slatkin and dudamel start to make marks March 31, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : conducting, labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentSome random orchestrally-themed news that I recommend to you:
First, the Detroit Free Press published a wonderfully comprehensive article on the activities of Leonard Slatkin as he prepares to officially take the reins of the Detroit Symphony this Fall.
Next, the Orange County Register reports on the first appearance in Los Angeles of Gustavo Dudamel with the Philharmonic after being appointed music director designate.
Also, Robert Levine has produced a written transcript of a discussion led by host Jonathan Schaefer with Robert Flanagan (author of the recent study of orchestral finances) and Deborah Borda (Executive director of the LA Philharmonic) on the WQXR radio program Soundcheck.
U.S. orchestras begin recording again March 30, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, recordings, the orchestra world, add a commentCaught this article on Yahoo about the recent (and very small) expansion in the recording activities of some US orchestras.
Here’s the first couple paragraphs:
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Not long ago, American orchestras considered the notion of creating new recordings an almost impossible dream.
Among the hurdles: longstanding union regulations that made the process untenably expensive in the United States, a market flooded with mid-priced catalog reissues and budget recordings that made new full-priced titles less appealing to consumers, changed financial expectations at major labels (demanding that classical recordings earn their keep rather than be prestige money-losing projects) and the sales woes of the broader recording industry.
But several world-renowned American orchestras have figured out how to start recording again — many adopting a do-it-yourself mind-set that centers on digital retail. Already familiar to indie rock acts, the approach was entirely new terrain to orchestras that in decades past had enjoyed lavish contracts.
ICSOM chair Bruce Ridge on Flanagan Report March 30, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentThe chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians is Bruce Ridge. He’s been a tireless representative of the vast majority of professional orchestra musicians in the US, and his analysis is thoughtful and worth considering. I present it here for your consideration.
In recent days, there has been a great deal of discussion regarding the release of a report by economist Robert J. Flanagan, commissioned by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, titled “The Economic Environment of American Symphony Orchestras.” On behalf of the ICSOM Governing Board. I thought I would share some brief observations about the report and the work of Mellon as well as the oft-referred to “Elephant Task Force.”
It seems that every few years or so a new report is commissioned and released about the Symphony Orchestra industry in America that suggests that orchestras are not sustainable, and they generally place the blame, at least partly if not occasionally entirely, on musician salaries. It is difficult to determine just when the industry became so committed to proving to its public that failure is inevitable, but the self-destructive pattern of behavior has been around for decades. A United Press International article from 1970 famously depicts the findings of the death sentence report of that era, titled “25 Symphonies Doomed to Die.”
rolled over by beethoven March 30, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, the orchestra world, add a commentI’m convinced that there is no harder test of one’s orchestral mettle than playing a Beethoven symphony - especially the Symphony No. 2.
What a pain (literally - there are next to no rests for the violas, and we’re busy all the time, scrubbing away or doing something that requires just the wrong combination of physical effort and mental concentration) this piece is!
Compared to it, the Wagner Overture to Tannhäuser was a walk in the park (albeit a brisk one tonight!).
Oy, my arms and neck are sore!
More later on our guest conductor and how the concert went last night…
Daniel Ott premiere in NYC March 29, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : chamber music, composition, music, 1 comment so far
Composer Daniel Ott
Friend and composer Daniel Ott, whose new work for string quartet, solo violin, and piano (á la Chausson) entitled Blue Water is being given its world premiere at the venerable Bargemusic concerts in New York City this weekend, deserves a shout-out from this blog. Way to go, Dan! (more…)
classical conflict March 28, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : News, appreciation/criticism, music, soloists & recitals, the orchestra world, add a commentI just perused a recent article about the Florida Orchestra and some highly-publicized comments from subscribers about the contemporary programming that is being done by music director Stefan Sanderling.
I understand that some patrons don’t care for hearing anything written after 1870 or so. Fine. But why do they complain so about hearing something new and/or dissonant?
There are plenty of concertgoers who love more modern music, and they (for the most part) put up with the Brahms symphonies without writing angry letters to the orchestra’s management or the local music critic.
So, what makes the conservative patron more important than she who likes more progressive fare? (more…)
this week’s schedule March 28, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentJust a sample of a typcial week in the life of a symphonic musician:
Monday:
9:30 - 12:00 - OSO rehearsal for CL 11 @ ASCH
1:30 - 3:00 - Arnica Quartet rehearsal
Tuesday:
practice, run errands, clean, excercise
Wednesday:
11:00 - 11:45 - Arnica Quartet sound check
12:00 - 12:45 - Arnica Quartet concert
Thursday:
9:30 - 12:00 - OSO CL 11
1:30 - 3:30 - OSO CL 11
Friday:
9:30 - 12:00 - OSO CL 11
4:00 - 6:00 - rehearsal for Beatles tribute show ‘1964′
9:00 - 10:00 - onstage for ‘1964′
Saturday:
9:30 - 12:00 - OSO CL 11 dress rehearsal
7:30 - 9:30 pm - OSO CL 11 concert
Sunday:
7:30 - 9:30 OSO CL11 concert
Monday:
8:00 - 10:00 OSO CL 11 concert
Madame Harold in Pyongyang March 28, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, photography, politics, the orchestra world, 2comments
P1050021 | Originally uploaded by dawnvla
click photo to enlarge
New York Philharmonic violist Dawn Hannay kept a blog of her tour of North Korea. You can find it here, along with photos here. UPDATE: link to Dawn’s blog fixed.
P1050021 | Originally uploaded by dawnvla
click photo to enlarge
Thanks to MH for the link.
st louis takes download plunge March 27, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment
The Saint Louis Symphony has joined a growing number of U.S. orchestras that are releasing content for download over the internet.
The first release is a live recording of John Adams’ Harmonielehre, a massive 50 minute work which thrust the composer out of the world of minimalism and into his current eclectic mix of new and old forms and tonal languages.
The next release, due out in September of 2008, will be Stravinsky’s Symphony in C.
Music director David Robertson will conduct on both recordings.
The following US and Canadian orchestras either are currently releasing live concert recordings in downloadable format, or are planning to in the near future:
Baltimore Symphony - [iTunes link]
Chicago Symphony - [iTunes link]
Indianapolis Symphony - [InstantEncore link]
Los Angeles Philharmonic - [iTunes link]
Milwaukee Symphony - [iTunes link]
Minnesota Orchestra - [iTunes link]
Philadelphia Orchestra - [proprietary website]
Toronto Symphony - [iTunes link]
living with janacek March 27, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : appreciation/criticism, chamber music, music, 1 comment so farYesterday my quartet (the Arnica Quartet) played an early Mozart quartet (the G major, K. 157) and the great second string quartet of Leos Janacek, subtitled Intimate Letters. The concert was on a series presented by the OHSU Foundation, and took place in the acoustically and visually lovely OHSU Auditorium up on Marquam Hill.
The concert went very well, and was also well received (which is not always a guaranteed combination). It was also a fun concert to play.
While it might come as a surprise to many non-musicians, performing often not fun for a majority of the time for many of us. (more…)
