The Gift of Friendship

An Artistic Score Engraving update from January 2025

Dear all,

Happy New Year!

I wish you a year full of love, success, robust health, and immersed in great music! What are your plans for this year? What music are you going to play or listen to? Are you planning any great event in your life? Please let me know!

The Gratitude Corner

I would like to start this New Year by thanking two dearest friends and esteemed colleagues: Yuriy Leonovich and Jawher Matmati! I can say that, if it weren’t for them, there is a great chance I would not be here writing this message to you today.

They both incarnate the true concept of friendship: selflessness! When I needed help, when I needed it the most, they were there, they truly cared, and they sacrificed part of their most precious time to lend a hand towards someone in need.

It would be easy for me—now that things are going better—to forget about the privilege I had to be considered worthy of their time and deliberate choice to help. We all get through turbulent times, and knowing that you have friends you can count on is a true blessing. So, THANK YOU, my friends, from the bottom of my heart. Know that I will be there for you, whenever you will need!

NEW EDITIONS

Tchaikovsky – Chanson Triste

The only edition officially released in December was the Chanson Triste by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged for Cello and Piano by David Popper from his Twelve Pieces, Op. 40, for Piano solo. The idea of this edition stemmed from the need for a version of this piece that actually sounded like Tchaikovsky—something that the Suzuki Cello School Book 4 version does not. I got into deeper details in the Editorial Notes, but you can listen to it, and get your digital copy (Gumroad — Payhip) to see for yourself.

Or … you can join my mailing list and get your full copy for free as Week 57 Gift!

It will be printed later this year, probably in March, but please tell me if this is something you would like to see before.

Projeto Puccini

The complete book of the Puccini Project is ready for printing, but … winter break stroke, so I will have to wait for the printer to get back to me in a few days. I’m positive next month will reveal the finished result. Meanwhile, my YouTube channel has plenty of Puccini to keep you busy:

What else?

Four new editions are being prepared for printing, hopefully coming by the end of January as well. Then, I’m finally revising my most successful edition (Goltermann’s 4th Concerto), thanks to a recent discovery.

Two new, gigantic editions are being baked right now: one will be released in February, and another one… when it’s ready! I will probably add a few smaller editions in the middle to avoid burning out on this one.

NEWS

… from the Engraving side

I’m beyond grateful for how many great projects I have been working on since the second half of 2024, and I’m eagerly awaiting to keep the pace up. The hardest thing in our job—perhaps in all creative ones—is to manage the waves: one either has too much to do at the same time or there is nothing whatsoever. One needs to learn not to panic and to ensure to either have plenty of backup things to do or … just take a vacation! I’m slowly convincing myself that the second one may be a better choice, what do you think?

In 2024, I got to know from close the fascinating rhythms of Georges Aperghis, the sacred modality of Eric Tanguy, to name just a few of the great composers whose music kept my hearth alight.

… from the Publishing world

I am looking with a heavy heart at the publishing world embracing the Netflix model ever more. One gets lured by the enthralling light of the all-you-can-eat offering, and the only result one can be sure of is that smaller publishers will have to abandon ship. This seems to be a general trend, though: bigger business becoming bigger, smaller ones either growing or getting assimilated. As the saying goes:

Resistance is futile!

… from the Human side

I have always tried to be a very social animal, but the more I grow older, the more I get tired of being disappointed. This year was particularly hard on this side:

Being asked to work at a low quality and for free by one of the most influential figures in my whole life who, sadly, understood little of me.
Being blackmailed into doing something that goes against every ethic in my job—spoiler: I just bailed out, as there is no longer a place for blackmail in my life. The first twenty-seven years of my life were enough!
A composer—new customer—singing my praises until the day before writing they needed a “change in direction”. One month later, they were publicly thanking their new engraver (not me, of course). To this day, I still do not know what happened!
Another Piatti Festival has passed (November 2024) and, once again, all the work done in the Piatti Opera Omnia has been ignored. There was even an exhibition on Piatti’s old editions, and, still, no contact. It is very challenging to believe this was a slip, even with all possible good faith.
It seems that “non-answering” has become the new black. Why expose oneself? No one can attack you if you said nothing! It’s just brilliant … and utterly evil!

Will 2025 be better?

Definitely, I will start more on the defensive, and filter much more than before. We have one health bar only, and we should all take good care of it.

… from the Learning side

Ever since reading “The Art of Learning” by Josh Waitzkin, I have tried to apply those principles to everything new I wanted to learn. I recently upgraded my video-making software to Final Cut Pro 11 and approached it with these principles:

Familiarise yourself with the environment
Attempt a few basic actions
As soon as you don’t know how to do something, stop, and stay there, staring at the void in meditation. Reflect on what the possible paths are, then go back to Step 2.
If this doesn’t work, open the manual of the software or research by yourself for the answer. Do not ask around! Stretch your brain!
Ok … if you are still stuck, now ask for help! No one deserves that much torture.

All I can say is that in a couple of days I could use FCP11 at the same level I used my previous software—which is still very low, but… The key is simple: approach everything with the wonder-filled eyes of a kid!

Bottom Line

Thank you for reading so far. As always, I value your input, comments, and feedback.

You can join my mailing list to get weekly gifts and promotions; browse my editions, and check what’s available for print in the HNE Store.

My YouTube channel, finally, contains video renditions of most editions.

See you next month for the monthly update. Please let me know what you are doing and where your more or less musical endeavours are bringing you.

Yours musically,

Michele