There are ebbs and flows at these festivals. At Donaueschingen it is all much more compressed, but the Huddersfield festival is a 10-day event. After a very strong start, the most recent string of concerts has not been as interesting to me overall. But if I can leave the whole festival with a few truly memorable concert experiences, new or enriched friendships, and some leads on interesting work that I have not yet known, I’m perfectly willing to endure a few sessions that test my patience or endurance. In fact, I don’t know how I would mentally process a festival if I enjoyed everything. I can’t imagine that it will ever happen. But I’ve had a wonderful time here so far, and I’m determined to keep these visits going as long as I can.

I’ve promised some posts about individual events, and they will come. But this much was on my mind this morning.