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( 0 / 0 )Have you heard about the latest phenomenon in the classical music world? It’s classical music meets the 21st century: the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Yes, YouTube is hosting a “competition” of sorts to audition musicians from all over the world who will eventually make up a full symphony orchestra. They will be conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, perform a brand new commission for this ground breaking project by composer Tan Dun, and perform it all in Carnegie Hall. The old saying, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” has a new answer. Practice, practice, practice ... and YouTube!
Any musician wanting to audition may do so. Anyone - in the world! In true YouTube fashion, musicians will have to make a video of themselves, showcasing their talent on their particular instrument. The taped auditions will include excerpts of the new Tan Dun piece (Internet Symphony No. 1 – “Eroica”). Depending on your instrument, you can download the audition material from the YouTube website, practice it, and then video tape yourself playing the excerpt. Once the taped auditions are submitted, professional musicians (from participating orchestras around the world) will review them and narrow down the field. The YouTube audience (you, me, and your next door neighbor … anyone!) may then vote for who should be selected to be a part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. The selected winners will convene at Carnegie Hall in April 2009. Also to come from this project will be a virtual performance of the Tan Dun composition, by piecing together many different video auditions, creating a composite of the entire work.
Rumor has it, there are some interested parties in the Marin Symphony! This will be fun to follow …
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( 3.6 / 12 )
Ring My BellThis was my first year working at the Holiday Concert and it was magnificent. Lucky me, I got to see it twice! Note to self: tie hair back when lighting several candles! In all seriousness; the floor glowed, reflecting the light of hundreds of candles, the beautiful voices carried to the lofty arches and all the painted angels, well let’s just say, they couldn’t be happier to be reunited with their wings at such
a wonderful time of year.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
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( 3 / 5 )I attended a cello recital last evening by cellist Hai-Ye Ni and pianist Lin Hong. Ms. Ni is a phenomenal, internationally renowned cellist and has performed twice as a cello soloist with the Marin Symphony, most recently last season when she performed Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C. I’m writing about the cello recital because of something I witnessed as an audience member that made me wonder about how often something like this occurs during performances. (I’m guessing quite often, but I hadn’t experienced it in such an overwhelming way before). I arrived with 2 minutes to spare having come directly from a different event, and every seat in the church venue was occupied, even the extra folding chairs that were set out. There were about 250 people in attendance. It was a packed audience, but an intimate setting for chamber music. I found a seat in the way back with an amazingly unobstructed view of the cellist … and a view of the entire audience. I was happy to be sitting where I was, especially when the 4th movement of the Franck Sonata rolled around. There was a pause between the 3rd and 4th movements. And during this pause, I noticed many of the audience members started to “prepare”. Some sat up straight, some raised their heads, some clasped their hands, and a few took a deep breath. I think many people knew what was coming, the gorgeous melody of the last movement. Those who know the Franck Sonata usually give off a radiant smile when they think of the melody from the last movement. Some who didn’t know it was coming recognized it from the moment the piano started the melody. And by the 8th note of the movement, husbands, wives, and friends gave each other adoring looks, many heads started to sway, and recognition of the beautiful and familiar tune took over the emotions in the room. I saw tears on faces and tissues in hand. And those who didn’t know the piece at all became instant admirers of it (though I think the first three movements probably did the trick too!). It was a moving experience to see and hear what an exquisite melody does to people. It was the piece, but more importantly, it was the two musicians and their performance of it. Some anticipated it, and their expectations were exceeded. And some fell in love with it for the first time. You could literally see this occurring in the room. I honestly don’t remember what I did in anticipation of the movement. I know the piece well and was one of those in the audience who knew what was coming. I was so taken by everyone else’s experience that I must have absorbed it all, so much that I wanted to write about it here.
Have any of you had similar experiences in the concert hall?
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( 2.7 / 42 )The Mendelssohn Midsummer Night’s Dream – it’s one of those pieces you keep in a readily accessible, safe place on your music shelf, especially if your instrument is violin, flute, or horn. For all of its light and quick running passages in the wood winds and strings, or its sweepingly romantic solo for horn, one might not realize just how technically challenging the piece actually is. Principal flute player, Monica Daniel-Barker actually calls the Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream a “beast”! There’s a reason the Scherzo is on every flute audition for professional orchestras. You need to pack your third lung, she tells me, in order to make it through the excerpt at the end of the movement. “The solo at the end of this movement takes a concentration that is really future-seeking. You tank up all this air, and then the moment comes, and you just play... and play... and keep playing...” She likens the feeling of playing the infamous excerpt to driving down the freeway on empty, but trusting that your car can really go further. Through years of practice, she has been able to determine how that might feel (the car having to continue on empty), and perhaps recreate that feeling of possibly being in trouble should you really run out of gas (or air, in her case). It’s a matter of gauging it all correctly, though she says “that doesn't stop your heart from racing just a little bit as the solo approaches.” When Monica heard that the program notes from this past concert set had actually documented that the first flute player was called upon to play a continuous 40 measures of running 16th notes all in one breath, she thought, "Really? I have to do that? What???” Even though she’s been practicing the excerpt since she was 19 years old, it never occurred to her to count how many measures she had to play without a breath, and she decided it was best to block that informational gem from her mind. “It's one thing to just do what you're doing in a situation like that. It's an entirely DIFFERENT thing to have to be analytically aware of what it is you're TRYING to do!” Monica was most definitely “tanked up” for the Scherzo performances this past Sunday and Tuesday. You’d never even guess it was a “beast” of an excerpt by her performance.
The Scherzo is also seen on every violin audition repertoire list. It’s the light footed, very fast, dancing fairy effect you hear in the music that causes every violinist to spend hours and hours practicing the part. Light footed, dancing fairies – that’s what we need to achieve in sound, and one hopes that’s what happens with the left hand fingers and the stroke of the bow in the right hand. It would be slightly easier, just slightly, if the passages could be played louder. But the dynamic is marked “pp” (pianissimo: very, very soft). It’s one thing to play “pp” by yourself. It’s another thing to have to play “pp” in a section of 30 violins! You can imagine just how soft that means each individual must play. Soft, quick, and precise. That’s the magic combination!
But enough about the Scherzo! Let’s turn to the Nocturne. Ah, the Nocturne, so different in character from the Scherzo. Yet, like the Scherzo, it shows up on audition excerpt lists – this time, for the horn. The horn takes center stage in the Nocturne with an exquisitely romantic theme, with long lines and phrases. You know what that means! Air! Alex Camphouse, the newly appointed Principal horn player of the Marin Symphony, notes how important endurance is to play the Nocturne movement, and the reason the Nocturne shows up on audition lists. “This movement is all about pacing. It's one big arch, so you have to gradually ramp up the "excitement" and gradually wind it down so that the last sliver of sun sets right at the end.” He told me to play the solo was all about setting the right mood. “I love playing the Nocturne. It's a beautiful melody, and gives me the chance to communicate with the audience. That's what performing is all about.” Yes, it is.
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( 3.5 / 37 )
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