A Night of Gershwin
Ten days ago, the Marin Symphony opened the season with fancy drinks, dresses and cars, in the spirit of an all-Gershwin program. Many might not have been aware, but Gershwin’s 111th birthday occurred only eight days earlier. Spotted at the event were “Blue Danubes” – themed cocktails, three marvelous antique cars belonging to patrons and donors, Maria Pitcairn’s dress fashioned entirely of recyclable materials, a lovely guest wearing a dress that once belonged to George Gershwin’s wife and lastly, four amazingly dressed Art Deco Society members. The festivities roared louder than the 20’s and ended with delicious desserts and dancing to the music of Dan Smith’s Classic Jazz Band. The concert was incredible, as the pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi was masterful with his handwork- and to think that less than a year ago, he suffered from severe hand injuries from a terrible accident involving a freight elevator. Amazing!
(this photo taken by Eisaku Tokuyama)
And the pre-concert discussion was a great tête-à-tête not to be missed! Author Tobias Wolff compared learning how to play a musical instrument to writing several drafts before completing a masterpiece. Both Tobias and Maestro Neale continued to discuss the many wonderful intricacies of Gershwin’s work, one being the breathtaking sound of the clarinet in the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue- which Tobias revealed to be one beautiful accident that Gershwin decided to leave in. Maestro Neale was so polite as to vocally demonstrate this amusing riff to both Tobias and the audience. A definite highlight of the evening!
Watching the fashion, the cars, the music and history truly coming to life all at the Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, I’d say it was a great night to be had in the heart of Marin County.
(this photo taken by Anne Pennypacker)
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( 3 / 62 )The Marin Symphony season ended a few weeks ago with a rousing all Copland concert. Even if you didn't know the pieces on the program before you attended the concert, there were recognizable gems in each. Copland's Hoe Down is probably more known these days for its familiar tunes in the "Beef - it's what's for dinner" commercials rather than as a part of the ballet, Rodeo. Everybody loves the popular Shaker melody, Simple Gifts, in Copland's Appalachian Spring. And then there was Copland's Third Symphony - probably the least known piece of the 3 on the program. The 4th movement of the symphony begins with a close copy of the familiar Fanfare for the Common Man (also by Copland). From the stage, I saw many an audience member perk up at the sound of the familiar percussion and brass calls. The music really almost forces you to sit up. It's just that rousing.
The Season Comes to a CloseAs you know, our Maestro Neale became ill and was unable to conduct our last set of concerts (but is much, much better I am happy to report!), and in his absence, we were lucky that Maestro Michael Morgan was able to step in and take the helm. Maestro Morgan is a familiar face and fellow bay area music director. He is the music director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony (one of many positions he holds), and a number of the Marin Symphony musicians are also musicians of the Oakland East Bay Symphony! For some on stage, it was the first collaboration, for others, it was fun to work with the Maestro again, on the other side of the bay. And in the end, the all Copland closer proved to be a great success!
Sometimes, the end of season sees the retirement of one or more musicians from the orchestra. This year, we did say farewell to two long-standing, devoted, and loved members of the Marin Symphony: Beth Seaman from the bass section and Gloria Wong from the violin section. Combined, they have served the Marin Symphony very, VERY well in over 70 years of membership! We wish them well in their much deserved retirement. They are forever part of the Marin Symphony family of course, and we know they'll be two of our greatest fans - now from the other side of the stage. Congratulations!
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( 2.5 / 174 )At the wrap party, my friend and I agreed that these were some good ways to describe Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring:
- Bipolar circus music
- It’s as if madness met bliss and they really hit it off
- The soundtrack to a cat chasing an insect
- What Jim Carrey would dance to, if he were a ballerina.
Thank you for a great evening last night- I have to say I’m the type that loves Stravinsky!!
