oboeinsight

It always irks me when classical music is used to rid an area of kids. First of all, who’s to say that the loiterers might not like Mozart anyway? (Read this to see what I’m talking about.) And why do we want to imply that Mozart is guaranteed to drive kids away anyway? This says so many things to me (and, perhaps, to them). Either they can’t appreciate great music, or great music is really not so great, I guess.

I think Mozart is pretty fine music … great art, to be sure. So why the heck do we try to punish or repel kids with great art? Sigh. Personally I’d like to see them come to concerts! Aren’t we telling them they’ll hate those as well?

My suggestion? Some of those really sappy hymns that I had to sing as a child. And maybe some of the contemporary worship songs too. Not the good ones, mind you (there really are some good old hymns and even some good contemporary ones, although those are few and far between), but the sappy ones with the awful lyrics and even worse music would surely drive kids away!

OR … maybe put together some heavy metal turned into elevator music? Take that metal stuff and add some Montovani strings.

Might that drive kids insane? Or at least drive them away.

Or maybe not: as was suggested in the article, the kids have headphones anyway, so probably nothing really works.

Hmmm. How about live music? Live music is best, right? Hire a brass quintet to play.

It might even interest some of the kids. You never know!
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From this:

I have a terrible confession to make. For many years I was a person who often would put on instrumental music as I read, did laundry or did some sort of work. I could never use vocal music, singer that I am I could never concentrate with it on, but orchestral or piano music could easily serve as background music for just about any activity.

Of course, as a result, I never heard any of it. It was just there. But recently things have changed. I can no longer listen to any music and not hear it. I find I can no longer read and have music on because I am always distracted by the music. These days, I ‘m getting a lot of enjoyment from purely instrumental (non-vocal) concerts and changing the ratio of vocal to non-vocal music in my life.

I used to put background music a lot as well. Sometimes a symphonic work, sometimes a singer. Anything, really. I would even put something on and then vacuum! Geesh.

I think it had something to do with laziness. Not lazy as in “she never gets anything done and her house is a mess!” but as in “lazy listener.”

Listening takes not only time, but energy. True listening, that is.

More on this later. Maybe.
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Are you scratching your head now? About the subject header, I mean?

Figures.

Anyway, I sometimes read Paul Cantrell’s Comparing Notes and the subject of his recent blog is Reviewing the Review so maybe you can see where I’m coming from.

If not don’t worry; we all have our moments.

The little “teaser”, on his main page, prior to reaching the actual blog says this:

OK, one more entry on Mahler 6, and then I promise I’ll shut up about it. I often dislike the reviews Michael Anthony writes for the STrib. Something inspired me, though, to see what the STrib had to say about the Mahler concert I just saw twice.

I can’t tell you how many people say they are going to see concerts. And I know they are seeing … but I’m always bugged that they don’t use the verb hear. Call me silly. Call me ridiculous. Call me someone who italicizes far too often. Call me what you want (but send reeds. Please.)

His blog is a fun little read. I would love to always have a review of the reviewer a day after the review is in the paper … now wouldn’t that be fun? I would love an honest review of the reviewer; one that might even agree (horrors!) with some of the criticism if it’s justly deserved. One that can also tell the reviewer when he or she got it awfully wrong. One that might even point out things the reviewer should have commented upon but didn’t (the good and the bad). But of course I wouldn’t be willing to write it because it could easily come back to haunt me. Ah well.

Oh … and Mr. Cantrell writes one thing that brings back memories:

The orchestra did not merely applaud him [referring to the conductor]; they actually refused to stand when he motioned them to take their bow, forcing him to take another by himself.

Heh. When it’s real that’s fine and dandy. We, however, used to do this for every single performance and it sure got old. And meaningless. Shoot, we refused to stand for some not-so-great concerts with some not-so-great, or even embarrassing, conductors. Some where we should have shot the conductor. Or at least booed him. But as far as the audience was concerned we were in love with all the conductors we worked with, and worshiped the ground they walked on.

We are, after all, good actors. Sometimes.

