Kenneth Woods- A View From the Podium

Run, don’t walk, to your computer to listen to this wonderful feature on Ravel’s La Valse  on BBC iPlayer until Friday this week. Called “Dancing the Apocalypse” it’s about as good as the BBC gets at really getting to grips with a major piece of music. Bravo to host Tom Service, and the excellent gang of commentators. I’m conducting my first La Valse later this year, and the show had me racing back to my score to start studying.

Listen here.

Programme info from the Radio 3 Website-

Tom Service explores the dark universe of Ravel’s 12 minute masterpiece, La Valse, one the most powerful and puzzling pieces in the whole orchestral repertoire. It’s a work that is a portrait of a whole genre of music – The Waltz – its birth, life, and death. Ravel composed it in 1919 and 1920, after his devastating experiences serving in the First World War and the death of his mother, the human being he was closest to in his whole life. He initially planned the work in 1906 as a tribute to the waltzes of Johann Strauss, and the seductive, sensual structures of the dance form, a piece of music that would embody the whirling pleasure of dancers in Imperial balls in Vienna in the nineteenth century.

After the war, Ravel’s sumptuous tribute curdled into something much darker. Instead of celebrating the waltz, La Valse destroys it. At the end of the piece, Ravel murders the waltz-form he loved so much, finishing it off with a cacophony of rhythmic violence and crunching harmonic dissonance. This isn’t just a musical process: the music sounds like the end of Empire, a revelation of the skull beneath the skin, the moment when pleasure turns to pain. How can you interpret La Valse as anything else but a picture of a culture, a society, in inexorable decline?

But the composer himself resisted all of these attempts at interpretation. Ravel was notoriously secretive about all aspects of his life, from his compositional process to his private life, and refused to sanction any reading of La Valse that said anything more controversial than the piece is about the waltz.

With contributions from conductor Eliahu Inbal, composer George Benjamin, Ravel biographer Roger Nichols, Deborah Mawer of Lancaster University, and French musicologist David Lamaze, who claims to have discovered a musical code in La valse.

You can listen to a full performance of La Valse on Breakfast on Sunday morning at 8.45am

The big topic of conversation this week has been the 5^th and final Prokofiev Piano Concerto, which I conducted on Saturday night with Daniel de Borah and the Surrey Mozart Players. Many of you will have already seen the review, which came out yesterday.

The reviewer was quite right to point out the incredible difficulty of the piece- the last time I saw it performed it was with a leading recording orchestra and a world class soloist and it didn’t go so well, so it was a project we undertook with a sense of responsibility and caution. We worked extremely hard on it in rehearsals, and I know the musicians put in a lot of hours at home. From a conducting point of view, the main difficulty is in managing the countless abrupt changes of mood while giving the players the confidence to navigate their way through a piece demanding absolutely razor-blade sharp precision- it is virtuoso music for everyone on stage, not just the soloist. The first movement is already extremely tough, but its reworking as the Toccata third movement is almost absurdly hard to play, and allows almost no room for error. That said, I can’t even begin to tell you how fun it is to conduct.

I’ve said here many times that the 2^nd Prokofiev Piano Concerto is the greatest 20^th c. work for piano and orchestra. I’m sticking to that- Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor is the Greatest Work for Piano and Orchestra of the 20^th Century, but the 5^th is without a doubt the work of an even greater composer, and an even more brilliant composer for the piano. The working out of ideas, the incredibly dense weaving of moods and characters, the surprisingly huge range of emotions from outright hilarity to deep, deep tragedy all point to this being the work of a master at the top of his craft, his technique much more seasoned for the decades that separate it from the 2^nd. The piano writing is beyond brilliant- only a virtuoso could have written it, because it is taking the possibilities for 2 hands and 10 fingers about as far as you can go. Still, the 2^nd is a more personal and more moving human document- to put it in somewhat simplistic terms, the 2^nd is Prokofiev’s heart, broken into a million pieces by the suicide of his friend, the 5^th is Prokofiev’s brain, overflowing with wit, craft, logic and creativity. Both are astounding documents, but the 2^nd is more devastating and more cathartic.

The reviewer made a brief reference to the difference in style between this concerto and his more famous music from Romeo and Juliet. The two pieces certainly don’t sound that much alike- the 5^th has a ferocity and an edge of danger missing from R&J, but the theme of the 1^st mvt and Toccata of the Concerto could easily have been a stand-in for the music he used for the Child Juliet. As a melody, it is Prokofiev at his most misleadingly naïve and straightforward- his ruthless, meticulous and complete dissection of that sweet and simple melody is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the piece.

