Blog BSO

A Walk in the Park

2011-11-30T09:24:00.008-05:00

Dear readers,

I'm writing this from a bus (yes, it's the bus again, saves time in these busy times) on the way back from a brief and very successful weekend the BSO had in the great New York City, performing Honegger's Joanne of Arc at the Stake with our Music Director, Marin Alsop and a big cast of singers, actors and no less than three choirs.

The ride there was blissfully uneventful, and, after dropping stuff backstage at Carnegie Hall, I took a short, but very sweet, walk to Central Park. It was one of those perfect Fall days, with warm sunshine shining down from deep blue skies threaded with contrails upon throngs of people that had come out to enjoy it in every way possible. The active ones, ranging from pick-up soccer games, Frisbee throwers, joggers, rollerbladers, kids frolicking in piles of fallen leaves and on playgrounds, to the passive ones, strolling along and occasionally stopping to watch one of the many performance artists, taking in the sun on the grass at Sheep Meadow, sitting on one of the walls and just observing the people passing by (and speaking many of the world's languages), or enjoying a ride on a horse drawn carriage, feeling and looking romantic all the while trying to ignore the fact that they are, indeed, only feet away from a big animal whose bathroom habits are as controlled and mannered as those of a baby.

And, speaking of performance artists, that's where Central Park really stands out. Not only are they as varied here as anywhere, they also are the cream of the crop. If you can attract the crowds here, where they always have a choice of walking a hundred yards further to hear and see something that is more interesting, or moving, or just plain crazy, then you can make it anywhere! From the always-present caricature artists, to oversize bubble makers, and bicycle and rollerblade tricksters, to the many musicians of all kinds, there's definitely something for everyone.

One particular musician caught my ear as I was descending the steps towards the Mall and the beautiful pond.

He was seated on the wall that surrounds the now dry fountain, playing movements of solo suites by Johann Sebastian Bach. His sound was beautiful, his intonation impeccable, his style just right. Yet there he was, in not so ideal conditions (were the cool temperatures a reason he was holding his bow the way a lot of bass players do-German style?), surrounded by masses of people speaking many languages all at once, with competition from other musicians nearby, minding his own business of making beautiful music. His open cello case, lying by his feet, the top leaning on the wall of the fountain, was full, and getting fuller by the minute, of one dollar bills. An elderly Grandmother, a young German couple, a little girl clenching the doll she took for a walk in the park, were all moved and felt like they had to contribute something to this classiest of street artists. As a colleague, I contributed more, and started walking briskly back to Carnegie Hall, so I could make it back in time for my rehearsal. But, there was another wonderful distraction waiting for me. A couple had stopped on a path and was quietly looking up at something. On a low branch on one of the golden-yellow linden trees, near the children's carousel, stood a large peregrine falcon. His head moved left and right, as his small but sharp eyes, separated by his razor-sharp beak, surveyed the park, probably looking for a snack. After a couple of minutes, his body stiffened, his head perked up, and he lifted his large wings to get what had caught his attention.

At that point, pressed for time, I had concluded that I'd had enough inspiration for one day, and it was time to go make some beautiful music.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Opera Update

2011-11-07T09:25:00.007-05:00

So, here we are in the pit of the Lyric, ready for the three hours of overt emotions, death, unexpressed love, and great music that Verdi's Traviata offers. And then, the unthinkable happens: the computer that controls the lighting crashes, and the many hundreds of Baltimore's finest patrons, that have been waiting way too long for the Grand Opera to show its presence in this fine city, have to wait another thirty minutes for the show to start.

But all is forgiven and quickly forgotten when the first notes of violins start playing a melody that is heart-wrenchingly beautiful and yet hints at the tragic things to come, and the glorious curtain rises to reveal a party scene that starts the story...

Grand Opera is back in Baltimore!

"Ides of October"

2011-11-04T14:29:00.015-04:00

So Mother Nature decided to poke fun at us last Saturday (and didn't even have to use Facebook’s poke button for it). Just a couple of weeks after relishing in how the aforementioned "Mother" was right on the dot in sending flocks of Canada Geese due North, I was flying due South on I-83 early one Saturday morning to start my teaching day at Peabody, when she sent a full-fledged winter storm into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast before October even had a chance to have a last word. People were sent scrambling to find car brushes and shovels; cities had to re-equip their trucks in order to push snow off of highways; all this just a few days after our sand boxes got delivered to hilly street corners (ours was still empty)! Also, I must say that hibiscus trees, butterfly bush flowers and marigolds look oh so wrong with a snowy white background behind them.

The BSO's trip to Strathmore was, fortunately, accident-free as we traveled to play an energy-filled concert with Barry Douglas as a soloist and Vasily Petrenko as guest conductor, featuring Rachmaninov's Symphony #3. Mr. Douglas used to play with us fairly often when David Zinman was our Music Director, and we recorded the #3 , together with #2, many years ago in my first few years in the orchestra.

It's funny how a brain plays games and tricks with musicians. Many times in my career, while playing a rehearsal or a concert, a very quick image of something or somebody from the past would appear in, and just as quickly disappear from, my mind (you'd be surprised how, despite the hundreds of bytes of information we are required to keep track of while performing, our brains sometimes venture off to mundane things like what we need to get at the grocery store!). After this happened one too many times, apparently at random, I started to come to a conclusion that I must have been playing that very same music when the given event happened. Now I don’t really have time to keep a diary of all our weekly programs and events from that week, but it would be interesting.

Speaking of interesting (and new), this Friday evening will be the very first time I’ve played a performance of a genuine opera in a pit, as the BSO brings the opera back to Baltimore in concerts in two performances of Verdi’s dramatic La Traviata. It’s been an amazing experience, with a great cast of singers, beautiful sets, and an extremely capable conductor who holds it all together. It has also been great listening to my colleagues that have been in the BSO just slightly (and a few, a lot) longer than me (coming up to my 21st year!) tell the many stories and memories from their days at the Lyric (before the Meyerhoff was built).

