(this came to my attention care of Sam’s excellent blog)

Nico Muhly has an interesting game that he played with the New York Philharmonic’s season opener - which was:

Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture
Ibert Flute Concerto
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

They initially decided to try to make the program worse, which it seems they weren’t able to bring themselves to do, then they tried to make it better in terms of what they want to see in the concert hall, namely a mix of new and old in interesting combinations.

It’s a good mental exercise, and one that could be made with any set of programs.

Take a look at the upcoming OSO programs - is there one that has you scratching your head?  How would you make it better and more interesting for you?

Read Muhly’s entire entry here.

Portland composer Dana Carlile has produced a recording and documentary film about the Neah-Kah-Nie String Quartet, a Portland ensemble which was formed in the early part of the last century.

You can find complete information about the recording project here (which features Oregon Symphony musicians Erin Furbee, Julie Coleman, Brian Quincey, and Trevor Fitzpatrick).

There will be a screening of the film, entitled “Susie Fennell Pipes and the Neah-Kah-Nie String Qaurtet” at the Multnomah Central Library’s U.S. Bank Room (801 SW 10th Ave) on Sunday, November 2 at 3:30 p.m.  You can find further information here.