The first time I conducted one of these projects was in 2009. I was facing a milestone birthday and I wanted to accomplish something extraordinary before I reached it.
So, I put together what I thought would be challenging and rewarding: everything Mozart composed, every Oscar-winning movie (to date), every novel Hemingway wrote, and Aristotle’s Poetics.
It was a grueling year, but a most eye-opening one. I learned a great deal and felt inspired to do it again.
Which I did a number of years later with…
27 Days With Billy Wilder and Me
144 Days With Bruckner and Me
63 More Days With Bruckner and Me
155 Days With Bach and Me
162 Days With Beethoven and Me
I attempted a couple of other lengthy projects, but ran out of steam and/or interest. Brahms, for example. Bored me to tears. So my 58 Days With Brahms and Me project folded.
This time, I am doing the following for a year-long project:
63 Days With Fritz Reiner and Me
158 Days With Leonard Bernstein and Me
35 Days With Eugen Jochum and Me
107 Days With Wilhelm Furtwangler and Me
I already have my next year-long project in mind, and ready to go. But, first, I have to get through this one.