Before the concert, Daniel and I were chatting and he mentioned the difficulty of the orchestral writing as comparable to that of Strauss, but Strauss’s music is infinitely easier to put together for an orchestra than Prokofiev’s. Strauss’s music is athletic, no doubt, but he also knew each instrument’s capabilities so intimately that whether you’re a violinist or a horn player, once you’ve practiced the part and sorted out a good fingering, it’s always playable and somehow feels natural and comfortable to play. Prokofiev, on the other hand, seems to need to leave things a bit ungainly for the poor players. Those quintessential leaps in his melodic ideas, whether the hops up and down the keyboard or violins in the Concerto or the minor ninths in the slow movement of the 5^th Symphony never get much easier.

Shostakovich had some unkind words for Prokofiev’s skill as an orchestrator, but I can’t see how you could simplify his orchestra writing without losing the very originality and pungency that makes his music so compelling. I like the Shosty-Proko rivalry. Although men of different generations, they remain one of the great musical twosomes of all time, right up there with Haydn and Mozart and Bruckner and Mahler.

Somehow, these twosomes always have the power to hear tell you something about yourself as a listener or musician, because chances are that whatever your preferences are are as good an indicator of where your won blind spots are, as of the strengths and weaknesses of the two composers. I think my feelings about Mahler and Bruckner have remained pretty consistent over the years- I couldn’t live without either, but I’m drawn to each in their own ways. My love of Mahler is an all-or-nothing affair- I either listen and study his music obsessively, or leave it on the shelf for months on end, whereas I’m always in the mood for a bit of Bruckner. I was chatting via email about the two in the wake of my Mahler 5 a couple weeks ago with one of my RCICW colleagues, who offered the following Bruckner vs Mahler smackdown-

“As for your not having lived until you conduct Mahler 5, I’d say not true. Now, the one I’d like to tackle is the 6th. But, you know, Ken’s marvelous experience notwithstanding, I think I’d take Bruckner 9 over Mahler 9; Bruckner 8 certainly over Mahler 8, AB 7 over GM 7 (is there even a question?), AB 6 and GM 6 close competitors–if from different planets; AB 5 over GM 5; AB 4 only slightly after GM 4, and then my formula runs into a bit of trouble since AB 1, 2 and 3 aren’t at the level of GM 1, 2 and 3. But, in favor of Bruckner–better late than never!”

One wise conductor’s point of view. My sister (also a conductor) has no interest in doing Bruckner- she calls it “boy music,” but my wife is every bit as big (if less obsessive) a Bruckner fan as me (but she also likes beer).

The Haydn-Mozart pairing is more interesting because I think it tells you more about how limited we are in our discussions about music. If you polled music lovers, writers and players around the world, I think there’s no doubt the Mozart would come out as the overwhelming favorite of the two among the overwhelming majority of people. However, there’s just no denying the fact that, Figaro, Giovanni and the Requiem notwithstanding, Haydn is consistently a better composer than Mozart (there, I said it).  I’ve got the Requiem on my desk today, and there’s no piece in all music closer to my heart, but Haydn is a better composer than Mozart. Even Mozart’s best symphony, the Jupiter, has passages that are clunkier and more formulaic than anything in almost any mature Haydn symphony.

And the Prokofiev-Shostakovich rivalry? Well, Shostakovich has always been a love bordering on an obsession, but very much in the same all-or-nothing way as Mahler. As I get to grips with the opus 82a Chamber Symphony, which I’m doing in a few weeks, I realize I’ve not been listening to or working on his music (other than a brief fling with the 2^nd Piano Concerto) in many, many months. Once I get stuck in on that piece, though, I think I’ll be sucked fully back into his world. I feel a pretty deep bond with the whole of his musical output, whereas with Prokofiev I love the specific pieces- I pretty much love every piece of his I’ve done, whether it be the Cello Sonata, the Fifth Symphony, Romeo and Juliet, Nevsky, the concertos or Kije. It’s a different kind of connection, but a strong one nonetheless.

For the final word on the Fifth Concerto, I return to backstage conversations from Saturday night. I was planning all along to say something to the audience about the piece, the question was what? How does one convey the essence of what makes this piece so wonderful in as succinct a way as possible.

“This piece is fucking insane,” I suggested, meaning the description with the utmost affection and reverence.

In the end, the fact that we were performing in a church (and a warm and welcoming one at that) mitigated against my using that elegant summation of Prokofiev’s achievement in his last piano concerto, but I offer it here for your consideration.

Review- Surrey Mozart Players, 28 March, 2009 

United Reformed Church, Guildford 

DE BORAH, WOODS AND MOZART PLAYERS ASTONISH WITH PROKOFIEV-

Maestro Kenneth Woods led the Surrey Mozart Players into powerful battle on Saturday March 28th. They took on a formidable task—-Prokofiev’s Fifth Piano Concerto, a rarely performed work of prodigious difficulty.  The difficulties however are not all the exclusive responsibility of conductor and orchestra—there is of course the soloist, a most demanding role, filled here by the young Australian Daniel de Borah, a pianist of formidable technique and talent.  He is required to deal with pages of bewildering complexity. Conductor, orchestra, soloist all dazzled in a most exciting account of this rugged, often ferocious music.  If anybody thought this concerto might in some way resemble Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” ballet score, he would have had quite a surprise! 

