by Kenneth Woods | Jul 23, 2007 | A view from the podium
And now onto Siegfried. Many consider the toughest nut to crack in the cycle, and it comes at the toughest point in the day, right after we’ve all gone out for Chinese food…. For episode three we’ve turned to the Met and James Levine. After the leather and lasers from...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 22, 2007 | A view from the podium
As we got to the end of Act II of Walkure, it occurred to me that the moments of unintentional hilarity were getting much harder to find. The despair of Wotan at the loss of his free will, the burden of Brunnhilde to ensure the death of the Walsung, Sieglinde’s shame...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 22, 2007 | A view from the podium
Act I of Walkure is now done- brother and sister have fallen into each other’s arms in libidinous passion to the words “this sword that I now hold,” which is definitely in the top 20 best unintentional laugh lines in the Ring. All props to DB- the Bayreuth orchestra...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 22, 2007 | A view from the podium
The curtain calls for Das Rheingold are finished, and the genius of our plan is apparent. While a live Ring would certainly be cooler, a DVD Ring among friends is an epic idea. In a laid-back setting, all present feel free to heckle or cheer as appropriate. We can...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 22, 2007 | A view from the podium
The definite visual highlight of Das Rheingold is not the hydraulically-operated world tree, not the transformers-robots-in-disguise giants nor is it the Oakley sunglasses on Wotan. It’s the stuffed frog they throw in the air when Alberich changes shapes. In such a...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 22, 2007 | A view from the podium
Das Rheingold begins…A gang of happily insane musicians today embark upon a quest to view all of Wagner’s Ring on DVD in one day. We’ve procured a projector and our hosts have been baking bread since 3 AM. We’ve got fruit, coffee, juice, junk food, veggies. Episode...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 20, 2007 | A view from the podium
So, you come up for air and…… Alan Gilbert has been appointed Music Director of the New York Freaking Philharmonic. I’ve played for Alan and assisted him at the Cincinnati Symphony, and, most importantly, he seemed to dig my conducting at Aspen some years...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 20, 2007 | A view from the podium
My apologies to readers who have been patiently waiting for some new posts here. I’m in the midst of the Oregon East Symphony’s annual summer music camp, which has proved particularly all-consuming this year. The camp draws students from all over the Northwest, but...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 14, 2007 | A view from the podium
UW VIOLINIST MANOOGIAN DIES AT 71 By Jacob Stockinger The Capital Times Virtuoso violinist and longtime University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Vartan Manoogian died Thursday in Spain. He was 71. Manoogian was also the director of the annual Madeleine Island...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 7, 2007 | A view from the podium
Hornist Rebekah Schaub is a graduate of UCLA and now a busy freelancer in the Portland, Oregon region. She has been one three co-principal horn players in the Oregon East Symphony since February of 2006. I asked her the same questions about Lessons in Listening that I...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 6, 2007 | A view from the podium
I interviewed James and Rebekah about lessons in listening via email this week. Rather than combine their answers, which were all fascinating, into a single post, I’ve decided to repost their responses in full separately in two posts. James Smock is a freelance...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 6, 2007 | A view from the podium, Music and Media
Two of my colleagues from the Oregon East Symphony, principal trumpet James Smock and co-principal horn Rebekah Schaub have recently started what I think is a very interesting venture, offering private lessons in listening to music, called, appropriately enough,...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 28, 2007 | A view from the podium, News and Reviews
From the Surrey Advertiser- Surrey Mozart Players Concert. Electric Theatre 23rd June One of my earliest memories from the days when I first played in a Youth Orchestra is being involved in a performance of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture……my first Beethoven! It was...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 28, 2007 | A view from the podium, News and Reviews
UPCOMING CONCERT Hereford String Orchestra Saturday, June 30, 2007 8:00PM Leominster Priory, Leonminster Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor — Nicholas Gethin, cello Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major “Romantic” (ed. Haas – version of1881)...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 26, 2007 | A view from the podium, Performing Life
I spent most of my Monday afternoon adjudicating conducting exams at the Royal College of Music in London. Since I didn’t study in Britain, I was curious to see how their system resembled or differed from the one I trained in in the US. Also, given the fact that...
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