Violinist Jennifer Koh (last heard with the Oregon Symphony in performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto, and before that the Szymanowski 1st Violin Concerto) has a new solo recording out on Cedille Records, entitled Rhapsodic Musings. It features works by Elliot Carter, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Augusta Read Thomas, and John Zorn for solo violin. Based upon
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There has been (and ever shall be) lots of blogging on what should be done about the current state of affairs in professional orchestras – here are two viewpoints that are pretty much diametrically opposed in their solutions, but pretty much right in synch with what they perceive as being the problem. The first post
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Just a note to change your bookmark to this blog: here is the link to bookmark that will get you directly to the blog, which is now at http://www.nobleviola.com (with no /wordpress/) on the end. Explanation below: If you look at the top of the page, you can see that Daily Observations has changed to
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It’s the day before Thanksgiving Day (the US version, Canada’s was last month), and it’s time to reflect upon what has happened up to this point and to find things for which to be thankful and glad. I’m mostly thankful for the fact that, in addition to being relatively healthy and happy, I have a
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Not my best work, but it was worth a shot (get it?). Made using Badbeard’s primo beans, his Mondo Cello blend. Badbeard has got the Symphony! blend ready to ship, and there will be decaf and espresso blends with the Symphony moniker available soon. Support the Oregon Symphony and enjoy some of Portland’s best coffee
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The Arnica String Quartet, with guest cellist Marilyn De Oliviera, will be playing a concert presented by the Newport Symphony at the Newport Performing Arts Center on Saturday, December 19 at 7:30 p.m. It’s an all-French program: the Debussy String Quartet, op. 10, the Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello, and Franck’s grand Quintet for
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As promised (but a bit late) here are the photos that show how different my positions on stage are during this weekend’s concerts. Here is where I normally am (and where I spend the first half of the concert) [click photo to enlarge] You can see our stand on the left side of the frame,
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If there were only one way (as if!) to raise an orchestral musician’s hackles virtually instantly, it would have to be the issue of the use of space on stage. This can take many forms. How far you are from your stand partner (if you have one). How far you are from the stand (given
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This summer, as part of a series of financial concessions from the Oregon Symphony’s musicians, the Oregon Symphony Association discontinued its contract with HealthNet Health Plan of Oregon and transferred all of its employees to one of two available Kaiser Permanente health plans. The reason? Out of control health care cost increases. It’s a problem
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Portland’s own Badbeard’s Microroastery will be offering a new signature blend called Symphony – for every one pound bag of freshly roasted coffee that you purchase direct from Badbeard himself (in fact local cellist and coffee geek extraordinaire Justin Kagan, a frequent performer with the Oregon Symphony, Portland Cello Project, Red Sneakers, and more) two
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James Bash has a great interview with the four woodwind soloists who will be performing the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for Winds this weekend – it’s a must-read if you want to know more about the fascinating background to this piece, and to find out what a great group of musicians are playing it as well.
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Monday marks the beginning of the rehearsal period for our next Classical concert, November 21-23. Conducted by Resident conductor Gregory Vajda, this program will feature a pretty diverse group of compositions. Though not the major work on the program, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for winds will feature four of our outstanding wind principals: David Buck, flute;
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