Bar 14 - Good days, better days

The weather in Omaha was beautiful, warm and sunny till Saturday, when it turned a little cooler; still there wasn’t a cloud on the horizon.  I didn’t spend much time outdoors last week anyway; rather there was score study, some writing, running and catching up on reruns of “Law and Order.”  The original; still the best.  No steak, alas, but some tasty snacks at the lounge in the charming Magnolia Hotel.  A wonderful lunch (artisanal cheeses, paté and pinot-soaked fruit on lavash, roast pork over spinach polenta) at M's Pub in the Old Market, and a brilliant used bookstore on Jackson Street where I found an oversized, like-new hardbound piano/vocal score of Manon Lescaut.  Got it for a song...oh, go ahead and laugh.  At least chuckle.

And then there were the rehearsals for my concert with the orchestra, which improved drastically every outing.  And then there was the waiting for results from Trento, in northern Italy, where Annunziata was competing in the Pedrotti Competition.  Which improved as well, with every email.

Until Saturday, when everything reached a climax; our concert went splendidly (El Amor Brujo sizzled), and far more important, Annunziata shared top honors in Pedrotti.  Quite a pair of achievements for two kids from opposite ends of New Jersey.  Hers more so than mine, of course.  Nonetheless, I got to celebrate with a delightful post-concert meal at Vivace (Old Market again), hosted Kristin and Mary, part of the brain trust from the Symphony.  Short rib ravioli over caponata, salsiccia di cinghiale over roast vegetables.  Prosecco, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a grappa.  Non c'è male, amici miei.  I still however had not heard how Annunziata had fared...

...got the text message after dinner from my student, Khai.  It is difficult to describe the feelings.  Waves of gratitude pummeled at me, making me light-headed (could have been the grappa...).  Awe and incomprehension, similar to what I felt ten years ago when Xian Zhang won the Maazel/Vilar at Carnegie the same night I was doing Don Giovanni at Indiana.  Tears of joy.

May all of you have moments, days like this.  A certain vindication, a sense that you guessed right, that the good guys (or gals, in this case) do win on occasion.  A feeling of satisfaction in the accomplishment, but more a sense of wonder about a larger design that cannot be perceived or comprehended in its entirety.  I was proud to be a conductor and teacher Saturday; humbled to work with the fine Omaha Symphony and honored to be able to call Annunziata Tomaro my colleague.

Back to work!