hmm… February 17, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, music, recordings, add a commentI don’t know why this appeals to me, must be the weird violist mental thing, but here’s a cool story about a unique recording released in New Zealand:
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - It’s a doggone chartbuster — a song audible only to dogs has topped New Zealand record charts, and is looking to go global.
A Very Silent Night, recorded at a frequency only dogs can hear, was so popular among owners it hit number one at Christmas, but has been receiving mixed responses from listeners.
“The most violent one was a dog that physically attacked the radio when it was played and went quite berserk and totally destroyed it,” said Bob Kerridge, chief executive of animal welfare group, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
“On the other side of the scale, they just lie down and did nothing.” The charity CD, priced at NZ$4.99 ($3.93), contained an instrumental and a vocal version of the song, but Kerridge said he did not know what kind of music dogs would hear.
“Never having heard it myself, I don’t what they’ll hear and of course I don’t know how dogs hear music,” he said.
Kerridge added dogs in Australia and the United States could soon have a listen.
Around NZ$22,000 ($17,300) has been raised by the disc’s sale.
arnaldo cohen’s encore February 17, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : appreciation/criticism, music, soloists & recitals, add a commentMy stand partner, principal viola Joël Belgique, discovered what the encore was from last night - it was a piece called Odeon, by the composer Ernesto Nazareth, who he described as the “Scott Joplin of Latin America”. No wonder it was so catchy! Here’s a link to a YouTube video of Odeon.
big program hangover February 17, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : appreciation/criticism, music, the orchestra world, add a commentLast night we played the first of four concerts of the latest Classical Series (3 shows here in Portland, and one run-out to Salem). It’s a big program. Usually we start at 7:30 on Saturday evenings, and I pretty much expect to be walking in my front door around 10:00 p.m. Last night I was getting in my car around 9:50 - the concert was a solid 2 hours plus. It’s a pretty demanding program for all parts of the orchestra (except for the percussion section, who after the MacMillan a few weeks ago get a reprieve). (more…)
