I’m a slow reader. Mostly because I don’t take the time to read, actually. (I spend too much time with my computer … can you tell?) But I did finish Angle of Repose
Anyway, you can expect to see some quotes here that I’ll find as I read!
If you go to a concert with young children expecting them to be bored and preparing them by giving them doughnuts, and expecting them to sit in the lobby watching a movie while you listen to the second half, are you preparing them (and yourself) for disaster? I wonder. Of course adding Franck to the mix … not exactly my fave of composers, I’ll confess … is probably not a great thing. RTWT
How would you recommend dealing with young children at concerts? Or would you?
Best line in the article: “God be praised, the English horn!”
Cultural music is not written but it comes from the bottom of the heart, whereas western music has to be written before being played.
-Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (RTWT)
Hmmm. Does “writing before being played” mean it is not from the bottom of the heart? I do think I understand what he is saying though. Thoughts?
Sir Simon Rattle was reaching out, as I wrote earlier, to those who might not ever get into a symphony hall.
Now he’s also reached out to those who do attend concerts:
At Tuesday night’s performance of Mahler 9, Rattle was plagued by what our correspondent calls “mute but unscored coughing from the audience”, and seems to have snapped. Holding the orchestra silent between movements, he turned around and quietly reminded them that, in order for the musicians to do their job, the audience had to do its job too, and stay as quiet as possible. A small physical demonstration of best-practice cough-stifling, featuring the maestro’s own handkerchief, followed. Chastened concertgoers immediately shut up. You would. (RTWT)
How ’bout that?!
I do my job no matter what, to be honest. I mean, we’ve had all sorts of things go wrong and the thing is, we have to go on. We have to play well. That’s life. That’s show biz. I understand the frustration … it’s distracting when the hacking goes overboard. Cell phones are even worse. Flash photography is the worst since it’s deliberate. But I really can’t imagine teaching an audience how to cough properly. Too funny.
You can read more here if you’d like.
Hmmm. Maybe I can blame any errors on coughing though. Gee … I think I’ll hang on to that one. :-)
… if you are an outstanding oboist?
Well, why not a Geiko commercial?
Don’t know Alex Klein? You should! Try this. Read this. Listen to snippets of his CDs here, here, here, or here. Or just look around on google for other things.
Theodore Kern, the convention president and pastor of Crescent Valley Baptist Church in Battle Mountain, used an oboe reed as an illustration for the Christian life.
“God knows we have bends and twists like a lot of the oboe reeds. Like the reed, we are imperfect. God chooses to work through our strengths and our weaknesses,” Kern said.
Heh. I’ve never heard a sermon before where an oboe reed was used as an illustration. Shoot, I’m not sure I’ve ever met a minister who knew what an oboe reed was! So this made me smile. A little.
On the San Franciso Opera’s production of Macbeth:
The central playing space — a big concrete cube where Macbeth and his wife light candles, make love and plan their murders — looks like a rent-by-the-month storage unit. There are military men in camouflage, and guys who are dressed like sanitary workers. Banquo’s assassins take a break from their bloody task to dress up as women in black skirts and wigs. The three witches of Shakespeare’s original are now a chorus of women wearing red. One of them twirls a hula hoop. One blows bubbles. They all seem to enjoy dancing. Someone carries a green typewriter across the stage and places it in a prominent spot, for no apparent reason. (RTWT*)
Hmm. Sorry I can’t attend this one, just to see all of this in person. I just have too much going on. (Okay, truth be told, I really wanted to hear Thomas Hampson, and that’s why I’m disappointed I can’t go.) But since the other operas I’ve seen had dead animals I was thinking perhaps that would the the year’s theme. Guess I was wrong.
And now I really, really want a green typewriter. ;-)
*link no longer working
Last night was a two reed night. So was tonight. Prior to these rehearsals I’ve been using three different reeds. (When I use two I switch between acts 2 and 3. Using three means one reed for act 1, one for act 2, and the last for acts 3 and 4. News you could use, right?) Fortunately they are working fine … I just am more comfortable switching them because of the way my reeds are feeling these days. We’ll see if some weather (any rain coming?) will change how I feel about them. It IS nice to have a fair number of reeds that are working!
Yes, I counted correctly where I didn’t count correctly last night. Yes, I counted incorrectly in another place. Nothing horribly noticeable to the audience, but certainly annoying. I was quite weary; I had made coffee prior to the start of teaching today. Then I forgot to drink it! (It’s still sitting in my studio, in fact.) Crazy, no?
I’ve continue the search for music for Kelsey and Mel (I can do the research, they can do the choosing). Yesterday I contacted a bunch of classical groups via gigmasters. Today I contacted some jazz groups. The majority of classical groups got right back to me. I’ve not heard from a jazz group yet. Hmmm. Is this telling? We classical musicians need work? Jazz players are laid back? Anyway, I found it funny.
Too bad I can’t find a small group that can do both, eh?