This will be a truly memorable weekend for the city and its music lovers. If there are any tickets left, it’ll be the place to see and be seen this weekend, so hurry and get some! We promise at least a few tears and many laughs, accompanied by some of the most beautiful music ever written. I also suggest a visit to Little Italy before and after-you’ll surely be craving some great Italian food after this!

(Little Italy, Baltimore)

-Ivan Stefanovic

"Beautiful Days"

2011-10-21T10:35:00.008-04:00

The way Beethoven expresses his feelings: "I love you"
The way Debussy expresses the same feeling: "It's a beautiful day"

This is how this weekend’s guest conductor, Louis Langrée, explained the way Impressionist composers convey their feelings to audiences. His audience was one drawn by Free Fall Baltimore, which allowed many to attend a working rehearsal of two masterpieces each of Mozart and Debussy that are part of a beautiful program that also features a masterful violin soloist James Ehnes. There are two concerts remaining, Friday and Saturday evening. Don't miss this treat for the ears!

Bolt for the BSO Update

Last Saturday, Bolt for the BSO came to a rousing end in the form of the Baltimore Running Festival, which we all lovingly call the Baltimore Marathon. Many musicians, administrators and Board members, as well as our Music Director, Marin Alsop (together with her son), ran an array of races from 5K's to the full marathon. Some ran as veterans of these events, many more ran for the very fist time.

It turned out to be a glorious day, with full sunshine backed by azure-blue skies and just enough of a breeze to make sweating a negligible side-effect. Some 25,000 runners from all states of the Union and 24 different countries participated in this incredible display of humans working together for the common cause: to exercise, to lose weight, to achieve and surpass personal records, and, primarily (for most of us, one can hope), to have fun.

BSO's "Bolters" had an additional goal - to, in a way, justify and thank all of the generous donors who helped us get, as of today, very close to our goal of raising at least $50,000 for our beloved orchestra. The good news is that there's still time, until November 1, for you to pick and sponsor a runner and therefore contribute in this inspired and oh-so-well run and organized effort by Cynthia Renn, our Governing Member Extraordinaire (and many others) to help this incredible arts organization continue contributing its talents to the city and state it's in, at the highest level of excellence. You can do so by going to this link: www.active.com/donate/Bolt2011, or, if you really like my blog, here's my personal Bolt fundraising page: http://www.active.com/donate/Bolt2011/B2011IStefan.

Here are a few of my impressions from the race:

-Favorite moment (other than the obvious one of crossing the finish line): The start of the race, after a heart-felt rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, with thousands cheering and confetti flying.

-Favorite sign alongside the race: "WORST PARADE EVER". Made me laugh so hard that I lost my pace for a few seconds.

-Favorite scene: Coming down the hill from Harford Rd. and seeing the first few hundred racers already circling the deep-blue waters of picturesque Lake Montebello, leading a long snake of runners that stretched for miles.

-Favorite not-so-legal, yet so Baltimore-like scene: A couple, set up with a small table in front one of the colorful row-houses in Charles Village, handing out beer in open cups to runners, as a Baltimore Policeman stands, ignoring them, a few feet away

-Favorite revelation: That the waters of the above lake were such a deep blue color because of the wind which, as we circled the lake and noticed whitecaps forming, hit us dead-on and followed us to the finish line, probably slowing down each runner's time by a few precious seconds.

-Favorite way to take advantage of a captive audience: Several musicians (bands) set up along the way, of which the one somewhere on Howard St. takes the cake for the least inspiring singing/playing. Made me run faster, just when I was starting to loose energy!

-Favorite effort at getting their sign noticed: A guy from Occupy Baltimore, near Patterson Park, running on the side of the course in the opposite direction of hundreds of participants , holding a 99% sign.

-Favorite side-effect of the race: The many policeman manning the intersections in the impoverished parts of town, allowing some of our fellow citizens to feel safe enough this one time in a year to come out on their stoops, many in their pajamas, and heartily cheer on (and for some, sing and dance) the strangers that would otherwise be too scared to even drive through their neighborhoods. Touching and inspiring.

And now, I think I bought myself some bragging rights:

Half-Marathon time 1:51:59 (about 8.5 minute miles), significantly better than last year's 1:57:something, which was my first ever race, after I had just started running that summer.
120th in my age category
1,200 overall (of about 11,000 half-marathon runners).

Not too bad for a second violinist :)

"Lessons"

2011-10-14T09:56:00.011-04:00

(This is the first response to the BOLT donation challenge I wrote about below.)

Lesson:

–an amount of teaching given at one time

–a period of learning or teaching

–a passage from the Bible read aloud during a church service

–to learn one's lesson

–to teach someone a lesson

So many meanings, yet they all really mean one thing. I especially like the last one. Even with its oh-so-obvious meaning in the music world, it still carries that admonishing connotation that I never want to convey when I am, indeed, “teaching someone a lesson.”

So, the word itself essentially means that there is some kind of learning process happening during a usually pre-assigned period of time (hey, maybe I should send that meaning to Webster's, I think it's pretty good?). If one looks at it that way, the implication is that there's a teacher (coach, trainer, etc.) doing the teaching, and a student (apprentice, sports player, etc.) doing the learning. However, anyone that's devoted any time to teaching (in my case, over 20 years) knows that it is much more of a two-way street.

In music, this couldn't be more accentuated (excuse the pun). A musician (student) spends countless hours being instructed (taught) on so many different levels: holding the instrument properly, having the correct body posture, specific (and countless) technical exercises; but all that work ties into the “product” they are creating: the glorious music that's supposed to come out of their instrument. And therein lies the catch.

