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best book I wish I’d had in college October 19, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : music, 2comments

I’m just one chapter into Alex Ross‘ magnum opus (so far) The Rest is Noise (Listening to the Twentieth Century). I’m loving it so far, and have learned several things so far that I never knew, but should have at least been aware of, specifically that Strauss’ Salome was not premiered in Vienna, but in Graz, and that Adolf Hitler may have been in attendance at the premiere. I was also not aware of the amount of interaction between Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. My bad! Alex’s good!

perspective October 19, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, 1 comment so far

I wasn’t able to attend the Oregon Symphony’s annual membership meeting this afternoon due to teaching commitments, but I did read the summary by local arts journalist James Bash, and I have some thoughts of my own.

First of all, it must be said that the financial situation of the symphony is undeniably precarious. It is a very serious threat to the future health of the orchestra, and steps must be (and have begun to be) taken to improve the financial underpinnings of the organization.

This having been said, the orchestra continues to perform at a very high level, and we are performing interesting, engaging programs. In addition, I feel that in Elaine Calder we have found just the kind of no-nonsense leadership that we need to get ourselves out of this financial mess. In a remarkably short time she has really gotten a feel for what works and what doesn’t within the organization, and is rapidly developing a snapshot of the inner workings of the arts scene in Portland.
I also feel that the musicians are cognizant of the issues facing the organization, and are willing to be partners in finding unique, collaborative ways to solve these problems. I don’t think (as someone with no special or advance inside knowledge) that there will be major changes in what symphony patrons see when they go to concerts, but there will doubtless some changes behind the scenes that will enable the organization to grow and thrive in the coming years.

My biggest fear is that, in the short time of transition and restoration, the symphony will fall out of the top echelon of arts organizations that create buzz and excitement in the community. We’ll continue to be the largest, in terms of budget, but in the arts coverage of the past year or so I’ve noticed much more focus on innovation at the Oregon Ballet Theater, exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum, and other such organizations as Body Vox, Whitebird Dance, and Portland Center Stage. I hope that we’re able to keep a good balance between ensuring survival and creating new and interesting experiences at and around our concert presentations.

a living legend reaches 90 October 17, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment

Wow. I am stunned - and I’m ashamed that I’m stunned. I went to the Norman Leyden 90th birthday concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall this evening (which was presented by the Oregon Symphony). I don’t know what I was expecting, but I got a master class in what it is to be a consummate professional who still shows joy in music making after a sesquicentennial in the business.

The high points? Hearing maestro Leyden sing for the first time in my 12 years with the orchestra - and he can! He’s no Sinatra, but he hit the notes, the phrasing, and did so with elán. His clarinet playing is a bit grainier in texture than a few years ago, but he still effortlessly turns a phrase like those giants he played and arranged for in the 40’s and 50’s.

The big band he assembled was also in great form, very tight and some great solo turns, especially from trumpeter Mark Gaulke and saxophonist Dick Saunders.

Vocalist Reneé Cleland was superb, having shown much growth from her days as a member of the Leyden Singers, and a sparkling presence on stage. Rod Lucich was steady and reliable, but his voice didn’t sparkle, and he was slightly under pitch for many of the songs.

Norman always found time to promote local young artists who were worthy of notice and who shared his love for the music of the big band era. Reed player Hailey Niswanger is a sax and clarinet player to watch - she has got the goods: great sound, pure intonation, and a sure hand around a turn of phrase. And she’s only a senior at West Linn High School. Back for her second performance with Leyden was Aubrey Cleland, daughter of Reneé, who made her pops debut at the age of 10. Now 14 she’s on her way to being a seasoned performer. She has a young voice, but time will take care of that, and she has the presence and quality (and beauty) of her mother, so look out world!

Dance West of Beaverton provided several large-scale dance set pieces - the up tempo numbers were the most effective, but the choreography proved a bit repetetive and didn’t always match up to the mood of the music.

In retrospect, I feel I owe Norman an apology. I didn’t take him seriously enough - I respected him and liked him very much as a person, but I didn’t or couldn’t see what was before me: a master and legend.

