by Kenneth Woods | Dec 19, 2013 | Nuts and bolts, Performing Life
It’s that time of year again, when musicians all around the world are taking another stab at Handel’s Messiah. For me, it means coming back to a piece I’ve done many times after a long-ish break. I didn’t always love Messiah. In fact, when I first encountered...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 12, 2013 | Mahler, Music and Media, Nuts and bolts
I’ve just turned in notes for an upcoming CD on ICA Classics commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passing of Hans Rosbaud, one of the most interesting of 20th C. conductors. That disc of works by Sibelius and Debussy is due out in the early Fall, and is...
by Kenneth Woods | Dec 11, 2012 | Bobby and Hans, Nuts and bolts
Monday, 3 December, 2012 Session 1- 10:00 AM Scheduled: Schumann- Symphony no. 4, mvts 1 and 2 Recording is like nothing else- getting great material on disc requires a rather unforgiving balance of precision and passion. To get the kind of passion and energy that...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 26, 2012 | Nuts and bolts
A review from senior critic Christopher Morley at the Birmingham Post of last week’s Orchestra of the Swan performance in Stratford-upon-Avon featuring trumpet virtuoso, Simon Desbruslais. For space reasons, the original review was slightly cut for the print...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 25, 2012 | Nuts and bolts
Eighteen months ago in a program planning session, this sentence filled me with dread: “How about a clarinet concerto?” Don’t get me wrong- I love the clarinet as much as the next guy, but, in my experience, nobody ever really means “how about a clarinet concerto?”...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 8, 2012 | A view from the podium, Bobby and Hans, Explore the Score, Nuts and bolts
Klangfarbenmelodie, or “tone colour melody” is one of those 2 dollar words we all learned in undergraduate music history class. Simply described, in Klangfarbenmelodie, a single melodic line jumps from instrument to instrument, creating a more-or-less constantly...
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