it’s the pit(s) December 28, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, the orchestra world, add a comment
photo credit: David Shankbone
Double-bassist Jason Heath gives an exposé on life in the “pit” (the lowered area in front and beneath the stage which holds the orchestra during shows, ballets, and operas. It’s some pretty extreme stuff, including dancing, yelling, boozing, watching television - you get the picture (and if you don’t read the rest of the post here).
DG opens web store December 15, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, recordings, add a commentSeveral music bloggers have already written about the recent unveiling of Deutsche Grammophone’s online store for high bit-rate (320kbs) mp3 files without DRM (digital rights management).
I decided to wait until I’d actually gone through the process of purchasing and listening to some of their product. Especially nice are the several hundred previously out-of-print titles that have been reissued as downloads (100 of these are exclusive to the DG web shop). Here’s a brief summary of my experience at the store. (more…)
instrument or house? December 9, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, the orchestra world, add a commentAn excellent article from the Toronto Sun about the choice young string players must make early in their careers: top-flight instrument or house? (more…)
stage atlas December 7, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, the orchestra world, add a commentMichael Hovnanian, of the erstwhile CSO Bass Blog (now just the Bass Blog due to some flap over whether he can use the CSO name in a blog), has just published a great post on the habitual nature of the orchestral musician and the troubles it can cause. (more…)
more ink on the OSO November 2, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : music, the orchestra world, 1 comment so farStephen Marc Beaudoin just wrote a piece for Crosscut which is entitled “Can Anyone Fix the Oregon Symphony?“. Squarely in his sights is the newly-formed collaboration with Pink Martini front man Thomas Lauderdale. Clearly, Beaudoin does not know of Lauderdale’s training as a classical pianist, for he seems to find Lauderdale lacking in his knowledge of classical music and for some reason, as a person who wouldn’t deign to stay for the entire length of a concert that he just introduced.
Thomas Lauderdale skipped onto the Schnitzer Concert Hall stage to thunderous applause. It was opening night of the Oregon Symphony’s new season. Lauderdale – Portland band Pink Martini’s sassy spike-haired leader – trotted out, flashed a big grin, and gushed breathlessly about the Symphony’s season ahead.
The audience roared its approval. Lauderdale disappeared into the wings. Conductor Carlos Kalmar took the podium.
But as I listened to the symphony play a respectable if safe season-opening concert, I wondered what Lauderdale’s enthusiastic endorsement of the symphony really meant. Why was this Portland pop star, the city’s current cultural ambassador to the world, being pimped as a spokesman for our increasingly conservative and debt-saddled flagship orchestra?
Aside from that, Beaudoin has reiterated points presented here and elsewhere about the current viability (or near lack thereof) of the Oregon Symphony. We know that James DePreist was/is a titanic figure of Falstaffianly-proportioned charisma. We know that Carlos is not. We also know that the Oregon Symphony has missed the mark in producing programming that is fresh and exciting to a whole range of concert goers (see my post of a few days ago):
We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t in some quarters. First we play too much “new” music, then we don’t play enough. But maybe we don’t play enough of the right “new” music (I put the quotes because my view of new music is music written in the last decade, not pieces written only since 1930). We can be responsible while also being provocative - instead of commissioning Kevin Walczyk’s Corps of Discovery Symphony for the anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, why not commission a piece from a native American composer, or at least seek a piece written from a sympathetic point of view to native Americans? Imagine the conversations that could be stimulated by such a commission! It’s just one example, but thinking big idea-wise rather than just small budget-wise can create “buzz” and excitement - that something is cooking over at the Oregon Symphony - rather than business as usual playing dead white European music in the same tired format.
The problem with armchair quarterbacking, however, is that you only see the public side of the story. When you’re bringing an institution of the size and stature of the OSO back from the brink, there are system-wide changes, some subtle, some not, that must be made. Most everyone (myself included) is focusing on what goes on front-of-house. I would argue that what goes on in the back office is equally important. And changes are happening, I just can’t say what they are - yet. I think that the way the symphony presents itself to the community will change drastically, but over time, not overnight.
