NobleViola — Life on the working end of the viola.

smelling the barn

by Charles Noble on March 19, 2010 · 0 comments

It is exactly 3 hours and 33 minutes until the orchestra’s Spring break begins, and it’s also going to be the warmest day of the year – so far – on Saturday. We are all like farm animals who can smell the warm barn with yummy oats inside, and we can’t wait to get there! Two more concerts for the kids this morning, and then we’re off to wherever and whatever it is that we musicians do when we have some spare time. Not sure how much posting I’ll get done – sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less – but if it’s less, see you in a couple weeks! Happy Spring!

{ 0 comments }

help my peeps

March 18, 2010

Many of you who read this blog are familiar with Greg Ewer, violinist with the Oregon Symphony, and founder and artistic director of 45th Parallel. He recently got engaged to the wonderful and talented Becky Hornsten, who is one of the brightest lights I know. Turns out, she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and [...]

Read the full article →

tricky part of the week

March 17, 2010

This Sunday the Arnica Quartet will be performing on the Salem Camerata Musica series at the main branch of the Salem Public Library. The concert is at 2:30 in the afternoon, and is free to the public.
The big finish piece for the concert is Beethoven’s Op. 59 no. 1 – part of a set of [...]

Read the full article →

maestro myths exposed

March 17, 2010

William Eddins, maestro and blogger extraordinaire, has crafted a post about a series of myths that have been perpetuated about the art/practice of being a conductor – I highly recommend it. Also of interest – the bit where he talks about how being just three or four feet removed from one’s usual position on stage [...]

Read the full article →

the classical beaver

March 16, 2010

Now, before you jump to the conclusion that this post is about some classical music blog that will be zapped by your safe-surf software, be assured, The Classical Beaver is quite simply a highly-entertaining and informative blog written by a very enthusiastic Oregon Symphony audience member. It’s well worth adding to your blogging routine – [...]

Read the full article →

a tale of two pieces

March 15, 2010

This Sunday the Oregon Symphony performed a concert consisting of three pieces which it had never before in its history performed. (My apologies for that seemingly Google-translated-to-English-from-German sentence). The Delius Irmelin Prelude was pleasant fare, and having a couple nice section viola melodic moments (and one big, exposed viola solo at the end, nicely played [...]

Read the full article →

dopplegänger?

March 14, 2010

Anyone else see the resemblance between John Cage and William H. Macy?

Read the full article →

yo-yo: musical ambassador

March 14, 2010

A great article from today’s Washington Post, about the phenomenon that is Yo-Yo Ma – here’s the teaser:
In 1961, Pablo Casals played for John F. Kennedy at the White House. The concert could be seen as a symbol of the importance of the arts to the Kennedy administration, or as a gesture of [...]

Read the full article →

tough stuff

March 12, 2010

This weekend is a bit of a strange classical week for us, with this program being played only once in Portland, on a Sunday matinee. On Saturday evening, we bring the show on the road (down Route 99W, to be exact) to Newberg, to the excellent auditorium at George Fox University. We usually alternate classical [...]

Read the full article →

a family affair

March 11, 2010

I was thrilled to discover this vintage documentary of the four DePasquale brothers, all of whom played in the Philadelphia Orchestra – at the same time! I studied with Joseph, the violist, who was principal violist of the Boston Symphony under Koussevitsky, and then was hired by Eugene Ormandy, later being joined by his brothers [...]

Read the full article →

oso music director adds new post

March 8, 2010

Oregon Symphony music director Carlos Kalmar has been appointed music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE (Spanish Radio/Television Orchestra), effective September 2011. The initial contract is for a five year period. He succeeds British conductor Adrian Leaper, the orchestra’s music director since 2001. It’s not clear what effect this will have on Kalmar’s duties [...]

Read the full article →

applause, please

March 8, 2010

Alex Ross, classical music writer at The New Yorker (and author of the acclaimed music history The Rest is Noise), has a great article in the UK’s Guardian newspaper on the role that outdated classical music etiquette plays in discouraging new audiences to the medium. Highly worth a read – here’s the opening gambit:
Last autumn, [...]

Read the full article →

OSO violas on facebook

March 5, 2010

If you thought you needed any additional signs of the impending apocalypse (besides earthquakes and tsunami), then here’s another terrifying portend: the Oregon Symphony viola section has a Facebook fan page! Click here to check it out. The photos are worth a look…

Read the full article →