Hallelujah!

December 13, 2005 at 7:15 AM

My orchestra director is nuts. He totally overprogrammed our winter concert, which was yesterday. We performed Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks, Mozart's Bassoon concerto, and Haydn's Symphony no. 73. This would have been plenty for an orchestra of our caliber, especially at his tempos, but then we were also scheduled to play the Xmas part of the Messiah plus Hallelujah Chorus.

Anyway, it's over, so hallelujah. It was definitely not a concert I wish to remember, but in the words of my former thesis advisor---when I finally passed my qualifying exams---"All's well that ends." We were just not prepared. I've never felt like my position as assistant concertmaster meant anything until yesterday, when my stand partner was missing entrances right and left and was dependent on me to come in on time. (I missed entrances too, but I think only once did we miss the same one.) I think everyone was just exhausted. She forgot about our half rest at the begining of Fireworks, and the winds forgot to change key between the Mozart and Haydn. Eeek. And as for the Messiah, we might as well have been sightreading it.

The one great joy about doing the Messiah at all was working with professional singers. I freely admit to "instrumentalists' snobbery", whereby I believe that the vast majority of singers are not real musicians. They have no knowledge of theory or history and can't sightread to save their lives. But our Messiah soloists, borrowed from the Opera San Jose company, were fantastic. I only wish we could have done them justice.

Now I'm free for a while. The orchestra doesn't begin rehearsals until mid-January, but I've told people (who are desperately trying to get me to change my mind, and may yet succeed) that I'm going to sit out the next concert so I can have a longer break. I'm just not progressing as quickly on my solo work as I'd like, and that's important to me too.

My nearly-three-year-old daughter had her very first violin lesson last week. I wasn't there; my husband's the stay-at-home parent, so he's taking her to her lessons and learning violin too. Judging from his report, and what I've seen in her practice sessions since, it's a good match. She behaved well, even though all they did was practice holding the instrument, and her setup already looks way better than mine did when I was twice her age. Apparently the teacher was quite impressed with her enthusiasm and how much she already knew about the violin. I'm trying to be very careful not to push my kids into doing something just because it's important to me, but she really seems to have developed this interest on her own.

Now I just need to get my nine-month-old to learn the cello, and we'll have a family quartet. ;)

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on December 13, 2005 at 8:33 AM

I hope you get your family quartet. One of my friends plays viola; his brother plays cello; and his father played violin. They had their own family trio. I think that would be a wonderful experience.

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Hallelujah!

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