It's hard enough for a teacher to put into words what he/she knows at that point in their career (hopefully) so well, especially with regards to purely technical aspects of playing: the tricks to playing with a straight bow, control of a good spiccato (a bouncing stroke), the various widths and speeds of an expressive vibrato. Even those concepts require a lot of “translating” from what comes so naturally and what our teachers so capably put into words for us so many years ago. The real challenge comes when a teacher is confronted, whether with a new student or for the first time altogether, with having to convey a meaning of a musical phrase, a direction of a certain musical idea, or a style of music from many centuries ago. That's the real challenge in teaching.

Even after so many years in the profession, I still find it stimulating to exchange ideas with my students about what all those symbols on the page are trying to convey, to get them to discover for themselves how to use all those techniques we worked so hard on in order to make sounds that move and, yes, entertain, the listener. And that's a lesson that teaches both the student and the teacher.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Bolt for the BSO Challenge

2011-09-29T15:03:00.010-04:00

Dear blog readers,

Now that the BSO's season (and other ensemble's seasons that I am involved in) is in full swing, and my kids are all settled in their schools, and, after I spent many hours on the phone with a not-to-be-named company whose name starts with the letter V and finally got my phone and Internet service troubles squared away, I promise to write more often, like I did last season. To help me with that, I propose to you a unique challenge: if you donate $25 or more (and do feel free to be more generous:) to Bolt for the BSO (see more on that in a recent entry below) in my name, you will buy yourself a right to ask me to write a blog (not just 2-3 sentences, I promise) on any topic that you choose, music-related or not. I know, I'm really putting myself on a limb, but wonderful people that organized this effort are working so hard on this, and I feel like this is a great opportunity to help from my end in this unusual way. As soon as I see your donation (I get a notice of it right away), I will write to you and ask you to post your topic of interest on the blog (as an answer to this post), or send me an e-mail with a topic, and I'll write a response within a few days.

And speaking of the season being in full swing, don't miss this weekend's performances with Yan Pascal Tortelier, one of our favorite guest conductors, as he leads us in Sibelius' atmospheric Fifth Symphony (with a most dramatic ending) and Elgar's powerful Concert-Overture named In the South (as in Italy, which is the South to Britons). Cuban pianist Horacio Gutiérrez, who is an old friend of the BSO (we have produced several recordings with him under the baton of David Zinman), will play Mozart's opera-induced Piano Concerto No. 19 (make sure to listen for quotes from his operatic opus in the last movement!).

Check out this YouTube video of Tortelier, whose father was the eminent cellist Paul Tortelier, as a young and virtuosic violinist in a performance of the difficult La Tzigane by Maurice Ravel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15XGTHaJIu0

-Ivan Stefanovic

Bolting In Montenegro

2011-09-08T09:45:00.010-04:00

Hi, Ivan here.

I just wanted to clarify why I started this blog with "Dear fellow Bolters". Bolters, as I named ourselves, are members of the orchestra, administration and friends of the BSO who are running in the 2011 Baltimore Running Festival in October. We are members of Bolt for the BSO (hence "Bolters"), an organization that was started last year by a BSO Governing Board member in order to raise money for the organization.

We were very successful last year, and plan to be even more so this year. The fun aspect of this (other than running) is that you can sponsor me by going to this page: http://www.active.com/donate/Bolt2011/B2011IStefan, or any of us on the home page: http://www.active.com/donate/Bolt2011.

Thank you all for being our supporters in so many ways!

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Dear fellow Bolters, I have spent the last couple of weeks in beautiful Montenegro (part of former Yugoslavia), where my sisters and I used to spend our summers in our parents' house, built some 50 years ago. I'm here now with my family of five (my wife Jennifer and our three boys), and also my older sister and her two children.

After recuperating from an overnight train trip from Belgrade to the Adriatic Coast which took much longer than anticipated due to some technical problems, and taking a few days off from training, I started running again.

My parents' place is located on the beach of a beautiful town called Sveti (Saint) Stefan, whose crown jewel is a unique city-hotel situated on a rocky island (now connected by a small bridge to land) that originally housed fishermen, starting around the 15th century, and now houses the rich and famous that can afford it. To get to that spectacular view and the beginning of my running path, there's a good warm-up in the form of a few stairs between the beach buildings. Then I am greeted by this view:

Next comes a downhill, with views of spectacular mountains just being touched by the sun, through these tall pines:

Further down, ok the side of the road, I take note of the newly ripe wild blackberries, which I consume on the way back:

The same fate awaits these figs:

In the middle of my path, I come upon two gates like the one below, which used to be stationed by guards watching over the royal grounds.

Montenegro used to be a kingdom, and the king's palace is still standing on a beautiful stretch of beach, now also turned into a luxury hotel:

Next is the tiny and precious Queen's beach, where one can imagine she could escape from her husband's ramblings about his prowess:

At the end of a longish uphill, the rays of Adriatic sun haven't yet reached the cozy fisherman's village of Pržno, where the catch of the day means literally just that in the beach-side restaurants, as the seafood is brought right to them and then presented to patrons on big circular platters for their perusal, in place of a menu:

Upon my return, I usually get right into my inflatable kayak that I travel with, and meander over to some isolated beach in the stillness of the early morning for a refreshing swim, as I await the sun to reach over the mountains into the blue-green water:

Then it's time for a jog up many stairs to the village for some fresh bread, eggs and oatmeal, and a hearty breakfast. A great way to start a day, get exercise, and then continue the "cross-training" with spear fishing, and more swimming, kayaking, climbing over rocky islands, and general beach fun with my wife and our three boys.

My batteries will, I trust, be fully charged and ready to go for both the Bolt for the BSO Half-Marathon in October, as well as the next great season of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Monday Muse

2011-06-06T09:52:00.002-04:00

Good morning!

This week the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs our last concert of the 2010-11 Season, Verdi's Messa de Requiem on June 9-12.

But don't worry! You can still join the BSO at any of our summer concerts!

