… 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 music was mozart’s “ode to joy”
and …
We play a great deal of classical stuff in my orchestra some of it is pretty neat – pictures at an exhibition/pirates of the caribbean etc
I just love reading what other people think about music, and this job ‘o mine. Not that I enjoy knowing someone can’t stand it.
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 of a purple tint to it and I fear I’ll grow weary of it. The other is safe. I’m not sure I want safe, either. So I guess it’s back to Home Depot to see if there’s something else I want to try. The bedroom has been a rather vivid green color that has a bit of blue in it. I want it gone. Very much. So it’ll be outa there sometime next week. It’s just a mystery what will be in its place.
I’d show you the colors online, but seeing color on a computer just doesn’t work. So never mind. When it’s painted I’ll post picture and you can sort of see it … even though I’m guessing colors will still be different depending upon your computer. But stay tuned. I know you’re dying to see it! :-)
I realize this has nothing to do with music. Oh well.
Tomorrow is opening night for Don G. Sunday is closing. That’s a quickie set, yes? I switched to Oboe 1 (remember when I wrote about my oboes?) to see if there was any difference in my wacky G. There wasn’t. So it’s the reed. Rats. But I think I can stick with that reed as long as I don’t blow too hard. I really don’t need to play any louder than mezzo forté for the most part anyway. It’s just that kind of opera, ya know?
As far as pitch is concerned. Well. Um.
Oh never mind. I don’t need to go there, do I? I just want to be in tune with everyone else. That’s what matters most.
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 someone else’s “La ci darem la mano” (at a slower tempo than I prefer, but what do I know?) and “Ah! fuggi il traditor!”.
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 in the show … well … last night was not where I like to be. It was uncomfortable. Pitch was questionable, and I occasionally hooked up to the tuner to see where the heck I was, because it felt so odd. I would think, “Man, I’m so darn flat this is awful,” but checking would show me to be either on pitch or sharp. So I think the pitch is quickly going up and I’m just struggling with that. But I’m a sub. And while I’m also principal oboe, it seems unwise to make too many comments as a sub. So I’ll deal. And hope my reed can reach.
I’m also using “Oboe A” rather than “Oboe 1″. I wonder if that’s part of the issue. Oboe 1 is easily sharp, which is why I selected the “A”, less frequently used Marigaux (yes, both are Marigaux oboes, and I do love them!) that I usually think of as my second. But maybe using Oboe A was foolish of me. I’m also wondering if the unstable above the line G is due to the oboe, or if it’s the reed I was using. I guess I’ll cart both to the final dress and see which is better suited to this, and attempt to try a few reeds as well. (I hate doing that!) I had also selected Oboe A because I thought it might be best because of it’s slightly lighter sound, and I know we can’t blast away with this particular opera; the pit isn’t a pit, the stage is small, and it’s really a chamber music hall … the best kind of place for Mozart, if you ask me!
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 that same year, when paid ushers were employed.
I read this on a sample page for the book More than Meets the Ear: How Symphony Musicians Made Labor History
Perhaps I’ve found another book I’ll have to add to my reading list. Someday.
If so, you obviously need this:
I don’t really understand how all the rankings work, but of course I wasn’t moving up a whole lot over at Scott’s site. Now I’ve visited Sounds & Fury and, lo and behold, I’m moving up in the world.
I think what this means is, as always, I’m utterly confused. Or confusing. Or … oh dear … I really don’t know!
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 that review certainly doesn’t care for Donald Peck, author of The Right Place, the Right Time!: Tales of Chicago Symphony Days
I suspect there is a reason for his hostility, but I’m not going to go into that here. I do guess Mr. Peck left some things out of his book. Still, I might want to read it sometime. Our local library reopens on August 23, so I’ll probably wait until then and see if they can get it for me.
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, along comes a missing second trombonist. When a summer substitute didn’t arrive for the start of Friday night’s all-Brahms program, the Boston Symphony Orchestra resorted to triage, flipping the order of the two works. The orchestra was cleared from the stage, the Steinway wheeled in, the soloist marched on. The trombone-less Piano Concerto No. 1 preceded the three-trombone Symphony No. 3.
At least no name was given, but you can bet folks are talking about it, and the name will get out there.
When a musician doesn’t show to a gig I mostly worry that something horrible has happened. (Well, except with a few musicians who are notorious for late arrivals.) Most of us are just so careful about time, and would never arrive late to a job. So no shows tend to mean something bad in my mind.
According to the review the trombonist arrived later. I wonder if it’s the last gig that player will get 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:
In addition, Angela gives us her thoughts here, and I’m waiting for oboesandpez and Reed at Your Own Risk to give us their thoughts.
And someone even bought a new oboe!
Update
Bret blogged. (Thanks for letting me know, Bret! Google didn’t locate you.) He bought a new oboe too.
Sigh. Maybe someday …? (Doubt it, though!)
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!
