'YONDERLY'  :

Mentally or emotionally distant; absent-minded.

from A-Z Of Unusual Words, by The Project Twins.

EXCUSE ME, BUT WHERE IS SUMMER?  

Not to complain or anything but galoshes and sweaters mid July are not part of my Summer plans... half of the outdoor concerts have been moved inside and everyone is soggy and cranky. Who didn't get the memo?? Things aren't looking too great for Copenhagen next week either, and surprisingly enough frequent/obsessive forecast checks haven't changed the odds even slightly. hrmpf. 

On the brighter side, in four days the season will officially be over, and we will very officially be on vacation.

Things have been a little quiet around here as I slowly make my way back to planet earth...

Now older, wiser, and dangerously equipped with not one but two  superfluous degrees I feel more than ready to take over the world, should the need arise.

The concert season is almost over...only two outdoor concerts and one opera gala evening to go. And suddenly there is time. Time to poke around the market, time to plant things*, time to take a closer look at this city...

* as of this evening I proudly have two whole radishes to show for my efforts.

Circle Work 2 by R. Castle

Wooden dolls by Alexander Girard

I can't even explain how excited I was to find these film black and whites in my mailbox the other day. Our friend Shaul found and old roll of film, and among other things were some photos from the wedding. Seems like a million years ago...

 

So. One down,one to go. Sunday was a little less spectacular than I had hoped,
but  C'est la vie.I'm left thinking about the following words:
 " The key to the mystery of a great artist is that for reasons unknown, he will give away his energies and his life just to make sure that one note follows another....and leaves us with the feeling that something is right in the world." - Leonard Bernstein

So tomorrow I'm of to Leipzig for a few last rehearsals before my recital on Sunday. Gulp.

 I leave you with these beautiful images of the insides of instruments from a new campaign for the Berlin Philharmonic. Artistic direction is by Björn Ewers and photography by the Mierswa-Kluska duo from Munich. 

See you on the other side!

   

All is well...

In spite of a few minor setbacks ( a sliced finger, a cracked violin, a pianist gone AWOL etc. etc.) we are back on track, more or less.

H. is finally home and yesterday we walked over to the lake for a Shavuot picnic extravaganza. The weather was divine and everything was perfect (except there wasn't any cheese cake which kind of made me feel like a fraud...) Anyhow, happily there is only a week left to this phase of boot camp and the first part of my recital/exam. Round 1: Bach, Brahms and Stravinsky-
The countdown begins...

The most happiest of birthdays to my mother who is wiser and more beautiful all the time!

A few moments in between...

Because truth be told, sometimes it's all about how you distract yourself from the tasks at hand. Retail therapy is a most despicable habit but some times you just come home from the market with new clogs and some peonies.

#not sure how that happened.

Ho-hum

So, with the last orchestra concert behind me (for now) I am trying to psych myself up for a self imposed violin boot camp of marathon practicing (in preparation for my graduation recital extravaganza). Despite how exciting that may sound,I am actually feeling a little ho-hum about the whole thing.The quest for perfection is tedious and often boring and there are a million better or more interesting things to do at any given moment.There are moments of exquisite beauty and zen-like transcendence ,but those are few and far between. Ask my neighbors.
Also, H. has temporarily deserted me in order to play some concerts of his own so the house is way too quiet and I have no one to harass  during my frequent breaks.Wish me luck...



*The sculpture is by Leah Majaro-Mintz and can be found  in Neve Zedek, Tel Aviv