Optimum Tension

Competitive classical string musicians often look for that subtle edge that will elevate them above their equally skilled peers. One such advantage can be the use of strings made from animal tendons or cat gut. The upside is in the warm and resonant organic sound quality that no manmade materials can completely replicate, but that world class judges would notice.

The risks, however, can be fatal. Temperature, humidity and strain affects the natural material’s physical properties, thus requiring real-time compensation in bow pressure and movement. Equally devastating would be a string failure, which the judges may see as the performer’s inability to play their instrument correctly. Recovery from such an ill-timed failure at the wrong moment can be a major setback in this tight-knit community.

Tonight, our quartet has chosen to push that envelope at a music festival before renowned critics and industry representatives. Our program will feature very challenging pieces, including ones from Shostakovich’s Eighth and Tenth Symphonies, benchmarks of skill and perfection that only the most talented can perform flawlessly. We deemed it a worthy risk, for success here could be career changing. Failure could set us back for an indeterminate time.

But there’s another “we” at play, one that has me at optimum tension and carries an equal challenge and risk of a whole different dimension. In the seats near the stage will be my beautiful wife and her new bull, Reggie. In the three years Shannon and I have enjoyed hotwifing and now cuckolding, all of...