It all began in 2002, when the Berlin Philharmonic decided to widen the orchestra’s reach to spectators with little or no interest in classical music, all over the globe. (RTWT)
The little article just moved me. Really. It’s all simple … going to out to the people, reaching those who might not reach for us. But I wonder if it could happen with orchestras around here. I’m not sure. Sometimes it’s just too costly, although doing chamber music is a bit less of a stretch (moving chairs, stands, and all the other things we use requires a large truck and does cost money!).
Speaking of money: I’ve been starting the “music investigation” for our daughter’s wedding. I have to laugh at the irony of cringing at the cost of musicians. Funny eh? Or maybe I’m just sort of pathetic! (Well, yeah … there IS that ….) But obviously she and Mel should have live music for the ceremony. I couldn’t stand to hear the canned stuff. So I’m looking around. The wedding is outdoors at a winery. It’s an incredible setting, really. Kelsey mentioned maybe guitar. Maybe strings. We’ll see! And no, I don’t plan on playing. I’m there to enjoy and watch my lovely daughter and her man on their special day. Besides, I always remember Kelsey from third grade. I came in to her class to demonstrate the oboe. As I was playing something from a Disney movie (the kids usually love that) I looked down to see my sweet girl looking pained and not looking up at me at all. “Oh no!” I thought, I’ve embarrassed her by doing this!” After, I asked. And no, it wasn’t embarrassment. She said that I just “look really weird when I play.” That’s my visual girl! :-) (I remember once, going out to eat with her. As we left the restaurant I commented on how the music was on a tape and repeated over and over and I was going nuts. She hadn’t noticed that at ALL, but had seen the awful art on the walls. Go figure.)
Okay … ramble over and out.
One more dress rehearsal (we have two casts, thus two dress rehearsals) tonight. Saturday is opening night. I’m already starting to think about the next gig; I have SSV following opera, and I have to switch hats from principal oboe to English horn (Pictures and at** an Exhibition by Mussorgsky (Ravel orchestration) and Roberto Sierra’s Fandangos). Gotta get the EH chops working … following that set I have a ton of Nuts.
**Thanks for catching that, DK! Dont’cha love typos … especially when they change the whole thing. Pictures AND an exhibition might be fun though. Especially if it’s a chocolate exhibition. Or wine. Or some other yummy thing. ;-)
I’m just home from opera, and I’m just exhausted. Funny how an opera that isn’t all that technically tough can wipe a person out, but much of this has to do with it being the first time we’ve played it. And yes, I actually came in wrong. Again. In a different spot.
It’s good to get those bad entrances out of the way before opening night. Right? :-)
I don’t usually make mistakes like faulty entrances. I’m extremely judgmental about those who do. I guess I’m going to have to be kinder about that. Hmm.
I’m not sure if it’s the staging or the orchestration, but I’m finding it much more difficult to hear the singers this time. Ah well. The dress rehearsal audience did seem to love it. I’m assuming they can hear just fine!
I did freeze in the pit, and my oboe never felt warm to the touch, even after blowing all of my hot air through it. (And you all know I’m full of hot air!) I got water in the top octave several times, right before a solo. Scary stuff. We finally turned the space heaters on for the last act. When it’s 66 in the pit we are just a tad chilled, you know? Temperature continues to be an issue for us in the hall, both on stage and in the pit. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I do understand that keeping a place that huge comfortable for everyone from the pit to the balcony is a challenge. I’m just going to have to remember to dress appropriately. And bring my dressy black scarf! (My oboe needs one too, though, and that I don’t have!)
And now I’m off to sleep. These eyes don’t want to stay open any longer.
I should have posted this earlier, but I’ve been working most of the day. Here’s some news for you, though:
PANDORA LAUNCHES CLASSICAL MUSICAddition of Classical to Music Genome Project Enables Listeners to Create Classical Stations Tailored to Their Taste
OAKLAND, Calif. – November 13, 2007 – Pandora today announced the addition of classical music to its personalized radio service. Pandora has spent several years expanding the Music Genome into the classical realm. The collection now includes tens of thousands of recordings by more than 500 composers spanning the major historical periods of classical music: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern and Contemporary.
Classical music fans have been woefully under-served when it comes to mainstream radio. With this launch, Pandora hopes to contribute to the growing resurgence of classical music by providing a powerful new way to enjoy and explore this rich repertoire. The service offers an extensive collection of music that can be tailored to an individual’s personal taste, regardless of one’s knowledge of classical music.
“We think classical music enthusiasts will be delighted by the ability to explore any and all parts of the classical music universe in ways that have never before been possible”, said Tim Westergren, Founder of Pandora. “At the same time, we hope to make classical music more accessible and relevant to everyone.”
Pandora Classical is built on the foundation of the Music Genome Project®, an exhaustive database of musical tracks analyzed by highly trained musicians, one at a time, using close to 400 musical traits including every detail of melody, harmony, orchestration, rhythm, texture, style, text, and more. This database enables listeners to easily create stations that share musical similarities. To start, listeners need only enter the name of a classical composer and within seconds a station is created that plays music by that composer along with similar music by other composers. Thumbs up and down allow listeners to further fine tune the station to accommodate their tastes. A new station can also be created from the current playing composer or track.
