Bliss

I'm spending the summer here, in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, where my parents have a home on a lake.  I've been coming here since I was a baby and I feel renewed each time I take in the smell of the woods and look out over the shining water.  A good thing, because this is a working vacation; I have three major projects including one of the three pre-dissertation papers I must write for my PhD.  "Process vs. Product in the Journal of Music Therapy: 1960-2004."  Oooh! Exciting! (Except, not.)

Another kind of bliss came from seeing Live from Lincoln Center the other night, with Gil Shaham performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto.  Wow.  The orchestra was a little less than perfect (there was an unexpected substitution of conductor), but Shaham's Sibelius was the best I've ever heard, recorded or live.  Technically amazing, but more importantly, emotionally resonant.  Little rubatos, here and there, were the key -- providing highlights for certain notes, phrases and chords.  Up until now, I have always favored David Oistrakh's recording (classical musicians can get quite feisty defending their preferred performances), so it was interesting to hear Shaham say, in his intermission interview with Beverly Sills, that he listened to that recording for years growing up.  Shaham's interpretation, however, surpasses it.  Thrilling.

(Shaham's recording of the Barber Concerto -- the one I have linked in the right hand column -- shook me loose from my years-old single-minded attachment to Isaac Stern and the NYPhil with Bernstein (though I still love it).  That's why he's my Violin Boyfriend!)