Anything going on this summer?

[drplacebo]

Just wondering because, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, June through August are usually the offseason for just about every concert series. What's everyone doing this summer, whether in terms of playing music or listening to it?

I normally do a lot of extra technical practice and work on solo repertoire during the summers, because I have more time for it when I'm not busy playing in two orchestras, but this summer I've taken about a month off from playing viola because I was struggling with tendinitis at the end of the concert season. I'm putting more time into composing instead -- working on a viola concerto and a choral piece. Both firsts for me: I've never written for solo string instrument with orchestra, or anything for voice. At the end of July, I'm going to the CalCap Chamber Music Workshop at Sacramento State University -- it'll be my first-ever summer chamber music workshop, and should be fun since it's five-and-a-half days of nothing but chamber music.

Comments

[gramarye1971]

I just bought a complete set of the Shostakovich symphonies (the Barshai recordings) and I'm planning to go through them in July and August. I may also post some book reviews here in this comm of classical music-related books I've read lately.

[espresso_addict]

Book reviews would be very interesting!

[cactus_rs]

Yes, seconding the vote for book reviews!

[espresso_addict]

We're certainly in the northern hemisphere here, and there's the island's solitary concert series ongoing at the moment -- the annual Mendelssohn festival. Hope to get to two concerts, starting tomorrow evening. It's a chamber group playing not just (or even mainly) Mendelssohn, there's Dvorak, Shostakovich, Haydn & Mozart advertised, too. They haven't bothered printing a programme, so it's turn up at venue and take pot luck, at least for the first concert!

It is busy on the practice front too -- our much-delayed baby grand piano arrived in the middle of last week. Unfortunately it's still adapting to our island humidity -- it's lost its tune & (worse) the keys are rather too frictiony to play. Worser still, the room is obviously either too small or too live, or both -- I had temporary deafness after a couple of days of light practising (mainly Mozart, hardly the loudest of composers) & it seems to have exacerbated my previously mild tinnitus. We've been adding furniture, rugs & books to the room in the hope of deadening it somewhat. I've also been looking into musician's earplugs (flat/uniform attenuation), if anyone has any experience of them?

Sorry to hear about your tendinitis; hope the rest allows it to calm down properly in time for the chamber music workshop.

[lilacsigil]

My partner has musician's earplugs because she gets hyperacusis, and they're fantastic. It minimises noise rather than cutting it out entirely. She had hers fitted by an audiologist.

[espresso_addict]

Thanks for the info -- I've bought some one-size-fits-all musician's earplugs, yet to arrive, so I'll see if they help. I don't know how one would go about getting custom-fitted ones by an audiologist here!

[lilacsigil]

I hope your tendonitis improves with a rest!