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( 2.7 / 189 )Of course I always look forward to each and every Marin Symphony concert, but occasionally there is one that is particularly exciting, and it’s the one that’s coming up this weekend. Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring is one of the iconic pieces of the 20th century and truly a blast for all of us on stage. Even though it’s become part of the central repertoire, it is always challenging for the musicians and it requires incredible concentration throughout the 33 minutes of this roller coaster ride. I first knew the piece when I was 13. I bought an LP and wore it out by constantly replaying it again and again and again, which was very cool! The only problem was that I basically memorized the piece before I ever saw a score. When I finally checked out a score from the library, I realized that I heard the rhythms completely incorrectly from the way they were notated in the score. And in many places, I had to start completely from scratch and erase my aural memory. Oh well, it worked out ok in the end.
Spring Madness![ add comment ] ( 366 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 198 )It’s time for The Rite of Spring! Rehearsals have started, and concerts are this coming Sunday and Tuesday. And let me tell you, the stage will be quite a site to be seen! It will be filled to the max with musicians and instruments – everything but the kitchen sink! Here’s a look into the instrumentation involved for this “little” piece by Stravinsky:
5[1.2.3/pic2.pic1.afl] – 5[1.2.3.4/EH2.EH1] – 5[1.2/bcl2.3.Ebcl.bcl1] – 5[1.2.3.4/cbn2.cnb1] – 8[7-8/Wagtb] – 5[tp4/btp] – 3 – 2 – 2tmp+4 – strings
Does that look like hieroglyphics to you? It’s a little daunting, even for the trained eye that actually knows what all that means! Let me back up and give you the instrumentation for another piece on the same program – the Mozart, Flute and Harp Concerto:
0 2 0 0 – 2 0 0 0 – strings
I promise that I’m about to explain what all of this means, but you can see how DRAMATICALLY different the instrumentation is for the two pieces! The Stravinsky clearly calls for many, many, instruments, while the Mozart calls for 2 of something, another 2 of something, and the string section.
So what do all these numbers mean? The long string (or sometimes short string) of numbers, et al. is a list of the full complement of every instrument required to perform a piece of symphonic repertoire. The list is always written in “score order”, lining up each instrument section in a specific order: flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, keyboard, strings.
Let’s dissect the Mozart instrumentation (0 2 0 0 – 2 0 0 0 – strings). This means that there will be 0 flutes, 2 oboes, 0 clarinets, 0 bassoons, 2 horns, 0 trumpets, 0 trombones, 0 tubas, and a string section. (Note that the percussion, harp, and keyboard were not listed at all, and those instruments are also not included in the piece). Of course, there is a solo flute and a solo harp in the instrumentation, but they are not listed as part of the orchestral instrumentation.
Dare we dissect the Stravinsky instrumentation! Here it is: 5[1.2.3/pic2.pic1.afl] – 5[1.2.3.4/EH2.EH1] – 5[1.2/bcl2.3.Ebcl.bcl1] – 5[1.2.3.4/cbn2.cnb1] – 8[7-8/Wagtb] – 5[tp4/btp] – 3 – 2 – 2tmp+4 – strings
I’ll start with the winds. There are 4 woodwind sections (flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons). The instrumentation list shows that each woodwind section will require 5 personnel, and within the brackets, you can see exactly which instruments will be played by those 5 personnel. Here’s the breakdown:
5 flutes (1st, 2nd, 3rd doubling on 2nd piccolo, 1st piccolo, and an alto flute).
5 oboes (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th doubling on 2nd English Horn, 1st English Horn).
5 clarinets (1st, 2nd doubling on 2nd Bass Clarinet, 3rd, E-flat clarinet, and 1st Bass Clarinet).
5 bassoons (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th doubling on 2nd Contra Bassoon, and 1st Contra Bassoon).
And that’s the wind section! To finish up, in case you’re curious – here’s the breakdown of the rest of the instrumentation:
8 horns (7th and 8th horns are doubling on Wager Tubas)
5 trumpets (4th trumpet doubles on a bass trumpet)
3 Trombones
2 Tubas
2 Timpani + 4 percussion players
String section
Believe it or not, there is no harp or keyboard in The Rite of Spring! Though, really, how would they fit on stage? And if you've made it to the end of this blog, you can pretty much read any instrumentation list because it doesn't get much more complicated than this! When you sit in the audience this Sunday or Tuesday, see if you can find all these instruments!
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