Oregonian classical music critic David Stabler has posted a follow-up on his review of last Saturday’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony. You can find it here. What I find most interesting is the discussion that has apparently begun about the efficacy of the stage extension that we use for large works for choir and orchestra.Â
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We’ve got two out of our three performances of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony out into the ether, and the reviews of the first performances have been mixed.
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In one of my recent posts, I happened to say that I didn’t care for the Ode to Joy from the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony. Well, I’ve reconsidered that stance a bit. I still don’t do cartwheels over the long initial statement of the theme in the celli and basses, then the violas. I
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It’s an older interview (2003), but it gives some insight into who this classical music phenomenon is as a person, rather than just an aggressively marketed persona.
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We had our first rehearsals on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony yesterday, and it was one of those days where I was tired from the very beginning, but I thought I could at least dredge up nine observations about this well-loved work from an insider’s perspective. In the spirit of full disclosure, I cannot vouch for the
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Christoph Eschenbach, formerly the embattled music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, has taken a position with the National Symphony, which will entail not only being the NSO’s music director, but also being the music director of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Reportedly, this will enable him to curate interdisciplinary festivals in the complex,
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If you were hoping to catch the piano phenom known as Lang Lang, you’re out of luck: his special concert with the Oregon Symphony on October 3rd is sold out. However, if you’ve got some extra money burning a hole in your pocket, there is a special premium ticket auction going on at ticketmaster…
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From today’s New York Times: Last October the Juilliard School announced that it would establish a graduate program in historical performance, shaped in large part by the American expatriate William Christie, who spearheaded the modern early-music movement in Paris. Now Juilliard is announcing specific dates and faculty members. Auditions for the program, which begins in
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At least according to the MacArthur Foundation, who made Ross one of its 2008 Genius Grant Fellows. Here’s his bio from the Foundation website: Alex Ross is a critic whose writing captures the often-elusive aesthetic and technical aspects of classical and contemporary music with clarity, grace, and wit. A staff writer for the New Yorker,
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David Stabler David Stabler, the classical music critic for the Oregonian newspaper, has stated on his blog that he’s not taking a buyout from the paper, and is staying on indefinitely. It’s good news. Full-time classical music critics are getting to be as rare as hens’ teeth, and David is the only one left in
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For those of you who saw our Waterfront Park concert a few weeks ago, here’s what was going on behind the Hawthorne Bridge: and in this one, you can just barely hear the orchestra in the background:
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Performing is interesting. I’ve found that I’m more analytical of what’s happening during my performances now than before. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m now able to devote a small portion of my overworked brain to something other than trying to execute the piece, or not, but I’m finding that I’ve reached a new,
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I wish that I were blogging anonymously sometimes. I could unburden myself of whatever was vexing me from a day’s worth of rehearsals, private practicing, or teaching, and say whatever I wanted. That would be great. But… It also would not be terribly ethical. It’s easy to say whatever you want when you remain a
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Atop Council Crest | Originally uploaded by nobleviola click photo to enlarge This morning I was without a car, and decided that a ride was in order. The question was where. I had done all the usual routes over and over, and didn’t want to do the same old thing again. So, after looking at
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Kudos to Ron Blessinger and his indefatigable fellow performers at Third Angle for what must have been a great spectacle on Sunday at the various Lawrence Halprin parks near Keller Auditorium (also known as the South Auditorium District). Here’s an excerpt of the first review: In the 1960s, people called them happenings, when artists broke
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