Entering the Week of Brahms Symphonies

In search of lost inspiration, I have been listening to numerous recordings. I started my musical pilgrimage with the Beethoven symphonies conducted by George Szell, Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter and Wilhelm Furtwängler. As you can tell, I am a big fan of older recordings. I find that the style of playing is greatly audacious, yet hardly pretentious. Not to be missed, the extremely crisp articulation is also an “ear opener,” especially the ones by Szell and Walter. As I was surveying the symphonic music of Beethoven, my musical curiosity led me into the symphonic music of Johannes Brahms; especially the symphonies.

I was so lucky to perform Brahms’s Second Symphony last summer at a music festival. Without this experience, I wouldn’t have had an opportunity to closely listen to this masterwork. It is quite embarrassing to say that I had not listened to Brahms’s Second Symphony until last summer — more precisely, I didn’t pay a close attention before. While learning the piece, I probably listened to 5 to 6 different recordings; eventually I ended up with Daniel Barenboim’s live recording with the Staatskappelle Berlin. Something about this recording brings me joy every time I listen to it: the rich expression and the well resonating orchestral sound, but without any musical sacrifice in execution. Especially in the final movement, the driving force towards the end is quite spectacular. I would have stood up and started clapping if I were listening to this in person. 

Since I am obsessed with discovering hidden gems from the 20th century, I began my Brahmsian journey with older recordings. I started with Carlos Kleiber’s legendary recording of the Fourth Symphony with Wiener Philharmoniker. Several friends have recommended me this album; and I finally listened to this. I have acquired this CD from a library giveaway years ago, and it finally had its moment to shine again. This has quickly become my go-to Brahms 4 recording. Everything is so well balanced ... so well balanced that I was reminded by a story from my childhood: The Three Bears, where a girl named Goldilocks tastes three different bowls of porridge and finds that she prefers porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold, but has just the right temperature. My listening experience of this album was so satisfying — felt like climbing up the mountain of a higher art form. I know this can be a very controversial statement because everyone could have a very different musical experience to mine, and also what I musically believe is not absolute. Tastes, furthermore, tend to change over time. But at least for now, I have been enjoying listening to Kleiber’s recording very much. 

Years ago, I heard Charles Münch’s recording of the First Symphony with the Orchestre de Paris. I don’t know if this would be a good description; I felt like hearing a roaring lion with charisma and dignity. Having this fond recollection of Münch’s interpretation in my mind, I inserted the recording of the Second and Fourth Symphonies with the Boston Symphony Orchestra to my stereo. I definitely hear “the roaring lion” in this album as well, even though the two orchestras have very different styles of playing. If the Orchestre de Paris’s approach has down-to-earth honesty, the Boston Symphony’s take has edge-of-seat crispness. While listening to the BSO recording, I started wondering if two totally different concepts can co-exist. As far as I can verbally express Brahms’s music, I personally think his music brings out the feeling of nostalgia and longing from the deepest part of my heart. In addition to the nostalgic feelings, I sense joyful passion. I find that these two concepts are on the opposite sides of emotional spectrum, but somehow there’s an invisible string holding them together. (opposite concepts in words; e.g. joyful tear or bittersweetness) 

I hope that you enjoyed reading my own experience of entering the week of Brahms Symphonies. I’ve included below a list of some of my favorite Brahms Symphony recordings. I sincerely wish that you can also find the joy of appreciating the Brahms Symphonies as I do. 

Recommendations:

Complete Symphonies: 

Sergiu Celibidache and Münchener Philharmoniker

Carlo Maria Giulini and Wiener Philharmoniker

Marek Janowski and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

James Levine and Wiener Philharmoniker

George Szell and Cleveland Orchesetra

Bruno Walter and Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Günter Wand and NDR-Sinfonieorchester

Quarantine Playlist #1

Hope everyone is safe and sound. It’s been very challenging to find and maintain inspiration during the self-isolation. I am trying the best to keep myself inspired. I have been listening to orchestral/instrumental masterpieces and discovering repertoire unfamiliar to me. These are the albums that I have listened to for past two weeks. Unlike other playlist posts I’ve decided to add my experience to each album.

Unknown (to me) repertoire by students of J. S. Bach. Through this album I have been discovering so many hidden charms of during/post- Bach period. I found this album while specifically looking for recordings of the Müthel Sonata. I came across the sheet music of it, and looked quite similar to the writing of C. P. E. Bach, so I was quite intrigued to find out how it sounds.

