You Think You’ll Never Forget

24. February 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Ramble

I was listening to the radio today, and Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin, cello, oboe, bassoon & orchestra was playing. Of course I recognized it immediately. (What oboists wouldn’t, eh?) And I know that, sometime in the distant past, I played the work. But for the life of me I can’t remember when or with whom!

It’s kind of funny to think about the works I’ve played, and even soloed in. When I’m have an important part, I think I’ll just never forget the moment or the situation. But it simply isn’t so. And today was a case in point; I soloed on that Haydn. But I sure don’t remember it. At all.

All that work, and then it’s gone.

I wish I had saved all of my San Jose Symphony (RIP) programs. Those are gone too. And I played some pretty important works. But I sure can’t remember them all. With Opera San José and Symphony Silicon Valley I can look at the websites and see exactly what we’ve played. For the most part I can remember which sets I skipped out on (yes, there were a few) and which symphony sets I moved up to principal on, or played English horn. But San Jose Symphony?

Again, all that work, and then it’s gone.

The Unnamed

24. February 2009 · 12 comments · Categories: Reviews

Those same emotions were also at play in the Debussy Nocturnes. From the haunting opening for English horn, beautifully played by one of the symphony’s many unidentified freelancers, the piece transports its listeners to another world.

This is what happens when a sub or extra is called in to play a concert. Rarely do programs print their names. (I think Opera San José actually does, though, if the player is playing the run and is hired before the programs are printed.)

The above quote is from the SFCV review, and is about the Santa Rosa Symphony. Perhaps a reader will see this and fill me in.

Dreams (& a Nightmare)

24. February 2009 · Comments Off on Dreams (& a Nightmare) · Categories: Dreams, Ramble

Waking to “Send in the Clowns” is sort of pathetic, isn’t it? My last dream was sad. It had music with it. The dream was fairly “Sondheimesque” and that was the final tune. I can’t remember the dream much, but I sure do remember it was sad and kind of hopeless in some sort of way.

But before that?! Yikes. There was a spider in it that was spinning a very creepy, unattractive non-symmetrical web. There were rats which I was trying to get out of the house. I finally hit them over the head (Dan tried, but he was too nice about it). I knocked one out. Then I hit the other, and realized it wasn’t a rat, but a baby. Fortunately I didn’t hit the baby quite as hard and it was okay. That’s about all I remember of that dream. It’s probably a good thing.

So I’m awake, but I think my dreams really tired me out.

I rarely have oboe reed nightmares, so I guess I should be happy for that. I do have oboe dreams, and at least one of the above dreams contained an oboe in some way, but I only remember the glimmer of oboe, not really anything more.

But the good news is (this is about 40 minutes after the above writing took place) … my toilet overflowed. Which took some time to clean up (still not done) as you might imagine. Which means I can make and enjoy my latté now, since it’s been over 30 minutes since my medication which requires a 30 minute wait for food.

So ain’t that grand?! 😉