I have an etiquette page. Some of what I’ve put there may seem stupid, needless, or even incorrect to you. But it’s my page, so I can put what I want there. That’s one of the nice things about having one’s own blog. ;-)
Sometimes I am reminded that I have a great career. Sometimes I sit in my little chair and marvel at the incredible music. Sometimes I am entirely overwhelmed by this job I have.
Sometimes I’m incredibly thankful for Mozart.
Today was a day like that.
Don Giovanni is just an incredible work. :-)
Hey Jillian, maybe you two could connect if she manages to get to your state …?
This article tells of an oboist and her husband who are trying to get to Iowa. Originally from Iraq, they are now in Jordan. But Iowa is the goal. Des Moines, to be specific.
Turns out there’s something about guys and music. At least that’s what this article suggests.
Musical ability, along with other creative skills, are rather like a human version of the peacock’s tail; something that has no survival value, but has evolved precisely because it is found attractive by the opposite sex. That’s according to Geoffrey Miller of the University of New Mexico and author of The Mating Mind.
Hmmm. When I saw my future husband the very first time he was giving a lecture on electronic music (or some such thing: sorry, Dan, my mind was elsewhere). There he was … tank top, jeans, headband, long hair … and I leaned over to my friend and said, “What a fox!” (Yeah, I used that word. Really.) She looked at me like I was crazy.
But that was it.
So there you go. I went for the music guy.
On January 3 we celebrated anniversary #32.
Too many visitors! But I do wonder if they ever go inside and listen.
Opera House too popular!
The new Oslo Operahouse management has asked the Department of Culture for another NOK 17.7 million in maintenance funds due to the large number of visitors.
Director Bernt Hauge estimates that 300,000 visitors have strolled around on the Opera House’s large, snow white marble roof since the opening in April, and expects the number will increase substantially.
- It would not be reasonable for the Norwegian Opera to cover the added costs of maintenance at the expense of our artistic performance. We hope the authorities will accept this, Bauge says.
Up to 50,000 persons visit the new monumental building at the Oslo waterfront each week.
I read it here.
We don’t have a hall that looks quite like the Norwegian Opera house, but the California Theatre is awfully nice inside. Buy a ticket. Hear the opera or symphony. K? :-)
Apparently they don’t read tabloids.
London’s Royal Opera House triggered an energetic debate about “culture for the masses” Wednesday after limiting tickets for a prestigious premiere to readers of a tabloid newspaper.
The respected venue will open its autumn season with a performance of “Don Giovanni” on September 8, but only for readers of The Sun, which is more famous for its Page Three topless models than its coverage of Mozart’s masterpieces.
I read it here.
Play! A Video Game Symphony: Out (for now)
Seen at the SSV site:
LATE BREAKING NEWS:
Symphony Silicon Valley will perform Video Games Live August 26th in San Jose’s Civic Auditorium. This exciting performance has just been announced and more details will be available here soon.Play! A VIDEO GAME SYMPHONY has been postponed until early 2009. Look for more information about this program at this site in the coming months.
I don’t know that I’ll be playing Video Games Live, as I believe it calls for a smaller orchestra. I hope I get to, but I don’t know yet, and I have my doubts, optimist that I am. :-(
… drum roll … twelve movements.
But “Dead Symphony” is more than just pop songs arranged for an orchestra — it’s an honest-to-goodness, 12-movement symphony by a respected classical composer that twists the Dead songs it’s inspired by in adventurous directions.
Ah yes, an “honest-to-goodness, 12-movement symphony” is what the world needs.
Over my dead body.
Really horrible pun intended, even though it failed badly. ;-)
I read about it here.
but I teach in 20 minutes, so it’s coffee time.
What a day … whew!
This morning, as you read this, I am in rehearsal for Don Giovanni*. I’m assuming this first rehearsal is orchestra only. But I can’t tell you. Because of course I’m at the rehearsal. You are not. And I don’t have my computer with me, so even if they have wireless access (which they just might — I hear that is now in some orchestra’s contracts) I can’t blog about it. Besides, don’t you think blogging during a rehearsal is a wee bit tacky … and grounds for dismissal? I’m guessing so. I’ll just have to fill you in later!
