February 11, 2006 at 10:26 PM

Greetings from New York! It was nice not having to fly for this FTT show and not having to deal with security, et cetera. We got here a day earlier than we usually do, in order to make a pre-recorded piece (I interviewed one of the agents of IMG, who manage a young pianist who's on this show). Today we got to walk around Broadway, which we've never done, even though we've been in New York a bunch of times. It is quite impressive. I got a caricature of myself done on the corner of a street, and we got in one of those horse-and-buggy things and went around Central Park. It was really fun! Now we are checked into our second hotel over the period of two days, and soon I'm off to the pizza party.

A few days ago I rehearsed the Bruch with the orchestra--and it was disastrous. They are a very well-meaning community orchestra, but the sounds they were producing sounded like nothing I've ever heard before, and nothing I could connect to the concerto, anyway. So I couldn't do my entrances at all, even though the conductor was doing his best and conducting like a maniac out the rhythm. So I called up my teacher in tears, and was telling him about the experience, and he said I wasn't the first of his students to call him up crying after the first rehearsal with that orchestra! Anyway, I scheduled a bunch of rehearsals with a pianist since I had never played the first two mvts. with piano anyway, and she did her best imitation of the "Bad Orchestra" -- playing wrong chords and coming in on the wrong places, and I had to keep up. It was hilarious! And I feel better about it now. Okay I have to run and get ready!

--alice

From Colleen Russo
Posted on February 12, 2006 at 12:46 AM

Yumm pizza! haha
I'm sorry about the whole orchestra deal..!! But it will be a good experience, and make you that much better of a player!! :) Let us know how it goes!

From Jim W. Miller
Posted on February 12, 2006 at 2:25 AM

As long as you and the conductor are together, everybody else can play whatever and whenever they want:) Your not choosing to be p.o.'ed is great.

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February 11, 2006 at 10:26 PM

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