Workin' Like a Dog

I'm pretty exhausted, and my train of thought may reflect this feeling, but I thought I would take a little time to write anyway. The Berlin Philharmonic teachers arrived earlier this week. Klaus Stoll, the first solo bass player of the Berlin Phil. (I like to refer to him as Santer Kalus) He is a character, to say the least, and he is an amazing teacher. Yesterday, we started with a bass sectional on the Rite of Spring, and he totally changed my perception of the bass part in that piece. He's another one of those musicians that makes something amazing seem so easy and obvious. Later that afternoon, we had our first full rehearsal for the concert program this weekend. Our conductor this time is Phillipe Jordan. He's very young, only 33, but has already lead an impressive career. The ladies think he's pretty cute too, so I'm a little jealous. The Rite of Spring is an incredible piece to play. Everyone in the festival is playing in this piece, it's a huge work. After rehearsal, we had master class with Klaus. I'm kind of out of shape, because we don't have much time to practice around here, and if we do, I need to rest. However, I played the Beethoven 9 recitatives for him, and watched the knowledge and experience pour out of him. I hadn't worked them up, I just played them to get him to talk about them, and by the end, I was playing them well, not my main point. He has facsimiles of Beethoven's original manuscript, and the first three published editions of the piece. This guy really knows his sh...Beethoven Symphonies. And today, I really didn't get much of a break. We had double orchestra rehearsals before and after lunch, and then I had chamber music rehearsal before dinner. My group, a nonet of winds and strings, decided we didn't like our piece and asked for a new one yesterday, even though we have to perform it Friday evening. Tensions ran high, and we extended our scheduled rehearsal time. I had a good 7+ hours of rehearsals today, but it was fun...?

Aside from music, here's what's been going down. I went and saw Harry Potter the other night. It was pretty awesome. The theater was above an arcade. Japanese arcades are the coolest things ever. I played Mario Kart in one those things where you sit with a steering wheel and race with four people. It was a dream come true. Oh, and last night on TV, they had Full House on. Even though it was overdubbed, I knew exactly what was going on, because I know every episode, and probably could've taken that opportunity to learn some Japanese. (A little embarrassing that of all TV shows, I know that one and Saved By the Bell the best, something I'm finding a lot of people my age have in common) Well, I should rest, because I am very tired, and I have another full day tomorrow. Enjoy the awesome picture...