Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony

...is a beast. Or rather, I feel like a beast playing it. All of our hard work is done, and now we have to hurry up and wait to play it tonight. I just got back in from scales class and a 3 hour dress rehearsal, and I'm totally whipped, even despite my coffee. I'm not sure who thought that a complete runthru the morning of the concert was a good idea, but we did it. Last night, the violists had a 2 hour sectional to work out some tricky spots. Overall, the piece has made phenomenal progress over the past 6 days, but I wish we had maybe 2 more days to rehearse. Every movement is so physically and emotionally taxing. There are SO many notes! The piece is nothing but angst and passion, tension and release. I'm greatly looking forward to the concert tonight, but I'm also looking forward to the break that will follow.

I think working on this piece has been good for me, challenging me to rise to a new level of discipline in lots of different areas. The viola section has been great to work with so far, and I've enjoyed learning new things from my colleagues. The 2 hour sectional last night was completely student-led and student-scheduled. Wish us luck tonight...we're performing at 9pm, Italy time.

I used to think that if I was in the music field long enough and played enough music, I'd eventually just become some kind of awesome music-making machine that could produce any sound, any passage, at any given time. But the longer I'm in music, and the more exposure I have to different musicians, the more I realize that music-making is a life long journey, and events and experiences in your life change your sound over time. I've also learned that the same piece played again is never _just_ the same piece. The notes may not have changed since the last time you picked it up, but your journey through the passages will always be unique. It's the endlessness of things to learn and sounds to make that sometimes gets me overwhelmed in the practice room, but at least for today, I'm finding the concept of the endless journey to be irresistibly exciting.