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"I adore art...when I am alone with my notes, my heart pounds and the tears stream from my eyes, and my emotion and my joys are too much to bear."
-Giuseppe Verdi

Monday Muse

2011-05-31T09:33:00.002-04:00

Good morning!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

This week the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra welcomes piano great Emanuel Ax on June 2-5.

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"It is not hard to compose, but what is fabulously hard is to leave the superfluous notes under the table."
-Johannes Brahms

One Note at a Time

2011-05-26T10:52:00.006-04:00

Last weekend, as I was putting together some raised vegetable and herb beds in my garden, I had my two younger sons as my helpers. They really enjoyed themselves when I asked for their help with drilling holes in the wood, and then fastening the screws, as much as any boy enjoys using power tools. We also make our own compost and we find that it's such a pleasure to not only recycle paper and plastic, but to also reuse our leftover food to grow more food. That task, of getting it out of the compost bin and mixing it with the soil before planting, I left for myself, knowing what kind of "yuck" reaction I'd get from them (I, for one, think it smells slightly sweet, a testament to how much fruit we all eat).

Then there was some clean up to do, left over from the winter and spring, around the new garden beds-leaves, twigs, general yard refuse. My middle son started raking it, but it was a relatively big area, and he got tired and discouraged after a while. When I saw how he was doing it, I walked over to him, marked several smaller square-shaped parcels, and told him to do them one at a time. His face brightened, and, like any parent would, I saw a teachable moment. I reminded him how I have, in some of our cello practice sessions, told him to never look at any big problem straight in the eye, and to instead divide it into many more manageable problems, ones that can be solved without him feeling overwhelmed. Then I took a step further, and said that he can use that tool in any life situation that requires problem solving. That was of course a step too many, because at that point he rolled his eyes in the "there goes Dad lecturing me on life again" and proceeded to do as advised, but still, he got the point.

I had a couple of opportunities lately to practice what I preach. First, I realized that I use just such a way of thinking when I, in my typical fashion, made myself go up the steep Falls Rd. to Roland Ave. hill for the second time in a run, as I get myself ready for the Bolt for the BSO-in my case, Half-Marathon in October. Instead of looking up to the top of the hill, I usually look at the beautiful houses on the side of the road, one by one, and then it seems so much easier. The next opportunity came when i was facing hundreds of seemingly unrelated, fast (REALLY FAST) sixteenth notes in a really cool William Walton Symphony #1 that I had to get ready for the first rehearsal on Tuesday, for this weekend's concerts. It seemed a daunting, almost impossible task to look at the endless black circles with stems on the page and think, "I am going to have to play this in front of thousands of people in a concert soon." But, when approached slowly, one measure, one phrase, one furiously paced page at a time, it became, well, possible that I might survive. Not to mention that I was encouraged by the fact that dozens of my colleagues were using the same practice method at that very same time.

Come this weekend and see how well it worked! As I said, the Symphony, which we have not played in decades (if ever), is quite a power house of emotion. The rest of the program, led by the very methodical and very musical guest conductor Carlos Kalmar with Karen Gomyo on violin, is Mahler, Sibelius and Walton on Friday, May 27 at the Meyerhoff and Saturday, May 28 at Strathmore.

P.S. Check out this beautiful rainbow I caught on a walk last week, between a rehearsal and a concert, as it was trying to imitate the graceful architecture of Strathmore Hall.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Monday Muse

2011-05-23T09:47:00.000-04:00

Good morning!

This week we are preparing for our Classical Concert of Mahler, Sibelius and Walton with Carlos Kalmar, conductor and Karen Gomyo, violin. Our Monday Muse celebrates the composer Gustav Mahler.

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"A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything."
~Gustav Mahler

Monday Muse

2011-05-16T10:47:00.000-04:00

Here is your second Monday Muse quote to get your creativity started for the week!

Our BSO SuperPops concert this week features Rodgers and Hammerstein at the Movies and some of their most well known movie musical favorites such as Oklahoma!, The King and I and Carousel.

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"After the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, songs became part of the story, as opposed to just entertainments in between comedy scenes."
~ Stephen Sondheim

Memories of Schumann

2011-05-13T13:56:00.000-04:00

A boy is lying in a hospital room bed in the Swiss Alps, listening to a beautiful orchestral piece on a radio that is sitting next to his unfinished meal that most Moms, including his, would not call a meal for their son. The son in question is 14 years old, and he just underwent a minor, yet for him, frightening, surgery on his big toe. He's now enjoying the ebb and flow of the piece, almost as much as the view out of his hospital room window, through which he is following hang gliders as they gracefully descend from the snow-capped mountain peaks, circling ever so slowly, until they finally land on a grassy field. This nirvana is only occasionally interrupted by cheers coming from a few rooms down the hallway, the common room, where the patients that are able and allowed to move are watching the Los Angeles Olympic Games on a TV set.

That boy is me, many years ago, and the setting is a city hospital belonging to a small town of Samedan, just up the valley from Interlaken (my colleagues reading this will get a kick out of this, since I am one of only a few that didn't go to the well-known American summer camp, Michigan's Interlochen). I was a representative of my native country, then called Yugoslavia, in this camp where the Youth Orchestra of European Countries was rehearsing for a 10-day long Tour of Europe. Great experience for a budding musician except for the fact that, after having gone through a week of rehearsals, I got an ingrown toenail after a strenuous hike (and wearing some ill-fitting shoes) in the Alps just at the end of that week, and landed in the hospital with blood poisoning that could have ended something a lot more important to me and my loved one than that Tour.

