by Kenneth Woods | Apr 10, 2006 | Mahler
I land in Seattle and have two messages on my voice mail from our principal trumpet. It seems that the third trumpet’s promise to find someone meant that he would ask the principal to find someone for him. Actually, James is remarkably good humored about it (he would...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 8, 2006 | Mahler
Performing a Mahler symphony is like power lifting in ice skates. The musical demands are immense- it is heavy lifting for everyone- and yet the complicated logistics of extra players, off stage instruments, soloists and so on mean that you’re constantly putting...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 5, 2006 | Explore the Score, Mahler, Mahler 2 Notes, Nuts and bolts
Mahler’s Second Symphony is in five movements and was completed in 1894, but the first of those was composed and published several years earlier in 1888 (at the same time as the First Symphony) as a tone poem called “Totenfeier” or “Funeral Rites.” It wasn’t until...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 29, 2006 | A view from the podium
This is a site for listeners and audience members who like to keep track of my concert work. They can use these pages to follow me on my travel, get insights into how concerts happen, and get my thoughts on the concerts they’re coming to or just attended. I’ll also be...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 28, 2006 | Explore the Score, Mahler, Mahler 2 Notes
After the highly-charged, dramatic and ultimately tragic arc of the first movement, it is natural that one would need some time to recover. After all, Mahler waited five years after completing Totenfeier before continuing on to the second movement. As it turns out,...
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