way I sound. The music doesn't match the music in my head anymore. And that decreases my enjoyment. A fairly common "child prodigy" syndrome, at least that's what I get from talking to my best friend Kathleen (an ex-ballerina herself). A lot of this sounds like sour grapes, and I don't mean it to. (A lot of it sounds positively insane, as well, I'm sure.) I fully intend to rehabilitate my instrument and start taking lessons again, someday. Right now it's just too fresh, however. Such a digression from my description of the symphony! The other thing Zuckerman soloed on was a Bartok viola concerto, which was much more suited to his emotional grandstanding. The Mendelssohn symphony was also quite engaging. I ate dozens of nasty-tasting herbal cough drops during the performance, to avoid any loud coughing outbursts. Although the older Chicago matron sitting to the right of me didn't seem to be bothered in the least by her own constant belching. Amazing how some of the wealthiest people are the most foul. Ack, no more. I promised the random facts in the last entry, didn't I? Ah well, next time. back/forward |