My teacher from undergraduate, Michel Debost had us learn obbligato flute parts from Bach Cantatas every week. The flute parts are both musically and technically demanding yet fulfilling. During the quarantine, I’ve decided to re-visit them and practice the ones I didn’t learn years ago. My goal is not to play these like a set of etudes. You will be surprised how difficult these obbligato parts are.

My curiosity from Bach’s cantatas led me here. There are lots of important flute passages in the Passions and the Mass. I find that these masterpieces are some of the greatest achievements in human history, and they never get old.

After hearing the Berlin Philharmonic playing the St. Matthew Passion live twice, I started building obsession to the piece. To be honest with you, however, I can’t listen to the entire piece in one sitting. But that doesn’t mean this is not a masterpiece!

Berlin Philharmonic + Rattle has been my all-time favorite. Mitsuko Uchida happens to be one of my musical idols. … and here we go.

Many years ago, my Music Theory teachers from undergraduate recommended that I should listen to Helmut Lachenmann. I forgot about the suggestion for many years. Then I was organizing my CD collections the other day, and found this album. I definitely need a score to have a better understanding. I am not going to lie. I need some time to understand this better.

More specifically Stravinsky’s Petrouchka. I’ve played it in concerts, I’ve played it in auditions, I’ve heard it in concerts. But I couldn’t recall the last time I sat in front of a stereo and listened to this piece. Every time I listen to great performances of Stravinsky’s music, I am always reminded why I want to be a musician. I want to tell stories, not just playing the notes.

Can this lead me into a Stravinsky pilgrimage?

Mostly this curiosity started from the famous flute solo of the 8th symphony. I find that it is rather challenging to perform the music of Dvorak. Is it because Dvorak’s music is from a culture that is quite unknown to me? There’s more to it. As a flutist, I have very limited experience of playing Dvorak’s music. So far I’ve played the Slavonic Dances, and various arrangements of the Violin Sonatine. So this curiosity starts from the well-known symphonies by Dvorak, and it will spread out to lesser known symphonies and chamber repertoire. What makes the music of Dvorak so special / unique / original?

Stay safe and be well.

Beomjae.

January of 2020 Playlist

This month has featured a lot of traveling, and that means I listened to lots of music during my time on moving vehicles. Often times, I would discover some new and obscure pieces when going through different albums on Apple Music, but I seem to be exploring my favorite repertoire this month. My inner voice creeps in and asks me “ … scared of changes?”

I found a new (to me) album of the Bach flute sonatas though. I always enjoy listening to French Harpsichordist, Jean Rondeau. While going through his C. P. E. Bach concerto recording, I discovered this Bach sonata album.

Having an access to a music streaming service is absolutely wonderful. But the only downside is that I can’t quite get all the information on the performers, pieces, etc–as you would read about them on the CD sleeves.

But anyway, here’s the highlight of my January playlist.

Musician's Birthday: Francis Poulenc

Allow me to share my words and experience with this incredible musician.  This is my way of celebrating his enormous contribution to the history of music.  

Francis Poulenc (Jan. 7, 1899–Jan. 30, 1963) has left many masterpieces, but particularly for us, flautists.  No introduction is necessary for his Sonata for Flute and Piano.  I still remember the very first time discovering this piece.  My parents bought me a set of CDs comprises of the 20thcentury works for the flute.  One of the pieces was the Sonata for Flute and Piano.  I was in awe.  I couldn’t control the joy of uncovering this wonder.  What struck me the most is how magically the music unfolds its story.  

The first movement is full of musical gestures, which flow with a few surprises in the piano part here and there.  The music is quite simple, but it is always so challenging to achieve the simplicity in performances.  The second movement is filled with songlike melodies and their beautifully accompanying harmonies.  The piano has a repetitive accompaniment figure when the flute is playing the main melody, then the piano folds the flute passage with descending harmonic clusters, which remind me of a scene from an old black and white film where old memories appear with the cigarette smoke (please check out the clip from Casablanca below).  The third movement resembles of a whimsical circus.  The movement begins with a comical music; I always imagine that a magician pulls out a rabbit from his hat while acrobats are flying over the magician’s head.  A minute before the piece ends, the flute takes a mini cadenza which is the moment of reflecting the second movement.  This mini cadenza happens quite abruptly, and it immediately catches listeners’ attention; then the piano joins – a reprise of the first movement, but very slowly.  Then the whimsical comedy returns, and the piece ends.  

