August 22, 2004 at 2:10 AM

While my violin is off for repairs, my teacher lent me a nice, sturdy 1932 fiddle to practice on in the meantime. Nice sweet tone, great response, fantastic feel - everything's great, except no matter what I try, it slips out of tune within five seconds of my adjusting it. I've been frantically tuning it and then playing two measures of the Bach Double as fast as I can. Despite the fact that after those two measures, the E string slips into a C and the A string becomes an F, I still get the glory of playing for these fleeting moments.

Sigh.

I want my violin back!!! It's like having a child stay overnight at their grandparents' for the first time - although I know the violin is in good hands, I'm still worried, anyway. And I'm even more worried about how the instrument will sound with a readjusted soundpost, with autumn auditions coming up and all. "It's probably going to take a long time for the same tone to come back," my teacher warned - oh, I know, and it's all my fault, too.

To get my mind off my musical troubles, I read the new book "Sleeping With Schubert" today - don't worry; it's much less risque than it sounds. It circles around the concept of a woman becoming inhabitated by the spirit of Schubert, who wants to complete his Unfinished Symphony through her. Very interesting stuff. Although I found some portions of the book a tad unbelievable (would those attending a classical concert really throw their underwear onstage?), it was a nice escape for the afternoon.

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