Resistance is futile

This week marked the return of our former Ravinia music director. Comments about him often run something like, “he’s a wonderful musician, but…” with the aposiopesis standing in for any number of conductorly shortcomings.

Wednesday’s performance went surprisingly well, with the Maestro showing more restraint than I expected in the Bruckner 7th. The Mahler songs had some rough edges in the orchestra due to many of us not knowing when to play in a few passages, but Thomas Hampson carried the day, making for a successful performance in spite of what went on behind him.

On Friday, things took a turn for the worse – ‘just like old times!’ somebody remarked. I was mercifully spared having to play the inevitable Eschenbach/Barto concerto smack down. The rehearsal for the Ravel pieces flirted with becoming a full-fledged Eschen-bacchanal as time ran out and the ensemble still in serious disarray. There was genuine concern whether or not we were going to make it through these very familiar pieces or have a train wreck at the performance.

Topping that off, the scheduling left many musicians scratching their heads. The normal practice at Ravinia is to rehearse pieces together on the one or two rehearsals allotted for each concert. However, the Maestro had stuck the Strauss songs from Saturday’s concert at the end of the Friday rehearsal. A number of players who were off on Friday had to show up and sit through the entire rehearsal only to rush onstage at the very end to spend the last 10 minutes on the Strauss before heading home again. Now I realize we are paid a salary and all, but scheduling like that is a major inconvenience on the one hand, and on the other, it demonstrates a serious lack of foresight. Musicians tend not to respond well when they suspect their leaders aren’t really thinking about what they are doing, whether it is planning a concise and efficient rehearsal schedule or conducing the orchestra.

The concert went off more or less without incident. The orchestra has an amazing ‘autopilot’ function that takes over when things look dicey. The thing with an autopilot is that you have to keep your hands off for it to work. That wasn’t really the case with La Valse. There was one particularly interesting moment when the entire orchestra seemed to flinch at an indecipherable gesture – I’m still trying figure out what I was seeing – where only the crashing entrance of the bass drum saved us.

Ravinia week 04 (July 23-29)

This week’s CSO Programs

Wednesday
Christoph Eschenbach, Conductor
Thomas Hampson, Baritone
Mahler:Leider eines Fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of a Wayfarer")
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major

Friday
Christoph Eschenbach, Conductor
Tzimon Barto, Piano
Dalbavie: Music for Piano and Strings (Chicago premiere)
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 22
Ravel:
La Valse
Daphnis and Chloe, Suite No. 2
Boléro

Saturday
Christoph Eschenbach, Conductor
Nikolai Schukoff, Tenor
J. Strauss, Jr.:
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op. 214 ("Chit-Chat Polka")
Overture to Die Fledermaus
An der schönen, blauen Donau, Waltzer Op. 314 ("On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Waltz")
Unter Donnen und Blitz, Polka Schnell Op.324 ("Under Thunder and Lightning, Quick Polka")Kaiser-Walzer Op. 437 ("Emperor Waltz")
R. Strauss:
Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27, No. 3
Ich trage meine Minne, Op. 32, No. 1
Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2
Morgen, Op. 27, No. 4
Allerseelen, Op. 10, No. 8Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1 (arranged by R. Heger)

Monday
off

Tuesday
11-1:30 CSO rehearsal

Wednesday
2:30-5 CSO rehearsal
8 CSO concert

Thursday
off

Friday
2:30-5 CSO rehearsal
8 CSO concert

Saturday
off

Sunday
off

I was originally slated to play the Saturday J./R. Strauss concert. Now it appears as if only 6 bassists will be needed so I get the day off. I think the orchestra is also playing Don Juan that night. Funny it doesn’t appear on the Ravinia website.

Better late

Back in January I posted some finger exercises and promised to give the rest of the set later. In between then and now my computer crashed, among other things, so I had to start the project over. In the course of doing so I greatly expanded its scope. Now I think I have a book on my hands I will publish soon. What I am posting here will make up one chapter.

Ravinia week 03 (July 16-22)

This week’s CSO Programs

Tuesday
Long Yu, Conductor
Lang Lang, Piano

Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Orchestra (sic) in B Minor
Mozart: Piano Concerto in G Major, No. 17, K. 453
Yuankai: China Air Suite (selections)
Various: The Yellow River Piano Concerto

The typo in the title of the Tchaikovsky is from the Ravinia Festival website.

Saturday
Andrew Litton, Conductor
Lynn Harrell, Cello
Steve Alltop, Organ

Boccherini/Grutzmacher: Concerto No. 9 in B-flat Major, G. 482
Bloch: Schelomo, Hebrew Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78 ("Organ" Symphony)

Sunday
Andrew Litton, Conductor
Sir James Galway, Flute
Lady Jeanne Galway, Flute

Dukas: L'Apprenti Sorcier ("The Sorcerer’s Apprentice")
Ibert: Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
Overton: The Magic Flutes (Movements I, III and IV)
Debussy: La Mer

Monday
off

Tuesday
off

Wednesday
off

Thursday
off

Friday
off

Saturday
2-4:30 CSO rehearsal
7:30 CSO concert

Sunday
12:30-3 CSO rehearsal
5 CSO concert

I know the above schedule makes it look as if I am doing nothing at all most of the time. However, there are a few things I have not put into my schedule. One is the Northwestern High School Summer Music Institute, NHSMI (pronounced NISH-mee), which has to be one of the most unfortunate acronyms ever devised; nevertheless, I have three talented students there this summer. My duties include lessons and master classes so I am on campus two or three days a week. Additionally, I am serving on the CSO player’s committee negotiating team. I really can’t say any more about it other than our current three-year contract is up on September 17. Meetings between the Union and Management sides (including legal counsel) are held at a swanky law office downtown and, at present, involve lots of sitting around – my first taste of collective bargaining.

Long Winded

Once again I am honored to appear as an interviewee on Jason Heath’s Contrabass Conversations podcast. This episode (#29) is a continuation of the interview that began in episode #24. I guess I blabbed on so long that Jason is breaking it up into three parts.

I should add the pianist on the Brahms clip from episode 24 and the Beethoven this time is Shirley Trissell.