The piece that I was listening to from my hospital bed was Schumann's darkly dramatic Manfred Overture, one of three Schumann pieces we are playing in this week's concerts, and one that we had rehearsed so diligently in the week prior, while enjoying the gorgeous vistas through the oversize windows of the orchestra room. That's why this piece always stirs up some strong memories in me, and why I look forward to playing it every time it's on the program. Robert Schumann had a very interesting life, and it shows in his works, so what better way to grasp it but through the BSO Robert Schumann - A Romantic Original concert this week on Thursday and Sunday in Baltimore. And on Friday at Strathmore and Saturday at Baltimore Marin Alsop, in her usual casual, yet informative style, will unravel Schumann's life in front of your eyes (and ears, of course) for the Off the Cuff performance of Schumann's Beautiful Mind. Not to be missed!

And during the Overture, if you look carefully, you might see small figures flying through thin mountain air in my eyes.

-Ivan Stefanovic

The BSO & The Economy

2011-04-28T14:22:00.000-04:00

Imagine that you are in charge of a company during these hard economic times, and you are told by your financial advisers and colleagues that you have to make some tough cuts in order to keep it floating. Your responsibility is to bring down a 1.5 trillion dollar deficit, a bit over one-hundredth of one percent of your budget. And imagine knowing that such a cut would basically shut down what most people consider not a luxury, but a necessity, especially in hard times. Would you say, "Yeah, go ahead, do it"?

Well, that's what has recently been the talk of the town among our legislators, who make decisions for a "company" called USA, in regard to cutting down the National Endowment for the Arts. Now, you may say that the NEA sometimes uses its funds to support things you, or I, or just about nobody considers art and many other more concrete things in our life (like sports scores for example) is in the eye of the beholder. But, even if you say you don't care for art at all, you have no use for it in your life, and we need to make sure our cities survive these crises. So, if you don't care to feed not just the mouths but also the souls of our fellow citizens, let's just talk sheer numbers: the Arts are responsible for bringing hundreds of millions of dollars to cities in which they thrive, and lead to over $5.7 jobs annually. In the Baltimore area alone, all things put together, BSO's contribution to the region's coffers is estimated about $18 million!

On Wednesday, we had about 20 very special people on the Meyerhoff stage with us during our rehearsal of Brahms' Second Symphony. What makes them special is that they commit to the BSO not only financially (and very generously), but also in so many other ways. They are BSO's Governing Members, and they go out of their way and organize fun gatherings in order to meet us, get to know us personally, and help us stay afloat. They spread the word about what we do, bring people to concerts, and organize fun and lucrative fund raising events (see Bolt for the BSO, coming up this fall). They are the ones that really care about the music, many of them know it well, and also know that without them we wouldn't be here.

Dear Legislators, please don't let people like that be the alone in keeping our cities in the black. We all deserve better.

And now, let's forget the numbers and talk music: this week's concerts are sure to move your soul, with some great masterpieces led by a conductor new to the BSO, Cornelius Meister, who is bringing the best in us. The program includes Bruch's rarely heard Violin Concerto #2, with our great Concertmaster, Jonathan Carney. See you there.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Monday Muse

2011-04-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

Hello fans! We thought this would be a nice addition to our blog to include every Monday a quote from a Classical artist or about music. We hope this gets those creative juices flowing for the week! Please tell us what you think and share your responses to the quote.

Our concert this week features Brahms' Second Symphony who, besides being one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period, was a man of simple lifestyle who generous supported the causes of others. Learn more>>

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"What would become of all historical biography if it was written only with consideration for other people's feelings?"
~ Johannes Brahms

Cathy McClelland: My First 5K

2011-04-18T10:47:00.000-04:00

Beginning today, we will be welcoming some Guest Bloggers who will be sharing their experience from Bolt for the BSO 2010. Bolt for the BSO is to raise money and awareness of the BSO's mission to provide programs that educate, engage and entertain music lovers of all ages. To learn more about Bolt for the BSO, click here.

Our first guest blogger is Cathy McClelland. This is what she had to say about her experience:

In 2010 I did my first 5K and had the time of my life! Not only did I finish better than I could ever have imagined in the race, I had the best time raising money for the BSO. I not only walked/ran a race for the BSO but I ran a competition with other participants to see who could get the most donors and the most money. Our challenge was who could get the most contributions and from how many countries and states where involved. Everyday I would check to see where I stood in the totals. I hope that this year others will have the same great experience. Wouldn't it be great if we had donations from all 50 states? Staff from the BSO cheered us on and met us at the finish line. I know all of us who participated had a GREAT time. Please join us this year.

Want to help Cathy reach her goal this year? Support her here.

The Tale of Three Captains

2011-04-15T13:16:00.000-04:00

Symphony Orchestras are, in so many ways, like ships. They sail many seas, endure numerous storms, enjoy colorful and calm sunrises and sunsets, and drop anchors in many different inlets-all under many different helmsmen turning the wheel and pulling the halyards. I have been privileged to enjoy the guidance of three such helmsmen (of which one happens to be a helms-woman). The latest one is, of course, the current one, Marin Alsop. David Zinman became the first one when he hired me a bit over twenty years ago. The one in the middle, Yuri Temirkanov, I had the pleasure of hearing and seeing at Strathmore Center on Tuesday night, as he steered and navigated the mighty ship named St. Petersburg Philharmonic, on their tour of the United States.

As I settled into an unfamiliar seat (the only ones whose feel I know were about to be occupied on stage by the orchestra members), realizing that I have never taken in a concert at Strathmore from that vantage point, I was pondering how many of my fellow audience members were wondering if the musicians' bus was running late. The stage was strangely empty, and it was about time for a downbeat. But this orchestra, like many orchestras outside of the U.S., makes a collective entrance that is as dramatic as it is, well, musically sensitive. There is something special about hearing the first piece of music in a concert emerge from a void of musical sound, rather than hearing most of the tunes from the program before the concert actually starts. As they quickly took their seats, that familiar figure of almost aristocratic poise but relatively quick pace emerged from the left, a slight but distinctive smile on his face as he greeted the audience.