I stand corrected.

losing ground? October 17, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment

David Stabler reports this morning that the Oregon Bach Festival will open its 2008 season by performing a concert (Bach’s B-minor Mass) at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland.  What next?  Will the Eugene Symphony start a series in the Oregon Symphony’s home hall?  The Seattle Symphony?  It’s frustrating, because while we continually draw back the number of concerts that we offer both in Portland and around the state of Oregon (we are called the Oregon Symphony, after all) other arts organizations are presumably seeing needs that they can meet in the Portland market.  Frankly, I’m worried about what this portends for the future.

alex ross outs the classical internet October 16, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment

Alex Ross, the classical music critic for New Yorker (and blogger par excellence), wrote a column (which I spotted in the online version today) about the effects of the web/internet on classical music.  It sounds as though there is a clear new golden age of classical music emerging these days - if only managers and musicians are smart enough to set aside old profit/loss paradigms and just jump on in - led largely by music bloggers.

Between 1980 and 2000, classical music more or less disappeared from American network television, magazines, and other mainstream media, its products deemed too élitist, effete, or esoteric for the world of pop. On the Internet, no demographically driven executive could suppress, say, a musicology student’s ruminations on György Ligeti’s Requiem on the ground that it had no appeal for twenty-seven-year-old males, even if the blogger in question—Tim Rutherford-Johnson, of The Rambler —was himself twenty-seven.

News bulletins were declaring the classical-record business dead, but I noticed strange spasms of life in the online CD and MP3 emporiums. When Apple started its iTunes music store, in 2003, it featured on its front page performers such as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Anna Netrebko; sales of classical fare jumped significantly as a result. Similar upticks were noted at Amazon and the all-classical site ArkivMusic. The anonymity of Internet browsing has made classical music more accessible to non-fanatics; first-time listeners can read reviews, compare audio samples, and decide on, for example, a Beethoven recording by Wilhelm Furtwängler, all without risking the humiliation of mispronouncing the conductor’s name under the sour gaze of a record clerk. Likewise, first-time concertgoers and operagoers can shop for tickets, study synopses of unfamiliar plots, listen to snippets of unfamiliar music, follow performers’ blogs, and otherwise get their bearings on the lunar tundra of the classical experience.

Ross has consistently beat the drum of “the sky is NOT falling, thank you very much!” for as long as I have read him, in clear opposition to such writers as Greg Sandow and Norman Lebrecht.

You can see a clear comparison to the extinction of species in the way the music world is changing.  The small, agile, warm-blooded organizations which can adapt to changes quickly and absorb greater risks are taking on the challenge with gusto, and succeeding to a remarkable degree.  The larger organizations which give their bodies warmth through sheer dollar amounts are doing ok for the moment, with their eider down of massive endowment funds.  Those in the middle echelon, however, are not able to take the risks required and they don’t always have a clear vision of how to move ahead.

I hope that we musicians have enough clarity of vision to let go of outmoded models of income and revenue, and move quickly to embrace models which might not initially gain us any addition pocket money, but might serve as new and innovative methods of marketing our workplace to the world.

dvorak’s new world October 16, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment

antonin dvorak - woodcut

This Sunday (October 21 @ 2 p.m.) will be the first concert in the Inside the Score series, which examines one great classical work in-depth followed by a complete performance.  This first concert will deal with Antonin Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”.  Here are some resources to help you get started with the whole learning experience:

nature’s confetti October 16, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : photography, add a comment


nature’s confetti | Originally uploaded by nobleviola
click image to enlarge

Another shot from the office park near our house. I really should have gone back the same day I was alerted to this place, as many leaves had fallen in the intervening 18 hours or so. Even so, it was a gorgeous spot - I love fall!

another oregon company loses local ownership October 15, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment

Tektronix, one of the first companies to set up shop in Oregon’s celebrated “Silicon Forest” high tech community of companies, has been sold to a Washington, D.C. conglomerate.  Tektronix was one of our featured sponsors of our first Classical A subscription week, and it was encouraging to have a prominent local company support the symphony in a highly public way.  Therefore it was disappointing and worrying to read the headline on this afternoon’s edition of The Oregonian.  The orchestra has been relatively lucky in receiving support from both those corporations who are not headquartered locally and those who are.  However, when a company is bought out by an out-of-state interest, it may become more likely that interest in supporting local entities may wane.  I sincerely hope that those who remain with Tektronix in Oregon will continue to make the case for putting money back into the local community - arts causes or otherwise.

tough week October 14, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment

I was going to write a post about how tough this week has been, but I just don’t have it in me tonight. Be well and I’ll be back in a few days.

fall colors October 14, 2007

Posted by Charles Noble in : photography, add a comment

autumn leaves in beaverton, oregon, originally uploaded by nobleviola.