Oops, I Did It Again.

05. September 2008 · 4 comments · Categories: Ramble

Sigh.

I was opening a bottle of wine at my mom’s on this fine night off of work. Family from as nearby as San Jose and as far away as Germany were there for a visit. Such fun! Until I pinched my finger using the corkscrew! Ouch. It hurt like crazy and I looked to see what I’d done.

And so it happens again.

I blogged about cutting my half hole finger before, and that time I wound up bleeding all over the oboe as I attempted to play (and it hurt like crazy that time, and you can read the rest of the story here. Ahhh … memories.). But a corkscrew? Pinching a finger? What a dumb thing to do! When I pinched my finger I cut it into this lovely U-shape which at first I thought was only going to blister. But no. It began to bleed. It didn’t hurt too badly, and I bandaged it up and applied pressure.

After eating dinner I was washing a dish and putting some glasses away. I was unaware that the wound was bleeding big time until I looked at the bandaid. Oops! Blood was all over the dishwasher and cabinet too, as it turned out. So I cleaned up and re-bandaided (not a word, I know) the thing. This is my half hole finger, doggone it! I can’t play with a bandaid on the finger. So the thing better heal. Fortunately I have nearly 24 hours between injury and concert. And so far I can type just fine so I’m guessing it’ll be fine. Maybe it’ll even take my mind off of the solos …?

Naw. That’s not gonna happen.

Never a dull moment, or so it seems.

Miss Dalis

05. September 2008 · Comments Off on Miss Dalis · Categories: Opera, Other People's Words

“I firmly believe that everything I did before I retired was preparing me for this,” she says,
referring to her work at Opera San Jose. Building the company is her proudest achievement, “because in retrospect,” she explains, “a career on stage is a very egotistical existence. My husband’s life, my daughter’s life, everyone’s life had to revolve around my own. Here, I have the joy of watching young singers develop.”

You can read the entire thing here.

Tonight is opening night for Eugene Onegin, and the Gala is in a few weeks. 🙂

Perhaps a Bit too General?

05. September 2008 · 2 comments · Categories: Links, Ramble

Classical: Classical music lovers have high self-esteem, are creative and at ease with themselves, but not outgoing.

I read the article and I think lumping all classical music fans together might be an issue for some. True, some of us like most everything, but what about the person who won’t listen to anything after Beethoven? Or the person who hates anything but contemporary music? Might those two individuals be somewhat different? I wonder.

According to Professor North, both heavy metal and classical fans are united by a shared “love of the grandiose”, which means that a Metallica fan is far more likely to listen to Mahler than an indie kid is to give reggae a try.

“Aside from their age difference, they’re basically the same kind of person,” he said. “Lots of heavy metal fans will tell you that they also like Wagner, because it’s big, loud and brash. There’s also a sense of theatre in both heavy rock and classical music, and I suspect that this is what they’re really trying to get at when they listen.”

John Gregson, 23, a classically-trained musician with a passion for heavy metal, agrees. “As an instrumentalist, out of all of the main genres of music heavy metal and classical are the ones which require the most discipline to play – they’re technically very difficult and involve playing at inhumanly fast speeds,” he said.

“You feel like you’re in on a secret – you identify with it personally. It also feels like you know something that other people don’t, because you appreciate a style of music which is often vilified.”

I like both Mahler and Wagner. I do not like any of the heavy metal music I have heard.

Just a little FYI, in case you are trying to figure out what you want to buy me for my birthday.

I Think …

05. September 2008 · 4 comments · Categories: Oboe

… I hope … I pray ….

I have a feeling that I’m just an idiot. I think I was turning the screw that is on the C key the wrong direction!

If that was it, then I figured this thing out, although of course the pit temperature issue is still there and I’ll have to contend with that. But in any case, I’m thinking … I’m hoping … and yes, praying ….

I Think I Figured Out The Problem

05. September 2008 · 3 comments · Categories: Ramble

… no, not about my OBOE, mind you. I’m going to work on that in a minute.

But you can go here to vote on your favorite gown at the opening gala for the San Francisco Symphony. When looking it dawned on me: I don’t like gowns!

Heck, even the word “gown” is ugly to these ears.

Well there you go. I guess I can’t vote. It would be like voting on your favorite kind of tomato when you don’t like tomatoes, yes? (By the way, I don’t like tomatoes.)

When I was looking for something to wear as the MOB (mother of the bride) I saw so many dresses and nothing appealed. Some were matronly. Some looked as if I might be competing with the bride for attention. Some were just plain ugly. And all were very expensive. I guess long dresses don’t appeal to me.

Unrelated note and special offer to all because I’m so nice this way:
If anyone wants to come to my house and fix my oboe for me, feel free. If anyone wants to send me a working oboe. Feel free. If anyone wants to send chocolate instead, well, I’ll take it. Along with an oboe.

Grumble.

Off to work I go ….

MQOD

05. September 2008 · Comments Off on MQOD · Categories: Quotes

I always wanted to be in music. I was bad at math, Russian and literature and I guess I was somewhat of a wild boy. I used to play soccer and liked boxing and swimming. But through it all, I loved music.

-Dmitri Hvorostovsky

We get to see and hear the singer in Simon Boccanegra at San Francisco Opera. I can’t wait! (It opens today, but we’ll be going later.)

(The quote came from here.)