oboeinsight

Read it here.
… men in tights are cool. I like men in tights.”

Bleh. I don’t *hate* Classical music. I just really, really can’t stand it anymore. My parents and my teachers played nothing but Classical (or so it seems) until I was 10 or so. I’ve heard so much Classical that I am sick of it. SICK OF IT.
and, at the same place

my favorite piece of classical [...]

I have two services to go, and both are performances of Don Giovanni. Then it’s nada until the end of August.
But that doesn’t mean I’m doing nothing.
Today I tried out two different paint colors in our bedroom. Both are shades of light brown. One is, I think, lovely but wrong. It has a bit [...]

And, uhh, there are waaay, waaay more cute oboe players than cute viola players in the world!

-Vulgano Brother
I read it here.
Thoughts?
(Remember, though, that this is an oboe player’s site!)

You can see the Sun’s opera offer here.
That’s one hot picture! (I’d put it here, but that would get me in trouble. And I don’t like trouble.)
But wait … there’s more! Hot pictures plus an “easy-to-understand guide” … check it out.
And since I can’t put up anything of “my” production, here’s a clip of [...]

Hah! I typed “Con Giovanni” first. That works too.
In any case, SF Mike has words and pictures about the production, so check ‘em out.
The two performances are already sold out, so if you were hoping to attend I suppose it’s just to late, baby, now it’s too late. So sorry.
As to my place [...]

Think of an orchestra. The oboe probably doesn’t sound that great by itself, but the maestro can make the oboe sound really good with the flutes and the triangle, the tubas, the drums and all the other instruments.
No. Comment.

It had been a tradition for the musicians to stand on the stage throughout their concerts, until the press noted that “aside from being uncomfortable to them, this looks bad and impressed the spectators uncomfortably.” By 1853 the musicians finally sat down, and were not asked to serve as ushers either, a custom which dissolved [...]

If so, you obviously need this:

I don’t really understand how all the rankings work, but of course I wasn’t

I wouldn’t waste your money on what to me is a book replete with longwinded and clearly self-serving nonsense from the woodwind section, the seeming case of a blowhard flautist flouting the facts, and of a piccolo player with what might well be the first recorded, severe case of Oboe Envy.
Ouch! The guy who wrote [...]

It would be such great fun to get to play on stage and have Bryn Terfel singing over my shoulder! (I’m not sure I’d like the food coming out of his mouth part, but he isn’t right next to the oboes then. Whew!) Wearing tails would be a kick too.

There are ways to make it into a review. And there are ways not to make it into a review. This one is the latter:

For want of a trombone, the plan of battle was lost. For want of a plan, the concerto was all but lost.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all at Tanglewood, [...]

I’ve been keeping track of blogs that mention the IDRS convention. There hasn’t been much. I guess those folks were just too busy having a very exciting double reed time, eh? Or something like that anyway.
In any case, here are links that I have found:
Cooper kept us well informed:
Notes
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

In addition, Angela [...]

I received an email from an oboe player saying my reed making tutorial doesn’t work for him. I believe he was saying he can’t even get to the pages. Is this the case for all of you? Please let me know if that’s the case. You can start by checking Part One.
Thanks!