My lesson today was awesome. AWESOME! My teacher only said the word intonation 2 or 3 times... this is a vast difference from his average 9 or 10. And I made it through an entire movement in one lesson. I have never, repeat, NEVER done that before.
Bring on the soloistic career, because I'm flying high!
***
There was also something interesting that Mr. Ribeiro was talking about today - the difference between colle strokes between America and Europe. I know this may mean very little to a lot of you who read this, but the point is that I have had a similar conversation with Guyver. It was nearly five years ago, but he truly advocated the idea of getting a music education both here and overseas. Supposedly, it give one a more worldly perspective.
I've never been more convinced that after my degree, and after Tom's degree in Seattle, I should move to London and get myself an artist's diploma. A couple years there would do me well. I have noticed that as you get higher up on the classical music ladder, the voices of reason around you start to have more and more accents. Europeans have such an influence on American teachings - as they probably should, having much more experience and pedagogical traditions than the western hemisphere in general.
At UNC, my teacher was American and my conductor was British. These were the two most influential people there. Here, the same roles are filled by a Portuguese virtuoso and a Russian fuddy-duddy (endearingly so). People in power come from exotic places... I should figure out how they get so good.
In the meantime, I'll just keep reeling from my stellar lesson today. Oh, and practice tonight, because now I feel like no breaks will be taken until 7:30PM, May 23rd, 2006. The time when I have to be cleared out of the recital hall.
Yeah, I scheduled a recital. I almost felt like arguing with Ribeiro to not have one, especially since there aren't really any times left my parents could come to. But there are tiny advancements in my practice each day that really make me believe I can pull it all together in a little over a month. And if I could do that... I'd have no choice but to say I had a successful first year here at Northwestern.
Despite all the torture and stress, Evanston is good to me.
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