Recently, I’m happy to stay, we’ve stopped this practice. Maybe because of the death of San Jose Symphony (RIP). Maybe we are now too old and jaded. Or maybe being burned and now attempting to rise again from the ashes after much pain has made us a wee bit pickier about whom we applaud. I dunno. I don’t care. I’m just glad we no longer stay seated and smile graciously, acting as if the conductor was a wonder, when in truth he or she was just so-so and we worked our you-know-whats off to make the concert a success. (I could tell you about concerts we’ve rescued from an incompetent conductor. But I probably won’t. I can promise you I’d certainly never name names. I’m not that stupid!) But at least a conductor we do give a “sitting orchestral ovation” (heh … shall I trademark that one? I think maybe.) to should know it’s much more real than it used to be.
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I will write this here, and I will write it at my other site:

I can’t read sites that have white type on black background!

Really.

It hurts my eyes. For the next few minutes I’m nearly blinded.

There are a few sites I really enjoy reading, but the old eyes are saying “No more!” and I have to say that my vision is more important than even a great blog. (I even have links to some of these sites on the oboe site.)

So to those of you who insist on sites like those … perhaps you can just email me with your current blog when you update. That would be ever so kind of you!
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Drew McManus of Adaptistration is featured on an interview on WNYC after taking a friend to hear a Bartok concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It’s really worth a listen!

Go to the link and then click on “listen to the whole show”. Really.

One thing (a “Big Duh”) I hadn’t thought to recommend before, was bringing along binoculars for the guest. Of COURSE! There’s so much to see, and seeing closer is great. We aren’t just playing when we’re on that stage (or in the pit). We are swabbing. We are counting. (Watch the wind players’ fingers when we aren’t playing. We usually try to do what we do in a way you might not notice … but see if you can catch it! We don’t always have to count this way, but sometimes it’s quite necessary. At least for me.) We are reacting to our colleagues. (Again look at our hands. Or our feet. Look for a bit of foot shuffling. Or hands tapping on our legs. This is the way we sometimes applaud our colleagues.) We even smile! (And we yawn, too.) We try not to grimace; part of being a good performer is being a good actor. I may play a horrible solo, but as far as the audience is concerned I look like I’m fine with what I just did. Well … MOST of the time! Sometimes my acting is bad. But I have been told I’d be a great poker player.

On the radio show they also discussed the Applause Issue™. I know, I know … it’s silly to make people hold their applause. I keep hearing this. Okay. I’ll deal with this.

But, but, but … I still say there are those wondrous moments that really call for silence. Soooo … if we are going to say it’s okay to applaud when the music just screams for a loud and instantaneous reaction, can we also suggest NO applause when the work calls for silence? Or tears? Or awe?

I wonder.

Anyway, I won’t yak on and on about the radio show, but I highly recommend that you listen!
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over at Arts Journal?

Well, maybe not TOO bad, but I found several typos and I thought I’d share with you:

Tecahers
irf
vilinist

WHY do I share with you?

Becaws I kan.

I really do like artsjournal.com, and I’m only kidding around. It’s Monday. I have no rehearsals. I have to do SOMETHING, right?

It is more fun than doing something right. ;-)
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… because you are dying to know … right?

Blouse: black background, turquoise and spring green leaf-type (fronds?) pattern that looked appropriately Island-ish.
Pants: black
Shoes: black
Socks: black

So there you go. You can say “no black” but I can’t DO “no black”! :-)

What I also noticed was that probably about 50% of the group had black somewhere in their outfit. (Or whatever guys call what they are wearing. I guess “outfit” doesn’t work for guys …?)

Some time ago I was at a baby shower with a bunch of musicians. One of the attendees laughed and said “I can always tell when I’m at a party with a bunch of musicians; look at our shoes! We’re all wearing black shoes!”

Yep.

In about 3 weeks I’ll begin the run of something (more on this later) that lasts for a good long time. I’ll be wearing black 6 out of 7 days a week. Maybe then I’ll start to moan about the black I have to wear. Time will tell.
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I received an email yesterday about what we are to wear for the concert tomorrow. I guess the red, white and black isn’t happening. Instead this is what I was told: “dress jovially, but no speedos, guys.”

HELP!

Okay. I’m not a guy, so I wasn’t even thinking in the speedo realm. I, in fact, own no bathing suit at all. (What a weird couple of words: “bathing suit”. Hmmm.) Okay … I own no swimsuit either. Or bikini. Or whatever.

So does someone here wish to give me some suggestions? First one to suggest something reasonable wins a prize. Maybe you’ll receive one of my old dead reeds … or perhaps a picture of me in what I decide to wear … or maybe just my grateful thanks. And shouldn’t that be enough?