Mozart was also represented. His ‘Clemency of Titus’ overture in fact opened the proceedings.  This was given a wonderfully strong and rhythmical performance, and one was aware of a very generous bass acoustic which, for the unwary, could give problems with balance. 

More Mozart followed the Prokofiev with some elegant arrangement for wind ensemble of five of the celebrated vocal numbers from the Marriage of Figaro. It was a great delight, producing some beautiful playing. 

Beethoven provided a splendid Finale to the whole concert—The First Symphony, a great favourite with music-lovers. The audience greeted it like an old friend—a joyous sound. 

The concert was held in the United Reformed Church, Guildford, a new venue for the Surrey Mpzart Players, and it made an apt and very comfortable Concert Hall. 

Thank you Kenneth Woods, Daniel de Borah and the Surrey Mozart Players, for a concert of such wonderfully varied musical delights.  We are indeed fortunate in Guildford, to have such a splendid band of fine musicians in our midst. 

Geoffrey Ford- 

For the Surrey Advertiser, 29 March 2009

Serge Prokofiev, writing about the Fifth Piano Concerto in his Autobiography-

If we discount the Fourth Concerto for left hand, more than ten years had passed since I had written a piano concerto. Since then my conception of the treatment of this form had changed somewhat, some new ideas had occurred to me (a passage running across the entire keyboard, with the left hand overtaking the right; chords in the piano and orchestra interrupting one another, etc.) and finally I had accumulated a good number of vigorous major themes in my notebook. I had not intended the concerto to be difficult and at first had even contemplated calling it “Music for Piano and Orchestra,” partly to avoid confusing the concerto numbers. But in the end it turned out to be complicated, as indeed was the case with a good many other compositions of this period. What was the explanation? In my desire for simplicity I was hampered by the fear of repeating old formulas, of reverting to ‘old simplicity,’ which is something all modern composers seek to avoid. I searched for ‘new simplicity’ only to discover that this new simplicity, with its novel forms and, chiefly, new tonal structure, was not understood. The fact that here and there my efforts to write simply were not successful is beside the point. I did not give up, hoping that the bulk of my music would in time prove to be quite simple when the ear grew accustomed to the new melodies, that is, when these melodies became the accepted idiom. 

The Surrey Mozart Players will be performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no. 5 in G this Saturday, March 28 at the United Reformed Church, Guildford. More here-

http://oclassical.com/3720

What a week it has been. It’s Friday afternoon here at Vftp Headquarters, the first moment of relative peace and quiet I’ve had in what seems like a long time. This little respite is squeezed between the Ensemble Epomeo concert last night and the HSO concert tomorrow.

Concerts always bring their fair share of drama and uncertainty, especially if you’re involved in the planning side of things enough to know how precariously your fortunes are balanced on the razor blade of life. That said, I don’t think I’ve had many more insane concert weeks than this one and the one to come next week. I think I’ll wait for my memoirs to narrate the events in any detail, but I can say that between travel problems and stomach bugs tearing through the group, I’ve rarely played a more edge-of-the-seat concert than the one last night. Miraculously, it went very well. There’s nothing more dangerous than being a little bit comfortable for a concert- better to be completely without a safety net, not daring to blink for a split second.

We had a nice crowd last night, no thanks to the local rag and cultural affairs radio show, which completely blanked us in spite of strong efforts to get some coverage of the concert (and the HSO concert tomorrow). These local papers are often rather lame when it comes to covering culture, which is incredibly stupid on their part. Most educated people in a place like Hereford only take the local paper to keep informed of what’s going on culturally- they don’t consider it a serious source of real news and would rather read one of the national papers for that. When the local rag can’t spare a few column inches to support the local orchestra and an effort to bring some first-class chamber music to a wonderful but painfully underutilized venue in the heart of the city, people start cutting their subscriptions and keeping up with things through the internet.

The Beethoven C minor Trio, op 9 no. 3, was the last of the 5 (four numbered trios and the Serenade) that I hadn’t previously performed. I’m pretty sure now it is the best of the bunch, much as I’ve always loved the G major. The first movement is vintage C minor Beethoven- much more developed and taut than the first movement of , say, his op 18 no. 4 String Quartet, which is much more square and less contrapuntally compelling. The slow movement is really extraordinary- like the slow movement of the 2^nd Piano Trio, op 1 no. 2, it really reaches the spiritual world of his late slow movements. The contrast of the serene, hymn-like opening with the radiant energy of the jaunty second theme already strongly hints at the power of the double variation slow movements like the Heiliger Dankesang of op 132 and the 9^th Symphony. Amazing stuff. Schubert must have known and loved this trio- it’s full of his beloved third relationships, my favorite of which is this glorious shift from B-flat to G-flat major in the finale.