For example, a listener may start off by simply typing “Mozart” to create a station that explores the work of that composer and others that share musical similarities with him. At any time, the listener can choose to dive more deeply into a specific part of Mozart’s catalogue by selecting a track that has played and creating a station based just on that work. If the listener were to select the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 and create a station based on it, that station would then explore other works (especially piano concertos) that have musical characteristics similar to those of that particular movement.
“This is a very important step for Pandora,” said Nolan Gasser, Pandora’s Chief Musicologist. “It has been a massive undertaking, and a long time goal, to have classical music on Pandora. We’re thrilled to be able to offer this to our listeners. Classical music is the foundation of most music we hear, and a repertoire of unmatched beauty, power and diversity; but it has long been abandoned by most broadcast media. We hope to make classical music relevant to a mainstream audience by making the experience easy and highly personalized.”
Pandora will celebrate the launch tonight with a special event in San Francisco for listeners and classical music lovers. The event will feature a live symphony performance by the Bay Area’s Jubilate Orchestra, as well as a solo by world-renowned trumpeter Jens Lindemann, former lead trumpet of the Canadian Brass.
And that’s all, folks.
Yeah … that’s how I’m feeling right now.
I need to work on a few things. I know that. I tend to spout off here. I sometimes have an “attitude”. (Doesn’t everyone? It’s just that mine can be rather negative. Go figure.) I tend to write off the top of my head … or the tips of my fingers. Something. Sometimes it comes back to haunt me. No surprise, eh?
My original plan for this blog was to writing about my music life. And I do that. I rant, too. Not always the wisest thing to do; have I lost gigs because of it? I’m guessing so. My dear husband reminds me to be smart (Well, he’s never used the word “smart”, but he has very good advice when it comes to blogging). Trouble is I’m not always smart enough to be smart. Hmmm.
Anyway, I am going to try to readjust the attitude. I still want to be honest, but more carefully so. And I really will try to stick to my “patty rules” (“Is it true?” and “Is it kind?” or “Is it necessary?” … or both? If not, don’t go there. Period.) We’ll see if I can manage.
The thing is, when I do something stupid, I start to feel like an idiot. And I feel trapped. And I don’t like that feeling. My stomach gets tied in knots. I wind up a basket case. So I need to work on this. Working is good, yes?
In other news … nearly time to go over the hill. And yeah, I know you’re all thinking, “You ARE over the hill!” And that’s true too, eh? And soon to be another year over that hill. How ’bout that? I always have a birthday sometime during the second opera run of the season. This time, though, the actual evening will be spent up in San Francisco, attending a dress rehearsal of The Rake’s Progress. To continue with last night’s post … how cool is that?!
Loree Oboe C+3 AK Grenadilla
Serial number NZ95
AND
Loree English horn I+3
Serial number MH16
Date Stolen: 11/9/07
Owner Kyle Bruckmann
Oakland
USA
415-200-6219
kb [at] kylebruckmann [dot] com
Stolen at: Mission b/t 16th and 17th St, San Francisco CA
Comments: outfitted with a Rigoutat thumb rest. stolen in double case, reed cases, tools, everything.
Generated by IDRS Stolen Instrument Registry www.idrs.org
(I know Kyle and I was so sorry to get this news. Please keep your eyes open for this!)
… well, aside from a silly oboist coming in nice and strong … but wrong.
Sigh. Yes. I’m speaking of myself.
I’m still not entirely familiar with the opera, as much as I’ve studied and listened to it. (I don’t know how some of my colleagues do this job without getting a recording, but some do a great job reading down an opera at the first rehearsal. Go figure!) Still, I was certain I was coming in correctly. And yet I’m sure I didn’t. (I’m actually not entirely sure what happened at that point, and we didn’t get back to that section in the small amount of rehearsal time after we ran the opera.)
But anyway, I think the rehearsal was quite a bit better than last night’s. I guess we are all just getting used to what’s going on. There are some interesting rhythmical things; in one spot I have a syncopation going against what the flute and clarinet play. In another spot I hear a “Philip Glass” moment. Really! (Maybe I’m the only one who hears it that way, though.) I absolutely love learning new works, and this one has some lovely moments. I get the impression the singers are sounding fabulous too. I can hear little snippets now and then. And I definitely hear the kids in a couple of sections.
Now if we can only get that darn oboist (aka “me”) to count correctly! ;-)
In other news
Yeah, I’m in a pretty darn good mood. Even with my inability to count.
Read this:
We have received this letter, and we’d like to know if the observation in it accords with your experience: “Dear Stay in Touch, I work at the Opera House, so I can’t tell you my name. The managers have decided to put toilet brushes in all the public toilets so that patrons can clean up after they have done their thing. The trouble is that no one is using them. Can you blame them? This is DIY gone mad. Yours faithfully, an Opera House employee.”
