If you go here you can hear (and watch) some of Martinu’s Fantasie for oboe, string quartet, piano and theremin. The oboist is Heinz Holliger (which you will know the minute you see him, of course) and the theremin is played by Carolina Eyck.
If you can’t view that high speed video, go here and you’ll [...]
After taking my little reed making lesson from Cooper, I have thought I really should go over my tutorial and make a few changes. But … well … I’m too lazy for that. So never mind. ;-)
But I did run across this flickr account that includes a whole lot of reed making photos, beginning from [...]
For the first time, Dan and I have season tickets to San Francisco Opera. I bought a very small season of four operas, all taking place in October and November. We’ll be going to Wagner’s Tannhäuser, the new Philip Glass opera, Appomattox, La Rondine (a Puccini opera with which I’m completely unfamiliar) and The Rake’s [...]
Last night Anthony Quartuccio, the conductor of Lucia, took care of my book. Whew. It is finally nearly correct. (It’s Kalmus, so completely correct isn’t something I’ll ever write!) Still, it shouldn’t have been Tony’s responsibility; we need a librarian!
Lucia di Lammermoor isn’t much of an oboe opera, as anyone who has heard it knows. [...]
Bizarre article.
I hope that if we ever sell this place and buy another we don’t get a lovely little article about it at some site, with an arrow pointing directly at our new place. (I’m guessing this is some sort of realtor site?)
Nothing is private anymore though. Right?
I especially wouldn’t want my photo [...]
After yesterday I was hoping today would be a great deal clearer when it came to our parts. I always carry sticky notes with me to rehearsals and concerts; they are great to quickly attach to pages with problems. Yesterday, when we had completed the OSJ rehearsal of Lucia di Lammermoor there were a number [...]
So if Dan (my husband) ever writes a piece of music that includes oboe, at least I know he can demand I get to play the gig. Or at least Vaclav Havel feels that his play should include his wife as a lead.
I dunno. Does a composer, writer, or other kind of “creator” get to [...]
If you watch and hear this do you thinking “classical music”?
I don’t.
And yet the title says “Classical Music and Home Improvement”.
But then you read further and it also says “On weekends, grand piano players perform between the escalators at the 2-year-old St. Paul Menards - not a typical feature at home improvement stores.” [...]
Would you?
I honestly don’t know the answer to this. But then I can’t imagine Iran would allow a US orchestra to play so i doubt I’ll have to face this problem.
First a conductor sues some players, and now a Seattle Symphony Orchestra violinist sues his employer.
The fun never ends in this business. I do, however, doubt the subject header to this post is true.
We oboists worry about reeds. A lot. But I had never thought about guitarists, and the problem with fingernails. Sure, I know strings can break. But nails? Just hadn’t ever entered my mind.
I wonder if people with weak nails that have permanent splits running down them simply can’t play guitar. (Yeah, I’m talking about [...]
I was right when I fretted over the Lucia music. There were so many mistakes we wasted far too much time on incorrect markings. Sigh.
I hate wasting time.
I really wish OSJ would consider hiring a real music librarian. Someone who knows that when you purchase Kalmus parts there’s a LOT of correcting to do.
How to Listen to Classical Music Critically
Hmmmm.
How to Begin to Play the Oboe
Double Hmmmm.
One musical topic I didn’t tackle along the way is the popular “Everything Was Better Once” story, which I have read elsewhere in many variations, almost all of them written in a tone of elegiac glee. Where Have All the Tenors Gone? Why Is There No New Beethoven? Record Companies Are Dying! Orchestras Are Dying! [...]
… well, unless it’s in the score.
I really hate the whole light show thing. It seems so … I dunno … contrived? Or like a big production.
I guess I should lighten up. After all, opera requires lighting. Same with ballet. But for a symphony or chamber concert I just want the music to [...]
… from Opera San José:
And finally, there was the one voice sure to be heard soon in major opera houses (or at least those headed by wise intendants). Kirk Eichelberger as Colline, displayed a majestic bass, deep and broad, with brilliant colors and thrilling power.
I have always loved Kirk’s voice. And his presence on stage [...]
… or maybe When Does It Matter?
I just watched and listened to a YouTube video of some group that uses a small chamber type orchestra. There are strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The oboist plays both oboe and English horn—not great, playing, but whatever. The parts are rather silly—NearlyNothingMusic™. And the intonation in the group [...]
So I’m back to work today. The orchestra rehearsal (the one and only; all the rest are with singers) for Opera San José’s opening opera, Lucia di Lammermoor is this afternoon. I’m very happy to be getting back to work. A little apprehensive as well. Aside from the brief set I had with Merola, I’ve [...]
… who searched on: classical music sounds like ballet lots of oboe … my first guess is Swan Lake by Tchaikovksy.
Just in case you check here again.
For the one who wondered where you put your fingers on an oboe: left hand is on top, right thumb holds the oboe. It’s pretty easy to [...]
Wow, what a depressing piece. By the end, I just felt empty. Tired. The last time a piece of music made me feel this way was the video for Metallica’s “One.”
-blogger, writing about listening to Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6
(I’m enjoying the blog, by the way; the writer began the blog as [...]
I had the crown work done today. Perhaps readers have heard about my “numb tongue” experience. If not, read on. If you’ve read it before, you can just skip this blog entry. (But anyone who plays a wind instrument really should know about this!)
It was my fortieth birthday and what did I do? I scheduled [...]
So it might be that I can blame my genes for lacking perfect pitch. Or so some say.
She and colleagues analyzed the results of a three-year, Web-based survey and musical test that required participants to identify notes without the help of a reference tone. More than 2,200 people completed the 20-minute test.
Or maybe not. [...]
Okay … here we go again! Someone landed here doing a search on “swab stuck in oboe.” So let me repeat my suggestions. I’m assuming the stuck swab is one of those silk swabs, or else it’s one of those not-so-soft cloth swabs that should be trashed anyway.
Here are some bits of advice:
Always check [...]
I guess some folks didn’t care for the look of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra I blogged about earlier. I can’t remember where I read the critiques, so no links for the moment. But I did just land on a new site (to me) called Intermezzo and if you read about the concert, the students [...]
… this is the first full dress rehearsal for Capriccio, the rarely performed Strauss opera which will receive its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival.
I’m confused, which I realize is my usual state of mind: if this is “rarely performed” how can it also be a “world premiere”? I keep reading the sentence thinking [...]