I’m a very pro-early Beethoven guy, and have wasted may words on my friends in Portland trying to convince them that Beethoven didn’t get better, he just wrote more stuff. Just this year, to do the trio we did last night and op 18 no. 1, which has the most astounding slow movement, is more than enough to make me feel all the more strongly that the pathos and spirituality of the late music was not a response to his personal suffering, but a manifestation of his natural talent and temperament. Here’s an older post about Shostakovich, who I also think mostly wrote what he wrote because of who he was, not because Stalin was mean to him.  Other early Beethoven in the calendar includes Beethoven 1 again next week with the SMP- it went so well in the Menuhin Hall last week that it might have been a little tempting to want to leave it in peace, but there’s always so much more work to be done on his music. After that, there’s Beethoven 2 in a couple of weeks with the OES- the conclusion of our Beethoven Cycle project (one we BEGAN with the 9^th!). After that, Ensemble Epomeo are playing op 9 no. 3 again in Ischia, and I’m doing Beethoven  4 in the summer with the excellent Helix Ensemble.

Alongside that repeat of Beethoven 1 in Guildford we replace the Strauss 1^st Horn Concerto with the ferocious, frenetic and fantastic 5^th Piano Concerto by Prokofiev. After many challenges and hurdles (almost as many as the EE concert last night, and again, I’ll save them for the book), we finally got our first shot at the piece on Wednesday night. It has a well-deserved reputation for being not only difficult to play, but a bit of a conductor killer, and I did hear a wonderful broadcasting orchestra not far from here struggle a bit with it a couple of years ago. The omens were not promising when I left for rehearsal Wednesday afternoon- two solid days of chamber music rehearsal with a stomach bug had left me completely wiped out and with little or no time to do a final flip-though of the score. Ah well, what was I said about comfort versus concentration? We had an hour with just the orchestra, then were joined by Daniel, our soloist. With a bit of slow work, we were able to get things sorted enough in that first hour that the second hour with Daniel could be productive, and with a bit of time in our last rehearsal, I predict it will be rather spectacular. Sometimes it’s good if everyone knows a piece is not to be trifled with- they all put in a bit more prep work, which makes all the difference.

Anyway- it’s on to rehearsal tonight and concert tomorrow with the HSO. Since the local paper isn’t going to do so, I’ll let you all know that the programme is:

Schumann- Overture “The Bride of Messina”

Mozart- Sinfonia Concertante

Byron Wallis- violin, David Yang- viola

Dvorak- Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”)

Great programme, and the Schumann is really an extraordinary piece, about as harmonically bold as anything he ever wrote.

I’ve written before about how important building a repertoire is to keeping up with a busy performance schedule, and the wisdom of that advice has been brought, once again, into clear focus by my efforts this week to learn to brand new scores from scratch- Vaughan Williams Symphony no. 5 and the Prokofiev 5^th Piano Concerto. It is taking a lot of hard work and many, many hours….

Embarrassingly, this will be my first Vaughan Williams symphony. I must admit, I’ve gone back and forth on his music over the years. I’ve enjoyed doing all the pieces I’ve conducted so far, and often enjoyed performances of many of his works (and who doesn’t love the Tallis Fantasia), but sometimes, my inner German tells me all this English pastoral, modal watercoloring is a bunch of self-indulgent, long-winded, maudlin crap. Whatever happened to “stiff upper lip” and British stoicism? Doing the Lark Ascending in November was a great educational experience, but learning the 5^th has been a revelation. I have to say- his music brings out the worst in some conductors. I’ve probably slept through several Vaughan Williams symphonies (I’ve considered desperate measures to escape deathly dull performances of the London and Sea symphonies) in concert. As a result, I almost turned this project down, but then, by lucky coincidence, I heard a wonderful performance by James Judd with BBC NOW last year that had sweep, drive and direction. That got me completely psyched to find out what makes a performance of this piece more than pretty. When you strip his music of all the accrued cheap sentimentality and play it with rigor, it’s a whole different world. What an incredibly crafty, beautifully conceived and executed piece, and what an extraordinarily sad slow movement…

Prokofiev’s last piano concerto must be about as far from the lyricism and modality of RVW5 as you can get in the 20^th c. It’s spiky, neurotic, sarcastic and intense music. This will be my 2^nd Prok piano concerto- I did the 2^nd with the same soloist, Daniel de Borah, a couple of years ago. His playing of the 2^nd was so staggering that I was happy to push a little bit to get us a chance to do the 5^th. I think it’s an interesting coincidence that it was specific performances that got me involved with both these projects- I doubt I’d have said yes to RVW5 without James’ performance of it, and it was Daniel’s rock star job on the 2nd Prokofiev that got me interested in doing another Prokofiev with him sooner rather than later.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- the Prokofiev’s 2^nd Piano Concerto is, bar none, the greatest work for piano and orchestra written in the 20^th c. It towers over all those by Rachmaninoff, Bartok, Stravinsky, Messiaen, Barber, Ravel, Gershwin- you name ‘em. I find it bizarre that it has always been in the shadow of the 3^rd in terms of popularity. I love the 3rd- it’s definitely one of my 5 favorite Prokofiev piano concerti, but the 5th is my new love- it is seriously dangerous music.

