Category — instruments

I don’t normally pay much attention to what the musical iconoclast Norman Lebrecht writes, but I found some comfort in these uncomfortable times in his most recent column - here’s the relevent paragraph:

Orchestras, too, flourish in depression. London went from one symphony orchestra to three in the post-crash period of 1930-32 and from three to five in the austerity years of 1945-57. In the US, working musicians found comfort in bands and new lines of work in Hollywood studios. No matter how tight the money got, the public demand for music shows an exponential increase whenever financial confidence fails.

The whole column is a pretty fascinating read - find it here.

Photo ©2008 Charles Noble

We did another photo shoot for Fear No Music this evening, and Inés Voglar had found a pile of deserted violins that were about to be recycled from David Kerr Violins, so a pile of cast-off fiddles came to the shoot!

If you come to the free Waterfront concert on Thursday the 28th @ 7:00 p.m. (at Tom McCall Waterfront Park/1020 SW Naito Parkway) - you may notice some new players - here’s a guide to the newest faces at the OSO from my post of last June.

Ever heard of a play which feature an oboist as its main character? Now you have - Portland Center Stage is presenting (on their studio stage) A Feminine Ending now through March 23, 2008.

Here’s their excellent, and eye-catching poster for the production:

And a photo from the production, avec hautbois (click photo to enlarge):

A note about the PCS website - it features opportunities for the public to comment on performances - you’ll see that at the bottom of the play’s page. Essentially, the whole website functions like a giant blog, with opportunities for patrons to offer feedback to the company and to their fellow audience members about the past, current, and possible future productions. This really engenders a sense of community, and is something that the Oregon Symphony should consider integrating into their next website design.

It’s not often that one takes the time, as a professional musician, to just sit and take a look at one’s instrument. I don’t mean actually looking at the instrument - that happens all the time. Inspecting for damage, polishing the varnish, making sure the bridge is straight, etc. What I mean is looking at it as an object of aesthetic beauty. I think that in these terms, we string players are pretty fortunate. [Read more →]