tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post6619247460067025034..comments2024-03-16T06:23:29.917-07:00Comments on The Reverberate Hills; or The Apotheosis of the Narwhal: I have a reasonable good ear in music. Let's have the tongs and the bones.Patrick J. Vazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-28457814069905588902008-08-19T18:30:00.000-07:002008-08-19T18:30:00.000-07:00It's interesting to ponder what's "most difficult"...It's interesting to ponder what's "most difficult" and often it depends upon my mood and my reed. Go figure.<BR/><BR/>Mozart? I love playing Mozart. His music is just so clean and perfect. Not easy, though. But I do love playing Mozart. Except the Oboe Concerto. (Give me the Oboe Quartet, please!) To me Mozart sits well with oboe fingers, and as long as my reed is good I'm just fine. <BR/><BR/>Debussy I find more difficult. It's all about the way it sits with my fingers. I'm sure I'm odd and other oboists would disagree. <BR/><BR/>I think, too, that some things fit well when a conductor is good, and don't work when a conductor is rotten. (Another "Go figure" thing.)<BR/><BR/>Oh, and sometimes it's just how my nerves are behaving, surprise surprise. <BR/><BR/>But Jolene, I'm guessing flute and oboe folk would differ on a lot of things. We have different "issues" to be sure! <BR/><BR/>I've not played Britten's MND, and the last time I played an opera by Britten (I've done Albert Herring and The Turn of the Screw) was far too long ago for this old brain to remember a heck of a lot. I usually enjoy more "contemporary" (Hah! Guess he's not contemporary any more.) opera. I yearn to do more ... and I especially want to do Rake's Progress again. Great oboe and EH parts! But I usually enjoy playing Stravinsky -- challenging, but fun to play, imo.<BR/><BR/>What a silly ramble. I'm gonna blame it on the glass of wine I'm having. :-)<BR/><BR/>Sorry for a lotta nothing. <BR/><BR/>I'm on to Eugene Onegin next week. Another one I've played and barely remember. OldBoeBrain is what it's called. Sigh.Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16172401944836258683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-84459236754026321052008-08-16T10:38:00.000-07:002008-08-16T10:38:00.000-07:00Hi P, as a musician (pianist and flute player), I ...Hi P, as a musician (pianist and flute player), I agree that Mozart is very difficult to play because it's so transparent - I feel every weight in each finger playing a Mozart sonata feels so differently (a Mozart passage can sound so uneven with the third finger and thumb sounding a bit stronger b/c it's a little longer (and heavier for thumb), for instance), and trying to make each finger sound seamless, with the same weight, is incredibly difficult. That's why I think especially pianists, when they're young, will play the flashier Liszt and Rachmaninoff, pieces with lots of notes b/c it's impressive and it's awe inspiring. But as they grow older, some musicians seem to gravitate to Mozar; Horowitz for instance with his clean, simple Traumerei that moved people to tears.<BR/><BR/>That being said, I recently spoke to a French horn player in St. Louis who said the West Side Story suite by Bernstein was notoriously difficult. I too played the first flute part in Bernstein's Overture to Candide, and the brilliant, lightning fast technique is hard to pull off, and it's over in a flash. To me, that's what Britten sounded like. I think they're difficult in very different ways, but if I had to choose, I would choose Mozart over Bernstein/Britten in terms of difficulty because you can honestly practice most of the Bernstein/Britten difficulty to get it, while Mozart requires more focus and even maturity to play well.<BR/><BR/>Wow that was a long winded way of saying something small, but that's my two cents.jolenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11674264153754358602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-52994883103782651762008-08-15T19:52:00.000-07:002008-08-15T19:52:00.000-07:00Hey Jolene,I wonder if you can officially count as...Hey Jolene,<BR/>I wonder if you can officially count as a lurker when I put you on my blogroll a while ago. I've been meaning to mention the additions in a post. . .. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for commenting and thanks for reading (and thanks as well to any and all readers out there who don't comment).<BR/><BR/>Yes, I agree about the orchestra, and I'm glad I have the comments section in which to talk about them. I've read interviews with singers in which they talk about Britten being more difficult than people might think, but it all really came together. But I just think most performance is difficult, only maybe in different ways. I've always heard that the best way to judge an orchestra is to hear them in Mozart or Haydn, because everything is so clear and exposed (whereas in Mahler or Brahms the thicker textures and orchestration can cover up mistakes more easily) -- sort of like the theory that you judge an ice cream brand by vanilla, because the flavor is so exposed. If any musicians would like to comment on that theory (the orchestral part, not the ice cream, though feel free there too) please go ahead; I'd love to know what you think.