Sometimes I can’t win. Well, okay, a lot of the time I can’t win. And I know I shouldn’t take reviews personally, but of course I do.

Mr. Scheinin’s review* is posted now. Not that it matters, but there are some major things in it that I disagree with. Strongly. But I can’t write about them here. So I won’t.

I will write about liking the Amram. I loved the lengthy oboe solo in the “church movement” and I think I played the solo well. Ah well. I’ll leave it at that.

Almost. I’ll also say I had a large number of solos, and so of course when one doesn’t get mentioned at all one reads into that. A lot. That’s the way we are. A “non-mention” usually means the reviewer didn’t like your playing. And even if that’s not true, that’s how many of us read it.

Am I foolish for admitting that here? Probably. But I’ve always ‘fessed up to being foolish. 🙂

Ah well. I knew I was losing the English horn solo when I moved to principal. I knew the risks. Such is life.

(But DID I play well? Will I ever know? Can I trust my own assessment? Should I trust colleagues? I wonder.)

Okay. Enough. Whine over and out.

Truth be told, I’m glad I took on the challenge of moving up. Changing hats is a tough thing to do. Fortunately I was coming from principal in opera so the hat change wasn’t as drastic as it sometimes is. I loved playing all the works. Each had its own set of challenges … and solos! So I can’t regret moving up. I think I need to think on the bright side! Yes?

*article no longer available