I have to say that I’ve got a new high point in my career with the OSO so far.\u00c2\u00a0 Last night’s subscription concert was at such a high level of polish and sophistication that I almost want to shout from the rooftops that the Oregon Symphony is, without a doubt, one of the best orchestras in the country right now.\u00c2\u00a0 More specifically, we play Mozart like a European orchestra – a very good European orchestra.<\/p>\n
We have a conductor who knows Mozart inside and out, has good ideas, and knows how to show them.\u00c2\u00a0 He also trusts us to pick up subtle changes on the fly – and we know we can do it.\u00c2\u00a0 As we were playing the first movement of the G minor Symphony, I was thinking to myself that I couldn’t believe that I was playing Mozart at such a high level with my own orchestra, it was a wonderful experience, and as I looked over across the violins, I saw many of my colleagues moving in unison with their bodies to the phrases, and it was like watching the Berlin Philharmonic violins, it was so dynamic and alive.\u00c2\u00a0 Clearly, the audience felt it as well, giving a warm round of applause between the first and second movements.<\/p>\n
And that wasn’t all.\u00c2\u00a0 Jun Iwasaki, our new concertmaster now in his second season, played the holy hell out of the Korngold Violin Concerto as well.\u00c2\u00a0 Truly inspiring, and the orchestra gave delicate support with obvious relish of the display of musicianship going on before us.\u00c2\u00a0 Gutsy playing, both powerful and subtle, was the order of the evening from our colleague, Jun.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re lucky to have him here – he is already at the front rank of concertmasters in the US, and there is no doubt that he will become one of the greats as his career unfolds.\u00c2\u00a0 What’s more, he really is a well-rounded player, with mad skillz in not only orchestral repertoire, but in chamber music and solo repertoire as well.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s inspiring to watch him play.<\/p>\n
The night finished with Strauss’ Dance of the Seven Veils<\/em> from Salom\u00c3\u00a9<\/em>, and here the orchestra finally got let off its leash.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m happy to say that the viola section virtually sawed our instruments in half with the slashing opening frenzy, and Jo\u00c3\u00abl Belgique did his slithery solos with great character as well.\u00c2\u00a0 Lots of great stuff from the brass and woodwinds and percussion as well – it was all a great, kaleidoscopic, phantasmagoric orgy of orchestral color that, as good as it was, couldn’t overshadow the greatness of what came before it.<\/p>\n What a night!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have to say that I’ve got a new high point in my career with the OSO so far.\u00c2\u00a0 Last night’s subscription concert was at such a high level of polish and sophistication that I almost want to shout from the rooftops that the Oregon Symphony is, without a doubt, one of the best orchestras […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[148,115,135,2,21],"tags":[159,3668],"class_list":["post-1825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-music","category-soloists-recitals","category-the-orchestra-world","category-violin","tag-concert","tag-oregon-symphony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-tr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7544,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/04\/26\/tune-in-to-the-oregon-symphony-tonight-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1825,"position":0},"title":"tune in to the oregon symphony tonight!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 26, 2012","format":"aside","excerpt":"Tonight, Thursday the 26th, is the night that the Oregon Symphony regains the airwaves in its first local broadcast performances in several years (aside from the Carnegie Hall concert last year). Here's the info: Kahane Plays Mozart Carlos Kalmar, conductor Jeffrey Kahane, piano Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 Mozart: Piano\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "radio"","block_context":{"text":"radio","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/old_fashion_radio_microphone_hg_wht.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7528,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/04\/24\/oregon-symphony-broadcast-schedule-announced\/","url_meta":{"origin":1825,"position":1},"title":"oregon symphony broadcast schedule announced","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Finally! The Oregon Symphony is back on the airwaves, and not only our local FM station (89.9 FM Allclassical.org), but streamed around the world and available for two weeks after the broadcast date as an archived stream. Kahane Plays Mozart Carlos Kalmar, conductor Jeffrey Kahane, piano Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "radio"","block_context":{"text":"radio","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6624,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/06\/20\/summer-festival-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":1825,"position":2},"title":"summer festival report","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 It's hard to believe, but the first summer festival of my summer is in the can. My wife and I played the first week of the two-week Astoria Music Festival, which is located in the town of Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. The first concert of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/5852436336_ce91f7a272-300x400.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7879,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/09\/24\/last-chance-for-parkeroso-combo\/","url_meta":{"origin":1825,"position":3},"title":"last chance for parker\/oso combo","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Want so hear some of the most gorgeous Mozart piano playing ever? Want to hear a cool new piece that will make you laugh with glee? Want to have your senses overloaded with the incredible Symphonic Dances of Rachmaninoff? Your last chance is tonight at the Oregon Symphony. Get your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Jon_Kimura_Parker_2_orig.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7616,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/05\/20\/summer-activities\/","url_meta":{"origin":1825,"position":4},"title":"summer activities","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 20, 2012","format":"aside","excerpt":"This Monday marks the end of the Oregon Symphony's 2011-2012 season. It'll be my 16th season with the orchestra. Hard to believe! Time really does start accelerating at some point along the way, that is for certain! While there is time for R&R during the summer months, we don't earn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16461,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2019\/11\/17\/contract-some-mahleria\/","url_meta":{"origin":1825,"position":5},"title":"contract some mahleria","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night was the first performance of our classical series for this week. As I'm on work hardening and only playing the opening Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 (with fabulous soloist Alexi Kenney), it was my treat to get to sit out in the audience (in the rarified Dress Circle,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"B4EABD97-E41B-4DB7-B8B0-009A0BB71A12.jpeg","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/B4EABD97-E41B-4DB7-B8B0-009A0BB71A12-scaled.jpeg?ssl=1&w=7040&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/B4EABD97-E41B-4DB7-B8B0-009A0BB71A12-scaled.jpeg?ssl=1&w=7040&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/B4EABD97-E41B-4DB7-B8B0-009A0BB71A12-scaled.jpeg?ssl=1&w=7040&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}