Various items

by | Nov 8, 2007 | A view from the podium

First, my apologies to anyone who has been unable to access the blog the last couple of days- my webhost seems to be having some kind of major technical problems, apparently this is a widespread problem. Anyway, it’s being worked on, and in the meantime, I am sorry it...

The secret handshake….

by | Nov 8, 2007 | A view from the podium

I write this morning from the warm confines of the KLM Elite lounge at Birmingham Intl airport. Perhaps the only perk of spending so much time traveling is that, every once in a while, the airlines throw you a tiny little biscuit, such as being able to use the posh...

Does the Noise matter?

by | Nov 2, 2007 | A view from the podium, Music and Media

I was delighted and genuinely surprised this morning to see something completely unexpected as the main story on Salon.com- an extended discussion of Alex Ross’s new book, The Rest is Noise from Kevin Berger. I read Salon everyday, and have for some years now, but not...

RCCO: The pre-game show

by | Oct 28, 2007 | A view from the podium

There are some pieces that are great fun to perform, but perhaps not that rewarding to work on. These tend to be works that are high on adrenaline and testosterone that need a big arc of energy, but that perhaps don’t present a lot of opportunities for in depth...

RCCO- Schubert and Haydn

by | Oct 28, 2007 | A view from the podium

Just a quick reminder that the Rose City Chamber Orchestra is performing tomorrow, Sunday September 28th at 3 PM at Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church. Directions and information are available at the RCCO website, and tickets are available at the door. I mentioned...

Haydn the Subversive

by | Oct 26, 2007 | A view from the podium, Haydn

There is an interesting piece in Slate magazine today comparing Haydn and Mozart, which is well worth a read. The author, Erik Tarloff, has some very nice and valid points, however I still think that looking at Haydn primarily as a composer of reason and balance...