by Kenneth Woods | Feb 2, 2009 | A view from the podium
For my colleagues in the Wilmslow Symphony who’ve epxressed complete bafflement at the meaning of the word “Buckaroo…” (Some of the guesses were VERY funny and amazingly wrong). Here is the definition from Wiktionary- Buckaroo: Etymology Derived from Spanish...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 31, 2009 | A view from the podium
Wow- I’ve won my very own Premios Dardo award, thanks to Jen at Adventures of an Idaho Violist. I’ve been trying to get Jen in with the Oregon East Symphony for a while now, as I’d love to work with her, and I think it would be a hoot having a blogger in the orchestra...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 28, 2009 | A view from the podium
(Apparently, doing this isn’t likely to damage the scrotum. bbc.co.uk) I couldn’t resist linking to a post on the history of the mythical condition known in medical circles as “cello scrotum,” (one I had never heard of until Kristen from Florida forwarded me...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 28, 2009 | A view from the podium, Mahler, Nuts and bolts
A Mahler V query from the mailbag- Question for your thoughts…8 bars before rehearsal 2 in movement 1 the trombones are marked “schwer.” However, that figure isn’t marked like any other time in the movement that I see. The insane stickler for...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 28, 2009 | A view from the podium
Great news from the New York Times today- After controlling for numerous socioeconomic and health factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, the scientists found that the subjects who had reported drinking three to five cups of coffee daily were 65...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 27, 2009 | A view from the podium, Nuts and bolts, Performing Life
I seem to have acquired a reputation somewhere along the line as a conductor who often chooses very challenging programs. (Some regular readers who I work with in various orchestras will already be laughing out loud wondering how I might begin to defend myself against...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 17, 2009 | A view from the podium
Much as I dislike it whenever someone comes up with something that is significantly wittier than anything I’ve written in a long time, I have to admit, this post from Sequenza 21 had me howling. What would Alma Mahler have gotten up to in the age of Twitter? @alma...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 16, 2009 | A view from the podium
I’ve had a number of questions in the olde mailbag the last few weeks. I’m sorry to keep you waiting, but I do love hearing from you, so please keep them coming. Today, “G” asks- Hi Ken, I hope you don’t mind a question from an amateur and (even worse) a choir...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 15, 2009 | A view from the podium
There’s a great piece in the New York Times today about Charles Schulz’s use of the music of Beethoven in the Peanut’s comics. Schroeder plays the Hammerklavier (Photo: Peanuts/United Feature Syndicate, Inc.) In the world of “Peanuts,” of course, Schroeder was the...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 13, 2009 | A view from the podium
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’m spending a lot of time with Mahler 5 these days- I’m doing it on the March1 OES concert, which will be the finale of our Redneck Mahler adventure, and then again in the summer at Harlech. Happily, I’ve managed to keep a fairly...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 13, 2009 | A view from the podium
I’m often struck by how the threads of my life seem to come together in funny and surprising ways. In the midst of getting up to speed on the coming run of concerts, I’ve also had to do a fair bit of planning and preparation for my final three concerts with the Oregon...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 13, 2009 | A view from the podium
There’s some good stuff out there on the ol’ internet to read this week. First, Dick Cavett has a nice piece on the forgotten art of the insult, that is, the forgotten art of the clever insult. I haven’t ever found any great writing on that wonderful and often...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 10, 2009 | A view from the podium
It sounds a bit absurd to express surprise at the death of an 83 year-old man, but I was genuinely surprised to learn of the death of the cellist of the great Borodin Quartet, Valentin Berlinsky, who died a few weeks ago. After 62 years in the quartet, I’d...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 8, 2009 | A view from the podium
I have an alarming number of pieces to learn this week (I have first rehearsals for three big-ish programs in a 4 day period), alongside completion of my UK taxes (argh- I get to do taxes twice a year….), so blog posts may be scarce for a while. Among the works on my...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 6, 2009 | A view from the podium, Music and Media
Hi everyone I’ve just been made aware of this- the last recorded interview with Richard Hickox, available as a podcast on the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra website. Click here to listen, or right click and select “save target as” to download to your computer....
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