Peel me a grape, lay me an egg...

Another full weekend - our second visit to an opera was expected to go very smoothly (I had purchased standing-room tickets online in advance), then looked like a disaster when we showed up in the evening (my purchase had been rejected because they had sold out of tickets already), we didn't expect to see it (and this was the last performance!), and then at the last minute there were 2 seats left, and the friendly clerk allowed us to buy them at a reduced rate, so we got to see the show after all - in seats, no less! It was The Cunning Little Vixen by Leos Janacek - the music is so charming, full of catchy tunes that stay in your head but you don't mind because they're so lovely. The production was excellent, with many interesting and dramatically effective choices by the director. On an opera stage, you don't expect to see the actors draw pictures on the walls, smash a dozen eggs, wash the floors and pour water all over the stage, and then mop it up (while singing an aria) - but it really grabs your attention. Plus there's a scene where each of the actors laid an egg. La Traviata it's not!

The most exciting development for me lately was meeting the other twenty or so composition students, a very international group, mainly between 25-30 years old but a few older and younger. Classes only began a few weeks ago here, and so this weekend saw the first of the monthly composition seminars, where we all come together to listen to and discuss new pieces. Six hours of intense musical discussion in German was quite challenging for me (I would estimate that I understood 50% of what was said), but of course also stimulating, and gave me some new insights. Most of all, I'm so glad that now I've started to make more personal connections with these other young composers, and I really look forward to sharing experiences and ideas with them as this year goes on. Although I was part of some wonderful personal and musical communities in Colorado, I haven't been around other composers often in the last three years, and I feel that it'll be so good for my development to get to know the students here, to discuss some of the challenges and discoveries that we're all going through, to share with and learn from each other.

The other big news is that my mother is coming to visit! We have many plans, and I'll probably see more museums and cultural attractions in the next week than I have in the last six weeks, which will be fantastic. Pictures and updates on the trio project to come next time...