A few years ago, I was at the Met museum. I was strolling in the French Impressionism wing while listening to a set of French flute music from the 20thcentury.  I stopped at three beautiful paintings by Pissarro, and my phone was playing the Poulenc Sonata.  The paintings visually describe my musical imagination from the sonata … and the Sonata aurally depicts the scenes from the paintings – especially the first two movements.  This experience brought me back to the magical moment when I first discovered this piece.  I stood at the paintings until the recording was over, and silently came back to my apartment. 

At the turn of the century, composers started writing music that is completely different from the old world’s music. The melody, the harmony, the form … they rather became the secondary matters.  Using music as a vehicle to express the modern-world chaos, the desire to express one’s psychologically tormenting psyche initiated the new musical movement; the composers started exploring the possibilities of atonality. Francis Poulenc while living through the stylistic turmoil still continues the Parisian legacy of which Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy had established.  Not only does Poulenc elegantly explore the unique instrumental timbres, but also he brings out subtle beauty in his music.  Unlike the compositional trend of his time, the music of Poulenc expresses the tonal simplicity, which brings us the simple joy.   

Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute / Robert Veyron-Lacroix, piano

December of 2019 Playlist

In the midst of December, holidays are just around the corner. During this time of the year, I always get into an old habit which I obsessively listen to Romantic Art Songs, heavily focused on my all-time favourite composer … Franz Schubert.

Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Gerald Moore

Schubert: Lieder

Ian Bostridge & Julius Drake

Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin

Mark Padmore & Paul Lewis

Shubert: Winterreise

Mark Padmore & Paul Lewis

Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin and 3 Lieder

Fritz Wunderlich & Hubert Giesen

Schumann: Dichterliebe / Schubert & Beethoven Lieder

Fritz Wunderlich & Hubert Giesen

Schubert: Im Frühling

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Sviatoslav Richter

Expectation vs. reality

I would like to share a note I wrote back in August of 2019.

-

Years ago, when I wasn’t able to go anywhere for the summer, I freaked out. I couldn’t go home in Korea, I couldn’t go visit friends in Europe, I couldn’t fly out of NYC. I panicked. I made a summer calendar of writing down all my NYC friends’ summer whereabouts … who’s in NYC in the weeks of XYZ, who’s going to XYZ festivals for how long, etc., etc., and etc.

My expectation then was pretty miserable, but I survived. This summer, I also planned to stay in the NYC. My expectation this time is somewhat positive. I have been regularly seeing friends and colleagues for coffee, lunch, dinner, movies, museums, etc. I have been having somewhat productive yet entertaining summer. Without the struggle of which I had a few years ago, I wouldn’t have learnt how to enjoy my summer here in NYC.

-

Epilogue:

Life goes on no matter what happens. Better enjoy it now than never. Sending you lots of love and positivity.

Fall of 2019 Playlist

This fall, I have been listening to a lot of great French flutists’ recordings. Here’s the list of albums I have been obsessed with.

Emmanuel Pahud: Dreamtime

Vincent Lucas: The Art of Solo Flute

José-Daniel Castellon: Works of Flute and Orchestra: Jolivet and Martin

Magali Mosnier: Mozart

Jocelyn Aubrun: 1943

Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer: Bach Trios

WRTI 90.1 Live Stream Links

I made a brief appearance on WRTI 90.1 in Philadelphia on Sept. 13, 2019. Here’s the links to my portion of the performance:

Ferroud: Toan-yan (La fête du double-cinq)

Piazzolla: Night Club with Rachel Lee Hall, harp.

Host: Debra Lew Harder

Inspiration

Sunday, Sept. 15, 9:48 a.m.

I am in Philadelphia, getting ready to find my way back to NYC in a couple of hours. Last night, I was going through my portfolio, and suddenly I wanted to start painting again. I have not been painting for a several months, or maybe a year?

I started remembering what I was obsessed with in paintings, thinking what elements I want to paint, etc. I am deeply obsessed with dots, and I want to continue painting more dots. When I painted Black dots, I planned that this will be the first of the black dots series. I may have enough inspiration to create the second Black dots, and I better start soon before my inspiration flies off my head, and finds some other souls.

