TBT

Earlier this month, I was chatting with a colleague backstage before a concert, and he mentioned that he's been in the orchestra since 1966. After the concert in which we played Beethoven 7 (a piece that's VERY familiar...even if you've just heard it for the first time, it will feel familiar by the end...), we were putting away our instruments, and he burst out, "Isn't that the most amazing symphony!" Then he proceeded to enthusiastically describe all his favorite parts of the piece. And I thought: After half a century of playing in the DSO, during which he's probably performed Beethoven 7 a hundred times, he's still proclaiming how much he loves it, with the sincerity and gusto of a child discovering it for the first time.

That reminded me of a moment last year, when the same person and I bumped into each other during break after rehearsing Beethoven 5 (if possible, an even more familiar and often-performed work). I was in a pretty good mood, and when he asked how I was doing, I couldn't help exclaiming that I LOVE Beethoven 5. Then I added something like, "I'm not crazy about the conductor, but I'm just going to enjoy the music." He smiled at me like I'd won the lottery, patted me on the back, and said, "That's the key."

Which in turn reminded me of an entry I wrote in here about five years ago...


September 30, 2010
What Feels Good

If I made a Top-10 list of the things that make me feel good, somewhere near the top would be playing a great concert. Tonight was the first NEC orchestra concert of the year, and it felt good. First of all, Jordan Hall was literally full to the brim...I counted maybe five or six empty seats. Second of all, it was like a football stadium, with all the cheering and roaring, even before we played a note. But most of all, the energy generated in each piece was so tangible and present, like a ball of fire coming from the players, being spread to every corner of the hall, and bouncing off the audience back to us. It's a kind of energy you only get from "youth" orchestras...this wide-eyed, passionate, even overzealous eagerness to share the music. I like to look around when I'm playing in orchestra, and these are some of my favorite snapshots: a man in the front row with his eyes closed and a smile stretching across his face the entire time; the kid next to him with a huge afro nodding along to the music as if it were rap or heavy metal; a wave of string players with their faces and bodies swaying to a whirlwind of sound; and little smiles between stand partners.
Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how amazing it is to be able to produce sound. I've been playing violin for so long, it's easy to take this luxury for granted, but just think--with your two hands, you can create a medium of expression encapsulating ideas that have spanned centuries. Out of your instrument can come sounds that draw the darkest secrets and strongest feelings from deep within a listener's mind. And into your instrument can pour all the emotions and experiences that have been stored in your body after a lifetime of living...it's a miracle, really, if you think about it.
If, by divine will, I am able to do such a thing for the rest of my life...well, I pray I will never ever take it for granted.

My New BFF

Meet Eliot!

He is a three-year-old border collie I recently adopted from a nearby animal hospital. Our meeting was a stroke of luck, because I had actually visited the hospital to consider a different dog. When that didn't work out, several other dogs were brought over to meet me, and Eliot was the last of the bunch. (His original name at the hospital was Mr. Bones, but I was like "uh no" and he never responded to it anyway.) Immediately when he entered, he was a little beam of sunshine, taking a speedy sniff around the perimeter of the room before promptly coming over to greet me with a big goofy smile.

After two days, I got to bring him home, and I named him Eliot after my favorite author (George Eliot). Eliot is, for the most part, a mature and sophisticated dog. He is a gentleman, chivalrously pausing before every doorway so I can enter first. When we go on walks, he slows down every few steps to glance up at me and make sure I'm still there. He also generally follows me everywhere, even if he's sleeping and I'm just walking a few steps to get a tissue (I've been sick)...he'll spring up and accompany me to the tissue box and back before returning to his nap.

He has some weird feline characteristics...for instance, he's really good at that thing cats do where they rub up against you with an arched back while passing by. If I'm sitting on the ground, he'll do a twisting motion and land face-up in my lap with his paws curved elegantly in the air. Sometimes if we make meaningful eye contact for a length of time, or if I stand next to him petting him for over a minute, he becomes overwhelmed with emotion and stands on his hind legs to give me a hug. It's not like a normal dog jumping up to greet you--his front paws actually wrap around my waist, he rests his head on my stomach, and he stays in that position for a long time.

While he's usually pretty gentle and serene, he has his call-of-the-wild moments when he becomes very excited and enjoys jumping up and doing twists in mid-air. Eliot is also very smart, and I think he has a lot of potential, especially since border collies are indisputably declared the most intelligent breed of dogs. (I signed him up for training classes, so we'll see how that goes.) He started recognizing his new name on his first day home, and he learned "paw" after only three tries...maybe he had learned it long ago with a previous owner, but even so, he recalled it really quickly. He also does this thing where he holds a ball in his mouth and thrusts it so it goes bouncing across the room. Then he'll sit and stare at me with an expectant look on his face until I bring the ball back to him. I stopped playing this with him though, because I realized it's kind of demeaning to be fetching balls for my own dog.

One of the best things about Eliot is that he actually enjoys taking medicine. He's had to take pills and liquid medicine the past few days, and he's so cooperative...he's also very accommodating when we're about to go outside. He sits at my feet and waits for me to put on all my outerwear, and then gives me his paw to hold while I'm attaching his leash. I'm not quite sure why he's always giving me his paw, but it's very cute. :)

Apparently the animal hospital where I met Eliot rescued him from another shelter, where he was listed as "urgent" (about to be put down). I'm almost positive that Eliot had at least one former owner, since he's so well-behaved, and I'm guessing he was surrendered because he's quite high-maintenance. Border collies require a lot of attention and mental stimulation, and not many people can handle that. I probably didn't choose the most easygoing breed for my first dog, but our personalities are matching pretty well so far, and he's teaching me many things, most notably unwavering patience for all things good and ready/joyful forgiveness for all things bad.