back at work August 26, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, the orchestra world, add a commentMonday was my first day back (the season began last Thursday, but I was off to wrap up the Sunriver Music Festival) at the OSO. My first surprise: I now have a spot in the closer parking garage! I guess I’m now old and decrepit enough to warrant a parking place a block from the hall (there are a limited no. of spaces, and how they’re allocated is a mystery to me - usually only those playing the large instruments such as tuba, double bass, and cello get spots in this garage, and then those musicians who have a physical challenge which requires a shorter walk to the hall). Since I turn 40 in just over a week, it’s a fitting honor. 
We’re rehearsing a dog’s breakfast of pieces for the big waterfront concert at Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Thursday evening. Included is the ever-popular 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, but the more interesting pieces are Javelin by Michael Torke, which was written for the Atlanta Olympic games, the White Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake with members of the Oregon Ballet Theater dancing live on a side stage to the music, and an ensemble number from Verdi’s La Traviata with members of the Portland Opera cast singing live on stage.
It is good to be back, but I had such a good time in Central Oregon that I’m still a bit sad about not being there - especially as the weather is now just about perfect there (we had alternating rain and triple-digit temps during the middle of the festival).
Last night I had the pleasure of going to dinner at Ten-01 with former OSO principal cellist Mark Votapek, who was in town on a rest stop from hiking the complete Pacific Crest Trail! He started near the California-Mexican border on May 2nd (actually he did the first 110 miles in January), and has averaged about 25 miles of hiking (with an ultra-light 20 pound pack) each and every day, with one 100 mile cycling detour around fire zones which closed the trail in Southern California. He’ll finish in British Columbia sometime towards the end of September. Amazing!
sunriver music festival roundup August 24, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, soloists & recitals, summer festivals, the orchestra world, add a comment
We just got back today from the lovely high desert resort community of Sunriver, located in Central Oregon about 15 miles south of Bend. This was the Sunriver festival’s 31st year of existence, which is a great thing considering the quick and final (Chapter 7) demise of the Cascade Festival of Music this summer.
This year’s festival was a relaxed and enjoyable affair, with good audiences and wonderful playing by the orchestra and the guest artists.
The season kicked off at the Tower Theater in downtown Bend with a pops concert devised and conducted by principal bassist Frank Diliberto. Sparkling arrangements by the former OSO pops maestro and conductor laureate Norman Leyden made up most of the program, including some great numbers featuring Portland’s own jazz diva Shirley Nanette. The program was concluded in fine fashion by Pink Martini front-man Thomas Lauderdale in Gershwin’s ever fresh and exhilarating Rhapsody in Blue. A great time was had by all, and the musicians had an even better time at the Deschutes Brew Pub afterwards!
The first concert showcased several of our fine string principals as well as our sparkling wind section. Acting concertmaster Paula Bird played the Mozart Adagio in E, K. 261 with a lovely, full tone and supple phrasing, while later both she and Principal cellist Kari Caldwell (principal cellist of the Tulsa Philharmonic) played the demanding solos from Haydn’s Symphony No. 31 ‘Horn signal’ with virtuosity. The strings got an extremely unusual reprieve in the second half of the concert with the performance of the sublime Gran Partita wind serenade of Mozart.
The second concert of the first weekend was the most demanding of the festival. Prokofiev’s ‘Classical’ Symphony No. 1 put the entire orchestra through its paces, but was more enjoyable in a chamber orchestra setting than with full symphony orchestra string sections. Quick tempos predominated, with some especially fleet playing by Principal flutist Adam Kuenzel (Principal flute of the Minnesota Orchestra) and second flutist Christine Gangelhoff.
