I am honored to appear as a guest on Jason Heath’s podcast this week. There is a lot of me talking, a little of me playing and even a photograph to go along with it. [Note to students: do not emulate the hand position as seen in that photo – truly shameful. I think I was trying to give somebody off camera the finger.] Anyhow, for a partial account of my misspent student days, check out the podcast.
Many thanks to Jason for including me in the pantheon of interviewees.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
The myopic view
The last chair bassist of a major orchestra fancied himself something of an amateur conductor. One day the Maestro fell ill and with no conductor on call the orchestra manager approached the bassist to fill in. So the bassist led rehearsals and concerts, receiving accolades from both the public and the critics for his performances. The following week the Maestro returned to the podium. When the bassist took his usual seat at the back of the section his stand partner turned to him and asked, “Where the hell were you last week?”
Sorry to repeat an old joke probably every orchestra musician knows. Of course I originally heard this as a viola joke but for the purpose of this blog I took the liberty of modifying it. The point being that although the posts concerning conductors or artistic issues tend to generate a lot of interest, most of what goes into playing double bass in an orchestra is much less glamorous, concerning little more than trying to play the notes right in front of one’s nose.
To that end, here are a few passages from the Brahms 1st. Movement 1, letter ‘E’ is probably the most frequently requested excerpt from this symphony at orchestra auditions. Chung’s parts had the hooked bowings shown here in the first 8 bars to force us to play sostenuto. I think it is possible to play sustained notes with separate bows and also get a little more sound, but this bowing keeps anyone from getting lazy about the sustain.
The next two excerpts probably wouldn’t show up at the top of any audition list, but they can be tricky just the same.
Here is a nifty fingering for 5 bars after ‘L’.
In my audition experiences this passage – beginning 8 after ‘B’ in the second movement – was the next most frequently requested excerpt from this symphony. I have kind of an irrational attachment to the seemingly odd cross-string fingering at the end of the second line.
Sorry to repeat an old joke probably every orchestra musician knows. Of course I originally heard this as a viola joke but for the purpose of this blog I took the liberty of modifying it. The point being that although the posts concerning conductors or artistic issues tend to generate a lot of interest, most of what goes into playing double bass in an orchestra is much less glamorous, concerning little more than trying to play the notes right in front of one’s nose.
To that end, here are a few passages from the Brahms 1st. Movement 1, letter ‘E’ is probably the most frequently requested excerpt from this symphony at orchestra auditions. Chung’s parts had the hooked bowings shown here in the first 8 bars to force us to play sostenuto. I think it is possible to play sustained notes with separate bows and also get a little more sound, but this bowing keeps anyone from getting lazy about the sustain.
The next two excerpts probably wouldn’t show up at the top of any audition list, but they can be tricky just the same.
Here is a nifty fingering for 5 bars after ‘L’.
In my audition experiences this passage – beginning 8 after ‘B’ in the second movement – was the next most frequently requested excerpt from this symphony. I have kind of an irrational attachment to the seemingly odd cross-string fingering at the end of the second line.
I have included the 8vb (octave transpositions) we used for the concerts last week. These are fairly standard, although the low ‘B’ in the first movement isn’t requested too often. The whole question of when to use the transpositions in Brahms is probably worthy of a blog all its own, or somebody’s doctoral dissertation.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
June 4 - 10
This week’s CSO program
PROKOFIEV Suite from Romeo and Juliet
----INTERMISSION----
MESSIAEN L'ascension
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe
Myung-Whun Chung Conductor
Monday
off
Tuesday
10-12:30 CSO rehearsal
Wednesday
12-2:30 3:30-5:30 CSO rehearsals
Thursday
10-12:30 CSO rehearsal
8 CSO concert
Friday
1:30 CSO concert
Saturday
8 CSO concert
Sunday
off
PROKOFIEV Suite from Romeo and Juliet
----INTERMISSION----
MESSIAEN L'ascension
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe
Myung-Whun Chung Conductor
Monday
off
Tuesday
10-12:30 CSO rehearsal
Wednesday
12-2:30 3:30-5:30 CSO rehearsals
Thursday
10-12:30 CSO rehearsal
8 CSO concert
Friday
1:30 CSO concert
Saturday
8 CSO concert
Sunday
off
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Showdown at the CSOK corral
a tragic comedy in one mercifully short act
[Scene: An old Midwestern Orchestra, parched without the reign of a music director going on a full year now. Every now and again in these desperate times a local bully might step up and try and take the musical law into his own hands.]
