Author: Ren
Date: 2008-06-24 20:41
In regards to Alex's focal dystonia:
When he was at my school earlier this month, someone asked him about it. He explained that it is in two fingers, and it only applies for the exact positioning of the two keys on a standard Lorée oboe. He explained focal dystonia as the messages from the brain to the affected digit being distorted and/or cut off, so the finger won't move automatically, and he had to think about putting down either of them every time he did, which adds up to quite a bit of extra effort when you consider how automatically most of our hands play notes. He also had to press harder, since the neural message only made his fingers go down part way, and this wore out the tendons for those two fingers, so he used his arm muscles to compensate, and those got strained, and he started using his back muscles (they got strained, too). It was for this that he had to stop for a year or so, and the reason why he had to take a lot of therapy--I think he said something about deep tissue massage--and he replaced a lot of his physical practicing with mental practicing.
Anyway. His focal dystonia doesn't effect his english horn, oboe d'amore, or bass oboe playing (he played all three, as well as the oboe at the recital), and he had a couple of key extensions put on his oboe, so that his fingers would be in slightly different positions. He still can't practice oboe for very long; he said he sometimes goes weeks without touching his oboe, and only practices a lot right before concerts. This is the reason he doesn't play with a symphony anymore.
P.S. I'm going to have to put in my vote for Alex Klein as God, as opposed to Heinz Holliger. Guys, he can play the Paganini Caprice No. 24 on oboe *with double stops*.
Quick Qualification: This stuff is what I remember. It may not all be absolutely accurate.
</covering my butt in case someone who actually knows reads this>
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