Amstel Quartet

I gave my first concert with the Amstel Quartet after nearly a year during the Oedipus Beer Festival on 2 July. Last year I was diagnosed with Lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Disease. I had chemo therapy and survived. In December I had the last cycle of chemo medicine and from then the recovery started. One of the steps in my recovery was to play again with my quartet.

It was very exciting for all of us. We all changed, the quartet is different than before. And we have to get used to each other again. After several rehearsals a concert was the best way to get us united again, and feel the music of our fifth man: the music of the Amstel Quartet. Playing with the quartet was like putting on an old pair of jeans. But not quite. Because we changed. All of us. The quartet played with (great!) subs for a year, went on tour and gave many concerts without me. And I changed, one could say I developed. Physically (I have to watch my energy levels) and mentally (life is short, anything can happen).

Also this is the first concert where I played almost non-stop for an hour, on the baritone, a heavy instrument, to carry and to blow. But we did well. I could play the whole hour. We made some musical points and enjoyed playing together again.

We are planning many new things for us to do, starting next year. We’ll keep you posted!

by Ties