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<\/p>\nGiven that I\u2019ve spent almost 2 weeks and thousands of words describing my few days of rehearsals in Pendleton for our opening weekend of the season in relentless, naval-gazing detail, it may surprise readers to know that I find it very hard to write about concerts. That\u2019s not so much because I feel any particular reluctance to be my own critic- I think I\u2019m old enough to balance an honest assessment of the good and the bad, especially given a few days to distance myself from the rush of success or the heartbreak of a disappointment.<\/p>\n
Instead, I think that because concerts, at their best, are less about playing notes and more about\u00a0 communicating and connecting, they become, in spite of their public nature, much more personal affairs. Funnily, most non-musicians think of the rehearsal and practice process as mysterious and private, but they\u2019re present for the bit that is most mysterious and most personal, and in a way, most private. Rehearsals are nuts and bolts, rational, practical, process-driven things, but concerts are something else entirely, and sometimes we find hard sharing what we felt or experienced.<\/p>\n
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(what is appropriate footwear for a redneck orchestra baby at a concert?)<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0For me, some concerts I give are very emotionally cathartic, all-consuming\u00a0experiences in performance, while others I keep a bit more distance. One can go too far in either direction- I remember doing the Shostakovich E minor with my piano trio when we had every note memorized, completely in our fingers and had played it dozens of times in the preceding weeks at a festival. We laid our souls bare on the stage, and while it was fine, by the end, we\u2019d all lost too much physically to control the soft ending as we wanted to. Two days later, we did it again, holding a bit of ourselves back and it was much better. On the other hand, even in the most intricate modern music, you’ve got to balance fire with intellect or it can get boring. Boulez may look cool, but his performances have heat even in the craziest works.<\/p>\n This concert was a mixture of catharsis and control. In her comment yesterday, Michelle already mentioned she was \u201cpleasantly shocked\u201d at how it all went. I often chat to the audience at the beginning of a concert, but, especially since it was the beginning of the season, I thought it was best to launch straight in with the Dvorak. Since the piece is completely unknown, part of the joy of it is the surprise. It begins slowly and softly, is mostly dramatic and intense, but has a completely over the top, joyful\u00a0ending which Dvorak has masterfully constructed- one that keeps you thinking \u201cokay, this is the climax, the big ending\u201d but keeps getting more and more exciting. Overtures are often wasted on audiences everywhere- they\u2019re too busy digesting their steaks to realize what they\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n Anyway, my strategy, given the lack of the rehearsal time, was pretty simple- take no prisoners. I did take the beginning of the Allegro just the tiniest bit slower than I might have otherwise, mostly just to maximize everyone\u2019s confidence and give the piece room to build, but by the end we were in \u201coh shit, this is really fast\u201d territory, and everyone managed beautifully, and for once the audience responds to an overture\u00a0with a wild cheer. So was this performance as catharsis? Maybe thrill-seeking is a better description\u2026.<\/p>\n Bloch, on the other hand, was always going to need focus and control. It\u2019s less than 24 hours since the train wrecks of the Friday rehearsal, but there are no disclaimers needed for orchestra or soloist. The orchestra\u2019s concentration was amazing, but more amazing was that they played\u00a0 not just like they weren\u2019t blinking (although several did in fact tell me later they didn\u2019t dare blink), but like they actually knew, even owned the piece. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen an orchestra anywhere come so far on a piece of such ferocious difficulty in 24 hours.<\/p>\n Then, finally, Tchaik 4. Fair to say, we gave it our all, and I don\u2019t think there was any evidence that we\u2019d spent so little time on it for the audience to chew on. Yes, Tchaik 4 is definitely a “performance as catharsis” piece. Quintessential”music that makes you want to say ‘rarr.'”\u00a0<\/p>\n Afterwards, I ran into James who said \u201cman, I haven\u2019t been so tired since the last time I played here.\u201d All my projects involve a m\u00e9lange of travel, uncertainty, time pressures and stress, but OES, for a whole litany of reasons, is by far the most draining thing I do. I\u2019m not only, like James, the most tired I\u2019ve been since April, I\u2019m actually feeling rather awful- maybe too tired for my own good. We\u2019ve had crazy weeks before with recitals and who knows what, but this time I\u2019m so tired I\u2019m glad I don\u2019t have to drive any time soon. Maybe it was all the non-musical energy going into resigning and long-range planning, maybe it was the up and down of the Bloch. Anyway, I\u2019m thrilled with the concert and completely unsure how I\u2019ll cope with the chamber music program tomorrow. There sure as hell isn’t time for enough sleep to catch up.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s my problem- for now, safe to say that we\u2019ve lived up to our moniker as the Best Damn Redneck Orchestra in the World (T-shirts are still available on our 2nd<\/sup> printing!), after what I think was the toughest program we’ve done. I had an email today asking what makes us a redneck orchestra. Well, that\u2019s hard to say\u2026 (what’s with the lipstick? vote\u00a0g.o.p. and get a kiss? vote g.o.p. and\u00a0get a lipstick?\u00a0a little slice of main street in the rodeo city)<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/photos-g.ak.facebook.com\/photos-ak-sf2p\/v353\/48\/71\/1013458200\/n1013458200_30178222_4954.jpg\")
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