My thoughts for the evenings program

[Spatula]

I just returned from a wonderful evening at the concert hall. I wish to cover quite a bit of ground with this post.  I have decided to break this post into 5 parts:

1)   Overview of the program
2)   Significant things I noticed during the performance, and why I recommend attending a live concert performance
3)   The “after program” talk hosted by a senior member of the orchestra
4)   Q & A with Richard Raymond
5)   Things to ask a concert pianist in future post-performance sessions



The evenings program consisted of

Kelly Marie Murphy       Utterances
Bartók       Concerto, piano, no. 3
Tchaikovsky        Symphony no. 5, op. 64, E minor


David Angus, Conductor
Richard Raymond, Piano

It was a nice surprise since its only been a few weeks since I first heard the Bartok Concerto no 3, and the evenings performance blew me away!  This is the first time I’ve heard Mr.Raymond play, and this is also the first time I’ve heard of his name.

For many of you, the first item on the schedule, Utterances by Kelly Murphy, might be totally new in your eyes.  This piece was composed in 1999.  It is a Canadian composition and uses various orchestra techniques with a deep militaristic drum beat throughout the 1 movement piece.  This piece at times is violent, shocking, heart pumping, melancholic and sad, and ends with a resolute finish.

Here are excerpts of the program notes:

“…The central idea of the piece is that small phrases hold profound meaning and have an impact that is permanent.  The potential for real change can occur when people get swept up in the sentiment of any particular segment of any particular statement…”

“…From this inspiration comes a one movement piece lasting roughly ten minutes.  It divides into three main sections, fast-slow-fast, and features solos for oboe, violin, clarinet, and percussion.  Different types of utterances are explored: violent, exuberant, passionate, sad.  A militaristic-style drumming can be heard as a thread throughout.”

The second number requires little introduction to the likes of tashs_tiara.  I found the Bartok played much more elegantly and stylish than the recordings that I have.  I only noticed two “things” during the piece, they were in the 1st and 2nd movement.  I think I did catch one of the chords just slightly off from the recording (again I don’t know what the correct notes are, but that’s what I ear caught).  Second is a part in the 2nd movement where Mr. Raymond looked somewhat shocked and surprised and quickly moved his head up to Maestro Angus, the conductor for the evening’s performance.  He then played it cool and carried on like nothing happened, and nothing bad did happen!  Perhaps he was thinking about something while trying the flow with the rest of the concert at the same time.  Actually there were some signs that I noticed he was relaxed:

1)   When ever there was a rest for a few bars, Mr. Raymond would reposition his seat just very slightly, and whip back the tail of his tuxedo.  
2)   He would wipe his hands on his knees to rid of excess sweat and moisture
3)   He would adjust his glasses while looking at the audience and into the balcony
4)   He would brush his hair like he was combing it.

Here are excerpts from the program notes regarding the Bartok concerto:

“…There was another, more practical reason for making the concerto more accessible.  He harboured doubts that royalties from his previous compositions would generate enough income to support his wife, Ditta, who was also a concert pianist, after his death.  He planned his new concerto as a relatively straightforward vehicle whose anticipated popularity would help stabilize her income…”

“…When he died, it lay complete except for the full orchestration of the final 17 bars.  His friend and colleague Tibor Serly completed it, using Bartok’s sketches.  The premier took place on February 8, 1946.  Gyorgy Sandor was the soloist, and Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra…”

“…The first movement is bright, vigorous and quite tradition in form.  The outer panels of the following Adagio religioso movement display a calm thoughtfulness.  They frame a fleet, atmospheric middle panel in Bartok’s favored vein of outdoor fantasy…”

“…The concluding rondo has a folk-inspired recurring theme..”

The transition time from the 2nd to 3rd movements was minimal, helping to shift the mood quickly and efficiently from solitude and complacency to a live rush of color and imagination, and I found the pianist and orchestra capable of doing that in proper aplomb.

The last number, Tchaikovsky’s symphony number 5 was new to my ears.  I have never heard this composition before.  And was I in for a surprise.  However there were a few movements where I found I wasn’t sure what to expect (again this was my first time exposed to this new music).  I found most of the movements, 1,2, 4 to be very jumpy and quick along with the tempo.  The third movement, Valse; allegro moderato, was a bit slower respectively so, and it should be.  

