{"id":4513,"date":"2010-04-26T16:32:11","date_gmt":"2010-04-26T23:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/?p=4513"},"modified":"2010-04-27T23:53:05","modified_gmt":"2010-04-28T06:53:05","slug":"random-musings-for-monday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/04\/26\/random-musings-for-monday\/","title":{"rendered":"random musings for monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m halfway through this week’s Classical series run (if you include the runout on Tuesday evening to Willamette University in Salem), and my thoughts are starting to turn back to what’s happened thus far in the performances and rehearsals, and looking forward to the two remaining performances.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tchaikovsky as a young man.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, the Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony.\u00a0 It’s an absolutely wonderful piece of music, and very well written for the orchestra, and a great showpiece for our orchestra as well.\u00a0 But it’s also an absolute slog for the violas.\u00a0 We almost never get to rest.\u00a0 The slow introductions to the first two movements find us playing along with the cellos and basses while the violins inspect their (resting) fingernails.\u00a0 And we don’t have the luxury of resting our instruments on the floor like the cellos do.\u00a0 Ok, I’m done whining.\u00a0 The temptation in all Tchaikovsky is always to overplay, to get overheated and overexcited and just throw caution to the wind.\u00a0 In fact, it is a piece that really demands thoughtful pacing on the part of the player, especially in cases where we don’t have a skillful conductor at the podium (unlike Carlos, who keeps things moving well), because wallowing is a specialty in this piece from many stick wavers.\u00a0 Sure, it’s fun to do the “C-string challenge” where the low-lying passages are played as far up the C-string as one will dare, with the winning stand partner lasting the highest.\u00a0 But that’s tiring to do, and intonation and tone can suffer even with the best of intentions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jean Sibelius<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Sibelius Canzonetta<\/em> that opens the program is a piece that I’d never heard of before, never mind actually heard, and it’s a nice little piece.\u00a0 The best part is that it gives the viola section an extended stint on the melodic part, a rarity in most pieces, and that makes it more fun for us, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Midori - Photo: Oregon Symphony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Midori.\u00a0 I just don’t know where to come down on these performances so far.\u00a0 I respect her intense commitment and obvious thought that she’s put into her interpretation of the piece.\u00a0 There is no lack of intensity or integrity in the performance, and I guess for 9 out of 10 soloists that would be enough, but Midori has been in the top rank of violinists for most of her life, and I’m not sure if this is a Sibelius concerto performance to be put in that pantheon.\u00a0 Audience response has been terrific, but I’m not sure what my colleagues are thinking (well, I know what a few of them are thinking, but it’s hardly a representative sample, so mum’s the word) about the performances thus far.\u00a0 Either way, it’s an approach that’s causing me to think, and perhaps that’s ample praise.\u00a0 I do have to say that the slow movement of the Sibelius Violin Concerto is perhaps one of the most beautiful pieces of music that he wrote, and that’s in a catalog of many, many extraordinarily beautiful works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m halfway through this week’s Classical series run (if you include the runout on Tuesday evening to Willamette University in Salem), and my thoughts are starting to turn back to what’s happened thus far in the performances and rehearsals, and looking forward to the two remaining performances. First, the Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony.\u00a0 It’s an absolutely […]<\/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_feature_clip_id":0,"_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":[135,2,21],"tags":[3668],"class_list":["post-4513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-soloists-recitals","category-the-orchestra-world","category-violin","tag-oregon-symphony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-1aN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13539,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2014\/08\/22\/season-twenty-coming-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":4513,"position":0},"title":"season twenty, coming up","author":"Charles Noble","date":"August 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I had no idea that I would be in Portland twenty years after I first arrived. I figured that my career would progress, I might win a job in a higher paying orchestra, a more prestigious orchestra, in the first several years that I was in Oregon. That never happened\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\/2014\/08\/charles_publicity-e1408736073140.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5392,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/10\/03\/hilary-hahn-does-not-disappoint\/","url_meta":{"origin":4513,"position":1},"title":"hilary hahn does not disappoint","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night was the opening night of our first classical subscription concert, featuring the violinist Hilary Hahn.\u00a0 Hahn's been one of the top violinists the the world for over a decade, and after having come to Seattle several times over the past few years, she's finally made it to Portland\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\/2010\/10\/5044664123_2d96e36b18_b-400x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5336,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/22\/hilary-hahns-new-album-drops\/","url_meta":{"origin":4513,"position":2},"title":"hilary hahn’s new album drops","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Violinist Hilary Hahn makes her Oregon Symphony debut on our opening Classical series concerts on October 2 - 4, and you can get a chance to listen to her playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto on her newly-released album on Deutsche Grammophone.\u00a0 This beloved work is paired with the Jennifer Higdon\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":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/ir?t=dailyobservat-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0042HSGLW","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7916,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/08\/dutilleux-rimsky-korsakoff-and-tchaikovsky\/","url_meta":{"origin":4513,"position":3},"title":"dutilleux, rimsky-korsakoff, and tchaikovsky","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning we began rehearsals for the upcoming week's program. We have a new, young guest conductor - Aziz Shokhakimov; a new, young soloist - Yossif Ivanov; and a spectacular new concertmaster - Sarah Kwak. All are featured in this week's program. I'm happy to report (at least in my\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\/2012\/10\/Aziz_Shokhakimov_1_orig-300x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1506,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/12\/09\/hough-blows-down-the-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":4513,"position":4},"title":"hough blows down the house","author":"Charles Noble","date":"December 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo: Oregon Symphony While it was great to hear the entire second act of The Nutcracker with the orchestra front and center (and sans dancers), and to hear the seldom-heard Coronation March, the main focus of our just concluded classical series devoted to Tchaikovsky was his mammoth Second Piano Concerto\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/stephen-hough1-400x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4532,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/04\/27\/phoning-it-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":4513,"position":5},"title":"phoning it in","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Just got back from Salem tonight after our final concert of this weekend's classical series with the violin soloist Midori, and the Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony.\u00a0 Every so often in the life of a professional musician, there comes a time when one simply \"phones it in\".\u00a0 What exactly does this mean,\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":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4513","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=4513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}