Day 066: One-step-in-front-of-the-other
36yearsago.com
Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing &
friends.
Day
66 — One-step-in-front-of-the-other
07-October-1971
(Thur.)
TRANSCRIPT
Second horn lesson.
Found out that because I didn’t do too well on the
audition—that they’re expecting a lot of improvement.
I’ve decided to really work hard. But I also get
extremely frustrated, hopeless, and angry. As a
result, I swear a lot.
At my lesson, it was so-so. Next lesson is Monday
already, and I have a lot of new stuff to work on.
Rough.
Saw War and
Peace by the Bolshoi. Very
impressive. Very monumental—long, and big, and [a]
grandiose ball scene. Very enjoyable. I liked the
music by Prokofiev—only objection; very long with a
lot of single monologues. Conductor, world-famous
cellist, Rostopovitch. Unbelievable opening and
finale.
REFLECTIONS
Sergei
and Wikimedia Commons. No, that's
not me in the opening picture, though you might think
so since it's 36 years later. That's one of the most
prominent of the 20th-century Russian composers,
Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953). Sergei (you may call
him Sergei), wrote the opera, War
and Peace, that I see
later tonight. I typically see photos like these on
Wikipedia. Here is my question. The photo came from
Wikimedia Commons that allows people to post images
from Wikimedia Commons on their websites, usually by
following the stated conditions and attributing the
photo. The Prokofiev photo was attributed as public
domain in Russia. What do you think, should I post
more of these? Originally, I was only going to post
the photos that I personally took in 1971, but I have
already broken that rule a few times. Let me know.
Moving on. Really.
Horn lesson, moving on. I have my
second horn lesson and learn that they will let me
study at the academy but I need to improve a lot.
Since I am not actually going for a degree, I suppose
that they are giving me some slack. So, that’s good
news. All I have to do is work harder. Remember,
don’t give up; one-foot-in-front-of-the-other; and
all that stuff. Quite honestly, it is easy for me to
say that now, but I can tell you that I was seriously
stressed by all of this back then.
Damn
it. Oh, I
swear a lot. I never would say that I am a swearing
type of person. Perhaps I am. I do swear
occasionally, mostly when I lose my temper,
especially at the damn
Xerox
machine at work while it is constantly jamming. See,
there I go again. 
Music
to the rescue. Thank
goodness I was in Vienna, the city of music. Would I
have fared as well if I were in school in the middle
of Minnesota? Not certain, unless I took up
cross-country skiing, perhaps. In Vienna, I’m able to
go to a bunch of concerts at standing-room prices—and
with friends.
War
and Peace. This opera
by Prokofiev is a long one. Performed again by the
Bolshoi Theater Company, as I write, always an
incredible performance. They were in town for a bit,
I see. Here are some notes and links on
Sergei
Prokofiev and
War and
Peace from
Wikipedia.
John
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