I for one applaud the decision to embrace Thomas Lauderdale’s collaboration with the symphony: the OSO gave him (via Norman Leyden) his big break with orchestras (including a Rhapsody in Blue performance on Norman’s Sunday afternoon concerts), and he’s giving back to the institution that made some of Pink’s biggest high-profile (Boston Pops, Hollywood Bowl) concerts possible. Thomas has always been keenly interested in the OSO - in what was being played, how the orchestra sounded, and the health of the orchestra. He’s finally being given a hand in helping us out, and not a moment too soon. I don’t think that it’s a move made out of desperation, but rather a long-overdue but welcome partnership that should have been undertaken years ago.
periodical roundup August 24, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a commentOne thing that I like about coming home from a trip of more than a week is the amount of “fun” mail that has piled up in the mailbox. For me fun mail consists of (aside from unexpected cash or checks) magazines and catalogs. I’m a typical liberal in that I subscribe to both the New Yorker and the Atlantic Monthly. The New Yorker is sort of a waste for me since all I usually read are the music listings and reviews and then look at the cartoons - my last stop is trying to guess which of the three finalist entries will win the cartoon caption contest in the next month’s issue.
Of particular interest to me in the September issue of the Atlantic is an article on the lack of morality in the field of gastronomy. I’d never really given it much thought, but it makes sense to me. Given that being a gourmet is perhaps the most selfish of the aesthetic pursuits, it would stand that there would be no small amount of blind eye turning involved in appreciating fois gras, live-boiled lobster and any mass-produced meat products. It’s an excellent article by B.R. Meyers, I recommend it to you most highly, even though he takes author Michael Pollan to task for some oversights in his excellent book (which I loved) The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Today was a stressful day, as all first days of the season tend to be. There was a lot of music on the stand for this first parks concert, and the first order of business (after the long series of announcements of appointments, resignations, and organizational minutiae) was Wagner’s Overture to The Flying Dutchman. It’s a lot of notes for 9:40 in the morning, and the fingers were running slow, I must say. That having been said, the orchestra sounds quite good for the first service of the season, and it was good to hear our wonderful new bass/utility trombonist Charlie Renault laying down the glue between the trombones and the tuba.
To clear out some of the stress, I rode my bike downtown to meet Heather after her track training session at Duniway track (near the Barbur Blvd. YMCA). It was a nice ride, and since I got down there quicker than I expected, I took a spin around the Esplanade, both east and west sides. It’s sort of a Mr. Hyde and Mr. Hyde path: the east side is stinky, since all of the sewage/storm overflow drains empty on that side, and the noise from I-5 (which is about 10 feet from the east edge of the path) is quite deafening. On the west side it’s quiet and less odoriferous, but there are tons of people clogging the entire path, with dogs pulling every which way and unsupervised children doing kamikaze raids right into your path. Using the bell on the handlebars is akin to trying to change the course of a tornado with a drinking straw. Anyway, 12 miles later, I felt much better and we had a nice dinner and dessert of m&m’s to round out the day. Then we came home and I watched the dvd of the last installment of “Power of Art” on Picasso’s Guernica. Amazing - if you haven’t seen this series (it’s been broadcast on PBS the last couple months) then go rent it on Netflix or at your better video store. It’s a prime example of what art education can be if handled with imagination and good production values.
new hires at juilliard school July 26, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a commentIt looks like there may be a new arms race amongst conservatories - there are some quite high profile artists included in this latest round at the Juilliard School.
Here are the bios of these new faculty members, from a Juilliard press release: (more…)
orchestra meetings July 14, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, 2commentsOrchestra meetings should most likely not be held outdoors, in the summer, and in Chicago all at the same time. This is the conclusion I came to after reading the CSO Bass Blog entry today. (more…)
Former OSO Bassist Settles in at NSO June 11, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentFrom the blog of NSO (National Symphony Orchestra) principal bassist Robert Oppelt, an interview with the NSO’s newest member of the bass section, Paul DeNola. Paul and his wife Jiyoung were two of our favorite people, and we miss them very much - it’s great to hear that they’re doing so well back in D.C.! Here’s his comments about his time adjusting to life in the NSO: (more…)
good ideas in st. louis June 7, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentI’ve been reading the St. Louis Symphony’s blog and have found it an interesting and entertaining read. Perhaps this is something that the OSO might want to try, with different staff members writing about different aspects of the sprawling operation that is a major symphony orchestra. In the latest entry there is mention of OSO music director Carlos Kalmar, and his visit to the SLSO next season.
Last would be Prokofiev 5 with (Carlos) Kalmar (Many Worlds, Apr 17-18). He is a great up-and-coming maestro and the Prokofiev was the piece that won the SLSO a Grammy. To put it simply, the SLSO owns Prokofiev 5.
- SLSO principal bassist Erik Harris
Of course, the Musicians of the Oregon Symphony have a repertoire blog up on their web site, called The Works - always a good stop before diving in to the upcoming season or set of concerts.