The grizzled old principal dragged his eyes from the crossword bedeviling him the past three rehearsals. “Maestro,” he drawled.
Eyes rolled in the orchestra and a kind of ‘here we go again’ sigh started up, just what a weary old-time saloonkeeper might do when he knows his place is about to get busted up and there isn’t darn thing he can do about it.
Biting his ‘T’s and spitting them out as if they were rancid bits of chaw, he went on.
“That’s…not…together! You’d be better off conducting the rhythm right there instead of the melody.”
A few hisses went up from the orchestra, some nervous laughter. This was a ticklish spot right here, to be sure.
As it had all week, Chung’s face remained an enigma. Now, for the first time anybody could recall, all eyes were on the conductor. He shot a quick glance skyward, as if checking out one last detail. And then he did the unexpected. He smiled.
“Perhaps what I should do is let you take over for those two bars,” he said quietly.
There was sustained laughter, much bow tapping on the stands, even a little applause. In one deft stroke he had applied boot to the seat of pants and sent the bully sprawling through the double doors out into the street.
But the grizzled veteran wasn’t going down quite so easy. He was on his feet again, trying to get back in.
“Well, then you’re going to have to come back here and play the ___,” he said, lamely.
Chung shook his head and gave his world-weary smile.
“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t know how to play the ___, but I’m willing to learn at least one passage in order to give you your opportunity.”
More laughter, but quieter this time, the whole thing blowing away like a tumbleweed bouncing down a dusty street.
***
My apologies for the preceding bit of silliness, although the dialog is pretty close to what was actually said. The lack of respect for Chung troubles me. Ever since he conducted here (I believe for the first time) a number of years ago, there has been constant grumbling from some quarters about his ‘bad attitude’ or some variation of that complaint. I don’t see it. He appears to be a complex individual, to be sure, but his treatment of the orchestra has always been professional even when it hasn’t been reciprocated.
The other big complaint seems to be he is aloof. Indeed, Chung often conducts either with eyes closed, or not fixed on anyone in particular. For years around here every musical gesture had to come at the behest of the music director with a knowing look, a wink or a nod from the podium. Chung doesn’t work that way, so the people most bothered appear to be some of the wind soloists who are used to being coddled. “He didn’t even look at me before my solo!” I heard one of them whining during rehearsal break. Meanwhile string players, for whom eye contact with the maestro is more akin to being caught in the prison guard-tower spotlight – a rare occurrence and one that almost always foretells something ominous – seem less bothered by Chung’s mannerisms.
Chung conducts – big surprise here – with his hands, not his face. The hands are where to look for the expression, but the expressions are subtle. We aren’t used to that style of conducting, hence the misunderstandings, I imagine.
For the most part, I am enjoying his Brahms 1st. I think he is somewhat fatalistic in the face of our ‘fuck you’ attitude and some of his ideas, particularly concerning the dynamic range, are a bit watered down. His tempo for the 3rd movement is the fastest I have encountered, but he makes a pretty good case for it. In the middle section he wants to go even faster. The orchestra really isn’t used to playing that movement with the agility he is asking for. At the rehearsal I got the image of somebody trying to negotiate an equestrian course while riding a rhinoceros. We crashed through every gate and ploughed through every hedge. In fact, it was in this section the little scene I dramatized above took place. I am happy to report now it came together a bit more at the first two concerts and so far everybody has been all smiles.
[Scene: An old Midwestern Orchestra, parched without the reign of a music director going on a full year now. Every now and again in these desperate times a local bully might step up and try and take the musical law into his own hands.]
The grizzled old principal dragged his eyes from the crossword bedeviling him the past three rehearsals. “Maestro,” he drawled.
Eyes rolled in the orchestra and a kind of ‘here we go again’ sigh started up, just what a weary old-time saloonkeeper might do when he knows his place is about to get busted up and there isn’t darn thing he can do about it.
Biting his ‘T’s and spitting them out as if they were rancid bits of chaw, he went on.
“That’s…not…together! You’d be better off conducting the rhythm right there instead of the melody.”
A few hisses went up from the orchestra, some nervous laughter. This was a ticklish spot right here, to be sure.
As it had all week, Chung’s face remained an enigma. Now, for the first time anybody could recall, all eyes were on the conductor. He shot a quick glance skyward, as if checking out one last detail. And then he did the unexpected. He smiled.
“Perhaps what I should do is let you take over for those two bars,” he said quietly.
