CSO Bass Blog Soldiers On

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

And so it went with the CSO portion of the Ravinia Festival this year. At six weeks it seemed all too fleeting. On the other hand there were times (the slow movement of Bruckner 7th comes to mind) it seemed interminable. Unfortunately, six weeks (or less) might become the norm for the CSO at Ravinia considering the priorities of the leadership there and the plans they appear to have for the festival. I understand Ravinia has stated they would love to offer the CSO an 8-week residency (like in the old days, say five years ago…) so long as it begins after July 4 and concludes by mid-August. Logic like that, I don’t think even Einstein could wrap his brain around. We’re clearly dealing with an irrational lack of exuberance on Ravinia’s part.

But the CSO Bass Blog will persevere, even through vacation. I plan to continue answering some of the questions I have let pile up over the past few months. Indeed, if there are any (politely worded) reader questions out there, this might be a good time to submit them with the reasonable expectation of a timely response. There are also a few other topics on my mind I will have more time to delve into now that the pesky business of playing is for the moment behind me.

Right now, the main news about the CSO is that there is no news. Contract negotiations are suspended until early September. As I have mentioned before, the last day of our contract is September 16. The convergence of the negotiations, the start of our season, the arrival of Ricardo Muti, and our European tour two weeks later should make for an exciting time.