While working on the 5^th, I’ve been trying to get to know his piano style a bit better, and it has really hit me that, like Mozart, his piano concertos show a different side of his musical nature than any of this other orchestral works. His personality as a pianist leaps off the page- if you don’t know all 5 of these concerti, you don’t know Prokofiev. In the 5^th, you get the most uncanny sense of what it must be like to be inside the brain of a genius- ideas seem to move and develop at light speed. He’s constantly leaping past you, demanding that you keep up with his logic, his wit.. It’s thrilling but disconcerting, even disorienting (in a good way). The violin and cello concerti just don’t have that quality- they’re virtuosic in a slightly more conventional way.

The RVW5 is just about there, but the Prokofiev still needs more hours (I did some preliminary work on it last summer, but that feels like a different lifetime, and it is very tricy to conduct). I’ve also got a lot of cello practice to do with a trio concert on Thursday. I’ve been nagging friends and colleagues for many years to do the last Tchaikovsky quartet (no. 3 in E flat minor), which I think is one of the great unknown masterpieces of the chamber music literature, so we’ve recruited Suzanne to sit in with us on Thursday night. After so many years of advocating for a performance, I’ve now got to get in shape- conducting Mahler 5 and Beethoven 1 is  not the ideal way to prepare for chamber concerts! Note to self- bow goes in the RIGHT hand.

March 9, 2009

Mozart Players Dazzle Menuhin Hall Audience-

The Surrey Mozart Players concert under the leadership of their conductor, Kenneth Woods, at the Yehudi Menhuin Hall on Saturday 7 March produced another feather in their cap.

The opening overture to ‘’La Clemenza di Tito’’ (sorry, but ‘’The Clemency of Titus’’ of the programme just doesn’t have the same ring) was aptly arresting, this performance well-suited to that occasion of official celebration for which it was written.

There were two early works by two very different composers, both displaying the optimism of their youth. The first of these was the Horn Concerto no.1 in E flat by Richard Strauss, the solo horn admirably interpreted by Phillip Eastop who produced some purring piano passages and, by contrast, suitably declarative tones leaving no doubt as to his technical ability and musical interpretation. The small orchestra sounded double its size in the climactic forte passages, there were some very well-balanced dialogues between the tutti and the horn, and a beautifully executed cantabile section from the bass strings in the Andante taking up the haunting horn melody. The diminuendo-ritenuto passage towards the end was perfectly pregnant, leading to a lively ending; and the ending of an all-too-short first half (only 25 minutes’ worth of music!)

The second half of the concert began with a ‘’Harmonie’’ for wind octet, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns and 2 bassoons, of an arrangement of ‘’pops’’ from ‘’Le Nozze di Figaro’’ (The Marriage of Figaro) by Johann Nepomuk Wendt. It may not generally be known that in mid-18^th century Europe, societies of noblemen required some light music to accompany their meals, parties and social gatherings to which ends the ‘’Harmonie’’ was created to play transcriptions of the popular operas of the day. Even Mozart made such a transcription of one of his own operas.

This provides a golden opportunity for the above-mentioned players to display their abilities and talents. The SMP soloists displayed some nicely- pointed dialogues, most particularly in the last movement of the arrangements. However, such arrangements are not an improvement on the original score for voices, which it is difficult to better.

The concert ended with the young Beethoven’s symphony no. 1 in C.  The execution of this work was a triumph, well articulated, vigorous and controlled. It was tempting to break into applause after the first movement. Strong dynamic contrasts, steady, harmonious woodwind, brass and string combinations and delicate phrasing featured in the Andante. The Minuet was successfully Allegro molto e vivace and the last movement was impressive, the dynamics, intonation, unison playing and other details, all a pleasure to listen to. Congratulations to the violins and the brass sections in this last movement for their excellent coordination.

I felt this work very well suited to the SMP and enjoyed the levels of perfection they attained.

 –Margaret Morley for the Surrey Advertiser

It’s time for a quick reminder that the 2009 Ischia Chamber Music Festival is accepting applications- the final deadline is a few weeks off, but it is booked on a space available basis, so I’d encourage you to apply as soon as you can.

Last year was my first year at the festival, and my efforts in spreading the word about the institute had to be slightly tempered by the fact that it was my first spring there, and I could only hope that it would be a good experience.

On the basis of my week on the island last May, however, I can confidently say that it’s a stunning place, a wonderful environment for music and a great place to enjoy the best of food, weather and friendship. I’m also very excited to be working with my colleagues Byron Wallis and David Yang from Ensemble Epomeo, clarinet virtuoso, conductor and composer Giuseppe Caranante and Artistic Director Aldo de Vero. The facilities are luxurious, but affordable, and where else can you unwind after reading Brahms on the side of a volcano with a quick dip in the thermal waters?

