Throughout history, the great works of literature (whether well-received or not) have sparked equally great works of literary criticism. Alex Ross’ brilliant history of music in the twentieth century has sparked criticism of the highest order – most lately by the great British tenor Ian Bostridge, writing in the Times Literary Supplement (think the English
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The Museum of Contemporary Craft, at 724 NW Davis (the DeSoto building, on the North Park blocks), will make its debut as one of Portland’s newest concert venues in a benefit for KBPS’ “Permanent Home on Your Dial” campaign to secure its broadcast license in perpetuity. The concert will feature Portland chamber music fixtures violist
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If you’re interested in attending the last OSO classical series concerts of the season – Messiaen’s Ascension and Orff’s Carmina Burana – on May 17-19, you might wish to get your tickets sooner than later (as in NOW). Sales are going briskly, and there will be no musician comp tickets for these concerts (a relatively
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A very well-written and impassioned posting by CSO principal clarinetist David H. Thomas is well-worth a read. He makes the case for arts organizations building a strong sense of self and where that ‘self’ fits in the greater community – and that sometimes it just means believing the the worth of the organization to make
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Whenever we do a major, difficult work, even if it’s core repertoire, I’m surprised by my own individual performance and how it changes night to night. I don’t know why I’m surprised – it seems to follow the same pattern every time – it’s like catching a cold every year: the buildup is always the
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That’s how I feel this morning. If you’ve played Mahler’s Ninth twice the previous day, plus ridden the 9 miles to work and 9 miles back home before and after the rehearsal – it leads to a healthy sense of fatigue! The performance last night was memorable – this orchestra has truly come of age.Â
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It appears that we may be on the verge of whatever will happen in Columbus, if this results in an impasse. Press release from the CSO musicians’ web site:
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As part of our partnership with different communities each year, our education department includes what is called the instrument petting zoo. Â No, it’s not a bunch of instruments in a fenced in area, with children walking around them petting them with timid hands. Â What it is in actuality is a chance for kids to
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We’re at the final movement of this great symphony, and what a movement it is! If you mention Mahler 9 to almost anyone, they’ll invariably start to talk about the first time they ever heard the slow movement, and how it affected them at a critical time in their life. In the orchestral parts, the
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With the opening of the second movement of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, we’re immediately in the realm of what Carlos Kalmar calls “the leather pants!” or lederhosen. Why? Because as the tempo indication at the beginning of the movement says, “in a comfortable ländler tempo” – a ländler being a rustic country dance common to Austria
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Stuttering, arrhythmic, heartbeat rhythms in the horn and cellos, hesitant fragments of a melody in the distant french horn, then the rocking of the harp, and the first ineffably sad song of melancholic longing in the strings accompanied by restlessly rustling sextuplets in the violas. It’s the opening of Mahler’s massive, elegiac Ninth Symphony, and
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What would a Mahler symphony be without a sprawling, hectic, and by turns achingly beautiful scherzo? Well, quite a bit shorter, for one. Mahler is often in the habit of taking a huge movement in cut time and making a huge journey out of it, and the Ninth Symphony is no exception.
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I’m pleased to welcome as my first guest blogger Jeffrey Work, principal trumpet of the Oregon Symphony. He, among other things, is an enthusiastic collector of old recordings, and as such, I thought that he might like to delve into his massive collection and give us some nuggets that relate to the upcoming work on
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This past Friday, the St. Louis area was awakened by the shaking of a 5.2 magnitude earthquake. That evening the St. Louis Symphony was led by OSO music director Carlos Kalmar in a performance that included the Fifth Symphony of Sergei Prokofiev. According to this review and other accounts, this may have been an aftershock
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The financially troubled Honolulu Symphony has not paid its musicians or staff for the past 7 weeks of work, and needs $1.5-2.0 million to get out of debt to survive. Next season may already be in jeopardy, and the orchestra is seeking an emergency $800,000 grant from the state of Hawaii to help make ends
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