{"id":6966,"date":"2011-10-08T17:14:52","date_gmt":"2011-10-09T00:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/?p=6966"},"modified":"2013-02-07T20:55:59","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T04:55:59","slug":"guests-and-replacements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/10\/08\/guests-and-replacements\/","title":{"rendered":"guests and replacements"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Natasha Paremski - Photo: Andrea Joynt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It seems that we’re continuing our run, here at the Oregon Symphony, of last-minute replacements. Last season, we had two visits from conductor Michael Francis, who replaced Gunther Herbig and Alondra de la Parra last year when they were forced to withdraw from their engagements here. Ironically, our last-minute replacement for this weekend’s concert is pianist Natasha Paremski, who is replacing the ailing Yefim Bronfman in Brahms’ First Piano Concerto. Ironic, because she was the soloist for one of the concerts that Francis conducted last season, playing Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto in her Oregon Symphony debut. Got that straight? Good, I knew you did.<\/p>\n

Paremski is playing this massive and difficult Brahms concerto with a firm command of its fearsome cragginess. It’s not a piece that one associates with female pianists – though I’m sure that Argerich has played it, it’s not in her discography of commercially available recordings<\/a>, so it is safe to say that it’s not part of her active repertoire – I’m not sure why this is. In the list of pianists who have made their names with Brahms concerto performances – Fleischer, Serkin (father and son), Bronfman, Ohlsson, Hough, Zimmerman, and Pollini come quickest to my recollection – there are no women present. Perhaps until now. Paremski is every bit the equal of this piece, and it is especially remarkable given her accepting the engagement on less than 48 hours notice. I’ve enjoyed her rehearsal performances immensely, and the performances should be quite electrifying.<\/p>\n

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Rossen Milanov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I know that I write about the effects of guest conductors on the orchestra pretty often, but I find myself mystified and curious about the chemistry of conductors and orchestras each and every time we work with someone new or known to us. This week we are working with Rossen Milanov, a Bulgarian conductor who studied in America (Juilliard & Curtis) and is Music Director of the Princeton Symphony, Associate conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the of the Philadelphia Orchestra during its summer season at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

Milanov is a genial presence on the podium. Soft-spoken, poetic in his descriptions of the way he would like the music to be played. He has what some in the trade might call “beautiful hands” – he is not a micro-manager, but a source of the long lines and shapes of phrases. He manages not to talk too much, which is often the least one can hope for in a guest conductor.<\/p>\n

The most obvious effect of a “beautiful hands” conductor is an initial (hopefully) ensemble adjustment. We’re used to the laser-like precision of Carlos’ beat, and when left to swim, we often make the waters a bit choppy at first. A good guest will let us find our sea legs and be patient with the process. If they try to be too interventionist, it can make for an unsettled relationship. In this case, Milanov took the former tack, and our ensemble has steadily improved over the last couple days of rehearsals. The strings sound warm and relaxed, with a bit more flexibility than usual.<\/p>\n

The concerts (Saturday and Monday nights) should go well – stay tuned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems that we’re continuing our run, here at the Oregon Symphony, of last-minute replacements. Last season, we had two visits from conductor Michael Francis, who replaced Gunther Herbig and Alondra de la Parra last year when they were forced to withdraw from their engagements here. Ironically, our last-minute replacement for this weekend’s concert is […]<\/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":[299,1027,135,2],"tags":[2827,663,2606,3668,2825],"class_list":["post-6966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conducting","category-piano-music","category-soloists-recitals","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-brahms-first-piano-concerto","tag-guest-conductor","tag-natasha-paremski","tag-oregon-symphony","tag-rossen-milanov"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-1Om","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6042,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/03\/23\/michael-francis-returns-to-oregon-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":6966,"position":0},"title":"michael francis returns to oregon symphony!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Our upcoming guest conductor Gunter Herbig has cancelled his engagement with the Oregon Symphony, and the orchestra's loss quickly became its gain when young British conductor Michael Francis, who electrified both the orchestra and audiences last month, was engaged to replace Maestro Herbig. The concert, entitled \"A Pair of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/MichaelFrancis-credit-chris-christodoulou-400x265.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7199,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/12\/31\/my-top-musical-experiences-of-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":6966,"position":1},"title":"my top musical experiences of 2011","author":"Charles Noble","date":"December 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sure that I will have forgotten something obvious, and except for item #1, the list is roughly in reverse chronological order. Send in your favorites from 2011 in the comments section below. The Oregon Symphony's Carnegie Hall debut. It would be hard to top this one. I'd been to\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":[]},{"id":3184,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/09\/30\/brahms-youthful-concerto\/","url_meta":{"origin":6966,"position":2},"title":"brahms’ youthful concerto","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This weekend, the Oregon Symphony is performing the early (op. 15) First Piano Concerto of Johannes Brahms with the great pianist Jon Kimura Parker.\u00a0 It's long been one of my favorite pieces, a stormy, hyper-emotional, post-adolescent expression of the 25 year old Brahms.\u00a0 I only own one recording of this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"brahms","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/brahms-400x355.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13712,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/08\/2014-2105-a-retrospective-part-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":6966,"position":3},"title":"2014-2105: a retrospective, part two","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"And now, for the big list - the stuff I played with the Oregon Symphony this past season*. Lots of variety, and some holes in repertoire that I really couldn't believe when I looked at the list - only one work by Brahms, for example? Hm... Barber - Adagio for\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\/noble-oso-pic-e1408736178252.jpg?fit=451%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14091,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2016\/05\/08\/home-stretch\/","url_meta":{"origin":6966,"position":4},"title":"home stretch","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems almost as though I posted this entry\u00a0yesterday instead of last August, but here it is, just past the first week of May, and there are just over two weeks left in the Oregon Symphony's 2015-2016 season. It's a pretty cool final month, too. 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