The opening was quiet and paced throughout without any sudden rushes or quick surprises.  What I liked about this composition was its ability to keep to some central motif while being colorful and tasteful, without sacrificing the basic structure while it expanded on new ideas.

(continued next post)

[Spatula]

(continued from previous post)

Now the significant things that I noticed during the performance will follow.  This will tie in with why I feel it is important to attend live concerts whenever possible and feasible to do so.  I noticed during Tchaikovsky’s symphony the 1st and 2nd violin sections had parts where in order to play their piece, the musicians actually plucked the strings of the violin without the bow in order to achieve a sound in between that of a harpsichord, harp, and piano.  I was amazed at how I managed to observe that and now can visualize when I listen to recordings how such sounds are created. 

From what I’ve observed in tonight’s performance, the violin can produce sound through three methods: strike of the bow onto the strings, bouncing of the bow onto the strings would be the equivalent of a piano fingering and arm movement to create a staccato effect, and the pluck of the strings to create an intricate, soft, but clearly heard sound, much like a harp.  When the strings are plucked from a violin, it makes a soft but distinct sharp twang.  Even though its soft, the number of violinists are great and can multiply this sound into a great sharp staccato effect. 

Often many times during listening to pieces, we can only hear how the music is made.  We cannot see it unless see attend the concert.  Even televised broadcasts do an injustice because they fail to capture the atmosphere of the concert hall in its full grandeur.  Something else I noticed was that the sound produced was unlike the stereo system; it was full and broad and full of life!  It was like the music was living! 

You can actually see how intense the music is when the violinist striking the bow against the violin and see the hands and arms move.  Not just one musician, but seeing 50 of them in action at the same time is something to behold already. 

Another reason to attend live concerts is that you are submersing yourself into music without distractions from home and the impatience of the world speeding up daily activities.  Think about it.  How  much time in a day do you have to spare to fully devote just sitting down and turning on the stereo system and not doing anything besides just listening to the music?  I must admit that I practice my Japanese or do my homework while listening to Beethoven’s concertos.  I’m using music as a background ambience, not as the central ideals. 

When you attend a live performance, you have no other main distractions and are forced to sit quietly and to absorb what is happening.  Your brain is focused on it and I find I enjoy the music even more!  Even for bartok’s concerto, I admit that I’m not that piece’s number one fan, but listening to a live performance somehow brings out qualities in that piece that I have not heard before.  Again I am not intimate, so to speak, with this piece but it grows on you. 

What really surprised me was that my heart was pumping just right before the starting of the concerto, and I wasn’t even going to perform!  I felt like “wow, this is it!  This is what I really want to hear! Even if it’s not my most favorite concerto, I’m going to do my best to listen in on what Mr. Raymond can do for this piece, and how it will come alive through his interpretation.”  That’s already mental self prep talk for me, an audience member that won’t even touch the keys, and I’m already getting some sort of anxiety!  It’s the excitement of being there that makes my heart race.

Probably one of the biggest learning opportunities is the Question and Answer period pre-performance and post-performance.  That’s where artists will speak what comes to mind.  They don’t carry scripts to talk about it, but speak from the mind and I find that’s where they have to come up with things that are significant.  If they sat down to figure out what they wanted to say like preparing a speech, they’d come out with all this flowery lyrical stuff, but when they are on their toes, I find they comment more about the technique involved and how they managed to cope with such demanding repertoire.  That’s where the learning comes in.

So to recap on why I feel it is important to attend live performances:

1)   Visualize and actually see how such sounds are created
2)   The energy of being there enlightens and brings up the atmosphere of the music
3)   You cannot pause, rewind, replay, fast forward to your favorite parts but must surrender your ears to what every note from every musician has to play about their piece.  This allows you to not become so inward looking towards many good pieces out there that you haven’t developed a patience for yet.


The question period and discussion of the performance will be brief.
Basically the main points touched are:

The challenges that are faced by many musicians during this piece are the shear length of the symphony, requiring a massive load of patience and stamina to last up to all the major parts.  This means repeated practice of the lengthy parts and to portion out a reasonable amount of energy and time for each piece accordingly.  The main French horn player also noted that endurance was a major issue.  During the day on the performance, he took time off and relaxed and took it slowly in everything he did to psyche himself up properly and to get into the right zone for the symphony.  This meant eating a balanced diet, getting adequate rest and napping, running doing light jogging, and practicing the repertoire but not butchering it.

