Tonight, the Sarajevo Philharmonic is playing Brahms Symphony No.1 and Dvorak’s Cello Concerto. This program involves many exposed wind parts, so the preparation this week has been incredibly tiring. No matter what I’m doing, my mind keeps wandering back to my reed case, calculating and re-calculating whether I have enough good reeds in progress to be prepared for the concert. I need decent reeds to get through the rehearsals, and a very good reed or two for the concert, and so I’ve been finishing some reeds while hoarding the ones with the most potential for later. I hope this strategy works. In addition, I was asked by our director to cover some of my colleague’s second oboe solos in the Dvorak, so I have to figure out whether I want to change to a “special” reed for all of the quiet low notes, or just stay on the same reed throughout the piece.
Even though I’m tired and a little bit nervous about the concert, I am also excited to perform such great repertoire, and especially to play with our cello soloist, who is fantastic. However, my favorite moment of the program is in the Brahms Symphony, towards the beginning of the fourth movement, despite the fact that our orchestra has yet to do it justice. There is a beautiful set of horn calls that makes me feel like I’m in a gigantic open space. I’m a bit of an agoraphile (if that’s a word) so it’s quite a nice feeling. Maybe the best part is that I have rests, so I can just sit back and enjoy. I hope it goes well for my colleagues tonight!
In other news, it is starting to feel like spring in Sarajevo! We’ve had great weather (sunshine, finally) almost every day. It’s been just warm enough to start melting all of the snow, without much flooding, which is quite a relief. The days are also getting longer, and I am happy that it’s no longer dark outside when I come home in the late afternoon. It never feels like spring in Chicago until the end of April, so I’m a bit surprised that it came so soon here.
Finally, today is “National Women’s Day”. I’m not really sure what that means. I guess I’ll find out… I think it’s kind of like Valentine’s Day meets Mother’s Day, but you don’t have to feel left if you don’t have a significant other or a child.
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