Everything is normal

Had a most positive rehearsal last night with Pianist Louis Alvanis. We are preparing for a CD of my Piano compositions to be released on the Meridian label within the next 12 months. Still working away at my novel, Doctor Fish - excellent progress - had a real brainwave last night and wrote 'The twelve rules of Fish' - a mad kind of wish list that describes Fish's ethos for life survival. Still working on my web presence. I had gone up to about 825 Google hits but somehow this figure seems to have dropped a couple of hundred recently - how do they work that out? Otherwise quiet - giving a couple of lessons later (Pianoforte) even though we are officially in the holidays... I am still building up my practise after taking a few months out to get centred.

Tchaikovsky

Listening to my boxed set of Tchaikovsky Symphonies - conductor Claudio Abbado with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra - an excellent set of recordings, highly recommended. I have made some progress with the novel today - it's easy to convice yourself that you are blocked but there are many tricks of the trade to keep the energy going, one being simply to generate new ideas in a file marked 'plot and other ideas'. I am playing bridge all day Monday in an event being held in a hotel in central London - a real challenge! Trying to stay positive with everything. I have a meeting with Pianist friend Louis Alvanis on Wednesday to run through the repertoire for the forthcoming Piano CD of my compositions. My computer is working again now but I have lost my address book. I have to hope people will write to me!

Computer Problems

Have had huge computer problems over here. System crashed and everything needed to be reinstalled from scratch. Lost my entire address book. On the plus side I have my own domain now and I can be found at jonathanfebland.co.uk - I am hoping to be able to settle back down to some creative writing soon. Played some badminton yesterday - slightly exhausting but managed to keep going. Still reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - a seriously complex novel - I'm up to the middle section - I think you just need to keep persevering with it to see the bigger picture! My brother popped over last night and we watched an episode of The Apprentice with Alan Sugar - it's definitely his bag and he made lots of comments all the way through the show! Playing in a bridge tournament on Bank Holiday Monday - a good opportunity to shine in a strong field.

Various

I am reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell a rich and complex novel favoured at least in the UK to win the 2004 MAN Booker Prize (although it is presumed to have come 2nd). Very rich vocabulary, believable characterisation, in-depth research and original structure (something Bartok would have called arch form).

Things are slowly progressing with my forthcoming Piano CD with Pianist Louis Alvanis. We have another 7-hour rehearsal planned for March 30th where we will go through the repertoire in tiny detail to make sure everything sounds right for the cameras... er, microphones! I have finished composing all of the necessary material for the disc and both Pianist and myself are happy with the compositions. All we can do now is make sure we leave an accurate recording to posterity.

I am still struggling away with my comedic novel Doctor Fish. I suppose I have suffered something akin to writer's block. Usually when this happens to me, I simply turn my attention to a different art-form! When the words stop, the music flows. When the music stops, the painting flows, etc etc However I have been a little distrait of late and need to focus more if I am to accomplish my heart's desire which is to write one wonderful novel. (A sequel would need some hard cash on the table as I propose to set it in Australia and would need to emigrate to research it properly!)

I teach the Piano a little every day but have many free hours each day either for creativity or for sitting around and getting frustrated with life. I cannot be the only person on this planet who suffers from intense boredom or ennui. I seem to need constant stimulation and each day is a challenge to entertain myself in a new and different way. Let's try and remain optimistic and hope for better things around the corner.

I have been back in touch with my webdesigner after a long silence. She has asked me to get a domain and is going to update the site, so that's one thing to look forward to!

Home Truths

Listening to Beethoven Violin Sonatas: Gidon Kramer and Martha Argerich. Finished reading Home Truths by David Lodge - interesting; he turned his stage play into a novella - quite easy reading but worth a look. Now I am tackling Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. At a first glance it reads like Salman Rushdie - very complex language and the opening is historical - it seems to be incredibly well researched!