On my desk- Messiah

by | Nov 30, 2007 | A view from the podium

One of the many scores on my desk this week is Handel’s Messiah, which I suppose is no surprise to anyone given the time of year. Actually, it has been a few years since I last conducted Messiah. The last time I did it was one of those rather rare occasions when one...

NQHO Sampler

by | Nov 29, 2007 | A view from the podium

I’ve written here before about the unique sonic qualities of the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra. The NQHO have updated their website, and have now created a podcast highlighting the the timbres of the individual instruments as used in the band, complete with...

Back to Oxford

by | Nov 27, 2007 | A view from the podium, Haydn

I’ve come across an interesting blog that is new to me, Michael Monroe’s MMmusings. A recent post called “Saving the Best for First,” caught my attention because it alluded to a post of mine about Haydn’s Symphony no. 92, the “Oxford.” Thanks to Michael...

Schvitzing

by | Nov 26, 2007 | A view from the podium, Performing Life

How could it take me so long to stumble upon this gem in the New York Times- “A Little More Sweat, Maestro.” ?   Who is the sweatiest conductor? Answer below! (Photo assembly from the New York Times) It has long been postulated that the aerobic benefits of...

Codas and transitions

by | Nov 24, 2007 | A view from the podium

Just a reminder to our friends in South Wales and the Marches that tonight is the HSO concert with Suzanne playing the Mendelssohn. Also on the program is Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 and Schubert’s Fourth Symphony, one sunny one tragic, one C major, one C minor. This...

Women in the conducting profession

by | Nov 21, 2007 | A view from the podium

Back home after a wild trip to America I have been catching up on news and blogs and came across this post from Lisa Hirsch and the NY Times article by Antony Tommasini she is discussing. I’ve held off talking about the whole “woman conductor” issue for some time...

Quote of the month

by | Nov 18, 2007 | A view from the podium

This is possibly my favorite post concert comment ever, courtesy of Tom (thanks for dinner, Tom!!!!) “You could hear everyone onstage and, you know, there wasn’t any weird shit going on” I loved that! This came out of my mouth this morning in reference to a former...

Ten must-have recordings….

by | Nov 17, 2007 | A view from the podium

Vftp regular Travis asked for my list of the top 10 recordings every musician should have. I chose to include non-classical and to focus on recordings that are not only great listening experiences, but that have something unique to teach us  about the art of...

Now that’s what I call keeping time

by | Nov 16, 2007 | A view from the podium

Well, I’ve finished the last bit of fire related business for me here in Pendleton. As I’ve mentioned before, when I moved to the UK, a lot of my old stuff that I didn’t need on a daily basis stayed in the old office, and most got cooked in the fire. A very few boxes...

Recent comments

by | Nov 14, 2007 | A view from the podium

We were rehearsing one of the developmental episodes in the last mvt of Beethoven 8 last night (the march section), and were having some ensemble problems. It’s normal in passages with repeated staccato notes for players to suffer varying degrees of rushy-ness. So, I...

Orchestra retreat wrap up

by | Nov 12, 2007 | A view from the podium

It’s happy hour on Sunday afternoon (in this case, it’s a caffeine oriented happy hour), and, although I could hardly be more tired, I’m in really high spirits, thanks to the efforts of the OES preparatory orchestra. This youth orchestra is only in its fifth season,...