Currently mangling cello duets by Jacques Offenbach. Wait, here’s a better website. And here’s another one. (Jakob Wiener was his real name? Why would anyone want to change a name like that?)

Besides writing the Can-Can, Offenbach was a cellist and wrote some nice duets. My teacher assigned me another one yesterday, which forces me to learn a new hand position (#3, in addition to the #1 and #4 I’m already dealing with) and also has a fiddly bit, which is what I call this one spot in the music about two-thirds of the way down where two little tiny notes are inserted amongst the regular-sized notes. That’s going to be tricky figuring that out.

I’d also like to learn how to do vibrato, finally, but my teacher is of the opinion that it’s still too early for me, so I’ll just have to be patient.

And the recorder ladies are finally ready to rehearse one or two Purcell tunes, so I will probably be rehearsing those with them next week. The recorder teacher has warned me that she is having her recorder class recital next month, and I will be expected to play with them then; this is only fair I suppose since I bailed out of the cello recital.