Summer of 2019 Playlist

I did not spend much time listening to Korean popular songs in the past. But I started listening to a few before this summer, then I got into a few older “Classics” of the Korean pop songs. Then I began my journey of building a playlist on my Apple Music app. I enjoy listening to them when I am on the plane, subway, or walking … any activity that involves commuting.

The lyrics are not at all provocative, and in fact they are somewhat poetic. When I introduce those older Classics songs to my non-Korean speaking friends, I have a trouble translating the lyrics into English. It is very difficult to convey Korean poetic words, especially because often the words don’t necessarily form a complete sentence or the words have double meanings or ambiguous wordings creates multiple connotations, and so on.

Enough with the talks. Here’s the list.

김광석 - 서른 즈음에

이한철 - 산책

아이유 - 비밀의 화원

이적 - 걱정말아요, 그대

이은미 - 우리 두사람

김연우 - 반성문

이수현 - 소리

아이유 - 사랑이 지나가면

선우정아 - 고양이

최재훈 - 비의 랩소디

박정현 - The End

Feel free to share your favourite Korean pop songs with me in the comments.

New Uploads on YouTube

Click the title to go to the YouTube page.

Liebermann: Sonata, mvt. 2

in collaboration with Min Young Kang (piano)

Tchaikovsky-Taffanel: Arioso from Eugene Onegin

in collaboration with Sung-Soo Cho (piano) and Tom Doczi (recording engineer)

Gaubert: Romance (1905)

in collaboration with Sung-Soo Cho (piano) and Tom Doczi (recording engineer)

Fall of 2018 Playlist

Here I am. These are the albums that I have been madly listening to.

… no judgement, please.

Donovan. Sunshine Superman.

Louis Cole. Time.

Tom Misch. Geography.

French Kiwi Juice. FKJ.

Brad Mehldau. Kevin Hays. Modern Music.

Frank Zappa. Sheik Yerbouti.

From One Flute to Another

When I first acquired my Brannen-Cooper flute, I had the expectation of using it for only five years before selling it, however I've been playing it for more than five years now. Although there have been some ups and downs over the years, I am happy with my decision to stick with it.

Prior to my current Brannen flute, I had two other flutes. My parents got me a platinum-plated Muramatsu flute when I became serious about playing the instrument. I used this flute for my middle school and high school entrance exams, as well as my college auditions. Even after I enrolled at Oberlin, I continued to use this flute. In middle school, I also acquired a gold Salvatore Faulisi head joint for it.

During one summer in Korea, I brought my Muramatsu flute to a repair shop, and my repair professional lent me a 1989 Silver Powell flute (with an additional silver Altus head joint) while my Muramatsu was being fixed. I played the Powell for a few days and fell in love with it. The Powell flute was a lightweight silver flute that produced a sweet tone as soon as I blew into it. So, I decided to buy it when I went to collect my Muramatsu.

For a few years I used the Powell flute with the Faulisi head joint. It was a great combination that resulted in a focused and pure tone.

My playing style has changed significantly over the past few years. Each flute, like Muramatsu, Powell, Faulisi, and Altus, have its own unique feel, and after much time playing the Brannen-Cooper, I have grown accustomed to its sound.

---

Summary of the flutes I have used.

Muramatsu PTP (2002–2008)

+ Faulisi 14K

Powell Sterling Silver (2008–2013; 2015–and from time to time)

+ Altus 958

+ Faulisi 14K

+ Lafin 14K

Brannen-Cooper 14K (2013–present)

+ Lafin 14K

New Obsession

Sept. 30, 2018

When something catches my eye, I tend to slowly build obsessions for it. Often it’s healthy obsessions, at least I’d like to believe they are. Sometimes I’d like to take time to research to see if I’d enjoy it if I make that obsession into reality (like the one time when I started taking film photos). Sometimes I’d like to be little bit impulsive without a second thought. I will give you an example.

Recently I was asked to present a recital, and a program of my choice. At the time of making the decision, I listened to many different pieces that I have not played. Then I started building an obsession to Romance by Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941). I have played and heard his works before, but hadn’t heard the Romance at all. I started to locate the music, called a friend and searched the library catalogue. My friend had a relatively newer part and score, and the school library had a fossil-like copy — one of those copies when you open you have to blow the dust off, and each page immediately falls apart.