Then came the commanding piano soloist Kirill Gerstein, who was scheduled to play both of the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos on a single concert. Instead, a last-minute program change was made, and the Mendelssohn #1 was performed along with the substituted piece: Beethoven’s great ‘Emperor’ concerto. Gerstein was exceptionally impressive in the seldom-heard Mendelssohn - cascades of notes were tossed off with crystalline sound and clarity and tremendous dynamic range, while the Beethoven was given a refreshingly lean and propulsive performance - it did not sound like a labored war horse in this performance! Kirill’s performances were the highlight of the festival for me.
In between the two concerti, the 4th Symphony ‘Tragic’ of Schubert was performed. It came off quite well, but the last movement has some brutal passage-work for the strings and took some of the edge off of my enjoyment!
The second weekend’s first concert was actually an added performance. On Thursday evening, in a gesture of goodwill to the patrons of the Cascade Festival of Music, subscription ticket holders were offered a concert at which their tickets would be honored for admission. The response was very gratifying, with many patrons very thankful to the Sunriver Festival for their generosity and the fine performance.
The musicians of the orchestra were instrumental in consenting to convert an evening rehearsal to a concert to make this event possible. It was the least that we at the Festival could do for these ardent classical music supporters who were out several hundred dollars for their CFM tickets.
The first official concert of the second weekend was an operatic extravaganza featuring two alumni of the Festival’s Young Artist Scholarship Program, soprano Courtney Huffman and mezzo-soprano Sarah Mattox. Favorite selections from the operatic repertoire featured the singers both in duo and solo arias. The concert was sold-out and the audience response was ecstatic.
The final concert of the festival began with a taut and focused account of the Stravinsky Octet for winds and brass. The first half was concluded with a bouncing and lilting performance of the Bach Orchestral Suite No. 1. After intermission, the husband and wife combination of violinist Stefan Milenkovich and cellist Ani Aznavoorian gave a brilliant performance of the Brahms Double Concerto for violin and cello.
They both played wonderfully, but I’d put my money on Aznavoorian as the one to watch for the brightest future. As an encore they played a superbly flexible rendition of the Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia.
Amidst all of this I managed six rides around the local roads, including a climb up to Mt. Bachelor, and trips out to the Cascade Lakes Highway. The first weekend also featured triple-digit temperatures, which put a damper on outdoor activities for a web-foot such as myself.
Oregon Symphony musicians who took part in this years festival were hornist Mary Grant, trumpeter Jeffrey Work, and double bassists Frank Diliberto and Jeffrey Johnson.
All classical concerts were ably and affably led by the SRMF’s artistic director and conductor (and former OSO music director) Lawrence Leighton Smith.
sunriver teaser August 17, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : cycling, music, summer festivals, the orchestra world, add a commentWhat do Jeffrey Work, Kirill Gerstein, Thomas Lauderdale, cycling to Mt. Bachelor, and 100 degree heat have in common?
The 2008 Sunriver Music Festival, of course!
Next week I’ll write a full recap of this year’s festival goings-on. Stay tuned!
august hiatus August 9, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment
portland sunset 2 | Originally uploaded by nobleviola
click photo to enlarge
I’ll be out in central Oregon for the Sunriver Music Festival (whose continued existence I am very grateful for!) - so posting will be even more sparse than it has been lately - see you in two weeks for the opening of the OSO’s 2008 - 2009 season!
fearnomusic photos August 8, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment
I just spent a fine summer’s evening doing some new shots for fEARnoMUSIC’s so-to-be updated website. Portland is so beautiful (and so is fearnomusic!).
the OSO’s ’secret weapon’ July 27, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fundraising, the orchestra world, add a commentConductor Bill Eddins, music director of the Edmonton Symphony, (the previous post of OSO president Elaine Calder) has some high praise for Elaine, which should keep everyone’s eyes on the ball, namely that we’re trying to ensure a secure future for the Oregon Symphony, rather than sitting back and watching it die, bit by bit.
there’s a secret weapon that the Oregon Symphony has and it can be described in two words: Elaine Calder.
