It shouldn`t surprise anybody that we musicians have a plethora of illnesses and physical problems related to our profession. Obviously they are quite different in accordance with the instrument: violinists and violists tend to have neck and shoulder tension and pain because of the way we hold our instruments. Oboists often have problems with their teeth, clarinettists with their thumbs, flutists can be plagued with a lack of feeling in the fingers and trumpeters with shoulder pains from holding a a kilo of brass to their lips for hours every day. In fact, some insurance companies classify musicians as a high-risk group, not unlike professional athletes. And, since our greatest capital is our health, we tend as a group to be very health conscious. Most of us practice some kind of sport: we have runners, bikers, swimmers, tennis players, skiers, mountaineers, horseback riders, fitness studio members, karate and yoga afficionados. Looking around the orchestra you won`t see any massively overweight people. (A few are on the chubby side, granted- but it is all within limits.) And, when the Basler Stadtlauf takes place, our participating members aren`t among the last to finish the course. We need to be in good shape to enjoy our profession to the fullest- and because we often take part in events that are physically very demanding. I for one am now training for a four and a half hour stretch of holding a viola for the coming production of "Parsifal"- it would be too cool to just play the first half and then send in the replacement for the second part. But it just doesn`t work that way. And "Parsifal" isn`t really an exception, it`s just one way of putting together musical events in an extremely compact manner.
This weekend we`ll be involved in a "mini-marathon", as we travel to Bern to perform the five Beethoven piano concerti with Rudolf Buchbinder as soloist and conductor. Luckily enough, it`s not going to be all five in a row or even all five at the same time- they`d have to send in the rescue teams for players as well as audience. Physically it would be a major effort, but mentally, to digest all the different moods and ideas of these five fascinating pieces would be a head start on burnout. So we`ll play three concerti at eleven in the morning and two at five in the afternoon. I think- for all of my complaining about the sheer muscle power it`s going to take- it`s going to be an exciting experience that will inspire us for a long time to come. The colleagues still rave about the last time in Basel and made me want to "sign up" for this very special event.
The second- extremely commendable- contribution to making Basel an even more beautiful city to live in and to radiate Basel´s tradition as a city of culture is the orchestra`s massive participation in the Museums night on January 21.
Even if you don`t go to the Museums night, come to hear us play- it`s a magical island with an almost meditative atmosphere. In three locations in the Münster, Basel`s cathedral church, you will hear ensembles comprised of Sinfonieorchester Basel members playing chamber music in various formations from six in the evening until two in the morning. Not only do we play there, but at the same time we`ll be performing "Giselle", the ballet, in Theater Basel. Talk about flexible! Our performances in the Museums night are for free and we players don`t ask a penny for these extras in which we wish to show our close atttachment to our home city of Basel. We are just grateful to have this wonderful place to live and work in.
So take your pick- we do it all for you - but don`t miss it.
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