An Artistic Score Engraving update from September 2026
Dear all,
Welcome back to a new instalment of the ASE newsletter. This summer is just passing by too fast, and I have the nagging feeling that, by the time we get back to Italy and to the school routine, my recharging goal will not have been achieved. I would rather not blame the weather because, even if it has been scorching hot at times here, it has been dry enough to make it manageable. The amount of things to do—both for external work and for self-publishing—has just been overwhelming and, at the same time, the earnings are still not enough to allow me to hire some external help. That seems to be the game in most industries, though: you either have too much and need to work around the clock, or you do not have enough and need to start begging around. There is more, though, so let’s get down to it.
Health first, finally?
At the same time, I have eventually decided to take my back pain seriously. While I had been suffering from it in one way or another for twenty years, it had also been generally manageable. Then, two years ago, following a Pilates lesson which should have improved things, my left clavicle got injured. Suddenly, carrying any kind of backpack would lead to searing pain that would then lead to uncontrollable spasms in my neck. At the same time, doctors just dismissed my reports, did not prescribe exams, and just gave me drugs against pain. Because, you know, as long as I am not actually dying I can still pay taxes, right1? Enrolling in a Tai Chi course late last year kickstarted the healing process, but it was immediately clear that it would have been a long one.
At the end of July we went to a private medical structure here in Belgrade where the physiatrist immediately noticed how broken my posture was and how my scoliosis (a gift from my first cello teacher, thirty years ago…) had worsened. My spine now effectively looked like a Z (or S?), without such a drawing also bearing any superpower with it. So far, nothing too new under the sun, but now came the surprise: she prescribed me a ton of analysis and exams (not drugs!). From a blood check to check for inflammation, to an MR scan, from a neck ultrasonography to specific workout sessions to put me back in shape (or, better, to keep the issue under control).
I had been going to see specialist doctors for the past two years in Italy, and no one ever took me seriously. The orthopaedic even said:
If it’s not broken, there is nothing we can do apart from an anti-inflammatory injection.
Anyway, here I am after all this and, while I am not like new, I am much better than I was a month ago. After all, thirty years of active damages, two years of strong symptoms without anyone being willing to help cannot really be fixed in one month. The blood check was astonishingly good, apart from a liver value that can go off when one lacks regular sleeping—really? What a surprise! The MR scan, while not troubling, underlined signs of an ‘aging spine’, with intervertebral discs starting to, let’s say, protest. The therapeutic physiotherapy sessions included iontophoresis, magneto-therapy, therapeutic laser, therapeutic ultrasound, and electrotherapy. I believe these to also be available in Italy but, and this is my very personal assumption, they may be costly for ‘the system’ and so doctors may be warmly encouraged not to administer those unless really necessary2. Much better let the patient buy expensive anti-inflammatory drugs and gastro-protectors, right?
Something I found incredible is how grateful I was for the 15 minutes of peace inside the MR tube. Fifteen minutes without troubles, without preoccupations, caring just about myself. Fine, the entrance into the sarcophagus was a bit, uh, “hello?!”, but after that, the rhythms and sounds, paired with ABBA’s songs in the headphones, provided a memorable experience. After all, this is the great lesson of painful symptoms: we need to take care of ourselves, daily! We need to be kind to ourselves, and no matter what, find a moment just for us every day. For now, I am going to integrate my daily Tai Chi practice with specific exercises for the neck-upper spine-shoulder section, plus some healthy abdominal reinforcement to make it easier to sustain a good posture—right now I still have to do it voluntarily and continuously.
Ah, one more thing: it appears that the soles of my feet are as arched as a Roman aqueduct. This because I have broad feet for their effective lengths and, in my youth, I was always provided with short (and, therefore, narrow) shoes—thanks, Mum! Can this be solved? Not really, but I can have premium insoles built especially for me and integrate yet some more daily exercises for feet’s health. Yay!
It also looks like one needs to be moderately wealthy to be able to afford to maintain one’s health, as with all this daily care one certainly cannot work enough! It sounds like the same history as with practicing: if you practice the amount you need each day, you will have no time for any other serious thing. Or, perhaps, the world is upside-down, and we are all working too much for what we get in return.
Recently, someone told me how in some parts of Scandinavia they were experimenting with a 4-day workweek, resulting in people being more motivated at work and happier overall. Brilliant, amazing, fantastic… but it works only for employees, not for freelancers. Motivated or not, we need to complete the open tasks, not a portion of them per week. If I have to work 60h/week to make some real progress, forcing myself to work 40h/ or 30h/week will only result in problems piling up in the end. If you are a freelancer, what is your strategy for achieving enough each week and not burn out? Please reach out to me with your experience!
NEW EDITIONS
I have definitely rumbled enough, so much so that there is no time for more during this instalment. I have in any case managed to publish something, and that is the first two editions that were featured in the Dotzauer Abend in Dresden this June. It is a true pleasure to present you with the Caprice on Favourite Themes from C. M. von Weber’s Oberon, for cello and piano, Op. 96 (1827). It is a beautiful piece and, starting next week, I will make the editorial notes available here on the blog, so subscribe, you do not want to miss it. This edition is available digitally (PayPal/Stripe — Apple Pay/Credit card) and it will be printed by the end of September. It features the main book with extensive editorial, critical, and, for the first time, performance notes, and two cello parts: one with the original annotations by Dotzauer, and one by the Norbert Anger, principal cello of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. The piano part has been curated by Andreas Hecker, professor at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber, Dresden. Here is a sneak peek for you to enjoy:
At this link, you can then find a video rendition of the score. Please watch it and let me know what you think of it.
Additionally, I have also managed to complete Dotzauer’s Six Pieces for Three Cellos, Op. 104 (1828). They are true gems that cannot miss from any cellist’s library. This is not your usual edition, though: it contains over ten pages of Editorial and Critical Notes, and two versions of each cello part, one with the original markings by Dotzauer and one with the performance suggestions of the cellists who gave the première. They are the three principal cellists of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Friedrich Thiele, Norbert Anger, and Sebastian Fritsch. You can find this edition digitally (PayPal/Stripe — ApplePay/Credit Card) and it will be printed by the end of September.
Listen to how the first of these pieces sounds:
Bottom Line
Thank you for reading this up to the end. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please, share with me what you think. I read everything and do my best to reply as swiftly as I can.
You can join my mailing list to get weekly gifts and promotions; browse my editions and contact me directly for printed titles. My YouTube channel, finally, contains video renditions of most editions.
See you next month for the next ASE update. Please let me know what you are doing and where your musical adventures are bringing you.
Yours,
Michele
Music Preparation Services 