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-11933397902480169322008-08-14T14:17:00.000-07:002008-08-14T14:17:00.000-07:00Great review! I'm officially delurking, I've been ...Great review! I'm officially delurking, I've been a fan of your blog for a while - I too enjoyed the opera, and thought the orchestra was fab. I heard the flute warm up before the performance, and the music sounded insidiously difficult. The orchestra really pulled it off.jolenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11674264153754358602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-26526236202378194842008-08-11T22:12:00.000-07:002008-08-11T22:12:00.000-07:00Hey Patty,I had a couple of "procedures" myself th...Hey Patty,<BR/>I had a couple of "procedures" myself this year, and though they weren't exactly horrendous medical tortures, they were inconvenient and gross . . . so I sympathize and send best wishes.<BR/><BR/>I knew you weren't complaining, but I also know you must get tired of having the orchestral contribution ignored or summarized in a sentence, when you're working just as much as the singers and contributing as much musically. I'm actually pretty conscious of those who contribute and rarely get acknowledged, since my brother-in-law is a lighting designer and therefore essential to all but outdoor daytime shows, but the lighting isn't usually a big point in theater reviews.<BR/><BR/>This particular entry is a little more "reviewy" than my posts usually are, I think, and I became very conscious of wanting to mention each singer at least by name along with some appropriate but not overly repetitive adjective, and it can start to sound a little perfunctory in a repertory piece like Midsummer Night's Dream. People work so hard and end up with ". . . ably performed by X" at the end of the penultimate paragraph.<BR/><BR/>This is all just to say that I meant to discuss the orchestra at least a little.<BR/><BR/>Eichelberger is a pretty wonderful singer. I never get to Opera San Jose (too difficult for a nondriver) but I've heard him a couple of times elsewhere and I've always really enjoyed him.<BR/><BR/>As for Bottom . . . I wouldn't say I don't like him. I do think he's a little more one-dimensional than Shakespeare's characters usually are, or at least I feel that way compared to some critics who find him an early version of Falstaff or whatever. Also, I suspect some of it is that in my heart of hearts I know that people like that bulldoze over people like me, so I just sit aside quietly judging him while I have the chance. But he's a good guy. I just wish he'd pipe down once in a while (though I will say I did want to hear more of Eichelberger's singing in the role, and usually I'm not really looking for more Bottom).Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-30167288426727123502008-08-11T20:01:00.000-07:002008-08-11T20:01:00.000-07:00And second small aside: my son played Bottom in hi...And second small aside: my son played Bottom in his high school play a few years back. (He was fab, even if I do say so myself.) I can't imagine not liking Bottom, but maybe that's because I'm such an ass. ;-)Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16172401944836258683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-12376263192279947472008-08-11T19:59:00.000-07:002008-08-11T19:59:00.000-07:00Great to hear about the orchestra; I'm only very s...Great to hear about the orchestra; I'm only very sad that I can't be there. Rats. <BR/><BR/>(Family matters will be fine, I'm sure, but meanwhile I have to help someone with a "procedure" ... I love how we call them that when perhaps we should say "horrendous medical torture" or something. Sigh.)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I hope you know I wasn't complaining. <BR/><BR/>Side note: my son studied voice a bit with Kirk. I always enjoyed him in OSJ.Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16172401944836258683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-34011968414824614122008-08-10T22:00:00.000-07:002008-08-10T22:00:00.000-07:00Hi Patty,Ah, yeah, there is in fact an orchestra i...Hi Patty,<BR/>Ah, yeah, there is in fact an orchestra involved, and you caught me out because I kept thinking I should mention the orchestra, and say something nice, but I wanted to post today since the remaining performances are coming right up, and the chance slipped by because the friend who went to Trovatore with me kept chastising me for not writing more about voices. So I concentrated on that and neglected the other musical half.<BR/><BR/>So I'll take advantage of the comment section to praise opera orchestras, which are filled with hardworking types who make everything run, but who always play second fiddle (even when they're first violin) to the singers.<BR/><BR/>The Festival Opera orchestra did a particularly good job, I thought, in differentiating the fantastical otherworldly music of the fairies from the other realms.<BR/><BR/>My apologies for neglecting them and my sincere salutations!<BR/><BR/>Sorry you couldn't make the performance. I hope the family matters are resolved satisfactorily.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-56405215750167738652008-08-10T21:14:00.000-07:002008-08-10T21:14:00.000-07:00i would have liked to attend this opera, and had e...i would have liked to attend this opera, and had even been invited ... but, alas, I have family matters that don't allow for it. <BR/><BR/>UCSC did the opera a year ago. I'm not always a huge Britten fan, but I was enthralled with the opera.<BR/><BR/>How was the orchestra? I'm assuming they use one, yes?Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16172401944836258683noreply@blogger.com