Maestro Angus noted that each orchestra had a different feel and different attributes that made, say his home orchestra and the local orchestra, special and a pleasure to work with.  This next up coming point is especially important for all of you who wish to perform a concerto.  Maestro Angus has noted that he has shared a small dose of those pianists whom have no regard for the orchestra as a whole and are so intent and focused on solely on their own piece, hammering away and losing focus of the purpose of the orchestra.  He said that was the best way to murder a piece, and it has happened before. 

He said that the concerto pianist must keep an ear out for what the orchestra is trying to convey.  Sometimes the pianist would play his solo part at a different tempo then try to negotiate with the tutti parts, making the piece sound so awkward and rhythmically imbalanced.  Yeah, it was bloody murder alright.

It’s also interesting to note that they only rehearsed the program twice before the first performance on October 15.  I attended the second showing on the 16th.

Now for the Q and A with Mr. Richard Raymond: the following is a conversation that I managed to meet and greet him.  The quotes are not exact but the best reconstruction that I can come up with concerning now that I’m going totally off memory from an event that occurred 3 hours ago:

Spatula: Hello Richard, excellent playing tonight!  I really liked your performance!
Richard: Thank you, thanks.
S: So how did you feel while playing the concerto?
R: It was good and I was a bit cautious, but since this is the second night in a row, I was more relaxed.
S: So how long did it take you to learn this piece?
R: Er…to get the piece moving and working, about three or four weeks.  And then maybe another month to get the music right.   After that I rehearsed with the orchestra.
S: Wow!  So did you learn this piece quickly though good sight reading skills?
R: Yes, but not just sight reading, it was the musical structure I focused on to get the piece flowing.  The music is very important.  I must keep an ear out for the orchestra and make sure what I play is good.
S: So how long have you been playing the piano? When did you start?
R: Um.. when I was three years old
S: Wow!  That’s a good start!
R: Yes, I think that most pianists should start by latest around 9.  Because I think that people learn differently when they are children and take things up more naturally and don’t forget.  When they start at 13 and up, they find it more harder. 
S: Oh I see.  Well I really liked your performance.

(the next part I asked a pointless question)

S: Oh so, when do you think you’ll be playing here next?
R: Er…I’m leaving to home tomorrow…(gives me a puzzled look)
S: Oh sorry, I meant perhaps in a few years time you’ll come back to play
R: I can think about that yeah.
S: Okay thank you again for a wonderful performance.

Now to tell you that to have that type of conversation somewhat rare because it was already around 11 PM and most of the audience had left the building.  It was a rare opportunity to ask and be answered by a concerto pianist where we have never met before. 

Here are some future questions that I would definitely ask to any concert pianists I meet in the future:

1)   How do you schedule your piano practice?
2)   What type of education did you go through, what intensive training did you go through?
3)   How many pieces do you practice and learn in a year on average?
4)   What is it like to perform every time?  Do you get nervous still? 
5)   How did you personally manage to perform with an orchestral team?
6)   What specific finger exercises or technique do you do to get into top shape for each performance?  Do you do hand warm ups or anything?


As you can see, I really did enjoy my evening and I’m really looking forward to more piano concertos to attend next month.

Happy Concert-Going!

Spatula

[Spatula]

Did I mention that the pianist breathed extremely deeply and loudly.  Now perhaps I know a little something about the breathing technique CC was talking about.

[Spatula]

Looks like barely any one here attends concerts.  Oh Woe.

[Bob]

Cool post.   

I should go to more concerts and recitals. 


and get myself a better stereo.

[Tash]

yay that's cool i can't wait til next year's lot of sydney symphony concerts i'm writing a list of all the ones i want to go to and then convince my mum to pay for my seats!