The beautiful opening melody became part of my daily warm-up routine. Wherever I went, I took the beautiful melody with me. (I am thinking about transposing it, and add to my own “Tone Development” exercises.)

Anyway, this beautiful and mysterious composition of Gaubert, has been in my head all the time. I listen to it when commuting, resting, and humming the melody while doing dishes and sweeping the floor.

Postcard from Brooklyn (Sept., 2018)

Dear my secret readers,

Usually I am out of town once or twice a month for concerts or for other reasons, but this late summer and and early fall I have been in New York. I have been actually quite excited about that.

The weather has been so fantastic, and I have some time to practice and walk with friends when there’s plenty of natural light outside. My usual boundary to explore is quite limited to Manhattan, but this past weekend my friend and I went to Brooklyn to check out the Botanic Garden. It’s very far from where I live. Though the subway was running quite well without any major delays, so the trip wasn’t too long. To entertain myself, I brought a book with me called, “The Inner Game of Tennis.” I almost managed to finish reading it in one sitting.

I really loved it! I was so glad that my friend had suggested that location, and we walked and caught up. The weather has been so nice lately, you should all check out the Botanic Garden. Highly recommend

My absolute favourite was the bonsai garden.

Not much of an impressive photo, but it’s a lot nicer when you are there.

Searching for a New Style?

1.1:

I have painted for a while, exclusively on framed canvas or muslin. I have been neglecting to paint recently for multiple reasons. The main big reason would be lack of space to produce art. I had produced rather space-taking artworks in the past, and my studio cannot simply manage it well  especially when drying the paintings.

On a side note, one accident happened last winter. I set one of my oil paintings on the side to slowly dry. I accidentally knocked over a wine glass, and the glass was completely destroyed. The tiny glass parts scattered all over my studio. I picked up all the parts on the floor. But a month later I discovered small glass pieces on my painting (which gives a little character to the painting in my opinion.)

1.2:

There are many other reasons, but lack of space is one of the reasons I stopped painting larger scale works.

2.1:

I received a handful of suggestions from many artists. They all recommended me to create something less permanent, more likely something destroyable. 

I asked … What do you mean by Something Destroyable?

An artwork that is not on framed fabric, an artwork that is on a sheet of paper, an artwork that is easy to store and throw away, or that doesn't take a lot of space to store, an artwork that I don’t feel emotionally attached to.

2.2:

The idea of an artwork from which I can easily look away sounded so appealing. I tend to fix my artworks over time, and sometimes I look for my old paintings to fix. As a matter of fact, I recently fixed a painting from 2015. 

3.1:

Anyway, I sorta have a principle, "Once it's over, it's over.” I could apply that principle to my art producing process. (cf. No refunds or exchanges, all sales final.)

4.1:

I am very much looking forward to working with new mediums and materials to paint on. Of course, I can go back to larger scale oil paintings within a year or two, but this very period of searching for new ways certainly is an exciting part of journey as a visual artist. 

New Work Announcement (commissioned in 2018)

Announcement: I was recently commissioned to create a new artwork for a private collection. I am planning to produce a set of 6 to 9 panels of paintings. 

Watercolors on 6X6 sheets of paper.

Postcard from (this) Summer

End of the summer, and the beginning of a new season! 

Autumn makes me excited, and as in fact it is my favourite season of the whole 12-month year. Even the air smells different, and my walk to the subway stop feels different. Too bad that the autumn doesn’t stay with us for a long time. Autumn is more like so-called a summer fling for me, I guess –– something which happened so briefly, and left us with good memories at the end.

Anyway, lots of things happened over the summer: visiting Korea, losing wisdom teeth, playing a few concerts, hunting for wild mushrooms, purchasing a film camera, etc etc etc. Often I have bittersweet feelings for wrapping things up, but this time I don't have that feelings. Finally the autumn is here, and I had a great summer. 

(As I writing about my excitement for autumn, I thought of a scene from a movie, 500 Days of Summer, where Tom meets Autumn after his love for Summer did not work out the way he wished.) 

Here’s a photo I took over the summer. This was taken in Lake George, New York while I was attending a music festival there. 

Lake George, New York. 35mm / olympus om-2n

P.S. Here's a video of what I was talking about ... the final scene from 500 Days of Summer, where Tom meets Autumn ... 