Please visit the workshop website here for more information. We are looking forward to welcoming healthy classes of both dedicated amateurs and serious young music students at conservatory and post-graduate levels of study. The festival is also offering a full-scholarship position for a student string quartet in residence this year.

Here’s some basic information from the Ischiafestival website-

Ischiafestival 2009: Chamber music played with passion, coached professionally, in a truly stunning Mediterranean setting May 9-16.

The Location

The fabled southern Italian isle of Ischia – dreaming with Capri in the timeless blue waters of the Bay of Naples, is home to the Covo dei Borboni, an elegant, white-washed villa surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens overlooking the sea, which will again be the exclusive venue for our chamber music workshop, that will be held from Saturday May 9th to Saturday May 16th.

The Program

Ischiafestival offers a unique week: playing, studying and enjoying quality, professionally coached Chamber Music. This year’s workshop is privileged to have engaged Byron Wallis, violin, David Yang, viola, Kenneth Woods, cello and conductor, Giuseppe Carannante, clarinet and conductor,and artistic director Aldo de Vero , piano, as resident coaches. Coaching sessions will be focused on specific repertoires (String Quartet, Wind Quintet, Two Pianos) in the morning, and on Strings & Winds with Piano repertoire in the afternoon. Coaching sessions will begin Saturday the 9th at 4 p.m. Evenings after 6 p.m. will be free for sightseeing, free-playing, enjoying the wonderful food, sights and ambience of this charming island as well as being warmly welcome to enjoy listening to the three scheduled concerts during the week. The workshop will end with performances by participant musicians on the evening of Friday, May 15.

Accomodation and Meals

Coaching sessions will take place at the Covo dei Borboni, which features practice rooms, a music library, accommodation in apartments with kitchenettes, and two outdoor pools – one filled with the famed spa thermal waters so special to the Island of Ischia. Meals, services and further accommodation in single, double and triple rooms will be provided by the nearby four-star sister Hotel Grazia Terme at special Workshop rates.

You’re not here to become an entertainer, and you don’t have to sell yourself. The truth is you don’t have anything to sell; being a musician isn’t about dispensing a product, like selling used Chevies. I’m not an entertainer; I’m a lot closer to a paramedic, a firefighter, a rescue worker. You’re here to become a sort of therapist for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well.

Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I expect you not only to master music; I expect you to save the planet. If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual understanding, of equality, of fairness, I don’t expect it will come from a government, a military force or a corporation. I no longer even expect it to come from the religions of the world, which together seem to have brought us as much war as they have peace. If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, because that’s what we do. As in the concentration camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.”

If that rings true to you, read the whole speech from  Karl Paulnack over at Noble Viola, pianist and director of music division at Boston Conservatory, which has been streaking accross the internet the last week or two. Thanks to Ed C for sending it my way.

www.rosecityworkshop.org

admin@rosecityworkshop.org

The musicians of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra, a 501 c.3 non-profit organization, are proud to announce the 5th Annual Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop, July 20-26, 2009 on the campus of Lewis and Clark College in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Each summer, emerging talents from around the world come to Portland for a week of intense study under the guidance of course director Kenneth Woods (Music Director- Oregon East Symphony), Christopher Zimmerman (Head of Orchestras and Conducting- Hartt School of Music) and David Hoose (Music Director- Cantata Singers, Boston and Director of Orchestras at Boston University). You can read about the 2008 workshop in this feature article from the Sunday Oregonian here- http://blog.oregonlive.com/classicalmusic/2008/08/post_4.html

The Emerging Artists program is aimed at young conductors who are in the most advanced stages of their studies or already working professionally. EA repertoire for 2009 includes Verdi- Excerpts from “Aida,” Mozart- Gran Partita for Winds, Beethoven- Piano Concerto no. 4 in G major, Debussy- Prelude a l’apres midi d’un faune and Haydn’s Symphony no. 99.

The Discovery Program is geared towards young conductors beginning their advanced studies, instrumentalists and singers with an interest in conducting and music educators. DP repertoire for 2009 includes Haydn’s Symphony no. 99, Beethoven’s Symphony no. 4 and Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres midi d’un Faune. DP students participate actively in all seminars and classes.

Students conduct the musicians of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra and work with professional soloists including concert pianist Rick Rowley and singers Alexis Hamilton, Esther Mae Moses and Brennen Guillory. Additional classes and seminars will be offered in score study, opera coaching and conducting and musicianship.

All conducting sessions are professionally filmed with CD-quality audio.

All EA students conduct in a final Showcase concert.

The musicians of the RCCO are committed to creating a welcoming learning environment where young conductors can make professional connections and forge friendships while enjoying one of America‘s most beautiful cities.

