What next?

These past couple of weeks have been a little rough. It took me most of this time to get over my cold, and then I got an eye infection, and I've just generally been feeling out of sorts. I have some musical projects to work on, but nothing as absorbing as the Schumann concerto.

It is still strange for me that I don't have to go to work every day. Because of this, I have the issue that I find myself saying about various tasks, "Oh, I can do that tomorrow." So things get put off. My practice time feels like it's falling victim to this: I'll do an hour or two, feel tired or frustrated or like I'm losing my concentration, and then pack it up with the thought that tomorrow is another day.

But the thing about practicing is that it's like a river -- it keeps rolling along, and you do it every day if you can, but there's no end to it. You can set goals for specific pieces, so that on such-and-such a date you will perform it or record it or call it done, but the potential for improvement and work that could be done never closes. This is both stimulating and frustrating.

So the musical things coming up:

This weekend, I'm playing Scandinavian folk dances for an annual Luciafest. This is with a large group  and I tend to get lost in the mix, but it's kind of fun in its own way.

Next week, I'm meeting with a flutist and a pianist to read through some trios. The idea is to eventually perform if the group gels well enough. Both players are very good, so it should be enjoyable.

In January, I scheduled myself to play the piano on an AMSF recital. I haven't decided what to play; it's a toss-up between the opening movement of the Bach C minor partita and the Brahms Rhapsody No. 1 in B minor. When I attempted the latter for my piano teacher this morning, I had a total breakdown about a half minute in, which doesn't augur well. After I got over that hump, the next student arrived while I was wailing away on some big chords, really getting into it, and my teacher came over and touched my hands to stop me and said, "Softer ..." Oops. So we'll see how that goes. I do have over a month until the recital.