Copying the Masters

It is so nice to be home. I even got to cancel this week's trip to the Bay Area so I'm home for the whole week! I got home Sunday afternoon around 4pm after being in transit since 6pm Saturday (that's when I left for the airport in Barcelona). I tried to play the cello when I got home but after days of very little sleep I really had a hard time playing and finally just gave up.

Yesterday and today were better. I had orchestra rehearsal last night and while I felt fine for most of rehearsal it was tough going to stay alert towards the end of rehearsal. With the time change it was as if I had been up all night. We played through Carol of the Bells, some of the Nutcraker Suite, the Karelia Suite, and the Capriol Suite, mostly the fast movements of the suites to work on speed and dynamics.

Today I got to practice and I started working on Popper's Requiem - I'm playing the 3rd cello part. I still don't know when we're going to perform it but I hope I have my new cello when we do! I spent time listening and then playing the Sarabande - both the du Pre and the Casals recordings that I have. I had to fight the urge to play it the way I wanted to - will have to do that later.

Trying to emulate duPre and Casals reminded me of the Picasso museum I visited in Barcelona. I didn't know that Picasso lived in Barcelona, and in fact, started art school there before finishing his formal studies in Madrid. The museum focused on his early work, and had many drawings and paintings that he did as a young art student. I didn't realize how good he was at the basics of human form, landscape, portraits, etc.; his talent and skill were evident from a very early age. Many of his student works were copies of great paintings. It made me think about how art students learn the basics of their craft by copying the masters. As I walked through the museum I kept thinking about how I could see him becoming Picasso, and for the first time I could see in his art the evidence of his training and his mastery of the fundamentals in his later works. As I tried to play in a similar style as Casals and duPre I kept thinking that I was doing the same thing - trying to learn how to play the cello by copying the masters, and that it would help me become more of myself playing as I master the fundamentals of playing this beautiful but difficult instrument.

Looking forward to home and cello

I'm sitting in the Amsterdam airport waiting for my flight home. I have a long layover here. There was a nice exhibit from the Rijksmuseum in the airport - 10 paintings demonstrating Dutch realism. I spent the last of my euros buying gifts since I don't think I'll be back in the EU anytime soon and it never seems worthwhile to keep exchanging money.

I really enjoyed Barcelona - it's a lovely city, with very nice people and great architecture and art. I came a few days early to look around but once work started up it was a nonstop, exhausting time until Saturday afternoon. I had time on Saturday to look around some more and there was a huge festival going on in town. I was told it is the largest festival in Spain, but no one could tell me exactly what it was for. Some saint. No one could identify which saint. The streets were packed with people of all ages, with music stages and booths everywhere. I love this part of Europe, everyone out walking and enjoying themselves.

I have become a big fan of Gaudi. He's certainly not to everyone's taste. On Saturday while touring one of his famous houses (Casa Battlo) one of my colleagues called Gaudi "a builder's nightmare" because of all of the curves and extraordinary tiled designs.

I would have posted a few more pictures but on Tuesday my phone was stolen while I was in the subway. I felt the bump and in the few seconds it took to register what had happened it was too late. Oh well. I was thankful that all was taken was my phone; one of my colleagues had his wallet pickpocketed. And I was grateful for the annoying security application that is mandatory on our phones (because we are given access to company email and corporate data from our phones we are required to run some security software) - there wasn't much that the thief could get to on my phone. With the magic of technology, once I got back to my hotel and onto my software phone on my laptop I was able to call my cell phone provider and freeze my phone. Now all I need to do is live with the inconvenience (how did we ever live without mobile phones???) until I get a replacement.

I'm going to try to play my cello when I get home. I really miss it...

Gaudi's cathedral

This panel on the Gothic side of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral contains the musicians in a Nativity scene. The cathedral is still under construction, with 30 to 80 years to go. Construction began in 1882, and it is amazing that the variety of styles of architecture and sculpture all seem to work together. Inside you can see stones and other materials being worked upon, as well as all of the construction scaffolding.

Gaudi Dragon

Gaudi designed this dragon, which is in Guell Park in Barcelona. After looking at some of his architecture I made the connection to the word "gaudy". I loved all of the curves, bright colors, mosaics, and variety of stone shapes; it's all so over the top but still works together.