Summing up the week.

This was sort of a chaotic week, with the abrupt medical issue on Tuesday, and persistant hot & humid weather providing the main sources of the chaos. It was meant to be fairly calm, with trips to Marlboro providing the pleasure of music and relief from the heat. I ended up spending hours waiting in two emergency rooms - Urgent Care and BMH. Wednesday I stayed home, with John keeping me company, and both of us wilting in the humidity. Thursday was retired clergy in the morning and GCC Church Council in the evening and a quick trip to Marlboro in between, with a hot dog and ice cream at Chelsea Diner providing supper. Friday we intended to go to a late afternoon rehearsal at Marlboro, but we got part way there and the fuel light went on - Ellen had forgotten to fill the tank earlier (heat fogs the brain). There is no gas station on the back road to Marlboro, so we had to turn around and come back to the Irving station on Route 30, which made us too late to get to Marlboro for the rehearsal, so we came home. Today wasn't really chaotic, but it was very full. Oh, and in the midst of everything, I ordered a rolling walker from the Brattleboro Senior Center, and Ellen picked that up on Wednesday, I think - it is a free loan for as long as I need it. Nice! I used it twice at Marlboro this week - Thursday and Saturday. It works pretty well, though I have to be careful going downhill; I don't want it to run away with me. It does have brakes. We are not 100% sure about going to church tomorrow - we might stay home, rest, and watch church on YouTube. Next week is the Tolles/Baker Family Reunion at Ames Farm Inn on Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire, Wednesday-Friday. My involvement in that is being negotiated, and John and Cynthia have offered to help out in any way they can. Thank you John & Cynthia! *************** As I mentioned earlier, we heard the full Shostakovich Quartet today and the performers were Clara Neubauer, violin; Itamar Zorman, violin; Ao Peng, viola; and Oliver Herbert, cello. Clara Neubauer is a graduate of Juilliard and the recipient of many prizes and awards. She is praised for her "seductive artistry" and "rare grace." She was indeed magnificent today, as were all four members of the quartet.

Clara Neubauer, first violin in the Shostakovich.

Clara Neubauer, Itamar Zorman, Ao Peng and Oliver Herbert performing the Shostakovich today.

Itamar Zorman, 2nd violin in the Shostakovich. Born in Tel-Aviv in 1985 to a family of musicians, Itamar Zorman began his violin studies at the age of six with Saly Bockel at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel-Aviv. He graduated in 2003 and continued his studies with Professor David Chen and Nava Milo. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance as a student of Hagai Shaham, and his Master of Music from The Juilliard School in 2009, where he studied with Robert Mann and Sylvia Rosenberg. He then went on to receive an Artist Diploma from Manhattan School of Music in 2010 and an Artist Diploma from Julliard in 2012 under the tutelage of Sylvia Rosenberg, and he is an alumnus of the Kronberg Academy where he studied with Christian Tetzlaff and Mauricio Fuks. He is also the recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and has taken part in numerous master classes around the world, working with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel, and Ivry Gitlis. Mr. Zorman is currently on faculty at the Eastman School of Music. He plays on a 1734 Guarneri del Gesù, from the collection of Yehuda Zisapel. More on Ao Peng and Oliver Herbert later.