"That went pretty well," Nadia Weber exclaimed, as she leaned back on the piano bench and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from her face and neck.
"Yeah, the tempo was much better that time," Adrienne Sokol declared as she set her bow aside and started wiping off the strings of her cello. "I think, Herr Ludwig would have approved."
"Speaking of which, I need to get those Ashkenazy recordings back to you," Nadia noted as she slipped her music into her backpack.
"No rush. As long as I get them back before you leave," Adrienne replied, referring to the Beethoven cello sonatas Adrienne had loaned Nadia in advance of playing together.
The two musicians had just run through the final movement of Beethoven's Cello Sonata in F, which they would perform in its entirety at Adrienne's upcoming graduate recital. It was the last step on the road to attaining her college music degree. To Adrienne's relief, Nadia had agreed to play piano for her concert. Though only two years ahead of Adrienne, Nadia was an accomplished pianist who was greatly in demand as a performer and teacher in and around the town. Story was, when Nadia heard Adrienne was looking for someone to play piano on the Beethoven sonata, she offered to work on the project. They had so much fun playing together, that they decided to work up all three movements.
Adrienne had offered to pay her, but she refused payment. "No way, girl! I'm doing this purely out of love."
"Aw, for me?" Adrienne teased.
"Sorry babe, you're cute, but not that cute. If you can get me a good recording of our performance, we'll call it even."
"Easily arranged," Adrienne assured her, thrilled that she had Nadia on board.
"I've always wanted to play these sonatas," Nadia mused, almost to herself. "Maybe when I return, we could record the whole set?"
"I'd be so up for that," Adrienne replied enthusiastically. "Once you get back from Germany with all that newfound knowledge and expertise."
"And maybe a boyfriend thrown in for good measure."
Adrienne had to smile, for it was just like Nadia to play the field while over there. She had met Nadia at a couple of parties, and knew her to be quite popular with the guys. But other than the parties, and now performing together, they didn't move within the same circles.
A part of Adrienne entertained the idea of a boyfriend, though she never seemed to put much effort into getting them interested in her. One of her teachers had made a move on her, but he was this side of forty, and Adrienne was barely twenty. In the end, she determined that a boyfriend would demand too much of her time, and take her away from her musical pursuits.
"Now is the time for focusing on my career. Relationships come later," she kept telling herself.
For Adrienne Sokol, life revolved around her music, and the hope of becoming a professional cellist, either in an orchestra, chamber group, or as a session player. Not overly tall, at five-foot-six, and a bit introverted, Adrienne tended to shun the spotlight. Not optimal for someone pursuing a musical career. However, what she did know about herself is that she was most passionate and at her best when she was performing.
Adrienne never garnered much attention from the guys, but she also didn't put herself 'out there.' She derived her looks, which weren't overly feminine, from her Eastern European ancestry. She had dark brown eyes beneath full eyebrows, a strong jawline, slightly aquiline nose and a small, full-lipped mouth. Her face was framed by thick, dark hair that fell to her mid-back. She liked to curl her hair with a curling iron to give it some wave, and sometimes, when she practiced, she would let it swing loose and free. But for performances, she'd pull it back and secure the tresses neatly with a band or tie atop her head.
As a way of saving money, Adrienne avoided gyms, choosing to run in the nearby parks to keep in shape. And like many musicians, she had strong hands and well-defined, muscled arms from years of playing and hauling her cello about. As for Adrienne's body, it wasn't soft or curvaceous. Even at five-foot-six, her body appeared lanky. She wasn't that endowed in the chest either, which used to bother her quite a bit. But not so much anymore.
When it came to her appearance, Adrienne was a trifle lazy. Other than curling her hair, makeup was usually shunned, and classy dresses and hairstyling were reserved for concerts.
Though her recital was still a month away, Adrienne didn't want to waste a day preparing for it. She planned to be at her very best, partly because Allana Hewitt, her current cello instructor, had arranged for one of the symphony's board members to attend her recital. And so, she decided to take on a fairly complex program to impress, which meant continual practice right up to the May performance date.
After the school year ended, Adrienne hoped to form a string quartet to play various events, and maybe even tour. And then there was always the possibility of getting into an orchestra. Such a goal was not beyond her reach. Adrienne was an exceptionally fine player. She had been playing cello since she was ten years old, which she switched to after several years of playing the violin. After having watched Jacqueline du Pré perform on television, she decided that was the instrument for her, and mercilessly begged her parents for a cello. Eventually, her parents relented. They rented their daughter a cello and paid for lessons. Her earliest teachers assured her parents that Adrienne was especially gifted, and worth supporting. And Adrienne never had to be coerced to practice, for she loved the cello with all her heart.
The main issue for her parents were the cost of lessons, as well as the purchase of a cello. They eventually were able to buy Adrienne a cello at an affordable price thanks to Adrienne's teacher who procured one for them.
Sadly, Adrienne's father passed away a year ago from a heart attack, leaving Adrienne and her mother with only each other, and a significant drop in income. There were investments and his life insurance, but to help with expenses, Adrienne lived at home with her mom and attended the nearby private arts college, considered to be one of the region's better schools for music and drama. It also helped that, thanks to her audition and several key references, she was awarded a full music scholarship. It was a tremendous relief, as the family savings would hardly have covered the costs.
"Adrienne, do you have a minute?" Adrienne stopped packing up her gear as Mr. Drexel entered the rehearsal room.
"Sure, what's up, Mr. Drexel?" Adrienne asked the school's music director, while setting her bag down. She had to smile when he put his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. It was a trademark gesture of his that many students loved to parody.
"I wish to ask a favor of you. I'd like you to play cello for the Spring musical."
Adrienne scrunched her face into a grimace. "I don't think I can Mr. Drexel. I've got tests coming up in both Environmental Science and American History, a paper to write, and, I'm in the middle of preparing for my Senior recital, which is taking up pretty much all my spare time." At the sight of Mr. Drexel's crestfallen expression, she added out of courtesy, "When's the musical set to run?"
He perked up instantly. "The show runs last two weekends of April, so we'd be done well before your May 17 recital. It is May 17, correct?"
