by Kenneth Woods | May 6, 2009 | A view from the podium, Performing Life
I’m feeling almost too busy to think this week, but I really, really wanted to share a few final thoughts on Shostakovich, Barshai and the op83a Chamber Symphony we performed in Guildford on Saturday. I’m generally very open to arrangements and transcriptions, as were...
by Kenneth Woods | May 5, 2009 | A view from the podium
Hi Everyone-I’m frantically packing for Ischia (and trying to get my cello chops back after a busy few months of stick waving and not much practice), and internet access in Ischia is unpredictable. New blog posts may be scarce for a while, we’ll...
by Kenneth Woods | May 5, 2009 | A view from the podium, News and Reviews, Study with Ken
Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop Discovery Program Welcoming Composers, Instrumentalists, Vocalists, Music Librarians, Undergraduate Conductors, Amateurs, Music Educators, Scholars www.rosecityworkshop.org Priority Application Deadline June 7, 2009 We all...
by Kenneth Woods | May 3, 2009 | A view from the podium
I was reminded during the concert tonight of one of the luckier days in my life as a neophyte conductor. I was at the Round Top festival as a cellist, but had put together a group to play the 13 instrument version of Appalachian Spring. It was the second piece I’d...
by Kenneth Woods | May 2, 2009 | A view from the podium
Intermission So far so good- Ives really came together. I think it would be even better with a bigger string section- it’s very much a chamber orchestra work, but I think the end could be softer with 16 firsts than it can with 6 or 8. This is a fundamental truth that...
by Kenneth Woods | May 2, 2009 | A view from the podium
Dress rehearsal is done and there’s now a bit of peace and quiet before showtime. It seems an article of faith (or just a deeply ingrained part of their training) among British orchestras to “save” a little in dress rehearsals. I suppose everyone with a brain...
by Kenneth Woods | May 2, 2009 | A view from the podium
I’m attempting some minimal live-blogging from today’s SMP programme. We’re on our break. A few brief thoughts…. The acoustic here at the Electric Theatre could not be more different than that at the two rehearsal halls we’ve been rehearsing in. This,...
by Kenneth Woods | May 2, 2009 | A view from the podium, Explore the Score
When Shostakovich began work on his Fourth String Quartet in 1949 his life and career were at a low ebb. After spending most of the late 1930’s in fear for his life, painfully aware that Stalin was watching his every move, Shostakovich had become somewhat used to a...
by Kenneth Woods | May 1, 2009 | A view from the podium, Explore the Score, Favorite posts
When I first got to know the music of Gustav Mahler, I was fascinated by the story of his last years. His most perfect symphony, the Sixth, is also his most tragic. Written at the height of his personal and professional life, its Finale depicts a hero who suffers...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 28, 2009 | A view from the podium, News and Reviews, Study with Ken
This Thursday, April 30th is the priority application deadline for the 2009 Rose City International Conductors Workshop, July 20-26th in Portland, Oregon. Applications may still be considered on a space available basis after this date, but for full, guaranteed...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 26, 2009 | A view from the podium
I had a wonderfully provocative comment from blogger AC Douglas on my recent post Style and Range. He responded to my statement that- I think, at the end of the day, you have to learn absolutely everything you possibly can about style, and then you have to disenthrall...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 25, 2009 | A view from the podium
When I wrote to Clive Brown the other day to let him know how much we’d enjoyed working with his edition of Beethoven 2 in Pendleton he sent me his review of the recent set of Beethoven Symphonies recorded by Anima Eterna under Joos van Immerseel from Early Music in...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 25, 2009 | A view from the podium
Am I proud to be a slacker? Can a conductor be a slacker? (I think we all know the answer) During my summer in the conducting program at Aspen I was often struck by the ability of my former teacher David Zinman to always have at his mental fingertips a wealth of...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 21, 2009 | A view from the podium
I’m back at Vftp International Headquarters, tirde but happy, after a wonderful final concert as MD of the Oregon East Symphony. After a scary beginning to the year in the midst of an economic meltdown, we had our second consecutive huge audience turnout, and after...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 17, 2009 | A view from the podium
Dear Colleagues We are fast approaching the priority application deadline of April 30th for the 2009 Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop. In addition to repertoire which includes Haydn- Symphony no. 99, Debussy’s L’apres midi d’un faune, the Beethoven Fourth...
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