Monday, October 8, 2007

Holiday

I slept until 11:30 am again today, second Monday in a row. I was up to 4:30 am working on a deadline, but allowing liberal amounts of time for making JibJab "Starring You" movies for dear friends and my for sister, whose birthday it is today. Happy Birthday, Diana!

At least I did not miss cello lesson again today, as I did last week. There is no cello lesson today due to the Columbus Day holiday. I've been taking it easy--it is good to take a break now and then, even if the work piles up while you meander.

I took a little extra time to practice the cello today, writing in some fingering for the church concert pieces. Until today, I had only sightread the pieces twice with the group, but hadn't found time to practice them at home. We have a rehearsal at the church on Thursday, and I am hoping to be reasonably prepared. Amazing how much a little advance figuring out of fingering helps.

Thanks to my friend Carol, who alerted me to its presence at the library, I have started reading The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax, a novel inspired by the life of Pablo Casals. If you read the Cello.org message boards, you probably know that Casals' autobiography/biography, Joys and Sorrows, is available to read online. I think The Spanish Bow is only inspired by Casals, not intended to be an historical novel, but it will be interesting to compare the two.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip about 'The Spanish Bow'. It sounds like the type of book I like.

Maricello said...

Hi Rallentando, You might also like Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell, about the woman who married Mozart, and her family. Cowell is/was an opera singer, like some of the sisters in the family. I loved this book.

I forgot to mention that the author of The Spanish Bow describes herself as a "serious amateur cellist." It adds a little more authenticity when the author is also a musician.