Thursday, November 4, 2010

Andrea Wets Her Whistle

31. October

I'm on an overnight train from L'viv to Kyiv. Last night's concert was pretty good. It felt a little muted. I don't know if that was because of where I was sitting or my own tiredness or others' jetlag. My performance of "misoneism" eventually went well. I had an awful case of dry-mouth, which I've never experienced before. My lips were getting stuck on my gums, so after making a beatbox sound, I couldn't get my lips into a flute embouchure on time. As a result, my sound was rather crappy. About 2 minutes in, I realized I had to either stop and start over, or just figure out some way to "wet my whistle" in the context of the piece. I chose the latter and stuck some improv in. I don't know what Mozart people do! Carry water, I suppose. You don't know how bad it is until you experience it yourself.

At first, I thought the audience wasn't really into our show. But I remembered different cultures have differing levels of emotional demonstration. They did clap in unison at the end of the show, which I've heard is similar to a standing ovation in these parts.

It is wonderful to be back with Pat, Hu, Jeff, Maria, Kamala, and Drew, and to pick up right where we left off!


1 November

We've had great luck with the weather and were able to get a feel for L'viv. I'm sure it would be challenging, but I feel I could live here. It's beautiful and there is some serious culture and counter-culture going on.

Last night's concert at Dzyga was a great success. We all played well, we had a good time, the house was full and was really excited about our music.

There was a group of happy Georgians, drinking and bursting into song at regular intervals. Then they came over to our table to pay homage to Pat, their new model of masculinity. It was fascinating to behold --- the whistling of "summertime," the bear hugs, the cheek kisses... Totally wild. Pat handled it all with grace, of course.

No comments:

Post a Comment