The first sounds of Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter's Overture washed over the hall (all right, I'll now try to stop the maritime references) and reminded me and many of the BSO colleagues that traveled south for this concert of the type of sound Maestro Temirkanov drew from us when he was in town. Being of Russian origin, where choral tradition is strong and those deep, sonorous Slavic men's voices dominate the landscape of music, he always build his string sound from the ground up, that ground being thick and very firm underfoot (see, we're back on dry land). The basses in St. Petersburg Philharmonic are situated right behind the first violins, on the left side of the stage, and also behind the cellos, where are in the place familiar to us as reserved for second violins. The effect of this seating is startling and very, well, effective. The orchestra also seemed to sit more closely together, giving them a very cohesive sound that embraced the audience like honey hangs on a spoon. This was especially true in the Brahms' Fourth Symphony, which reminded me of a concert of, I think, his Second Symphony that Temirkanov conducted with the BSO years ago.

The great violinist Pamela Frank was a soloist in that concert, and, she chose, like only very few of her colleagues in the soloist circles, to join us in the second half, playing from the back stand of the Second Violins. As a very inspired and heart-felt reading drew to a close, Temirkanov bowed to the audience, then looked a Pam, in order to acknowledge her once more. I watched his face turn from a smile, to a display of puzzlement, then to maybe a smirk of self-satisfaction, as he seemed to manage to move her to tears. (Another explanation of her reaction is, I think, that as soloists, these incredible musicians sometimes miss out on the many joys of making and creating great music together with so many people on stage).

But I digress, though I really don't want to turn this into a review of the concert-that's better left for the professionals. The soloist in Tuesday's concert was a great cellist Alicia Weilerstein, who played a very deeply felt and energetic, virtuoso performance of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto. Right after, during intermission, Maestro Temirkanov was clearly pleased and touched to see so many of us there. Orchestras and conductors form a bond in every concert, at home and abroad, on tours, and that stays with us a memories never to be forgotten.

There are many such wonderful memories we share with David Zinman and there surely will be those that we'll recall once Marin Alsop leaves town. In the meantime, the ship sails on.

P.S. I understand there are only a few selected tickets left for our performances of Charlie Chaplin's movie The Gold Rush on Saturday night, and maybe a few more for Sunday afternoon. The music is absolutely beautiful and witty, and the movie is, well, Chaplin-definition of a genius. I strongly urge you to come and bring everyone you know. It's a rare movie that everyone in the family can enjoy, and, yes, it is very special when it is accompanied by a live orchestra.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Kids : Our Future

2011-04-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

A couple of Saturdays ago I had an unusual break in my usual day-long teaching schedule at the Peabody Preparatory, where I teach violin and coach chamber music and the strings of the Peabody Youth Orchestra. My youngest son, who takes cello lessons and group cello class there, also had a break in his schedule, and, since he has been talking about his desire to repeat our summer trip on Baltimore's free downtown bus, the Circulator, I decided it was time for a fun ride. We walked a few blocks south on St. Paul, toward the Inner Harbor, turned east on Baltimore Street, then sat on a bench on Charles to wait for the Purple Bus to take us back to Mt. Vernon Square. He kept updating me on the bus stop display, alternately looking in the other direction to check on the street how accurate the sign is ("2 minutes away, 1 minute away, arriving"). It finally arrived (I had gotten a bit tired of the updates), and we boarded it. Even though he has been in many different modes of public transportation in his short life, including his favorite electric tramways in my native Belgrade, he still gets pretty excited when he gets the chance to use one. He looked around, wide-eyed, at his fellow passengers and the streets-cape that was passing us by, then, with great aplomb, pressed the "stop requested" button as we started climbing the small hill by Peabody. A half hour later he was all concentration, tongue slightly sticking out of a corner of his mouth, busily trying to match the speed of his teacher's bow in the group class, playing several pieces by memory, even advising his fellow students on proper technique.

Kids his age, some younger and some older, were also on the Meyerhoff stage on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon, playing their debut with the BSO in front of adoring Moms, Dads and siblings, as well as out regular audience. They come from areas of the city where even the free Circulator bus is not an option for a bit of fun because, simply, there may not be anyone available to take them downtown, as both parents might be working most of the day (and some at night). But that didn't stop them from attending the classes of the Bucket Brigade, a beginner percussion program, or later switching to cello, violin or flute, after their regular Elementary school classes, as part of BSO OrchKids program. For those of you that don't know, it's based on an extremely successful program in Venezuela, called El Sistema, which has by now created thousands of kids that play in hundreds of youth orchestras across that underdeveloped country. There are only a couple more such programs in the United States so far. And I say so far, in spite of the recent calls for cutting of public funding for arts in schools, non-profit organizations, and such. The fact is that arts bring millions of dollars to our cities' economies, and without them they could not survive. But, even if not a single of the OrchKids children ends up in the music field as part of their lives, or takes up an instrument to play it again, or even becomes one of our patrons, they will have developed life-long skills of team play, discipline, long-term work that pays off in small increments, patience, and too many more to mention here that they can't get any other way. Their brains will also develop in such way that will increase their success in other fields (and we don't need studies to prove that, OrchKids have the stats if you want to see them).

So let's stop and think where our efforts and money should go. More arenas and stadiums, so that we can subsidize multi-million dollar contracts that our sports teams demand, or concert halls and opera houses where orchestras are falling one by one with minimal support from our government.

Thank you all who have contributed to the BSO over the last almost 100 years of its existence, and let's help it reach its centennial with the musicians and staff on solid financial ground, so we can continue to entertain, and, yes, educate our children.

They are truly our future.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Enough is Enough!

2011-03-25T15:17:00.000-04:00

"Possibility of some accumulating snow this weekend."
Normally I would react to words like these the way any 5 year old does, even though I'm far from being that young anymore: with great joy and anticipation. I am an avid skier, and one of those people that just can't get enough snow. I always find it magical the way snow transforms any landscape into something so clean and pure (at least for a short while, here in the city). But it's almost April in Baltimore people! I have already had a run or two outside, in shorts and short sleeve shirts, and have reluctantly given up any dreams of doing just a few more runs in a neighborhood ski resort. Enough is enough! Daffodils need to come up unhindered, tulips don't need to fight through the the white stuff to display their rainbow colors, and forsythia won't be happy to have its sunny flowers weighted down by a blanket of white.

