I apologize to any of you who have tried to comment and not had your comment posted; something is definitely awry, and I’m trying to “despam” comments as I find them, but I frequently receive a failure message when I do that. I’m not sure what it’s about, but we did just recently update this [...]
The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra has received 226 applicants from all over the world for the position of music director and conductor to replace Amy Mills.
Jim Gallagher, chairman of the conductor search committee, said he is stunned by the overwhelming interest in the job.
“Everyone is flabbergasted by the quantity and quality of applicants,” Gallagher said. [...]
… for the first time, no symphony violinists will carry on their instruments, on the chance that Delta could turn them away at the gate at CVG.
They are putting them in specially designed crates, so the article tells us later, because Delta is notorious for forbidding violins; they are just a bit too long [...]
… we must, obviously, support the arts. But, also rather obvious, concerts and all are so darn boring and we’d rather be at a game, so someone has created a solution.
Sigh.
Sure, it’s all in fun.
I guess.
(Anyone know what movie—about music, although not classical—used “What Happened?” in a humorous way?)
So … are you curious how today went after I blogged about the principal having to bow out due to illness? Of course you are. (Get well quickly, PH!)
Okay. Maybe you aren’t. But I’m telling you anyway.
I played principal in the Brahms. [...]
Part of me really wants this. The other part knows that it’s silly to want it. I’m guessing the former won’t win over the latter. In fact I’m sure it will. The last thing I need is more “stuff”. But still, I’d never seen an oboe playing doll before!
I found it here.
They wear blue buttons that say, “Opera Is For Everyone.”
Who wears these buttons, you ask? 13 year old boys and girls. Really
Found here:
Q: I thoroughly enjoyed last nights “Dvorak & Rachmaninoff” program - kudos to all involved! I wondered why there were so many personnel changes in the woodwind section from one piece to another - it seemed like there was a revolving door for the flutes and clarinets. Thanks again for a memorable evening.
Well, first [...]
The Camera is Cool and the Oboe Obnoxious
I used to enjoy listening to classical music with a glass of wine and a ciggy.
Quite worried now. I don’t want to be the only oboe player left to be tortured by my tutor.
A moldy oboe is probably the most disgusting thing you’ll ever witness should you neglect [...]
Heppner and Voight finally managed to sing together.
And of course the English horn solo by Pedro Diaz was … wait for it … haunting.
So original, eh? But I guess … well … what can ya do? We are haunting. Or plaintive. It’s just the way we are. ;-)
I am just home from playing at a former SCU student’s wedding. It was a moving, worshipful, incredibly beautiful wedding, and I was quite moved. I may write more about that later. We’ll see. (Meanwhile, congratulations and lots of love to both Madeline and Richard!)
But I’m pretty darn tired now. Dan & I drove straight [...]
… well, for musicians, anyway.
This article is about David McGill, his new book, Sound in Motion, and includes a lot about Marcel Tabuteau and his numbering system.
Read this interview with Conductor Nguyen Thieu Hoa in Hanoi on the woes of the state of classical music in Vietnam. It’s really what one can read from anywhere, don’t you think?
We had forgotten just how boring the third movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 is.
(I personally think the oboe is squeaky)
Didn’t do any oboe practise either. I wanna quit oboe so bad….but I feel guilty coz my parents bought me my own. Still I stuck and I can’t really see myself going anywhere, Plus my [...]
… until now:
The IDRS forum is now open to the public. Read about it here.
I bought a recording device yesterday. For a whopping $99.00. Now that might seem like a lot to many people, but to record music one needs something of good quality. Of course I’m looking for deals all the time … sigh ….
Then I recorded myself. And played it back. And died.
Wow. Do I sound [...]
So I blog about Kathleen Battle and then I run across this article and interview. Bizarre!
You know how advertisers like to use music as a simile or metaphor, right? Well, ACB had just blogged about her comfie shoes, so I visited the BeautiFeel® site. What do I find but this (complete with their odd line breaks):
BeautiFeel® is Harmony
like an orchestra that blends many instruments to create a singular piece of
music, [...]
Could it be true? Was there a Hungarian custom of burying a bass?
“Every year for the past 100 years, Hungarians in the city of Roma would bury a double bass to signal the end of the wedding season and also would confess their sins that were committed against the instrument. Then they followed up with [...]
I just ran across this quote:
Battle’s handful of defenders agree she can be difficult but argue that her artistry makes her worth the trouble, and obliquely criticize the Met for not defusing the situation diplomatically. “Many great artists are difficult in their search for perfection in their craft,” says Peter Gelb, president of Sony Classical [...]
“I vary my route to work — which I think may be more dangerous. In ‘06 I had to leave town and disappear for six months for my safety, but we still kept going — I organized two concerts from afar. . . . At one point, I had to tactfully get a formal religious [...]
This is what I’m playing this week, but someone needs to learn how to spell Maestro Mechetti’s name!
Because who needs a lot of room to make music? And who says you have to stay in one place? You can be transported in more ways than one!
I found this via The Omniscient Mussel. And yes, the Jonathan Byers video is very cool.
“It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever done. And normally stages don’t [...]
There are weeks when I’m feel entirely blessed in this job I have. Getting to sit in the hall to listen to Schicksalslied last night, this time with the chorus, and then getting to sit on stage for the Beethoven, surrounded by fine musicians, makes this one of those weeks. I realize the word “glorious” [...]
Last week I had my first real opera experience. (I have seen Copland’s The Tender Land and the 2007 opera Wakonda’s Dream but they were short and American.)
-Ryan (found here
