09-19-2020, 08:34 PM
I'm so sorry about your cat. I've been through that many times, and it's always hard. And thank you for sharing that beautiful piece of music.
Like other people, I avoid burnout by rotating between creative pursuits. For a while I'll be really into composing and spend a lot of time at it. Then I'll put it aside, and for a few years I write little or no music. This year I've been really focused on playing the piano. And I always keep coming back to writing in one form or another, whether it's short stories or science essays or interactive fiction. (I have two entries in this year's Interactive Fiction Competition). And of course programming is always a major focus for me, whether it's for work or various side projects.
I recall hearing that near the end of his life, Bernstein expressed regret that he had spread himself so thin by trying to be a composer and a conductor and a pianist. If he had focused on just one, he thought he could have been better at it. When in fact, he was exceptional at all three.
Like other people, I avoid burnout by rotating between creative pursuits. For a while I'll be really into composing and spend a lot of time at it. Then I'll put it aside, and for a few years I write little or no music. This year I've been really focused on playing the piano. And I always keep coming back to writing in one form or another, whether it's short stories or science essays or interactive fiction. (I have two entries in this year's Interactive Fiction Competition). And of course programming is always a major focus for me, whether it's for work or various side projects.
I recall hearing that near the end of his life, Bernstein expressed regret that he had spread himself so thin by trying to be a composer and a conductor and a pianist. If he had focused on just one, he thought he could have been better at it. When in fact, he was exceptional at all three.