Whether it happens or not, the BSO is playing some sunny pieces on the first half of its concerts this weekend. Another of our favorite guest conductors, Yan Pascal Tortelier, is leading us in the elegant Valses Nobles and Sentimentales by Ravel as well as Grieg's melodious and very romantic Piano Concerto with my fellow alumnus from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Orion Weiss as a soloist. The second half displays the orchestra in Lutoslawski's powerful and very unique-sounding Concerto for Orchestra. Don't miss it!

-Ivan Stefanovic

A Swiss Mr. Bean

2011-03-16T14:52:00.000-04:00

"To vibrate this note would be inappropriate," says the conductor, managing to very effectively convey to the orchestra musicians his desire to have us do away with most of our ingrained Romantic traditions when playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, written before the title "Romantic music" was even uttered, and in an era when the technique of vibrato was used very sparingly.

"Violas can be more expressive, I know that, because I am married to a violist," he says, making a viola joke on the spot.

"Count like you count your money," he quips, displaying his true Swiss roots (with a German accent and an Italian name) after some wind players miscounted the measure he wanted to restart with.

These are quotes from the BSO's Tuesday morning rehearsal with one of our most beloved guest conductors, the immensely funny and likable Mario Venzago. They may portray an almost childish personality, full of humor and joy of life, but may also sound a bit insincere. However, while Mario has the entertainment capability of a stand-up comic (and one with a very charming accent), he is anything but insincere. He is a very serious musician, one that dives very deep into every note, phrase and movement of every piece he rehearses and performs, and emerges with a net-full of the richest musical expression that is backed up by years of exploring music at the highest level. And he manages to do it all with an unending smile and flair that always puts the orchestra in the best of moods. When someone is that much into music, one can't help but get involved with them, and go to great lengths to please them, even if one doesn't necessarily agree with every musical idea.

"This sounds like acne," he says of some unwanted accents in a lyrical phrase that the cello section just played.

"You now go to sleep, true artists need sleep," he tells the winds as he is about to spend time rehearsing some bumpy passages in the strings.

"Trumpets are 40, no, 42% too loud, he specifies, again drawing on the background of his native country, where I remember the Alpine trains having a timetable that looked just like that (13:34, 13:59, 14:07), and actually managed to adhere to it!

"If you play it like this, I have to go to court," he mocks, with gratitude, when the brass manages a sound he asked for that is nowadays rarely produced in Beethoven's Fifth outside of the so-called Performance Practice ensembles, the ones that include as much of the techniques from the composers' era as possible.

I have known Mario since I was 14, as a young violinist representing my native country of Yugoslavia on two successive European Youth Orchestra Summer Tours, which were both based in Switzerland, and during which he was our Assistant Conductor. He hasn't changed one bit, and that's a good thing.

Come and enjoy his musical artistry in concert this week, with Schubert's Fifth and Berg's beautiful Violin Concerto with Baiba Skride as a soloist.

P.S. Oh, and if you don't know who Mr. Bean (a.k.a. actor Rowan Atkinson) is, check him out as he conducts a band playing holiday carols.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Celestial Events

2011-03-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

I happened upon a bit of news that the International Space Station (ISS) was, once again, visible in the evening sky over Baltimore. I have seen it many times, and it is an amazing sight, to look up at the night and see an object brighter than any other one can see (other than the Moon), moving as fast as a plane, directly overhead. If no one told you that it wasn't a plane, you'd immediately know it, it's that different. And then think of the several men and women from different countries up there, looking down through their little porthole-like windows, sleeping upright, or drifting outside of the Station, connected by a tether, it makes it that much more magical. Last night was even more special, since the Space Shuttle Discovery was visible on the same trajectory just before the passage of the ISS, on its way to a last-ever landing on Earth about noon today (photo below copyright NASA).

For those of you interested in finding out about the fly overs (and if you have kids, you should be-they find these really special, as my three boys do), read the weather blog by Frank Roylance in the Baltimore Sun, or find his blog on the Web (right after you read mine of course (: ).

Now you're asking yourselves what this has to do with music or the BSO. Well, absolutely nothing. But it sure is nice to look up at the sky every once in a while, with a purpose or without. We spend too much time looking down at our important (we think) every day happenings, forgetting that we're part of something much larger.

Check out our Pops concerts this week on Thursday (Strathmore), Friday and Saturday (Meyerhoff) at 8pm and Sunday (Meyerhoff) at 3pm. They're entitled a Celtic Celebration: Music of the Emerald Isle, conducted by the ever-entertaining Jack Everly, and are sure to send you dancing on your way home (or at least up to the garage). You might even want to look at the night sky while you're at it.

-Ivan Stefanovic

The Dangers of Play

2011-02-25T02:50:00.000-05:00

Dear blog readers, I took a break last week, as I was on a break. I took my yearly trip with the family to Killington, Vermont, for five days of intensive skiing. Skiing is one of my life passions, and is something I am good at, other than playing violin. Many people ask me if it may be too risky and dangerous for a professional violinist to careen down intermediate slopes at highway speeds or double-black diamond ones with icy moguls. Well, it could be, but when one has a passion, one pursues it. Or at least that's how I look at life.