2009 Tuition for EA program, $920, DP $660

More information and application instructions on our website at www.rosecityworkshop.org

1- Email your CV, a brief cover letter (which can be the body of your email) and two recommendation letters to admin@rosecityworkshop.org.Save a tree- please do not feel the need to provide hard copies of CVs, letters or recommendations. (Recommendations may be sent directly from the applicant or from the author).

2- You must provide us with a weblink to a video of your conducting on a personal webpage, file hosting page or video hosting service. Alternately, you may submit a video or DVD (NTSC or PAL)of your conducting (in rehearsal or concert) to:

Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop

20 Trevethick Street

Cardiff CF11 6EB

United Kingdom

3- Indicate clearly whether you are applying for the Emerging Artists Program, the Discovery Program or would be willing to attend either pending the consideration of your application

4- It is assumed that all applicants have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions on our website, which shall be in force for all students and applicants

5- You must pay the non-refundable Application Fee ($85/ US), which you can do at the Payments page

Priority deadline is April 30, 2009. Late applications may be considered on a space-available basis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ensemble Epomeo and Violinist Suzanne Casey to appear at All Saint’s, Hereford  

The international string trio Ensemble Epomeo will be giving a concert in Hereford on Thursday, 19 March at 7:30 PM at All Saint’s Church. Joining the ensemble will be Hereford-born violinist, Suzanne Casey. The program will include Beethoven’s String Trio in C minor, the Kodaly Intermezzo for Trio and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet no. 3 in E-flat minor. Tickets (10 pounds general admission, 6 pounds concessions) are available at the door. The international string trio will be giving a concert in Hereford on Thursday, 19 March at 7:30 PM at All Saint’s Church. Joining the ensemble will be Hereford-born violinist, Suzanne Casey. The program will include Beethoven’s String Trio in C minor, the Kodaly Intermezzo for Trio and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet no. 3 in E-flat minor. Tickets (10 pounds general admission, 6 pounds concessions) are available at the door.The members of Ensemble Epomeo: violinist Byron Wallis, violist David Yang and cellist Kenneth Woods will also be performing with the Hereford String Orchestra, in concert on Saturday 21 March at Holy Trinity Church, where Mr’s Wallis and Yang will be soloists in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the HSO under Kenneth Woods’ direction. That program also includes Dvorak’s New World Symphony.

I’ve just returned from my Surrey Mozart Players concert, and had a few, rather random thoughts to share while I unwind.

First- a great show. Bravo orchestra.

Now, to back up a bit…. In my post 11 hours at Vftp Headquarters the other day, I quoted my colleague, Erik Klackner’s colourful review of our OES horn section’s outstanding performance of Mahler 5. His comment led me in two interesting directions. One- I don’t want to cast aspersions or hurt feelings, but I don’t think anyone who knew the OES in 2001 would have thought it would be likely that we would ever have a horn section that could deliver one of the best Mahler 5 horn performances I have every heard or might ever hear. At that point, it seemed more likely that orchestras world wide would be replaced by alien minstrels from the  17^th dimension. My point is- whatever the band, whatever the location, whatever the situation- given time, anything is possible, and you should never settle for less than the best in the long term. Today we may have to compromise, but if you take advantage of every opportunity for change and growth that comes along, anything is possible. Read more…

Well, I made it to my SMP rehearsal yesterday after a long flight from Seattle to Heathrow. What is it with men and their elbows on flights? The guy next to be seemed to have no idea that the space on my side of the arm rest was for my body, not his damn elbows.

Anyway- what an interesting gear shift from Mahler 5 to Beethoven 1… I seriously love Beethoven 1- it’s the ultimate orchestral spring clean. In some ways, I think it’s the hardest of the 9 Beethovens, but it’s so rewarding to work on. We worked extremely hard on articulation, rhythm and contrast. It’s one of the most rehearse-able pieces ever because the musical intent is so clear, so you can focus on executing that intent with the greatest possible precision and clarity. I also came up with a wicked new bowing for one bit last night. I love it when that happens. The concert is Saturday at the Menuhin Hall- I think there are only about 20 tickets left, so you should call the box office today if you’re coming.

However, it seems a bit cruel that I have to drive back over today after only 11 hours at home for another rehearsal. I feel fine this morning, but tonight? At least I’m working…

I still promise some more Mahler 5 thoughts, but meanwhile, over at A Musical Rampage, Erik Klackner has some wry and insightful observations.

 On a personal horn level, we fucking rocked the shit.  The principal/obbligatoist was Lydia van Dreel from the University of Oregon, and I officially declare her a bad ass.  Real easy to play with, too, which is key, because there’s an awful lot of teamwork as a section.  I’m not even going to bother mentioning specific examples of our collective shit-rocking, but perhaps when Sean the engineer finishes the recording I’ll toss the link up here for peeps to listen to and confirm what I’m saying.  We weren’t alone…

He’s not just, er, blowing his own horn- our horn section completely demolished the last several bands that I’d heard do the piece. Sometimes it just clicks- with horns it’s all about confidence, and they were, as we say in hoops and harmony, dominant. 

