Second day of rehearsals with the State Hermitage orchestra. Tomorrow comes the soloist, and let's see what happens to the modern concert piece, Jukka Tiensuu's "Puro" clarinet concerto. It has been quite a challenge to rehearse it without the soloist!

I did not remember how tired St Petersburg can make you. After both rehearsals I just had to nap for a couple of hours! Maybe the warm and humid weather has something to do with it as well... But I remember the same feeling from my student days here - always feeling somehow tired and out of tune.

P.S. I add below the photos of the concert on the May 18th which I received a couple of weeks after the concert.

St Petersburg Camerata

Conducting the Krause overture

St Petersburg Camerata and Kriikku

Me and soloist Kari Kriikku after performing Jukka Tiensuu's clarinet concerto "Puro"