I'm back. After a two-month hiatus from this silly writing outlet in my little corner of the Internet, a time during which I experienced an unpleasant and frantic amount of elation, rejection, self-doubt, panic, hope, frustration, resignation, exhaustion, television, and carbs, I am now pleased to report that I have emerged on the other side, relatively unscathed and with renewed spirit*. April's busy schedule now safely in my rearview, I went home for a couple days this week

Break time. Burning the midnight oil with the likes of Schubert D960 and Strauss Four Last Songs. Two wonderful companions with whom to while away the wee hours. Seriously, if you ever find yourself scrambling to cram in a late night practice sesh after a long day of work (Beethoven 3rd violin sonata, why you have so many notes?), you could do much worse than Schubert and Strauss. I'm not worthy. [The harmonies! They burn!] (But in a good way, like when you sip a hot beverage

Being home for the holidays has been a fitful meditation of sorts. Time slows, the days oozing together like the last clump of Christmas toffee in the tin, each rotation of the sun a variation on a theme of nap, practice, eat, run, read. Childhood revisited. The week between Christmas and New Year's is one of my favorites. Nothing too pressing ever happens in that week. No one ever remembers what they did during that week. For one blissful moment the retail hounds are called

Spending the afternoon practicing the Schubert G major sonata, my teacher's immortal words ringing in my ears: "Resignation, relinquishment, redemption." #Fleisher #Schubert