[Spatula]

Concerts I intended on attending for the 2004-2005 Season:

MagnificatBaroque Plus


Thursday, September 30, 2004 8:00pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Ivars Taurins, Principal Baroque Conductor
Nathalie Paulin, Soprano
Matthew White, Counter tenor
Alan Bennett, Tenor
Paul Grindlay, Baritone
Voicescapes Choir

TchaikovskyClassics Horizons


Friday, October 15, 2004 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 16, 2004 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
David Angus, Conductor
Richard Raymond, Piano

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Co.POPS


Friday, November 5, 2004 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 6, 2004 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Rosemary Thomson, Conductor
Michael Hope, Vocalist

Hungarian RhapsodyLight Classics


Saturday, November 13, 2004 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Tania Miller, Conductor
Cenek Vrba, Violin
Calgary Philharmonic Chorus

The Beauty of Brahms and Beethoven *Classics Masterworks


Friday, November 19, 2004 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 20, 2004 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Michael Güttler, Conductor
Naida Cole, Piano

1812 - The Olga Nickle Memorial ConcertLight Classics


Saturday, January 29, 2005 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Karl Sollak, Conductor
Steve Amsel, Clarinet
Jocelyn Colquhoun, Clarinet

Hans Graf and Sarah ChangClassics Horizons


Friday, February 4, 2005 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 5, 2005 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Hans Graf, Conductor
Sarah Chang, Violin

A Night at the OscarsPOPS


Friday, February 18, 2005 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 19, 2005 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Victor Sawa, Conductor

The Genius of Mozart and StravinskyClassics Horizons


Friday, February 25, 2005 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 26, 2005 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Michael Christie, Conductor
Xiang Zou, First Laureate, 2003 Honens International Piano Competition
Calgary Philharmonic Chorus

A Little Night MusicLight Classics


Saturday, March 5, 2005 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Christopher Warren-Green, Conductor
Benjamin Butterfield, Tenor
Rob McCosh, French Horn

Power and PassionClassics Horizons


Friday, April 1, 2005 8:00 pm
Saturday, April 2, 2005 8:00 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor
Michael Kim, Piano

Beethoven in the Badlands 2005Specials


Saturday, May 28, 2005 2:00 pm
Drumheller, Alberta
Rosemary Thomson, Conductor

[dlu]

Ugh...I'm jealous. Just an aside: I'm going to sit in on a rehersal of the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin soon in D.C. and am sooooo exited. Program:
Erb-Evensong
Beethoven-Piano Concerto 5 "Emperor" with Leon Fleischer (yes, he's got his right hand back in the game now!)
Stravinsky-Rite of Spring (yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

[Brian Healey]

Did I mention that the pianist breathed extremely deeply and loudly.  Now perhaps I know a little something about the breathing technique CC was talking about.

This is not Chang's idea, but it certainly is a good thing to think about while you're playing. In my music theory class years ago, I remember discussing an article written by Liszt himself (I don't remember the main purpose of the article, but he mentions some technique-related stuff). The main thing I remember is that he wrote about "breathing through the instrument as if it were a trumpet", or something like that. Maybe someone else has seen this article and can give more of the details, but it appears that even Liszt knew about breathing, way before Chang was around. You should always make sure that you're breathing deeply and regularly while you play.

[DarkWind]

(continued from previous post)

Now the significant things that I noticed during the performance will follow.  This will tie in with why I feel it is important to attend live concerts whenever possible and feasible to do so.  I noticed during Tchaikovsky’s symphony the 1st and 2nd violin sections had parts where in order to play their piece, the musicians actually plucked the strings of the violin without the bow in order to achieve a sound in between that of a harpsichord, harp, and piano.  I was amazed at how I managed to observe that and now can visualize when I listen to recordings how such sounds are created. 

From what I’ve observed in tonight’s performance, the violin can produce sound through three methods: strike of the bow onto the strings, bouncing of the bow onto the strings would be the equivalent of a piano fingering and arm movement to create a staccato effect, and the pluck of the strings to create an intricate, soft, but clearly heard sound, much like a harp.  When the strings are plucked from a violin, it makes a soft but distinct sharp twang.  Even though its soft, the number of violinists are great and can multiply this sound into a great sharp staccato effect. 

Don't tell me you've never heard of pizzicato before... That's what they were doing. Anyways, there are not just three methods of making sound. There are three basic principals, but one can expand it even to percussive effects such as tapping the sides of the violin. Other ways of making sounds are sul ponticello and sul tasto, playing near the frog or the bridge. There are thousands of things the violin can do.

[Spatula]

No, I'm not vary familiar with the art of the violin.