Well, It Is Just a Hobby

I finally made a decision. It was long overdue. I bought a camera. 

1.1: I always wanted to take photos, but rather in a semi-professional way. Three years ago, I had opportunities to walk around different parts of New York due to my work. I visited many different neighbourhoods, and saw various cultures within the city. I wanted to archive the scenes I saw. 

1.2: So I started taking photos everywhere I went—from my neighbourhood to Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. 

2.1: I used my iPhone to take photos. iPhones offer very simple editing tools, which I had some fun by changing the exposure level, the contrast level, the saturation level, etc. of the photos. I really had a great time walking around and taking photos. 

2.2: I started wanting a nice camera to really dive into the world of photography. But I also had a constant stream of what ifs. 

• What if I stop wanting to take photos immediately after purchasing a nice camera?

• What if I get tired of taking photos?

• What if I really suck at taking photos?

• What if I don’t make a progress?

Besides all those what ifs, there were a few more unforeseen circumstances which led me to not buying a camera. But the hobby continued. On the side note, I got better at taking photos on an iPhone over time. 

3.1: The strong desire to own a nice camera did not seem to disappear for a while. I was getting bored of taking photos, and checking them out instantly. Then I suddenly remembered how excited I was when I was waiting for rolls of film to be developed and see the printed pictures. 

3.2: There was a short period of attempting to make a pinhole camera out of a tin can or a wooden box. But then the joy of taking photos would be less greater than the joy of arts and craft. Plus, there will be no joy of waiting for a film roll to be developed. (On a side note, I can easily turn my SLR into a pinhole camera.)

3.3: I started looking for a used 35mm film camera. There are many places where you can look for a used film camera. There is always thrift stores, camera shops or even relatives’ attics. (As many people say, ‘New York City is a big playground.’)

3.4: After a thorough research, I found what I was looking for: Olympus OM-2N. It is extremely easy to use, and also it is considered to be a photographer’s camera. I am happy with my choice. I have about 4 to 5 rolls which I need to take in for a developing process. I won’t see the how well or badly I did with the camera for a while. 

4.1: Going back to the what ifs. I still did have the same what ifs after I purchased my Olympus. But this time, I had the answers for them.

• Q. What if I stop wanting to take photos immediately after purchasing a nice camera?

  • A: Used cameras aren’t that pricey that I can always stop and go back to.

• Q: What if I get tired of taking photos?

  • A: Then I can look for different 35mm cameras for not a lot of money.

• Q: What if I really suck at taking photos?

  • A: Especially the film photos, it takes a while to get used to it. Patience is genius.

• Q: What if I don’t make a progress?

  • A: Well, it’s just a hobby.

Losing Wisdom, Losing Patience

Completed on Jul. 13

1.1: It had to happen. There was no pain from having all four of my wisdom teeth, but I got two of them removed to prevent them from future troubles. One from the right side, and another from the left side—both the lower ones. 

1.2: I got the right one removed first. Both lower teeth were laying horizontally, so it wasn’t an easy job. A week later, I got the left one removed. The right one only gave me some minor pain for a couple of days. The left one, however, is still giving me a great deal of pain. 

2.1: After not practicing the flute for about a month, I decided to start practicing it again. First I got my flutes repaired. Shortly after the second tooth removal, I went to the repairshop to pick up my flutes. I tried them out. I felt some teeth missing. 

2.2: The pain did not go away, only multiplied especially after I played. Playing the flute was upsetting the wounds. 

3.1: The pain is definitely something I want to get rid of. However, it was one of the very first times that I understood how the inner-mouth position works while playing the flute. The amount of pain tells me how much I am moving my jaw, and how much tension I am adding. 

3.2: Not just the pain itself, I am practicing everything slowly from the beginning in order to retrieve where I left off. So in a way I am re-learning everything in both physically and emotionally painful ways. 

4.1: Because of the pain, I can’t really practice all day. It only has to be a couple of hours ... no more than three ... Cramming everything into that little amount of hours makes me impatient throughout the practice session. Plus, retrieving takes more time than I expected. 

4.2: Patience is virtue. Patience is genius. Here’s what I have been practicing:

• Long tone excercise with a metronome and a tuner

• Scales with different articulations (diaphram, single/double/tripple tongue, reverse)

• Arpeggios with different articulations

• Moto perpetual by Paganini with diaphram