And it's only Monday!? WIN!

This monday was so epic that it deserves its own blog post all for itself.  I'll update on the other stuff later..

7 AM yoga/practice
8:30AM write more of 401 History paper
10 AM Vienna Staatsoper rehearsal of the 2nd half of Götterdämmerung
1 PM shove pb&j down my throat, warm up
2 PM (oops lesson time moved!) practice!
3 PM Music History
4:30 PM Almost complete essay for 401!!!
6PM Lesson with Luca Benucci!!!!!!!!!
7:30 PM All Bartok program with Esa-Pekka Salonon and the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Konzerthaus

So, I woke up 45 minutes late, no big deal, I was up until 12 writing my paper.  Felt good, but I was getting nervous for my lesson, as usual (with a new, famous horn player!).  Also a little nervous about actually getting the lesson (I'll explain later)!  So, I had time to write more of my paper that I need to get done BEFORE my birthday when it's due!  I do not want to be writing that paper on my birthday!!!  (or the night before!!!)  At this point I've got almost 8 full pages.  I need 10.

Then I ran to the Staatsoper (literally), and get there just in time to meet Wolfgang and 2 of his students to watch his rehearsal.  I LOVE these rehearsals.  Even when they are the most angry, depressing, confusing music (Wagner), it still really calms all my nerves listening to them play.  That's how it's supposed to be.  Watching/listening to them play just gives me a few hours to forget about everything else.  I don't have to think about classes (or that paper I need to finish), I don't think about my problems, or anything that I don't want to think about.  It's just a really relaxing wonderful break from life.  I'm going everyday this week. :)  And then I get to talk shop (or anything) with Wolfgang during the pause (and he bought me coffee! nom.)  Today we talked about Wiener horn sound compared to american horns, especially Conns. He also invited me to his studio recital to see all his students that I've been meeting play solos!

So, Luca.  Luca is the hardest person to get a lesson with.  I had been trying to get a lesson with him in Italy, but my times were not really working out with any of his times, and I couldn't chance going to Italy for no lesson.  So, it just didn't look like it was going to happen.  Then, on friday night I saw Luca's fb status (thank you fb!!!). It read: "Ready to go: Wien... Heldenleben, Musikverein, Mehta!!!  Very good combination!!!"  With eyed widened and jaw dropped, I immediately looked up the Musikverein schedule, and low and behold, his orchestra was on the list for Sunday and Monday.  Right then I sent him a facebook message along the lines of "Are you in Vienna?  I'm in Vienna.  Can I  have a lesson while you're in Vienna?!"  He sent me a messaged back saying "yes, we land at 2 tomorrow" and left me his phone number.  So, Saturday at 2 PM rolled around and so I obviously called Luca.  He answered and said, "Jamie!  I'm still in Pisa!"  He had gotten the times mixed up.  So we rescheduled for 10 AM on monday.  I made one of the hardest decisions ever on sunday: Die Walküre or Heldenleben with Luca's orchestra.  Luca won.  I went to this concert, and it was incredible.  The horns sounded particularly spectacular, which I was very happy to hear!  Luca has a gorgeous sound and SO MUCH power.  It's incredible how much he can play and his endurance is unimaginable in my eyes.  I thought to myself... I must be able to do this.  It's a good thing I have a lesson with him!  I met him outside after the concert to congratulate him and meet him finally.  He is incredibly friendly and a lot of fun.  He also told me that he had forgotten about his rehearsal at 10 in the morning for the monday concert!  We rescheduled for 2 PM.  Once again, monday at 2 rolled around and I walked to the musikverein and called Luca.  He was having lunch with the horns and had a meeting at 3.  We rescheduled for 6 PM, the absolute last possible time either of us could manage.  So, at 6 PM, as the Vienna Phil's rehearsal was just ending, I was waiting at the Kunstlereingang, artist's entrance of the Musikverein. 


This was actually pretty cool.  After all of the rehearsals I've sat in on, all of the horn players not recognize me.  I said hi to one of them that I don't know the name of yet, and I actually spoke with Wolfgang Tomböck, the longtime principal horn.  He was playing first on Bruckner 4 at the first rehearsal I saw here.  He's incredible, and also very friendly.  Then Wolfgang (my teacher) walks out the door, "The rehearsal is over, what are you doing?"  "Luca changed my lesson time again, I'm waiting for him."  haha.  So I chatted with Wolfgang for a little bit and then he pulls out his keys and says "I took my motorcycle today."  WHAT!!!??!  Possibly one the most 'square' guys I've ever met, and he's got a motorcycle.  He actually pulled it around to the entrance to show me.  Most mind boggling sight ever.  He is so legit.  The coolest person I know.  Viennese (cool accent), Vienna Philharmonic Horn, looks like Tom Hanks, awesome teacher, rides a motorcycle.  He's always got something new to surprise me with. lol.  


Anyway, Luca showed up and we scouted out a free room in the Musikverein basement, which we could not actually find, so we ended up using the Men's dressing room, conveniently in use by men changing for the concert. lol.  ((sarcasm))  So I whipped out my horn and played the first 2 pages of Mozart 4 for him.  He told me I had a really nice sound and it was really good.  He also asked why I breathe out of my nose.  It's a Jeff thing to use the nose and mouth, but I really was just taking super wimpy breaths.  He showed my a breathing tool that he uses everyday and showed me how to use it and we did that basically the entire lesson with also using the mouthpiece in the breathing thing.  Then at the very end, I played the Mozart again.  Mozart has never felt like that.  Nothing has ever felt like that.  I'm not sure how he did it, but he's the first person to REALLY get to me feel the difference with real breathing.  He is an incredible teacher.  He told me that he would like to work with me more and that I came to Vienna to really change my horn playing and he will help me.  And I will follow him.  I'm going to Italy next week.  Life changing.


Immediately after all of this crazy inspiration and running around a men's dressing room with guys in underwear staring at me having a lesson telling me about Zwiebel-Brot, I met up with Ross and went to see a totally epic concert.  Esa-Pekka Salonen with the Philharmonia Orchestra playing an all Bartok program.  Dance suite in 6 movements, Violin Concerto No. 2, and Concerto for Orchestra.  The first piece was really awesome, I had never heard it and enjoyed it thouroughly.  The violinist was incredible.  Christian Tetzlaff.  He has amazing control, smoothness, ease, beautiful sound, crazy technique of course, and he was just fantastic.  Esa-Pekka was a lot of fun to watch.  He looks like a young conductor, he has a ton of energy, almost always using both arms fully.  He's a very rhythmic conductor, very clear.  The orchestra had a distinctly British feel to it, I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, but maybe it was the british brass sound.  The horns were definitely bigger horns, although I don't know what they play on.  It was a more open, less centered tone, very pretty sound.  The bass bone gliss solo was unbelievably loud.  I've never heard it that loud.  It was a really fun concert.  


This was my incredibly day and I totally wore myself out with happiness.. just beaming with happiness is very tiring. lol.  good night.