And yes, I will be back home this afternoon to teach. :-)
Speaking of Don G, and thinking of Levine, enjoy the overture:
(I like the not too slow tempo at the beginning … I’m used to it being a little slower. This is nice!)
*You might think I’m always blogging in real time … that I sit at my computer all day long to post these rambles of mine. Well. Not so. :-)
I tell my students to work as fast as possible on their reeds. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to tell a bad reed from a good one. Everyone looks for a gimmick to help make good reeds, but I just make an awful lot of them and keep plenty on hand.
-John Mack
I read it here. This was a 1997 article. Do you think the woman now makes perfect oboe reeds every time?
Injuries and illnesses are a part of life, but it just seems odd to read about three well known musicians, all sidelined.
Itzhak Perlman (rotator cuff surgery)
Andre Watts (wrist injury)
James Levine (the removed kidney was malignant, but it appears they caught it early)
And earlier this month I blogged about Joan Sutherland’s broken legs.
So … I’ve been working on reeds this past week. And tomorrow is the first rehearsal for Don G.
Tonight is my WorryNight™. What this means is that I think about the reeds, and worry that they won’t work, but the fear is such that I don’t actually want to play the reeds. After all, if they are good, I just might crack them or wear them out. But if I don’t play them then of course I just know that they will all be rotten when I pull them out tomorrow morning.
And to think that I was kind of laughing at a blogger who says we are neurotic.
Wouldn’t you know?
… is where was Chloe Veltman playing? And with whom?
I hate to make rash generalizations, but if oboists are characterized as a neurotic bunch, I’m beginning to think that the American players are to blame. In the UK, the average oboe player — myself included — is ready to play within about minute. We plonk ourselves down in our seats, stick a reed in our mouths to get it going, put our horns together and get on with it. End of story.
But in this country, it seems to take oboists at least a quarter of an hour to get going. The players over here are forever mucking about with their reeds, soaking them in little pots of water, fussing with the key work on their horns, etc etc etc. It’s a wonder that they ever get their acts together in time to give the customary first ‘A’ that’s needed to tune the rest of the orchestra.
Yesterday’s oboists were among the most extreme I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with. The one to my right spent 20 minutes just selecting a suitable reed. Meanwhile, the one to my left had the most elaborate set-up I’ve ever seen in all my years of playing. This included a three-pronged instrument stand on which to place his oboe and cor anglais, an artillery-sized reed case, the most intricate-looking music stand I’ve ever sat next to (and he set it up with the sort of form normally reserved for army privates putting together a rifle), a full-sized strip lighting system for attachment to his music stand, and an enormous electronic tuner/metronome. And let’s not forget his custom-made mini “shelf” featuring a velvet cushion on which to place reeds and a special hole for a water pot — which the player proceeded to attach to his stand with industrial precision.
This country of course boasts amazing oboists. But I wonder if Amis’ negative feelings towards this segment of the musical population might stem from negative experiences he had with American players?
I read it here.
I very well might know the two oboists Ms. Veltman played with … and of course I can’t help but wonder if they know she wrote about them! Too darn funny. (I have an inkling about the guy, but of course can’t say for sure!)
Yeah, I suppose we worry a lot about reeds. Maybe it’s due to the style of reed we play on. I wonder. I do try, though, not to be all that crazy at a concert. I prefer to keep my wacky reed woes at home. I do use a tray, though. I hate having to put things down on the floor, and I like to have my swab and paper (for water in keys) readily available, along with my tuner. I guess they don’t do that elsewhere? (I’ve not playing in other countries.)
Ah well. We are fun to make fun of, aren’t we? Heck, I do it all the time! (I attempt to only mock myself; it’s safer that way.) ;-)
And now I guess I’ll have to read the Kingsley Amis book too, eh?
And I love practising. I thought it would be very tedious to do things like scales, but you have to do them to free yourself up. I’m enjoying it and, at the same time, when I’m not actually playing, I’ll listen to recordings of the pieces that I’m playing and I just get so much more out of them. It’s a nice thing to do in the evenings.
-Oliver Sacks