When I first went to the Edmonton Symphony Elaine was the Exec. If it wasn’t for her I doubt that the ESO would exist today, certainly not in it’s present form. Some of the words I’ve heard used in describing Elaine:
tough; tenacious; smart; etc., etc., etc. One word I NEVER heard anyone use when describing Elaine: incompetent.Elaine is one of those rare executives who simply cannot, will not let an institution die. She has the ability to quickly grasp a situation and chart a way out of it. Her recipes are not easy, and there are those who resist with all their might. But I would not bet against her and I have no doubt that a couple years down the road the Oregon Symphony will be in the black and thriving. She will make it happen by hook or by crook, and it will probably be her iron will that will prove the difference. In this way she’s got a lot in common with Margaret Thatcher, though I admit I like Elaine’s politics a whole lot better.
So, those of you who doubt the direction of the Oregon Symphony I offer this advice: shut up, sit down, and listen to the lady at the top. She’s worth listening to.
editorial license July 25, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fundraising, portland, the orchestra world, 3commentsDoubtless, many of you have seen (care of ArtsJournal.com and other online sources) the latest Portland Business Journal article about the imminent death of the Oregon Symphony. Well, the OSO is hardly dying, and to paraphrase an old saw, the reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated. (more…)
photo corner: st johns bridge, portland, oregon July 24, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment
Orton sees a bridge | Originally uploaded by Zeb Andrews
click photo to enlarge
A great shot by Portland photographer Zeb Andrews of the landmark St. John’s Bridge in North Portland. Here’s his description of the photo:
Orton sees a bridge
Today is my day off of work, which means I spend at least a portion of it at the computer putting my digital archives in order, cleaning up old scans, organizing, and being reminded of some of the images I have. So since I have all this spare time today, ha, I figured I would post another picture of the St Johns Bridge. Mainly just because I have fallen behind on posting many images of this bridge, and secondly because it happens to be the folder I am working through at the moment.
This shot is the product of two slides, slightly overexposed to make them lighter, sandwiched together post-processing and then scanned in as a single image. Also known as the Orton effect. It can have some interesting effects, usually saturating colors and deepening contrast. Here I like how it made spot lights out of the street lights.
Anyway, taken on the south side of the bridge halfway up the hillside. I had to do some bushwhacking to find this little clearing in the trees. I was looking for a spot that gave me a view straight down the bridge, but I am not sure one exists. This is a nice vantage as well though.
columbus musicians’ blog July 19, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentCheck out the new blog of the Columbia Symphony’s musicians - it’s a place to let your opinion be heard, give words of encouragement, or just check in for the latest news about the Columbus Symphony and their uncertain (for now) future.
http://symphonycolumbus.blogspot.com/
the critical diaspora July 9, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : News, appreciation/criticism, bloggers, music, portland, the orchestra world, 9commentsThere’s been a lot of coverage lately of the dismissal/downsizing of some of the nation’s top print classical music critics. And there should have been. Newspapers are one of the primary ways that orchestras communicate and market to their target audiences. Check out these statistics, courtesy of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA):
- 74% of newspaper readers are 45 years of age or older
- 51% of newspaper subscribers earn more than $50K
- 53% of newspaper subscribers have attended college and/or have earned advanced degrees
Sounds a lot like the average symphony attendee, doesn’t it?
Plus, with orchestras being in such a fragile state financially, having trained journalists with long experience (and the accountability that should go with a position at a daily or weekly paper) covering their beats is essential.
As a blogger who makes no claims to being a journalist, either in an amateur or professional capacity, I’m concerned about rumor-mongering and innuendo that could place livelihoods and the health of entire organizations in danger.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some excellent arts bloggers out there, but I find that I put a lot more faith in those who have either had a print journalism background or those who are currently active in the field of print journalism.
I’m not sure why the newspapers are shooting themselves in the foot (or other, less strategically desirable body parts), but I hope that our hometown daily, the Oregonian, keeps their one full-time classical music critic around for years to come.