I’m still pondering and reflecting on the performance and how I feel about my own part in it- the piece itself is so huge and complex that I feel like I want to go through the score a few times in post mortem contemplation, and I’ll be anxious to hear how it turned out on recording, but it’s been really satisfying to see so many musicians still buzzing about it after a few days. I certainly miss working on it.

No time for a proper blog here at Seattle Airport, and in all honesty, I think it’s too soon to try to sum up such a memorable, exciting and exhausting weekend.

I was so glad that Pendleton came out and supported us for this concert- our best crowd in a long time, and an instant, screamin’-hollerin’-whoopin’ standing ovation, which the orchestra had more than earned. I was a little worried about turnout- a lot of people worry to me, and eventually I start to fear they may be right. On top of that, we didn’t have a soloist on this concert, it’s a more difficult and abstract piece than the 3 Mahler’s we’ve done so far, it was a Sunday concert (usually 20% less audience for Sundays- don’t ask me why we bother!), and the economy hasn’t been helping ticket sales through the year. To get such a huge turnout meant a lot, and made for an electric atmosphere.

I really shouldn’t have worried. I had a lovely chat on the morning of the concert with a member of the OES Chorale. She was very excited to be coming to Mahler 5 that afternoon, and talked with me a lot about her experience of singing Mahler 2 with us at the beginning of this crazy project. She said that for the last 10 minutes of the piece she, and most of the people around her, just couldn’t stop crying, and that she was shaking all over at the end. I remembered exactly what she was talking about, but time breeds skepticism, and after a few years it’s hard to believe a performance can actually affect people like that (and I was glad for the reminder!), but, of course, that’s what Mahler is all about. Turning you upside down and inside out, stretching musicians and listeners to their limits. When people worry that a rural audience won’t get it, you just have to remind them that Mahler was first and foremost a communicator- give him the audience (and a great orchestra), and he does the rest.

It was great to see the sheer energy, love of music and generally vibrant spirit the OES musicians bring to Pendleton. Everywhere we went in the concert weekend, musicians were talking, laughing, spending money. They even got involved in the local music scene, when a gang of our players sat in with James Kindle and the Eastern Oregon Playboys at the Rainbow on Saturday night after the dress rehearsal. In exchange, the Playboys and their posse came to the Mahler and cheered everyone on.

Anyway, more later, when jetlag has eased. I miss the piece already, but at least I’m doing it again in August at the Harlech academy. Hopefully, some of the Oregon gang will join us for that one.

It’s the morning of our Mahler 5 concert, and, predictably, I’ve been too busy to blog for the last few days as we’ve been putting the program together. We had a good dress rehearsal last night, and I think we’re in good shape for the performance.

It’s always interesting how much you learn and adapt as a conductor during rehearsals for a piece like this, even when you know it well. I have re-thought a few tempos- some because it turned out we could be more daring, others because what worked in my head didn’t groove with the band, but they’re all small adjustments. Still, it’s funny how fast you can, and MUST, recalibrate when you hear the feedback from the orchestra. You may have been hearing something in your head at a certain tempo for months or years, but if it sounds wrong in the room, you’ve got to change in an instant and make the new, right tempo your own.

I came to an important semantic understanding about how I talk about the Scherzo. In my blog post about the tempo the other day, I talked about the importance of the opening feeling like a landler, in three, and not a waltz, in one. It quickly became clear to me that “in three” isn’t exactly right- after a partial run through that felt very wooden and sluggish, I suggested to the players that we try to feel the landler in terms of impulses. Mahler’s constantly varying and playing with groupings of beats, some impulses last one beat only, others two, others a whole bar, and some last three beats across a bar-line. As soon as the players stopped counting “one-two-three, one-two-three” and started counting “one-one-two, one-two-one, two-one-one” or whatever, the movement started to sparkle.

Anyway- we conductors tend to think in terms of flexibility when we accompany soloists, but it’s just as important in purely orchestral pieces, maybe more so. All the research and theorizing and analysis is just a framework. Once you given an upbeat, you have to set aside your prejudices and listen to what’s going on, and respond, react, encourage or adapt as needed.

I’m feeling pretty tired, but nowhere near as tired as the Mahler 2 concert, when I had four rehearsals the day before the concert (this year I had three, which makes a big difference). More importantly, we have a stronger team and better principals in many sections that we did for prior Mahler projects, which limits transferance, which is what really sucks the life out of one. Still, I expect to be wrung out after the show and exhausted tomorrow. I’ll try to sleep on the plane- I’m going straight from Heathrow to an SMP rehearsal when I get home. We’ll be doing Beethoven 1 and the Strauss 1^st Horn Concerto. Funny how like attracts like- doing the Strauss and Mahler 5, two of the ultimate horn showcases, in back to back weeks feels like fate. But please, no puns about Ken’s week of horny concerts.