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April 2007
Tonight we did our first of two concerts of this classical subscription set. The works were Stravinsky’s Concerto in D for string orchestra, Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra, and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Stephen Hough. As you might guess, the theme of the concert is that all of the works are concertos, of
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I ran across a music blog that I hadn’t seen before today. It’s called CSO Bass Blog, and it’s written by Chicago Symphony bassist Michael Hovanian. He has an interesting entry concerning the messy state of his practice studio (and he’s not alone in that, let me tell you!), and I’m quoting the part that
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[click photo to enlarge] Photo [Reuters/NYTimes]: Rostropovich pictured playing at Checkpoint Charlie after the fall of the Berlin Wall in December 1989. Rostropovich appeared with the Oregon Symphony only once during my tenure. He did a one night special with the orchestra, playing the venerable Dvorak Concerto. It was a remarkable experience for all of
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After being faced with the very real prospect (albeit briefly) of leaving the orchestra for another position, my thoughts have turned to the many people who I have watched leave, either through retirement, resignation or moving on to another job. It’s a sign of just how much the orchestra has changed, in purely personnel terms,
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[click to enlarge] You must pardon the indulgence, but our two cats were so cute today…
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The New York Times reports that the New York Philharmonic has decided to add the position of Principal Conductor to its roster. Most likely this is an attempt to get a place-holder figure on the podium on a regular basis while they continue their search for a successor to music director Lorin Maazel. You can
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[As you may recall, at the end of my last post I was a 'potential' finalist - not dead, but also not alive, in an audition purgatory. The story continues:] About 4:00 p.m. I receive a call from the personnel manager: I am officially advanced to the finals! I must report to the hall around
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The next morning I wake at 7:00 a.m., as I need to get warmed up and look at a few spots before driving up to Seattle for the 10:00 a.m. call (meaning I need to arrive there at around 9:15). This time I get an even swankier soloist dressing room, complete with its own toilet,
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On the morning of Friday the 19th I’ve driven up to a home of two good friends in the Dash Point area. I take an hour to get I-5 out of my bloodstream, then go over the whole range of music that I need to be ready to play that afternoon. My audition time slot
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Many of you may not have been aware that over the past two weeks I’ve been preparing for an audition for the Seattle Symphony this past weekend (April 19-21). The orchestra had two vacancies, for Assistant principal (2nd chair) and section. As a relatively young person (38) but also a person who is a good
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I was just alerted to this new offer from the Oregon Symphony’s marketing department – I think it’s a great way to get more butts in seats:
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I noticed this story about the Charlotte Symphony a few days ago, and just got around to reading it today. It presents a scenario that is chilling in that it shows a path which the Oregon Symphony might find itself if the right corrective measures aren’t taken. Here is a link to the article from
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Click for photo: Adam Flatt It’s always gratifying to hear of a great musician and person who manages to succeed in this tough business. I just learned that my old buddy Adam Flatt (who was a conducting apprentice here in Portland just after I arrived) has been appointed as the artistic director and conductor of
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It’s starting to look like the western land grab movement in the US orchestral world. Hungarian conductor Ivan Fischer has been hired as the Principal Conductor (and de facto interim music director) of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. The position will begin with the 2008-2009 season.
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