That’s what the 2007 Chautauqua Symphony season has felt like. Twenty-one concerts plus nine opera performances packed into 7-1/2 weeks. (I played about a third of them; my husband, nearly all.) Most of the concerts are put together in one or two rehearsals; some days are “triple service”: 2-1/2-hour (or more) rehearsals, morning (opera) and afternoon (orchestra), plus an evening concert. Working from 10:00am to 10:00pm, basically. Plus our commute from home. Plus the music camp my husband runs. Plus the rest of life.
It’s a wild ride.
The season's final “blow” for me was the first piece on the final concert, John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Brilliant in sound and composition (in my humble opinion), it's four minutes of excess sound and energy. The style is Minimalist, but with great cohesion, shape, and direction. I love Adams’ quote about the piece: “You know how it is when someone asks you to ride in a terrific sports car, and then you wish you hadn’t?”
Ha. In some ways that’s how I feel about the summer. But not about the piece. It’s challenging; keeps you on your toes. Exhilarating. Great trumpet chorale near the end.
*sigh* Well, enough of that. Time to get back to posting :-)
