It's a Family Affair

Thanksgiving week. FINALLY a break! It has been a great 5 weeks of BSO classical concerts, with 2 guest conductors and 3 weeks with Marin. Mix in a couple of November chamber concerts, and I am a little tired out. One day away from the violin, then back to practicing. In two and a half weeks, I go to New Haven to perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Berkeley College (of Yale University) Orchestra with my son, Stephen conducting. I'm excited about this project, as I haven't performed any concerto with any orchestra for over 10 years. And the Sibelius is my favorite of many favorite violin concertos. There is nothing like it: it is a virtuosic workout for a violinist, but it is too great to call it a "showpiece." The orchestral writing is superb; after all, it is Sibelius.

Making music with my family goes back a very long way. When I was quite young, I used to play violin while my dad accompanied me on the piano. My brother took up the violin, and my sisters, pianists to start, eventually also learned the cello and the viola. So a least once a year we like to get together and play great string quartets. Now that there is another generation of string players, we can expand that to string quintets, etc. when we want to.

Meanwhile, I'm grateful that both my boys, Eric and Stephen, are home this week from law school and college. We'll have a nice Thanksgiving with my parents and my sister's family, who will all drive up from Virginia Thursday.

And if this weather would just clear a bit, we could manage one more outdoor tennis match this fall!