There was sustained laughter, much bow tapping on the stands, even a little applause. In one deft stroke he had applied boot to the seat of pants and sent the bully sprawling through the double doors out into the street.
But the grizzled veteran wasn’t going down quite so easy. He was on his feet again, trying to get back in.
“Well, then you’re going to have to come back here and play the ___,” he said, lamely.
Chung shook his head and gave his world-weary smile.
“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t know how to play the ___, but I’m willing to learn at least one passage in order to give you your opportunity.”
More laughter, but quieter this time, the whole thing blowing away like a tumbleweed bouncing down a dusty street.
***
My apologies for the preceding bit of silliness, although the dialog is pretty close to what was actually said. The lack of respect for Chung troubles me. Ever since he conducted here (I believe for the first time) a number of years ago, there has been constant grumbling from some quarters about his ‘bad attitude’ or some variation of that complaint. I don’t see it. He appears to be a complex individual, to be sure, but his treatment of the orchestra has always been professional even when it hasn’t been reciprocated.
The other big complaint seems to be he is aloof. Indeed, Chung often conducts either with eyes closed, or not fixed on anyone in particular. For years around here every musical gesture had to come at the behest of the music director with a knowing look, a wink or a nod from the podium. Chung doesn’t work that way, so the people most bothered appear to be some of the wind soloists who are used to being coddled. “He didn’t even look at me before my solo!” I heard one of them whining during rehearsal break. Meanwhile string players, for whom eye contact with the maestro is more akin to being caught in the prison guard-tower spotlight – a rare occurrence and one that almost always foretells something ominous – seem less bothered by Chung’s mannerisms.
Chung conducts – big surprise here – with his hands, not his face. The hands are where to look for the expression, but the expressions are subtle. We aren’t used to that style of conducting, hence the misunderstandings, I imagine.
For the most part, I am enjoying his Brahms 1st. I think he is somewhat fatalistic in the face of our ‘fuck you’ attitude and some of his ideas, particularly concerning the dynamic range, are a bit watered down. His tempo for the 3rd movement is the fastest I have encountered, but he makes a pretty good case for it. In the middle section he wants to go even faster. The orchestra really isn’t used to playing that movement with the agility he is asking for. At the rehearsal I got the image of somebody trying to negotiate an equestrian course while riding a rhinoceros. We crashed through every gate and ploughed through every hedge. In fact, it was in this section the little scene I dramatized above took place. I am happy to report now it came together a bit more at the first two concerts and so far everybody has been all smiles.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Writing wrongs
This week’s CSO program
Brahms Symphony No. 1
INTERMISSION
Brahms Violin Concerto
You’re kidding, right?
Yes, we’re kidding.
Brahms Violin Concerto
INTERMISSION
Brahms Symphony No. 1
Vadim Repin violin
Myung-Whun Chung conductor
Due to a ‘miscommunication’ (which usually means nobody in our management remembered to communicate) Chung arrived at the first rehearsal before being informed of the inverted program order. Christoph von Dohnáyi was originally slated to conduct this week. I’m not sure what happened to him, but his program would have been Brahms 3 followed by the violin concerto. I guess when symphony and conductor were changed nobody considered that Brahms 1 really ought to end the concert…
Monday
off
Tuesday
7:30 CSO concert
Wednesday
12-2:30 3:30-6 CSO rehearsals
Thursday
10-12:30 CSO rehearsal
8 CSO concert
Friday
1:30 CSO concert
Saturday
8 CSO concert
Sunday
7 Ars Viva concert
Brahms Symphony No. 1
INTERMISSION
Brahms Violin Concerto
You’re kidding, right?
Yes, we’re kidding.
Brahms Violin Concerto
INTERMISSION
Brahms Symphony No. 1
Vadim Repin violin
Myung-Whun Chung conductor
Due to a ‘miscommunication’ (which usually means nobody in our management remembered to communicate) Chung arrived at the first rehearsal before being informed of the inverted program order. Christoph von Dohnáyi was originally slated to conduct this week. I’m not sure what happened to him, but his program would have been Brahms 3 followed by the violin concerto. I guess when symphony and conductor were changed nobody considered that Brahms 1 really ought to end the concert…
Monday
off
Tuesday
7:30 CSO concert
Wednesday
12-2:30 3:30-6 CSO rehearsals
Thursday
10-12:30 CSO rehearsal
8 CSO concert
Friday
1:30 CSO concert
Saturday
8 CSO concert
Sunday
7 Ars Viva concert
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