Yes. Yes it should.

Meanwhile I sit here wondering if “jovially” means I shouldn’t have dumped the clown costume I made years ago for a symphony concert.

(And don’t you wish I’d tell you THAT story now? C’mon … you just have to egg me on a bit and I’ll give in and tell you!)

Meanwhile, I sit here wondering just what to wear. My exercise clothes? My PJs? Oh dear, oh dear ….
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I’m doing a outdoor concert this Sunday, playing contemporary music for “New Zealand Day”. At the end of our first rehearsal the conductor talked about what we are to wear. “not black” were his first words. ARGH! I love black. I don’t have to think when I am told to wear black. I have enough black to go for a good long time without repeating what I’ve worn. I can dress it up or dress it down. It’s so darn easy!

But “not black” immediately makes all these warning signs go up in my brain.

How dressy or casual? (Answer for NZD: casual)
Pants, skirt, dress? (Answer for NZD: pants)
Solids or prints? (Answer for NZD: none given)
Jeans? (Answer for NZD: none given)

I’m thankful for the “no dresses” answer; I have no dresses to my name right now. I have a few skirts, but I prefer to wear pants anyway.

Toward the end of the discussion, and after some people had left, the soloist suggested we were the colors of her flag (Maori): red, white and black.

Ahhhh. Black is back in. Huge sigh of relief. (Two people who left quickly won’t know about this, though, and they are skipping tomorrow’s rehearsal. Hmmm. Will anyone inform them of this plan?) I can work with black. I have a white sweater.

But I have no red. Not one smidge (well, aside from my 49ers t-shirt which is too casual for me, even if the group would okay it, which I think (hope!) is doubtful).

So it was off to the store with me today. Sigh.

Do you know how hard it is to find something in red that looks not to dressy, not too casual, is affordable, and doesn’t make me look like I’m wearing either something too young or something too old for me? Well, when I’m under the gun it’s VERY difficult! And besides, I’m going through an “I hate to shop” period of life.

But I finally found a top (for a whopping $10!) that should work okay.

I just hope the red, white and black plan isn’t nixed at the rehearsal tomorrow. If it is, I suspect I’m going to arrive in black on Sunday and that’ll be that.

Orchestras have talked about nixing black. The day they do that I’m in a heap ‘o trouble. Dress it down, to be sure, but please don’t take my black away!
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I’m working on a piece I’ve done before. It was, in fact, only a couple of years ago. I remembered one “fear solo” and that was it. Now I’m going through the work again because I’ll be playing it in less than a month (news on this later), and it all seems more difficult.

I don’t get it! Did my playing get worse, or am I crazy?

Or both?

Maybe if I were happier with my reeds …? They are misbehaving. They are deciding to rebel. I’m angry at them, but I still have to be kind. I feel like bashing them against a wall. But nooo … they get to live.

Stupid reeds.

What I need to do is take a step back, of course. (“Ms. Mitchell, step away from the reeds.”)

So that’s what I’ll do.

When I come back I trust the reeds will be on their best behavior (which isn’t saying a whole lot I suppose), and maybe my fingers will begin to remember what they are supposed to do.

It can happen!
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I ran across a blog I’d not seen before. It looks to be one I’ll be visiting again. But one portion of a sentence really cracked me up when I began reading. I’m sure it’s just me … or is it?:

After the Rape of Lucretia for the Prostate Research Campaign UK, I was invited to another fund-raising event, this time as a guest, ….

Yes. Okay.

So if you know that “The Rape of Lucretia” is an opera by Britten, and you know the blogger is a soprano, it does make sense, but … well … okay … maybe it IS just me? (And please note, I’m NOT making light of the subject of rape. Never would I do that.)

Since I’m totally ignorant about that opera I decided to then do a search on it. Things go from “Patty just has an odd sense of humor” to What were they thinking? now:

VISIT THE STAGE AGENT MESSAGE BOARD ABOUT THIS SHOW
OR CHECK OUT THESE OTHER GREAT SHOWS

Anything Goes
Annie
Chorus Line
Camelot
Iolanthe
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Yes, indeed, if you like “The Rape of Lucretia” you’ll really fall for “Annie”!

Each time you click on the link, by the way, different show suggestions come up. Another click suggested these:

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Grease
Passion
King and I, The
Gondoliers

Okay. I’m done. For now.
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