It is so dangerous playing Mozart's Magic Flute. I am writing this at 11:40 p.m. on a bus on the way back from Strathmore after our first performance of this incredible piece of music, and we're no where near half way home. My back is hurting a lot more than it was after skiing Ovation with my two older sons twice, a double-black diamond slope in Killington with a 45% pitch at the top, laced with a combination of moguls, ice, patches of fresh snow, and a few rocks thrown in for good measure. At least then I could stop and stretch whenever I wanted to. Tonight, after another endless yet out-of-this-world beauty of a slow movement, one in which especially Second Violins end up suffering as our bow arms are constantly hovering over the lower strings, all I could do was put my arms down for a few seconds before it was time to continue. There were times when pain was so unbearable that I thought I'd let out a sound that Mozart didn't call for in his score. But all that was worth the pain (at least that's what I'm saying now that I'm somewhat supported by a semi-comfortable bus seat, and able to move when I want).

The music and the story this week don't, of course, need to be advertised, but what makes this production special is that the singers, every one of them, are of such high quality, with both their singing and acting. I strongly encourage every one of your to hurry and get yourselves and your loved ones some tickets for our leftover performances in Baltimore for this Saturday or Sunday. You'll laugh, cry, cheer, and be very entertained, and we can this prove ourselves that we actually don't need special effects (though there is a bit of fake thunder and a few cool lights (: ) to enjoy a very special evening.

It's almost midnight, and the bus trip is almost over. Time to drive home and stretch a taut back before hitting the sack.

-Ivan Stefanovic

A Reaction to Bruckner

2011-02-11T11:09:00.001-05:00

As reactions to Bruckner's music go, there are two main camps: those that love him and those that hate him. I am in a third camp.

Bruckner was a troubled man. He struggled with life in general and relationships in particular. Those with his fellow human beings and those with God. And it shows—his music consists of seemingly unrelated sections: a listener will be subject to an almost John Adams-like series of chord professions that don't seem to go anywhere or serve any purpose other than to progress chords, just to have that halted, somewhat abruptly. What often follows is a gorgeous, Mahler-like section of beautiful heart-felt melodies, just to return to the wondering music of almost minimalist qualities.

The second, slow movement of the Sixth Symphony, which we are playing with Maestro Juanjo Mena tonight and Sunday at the Meyerhoff as well as Friday in Wye Mills, is particularly bursting with gorgeous melodies. But the last couple of minutes of the Symphony are, again, searching chord progressions that, well, don't seem to end in any tangible result of that search. It doesn't seem that he ever answers many of the questions he poses in his music. Come and join us, and see if you can find the answers for him.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Four Seasons

2011-02-09T14:35:00.000-05:00

Last week, during the snow, I saw enormous flocks of Canada (aren't you so proud of me not incorrectly calling them "Canadian"?) Geese, flying mostly South. It made me wonder if the little creature, that would otherwise never see even a second of fame judging from its looks, came out of the ground last week and didn't see its shadow because of the many TV cameras and people blocking the sun's rays from reaching him. Now I am thinking (and so is one of the long-term meteorologists that I follow-yes, I am a weather enthusiast!) that he was right, the back of the winter will be broken before we know it!

I absolutely love all four seasons for what they are (and not just Vivaldi's or Piazzola's which we are playing later in the year :) and really love a good snowstorm, so I am a bit upset that we may not get any more, though the last one, despite its measly foot or so, was rather impressive. As you can imagine, I was extremely happy with last year's prolific winter, so I guess I shouldn't complain. The saving grace may be that I am lucky enough to get a week off next month and head north, to Vermont, for a family ski trip, where they have been buried for weeks. However, when I return after five days of hardcore skiing (I've been skiing as long as I've been playing violin, it's a big passion of mine), if it has to be spring, let it be. That means the bike and the electric scooter come out of the garage (I use them for commuting), and a return of jogging outside without having to dodge black ice. That's my newly discovered passion, ever since BSO decided to do a fundraiser called BOLT for BSO and I ran in the Baltimore Half-Marathon as a result. And it won't be long before we runners start complaining about the humidity. As I said, I love all seasons!

Long Live the Spring!

Like "Bolt for the BSO" on Facebook

-Ivan Stefanovic

Three BSO Orchestras! How can this be?

2011-02-03T16:36:00.000-05:00

Dear readers, BSO is giving you several options for entertainment this week. We have split not only into two, but three orchestras with three separate programs. Crazy huh? I am participating in two of them. Beethoven: A Musical Hero, concerts for kids of different ages on Saturday at 11:00 am and Appalachian Spring, featuring our very own Madeline Adkins as soloist in the Bruch Violin Concerto, in Frederick on Friday at 8:00. There's also a part of the orchestra that's playing in a SuperPops program with Jack Everly and the Capitol Quartet titled Big Band Hit Parade at Strathmore on Thursday at 8:00 pm and at the Meyerhoff on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm.

I haven't heard the Pops program, but I can still vouch for the quality and entertainment value, as our standards are always high...but you knew that already:) The Beethoven program, which we already may have played for some of your children (they came in their yellow school buses on Wednesday and will again Friday), is a great overview of Beethoven's life, with him being presented by a great local actor Toni Tsendaes, as adult Beethoven, as well as two pianists from different stages of his life. It's a great and entertaining story, narrated as always by the eloquent Rheda Becker, and featuring excerpts from some of Beethoven's best music. So, bring your favorite kids (they don't have to be your own;) and treat them to something special (something that doesn't take 30 seconds in the microwave or features all manners of weapons) that will stay with them and make them think.

The Frederick concert, as I mentioned, features our fantastic Associate Concertmaster Madeline Adkins in Bruch's romantic Violin Concerto, as well as beautiful Mozart's 40th Symphony, one of the first pieces I ever played with the BSO (20 years ago), as well as Copland's oh-so-American-sounding Appalachian Spring, in a 13-player version, all conducted by the energetic Carolyn Kuan. And don't forget to arrive early and have a meal at one of Frederick's many tasty establishments all just steps from the hall.

Hope to see you at any or all of these, you won't regret you came! And if you do make it out, I would love to hear what you thought.

-Ivan Stefanovic

Mena Madness

2011-01-26T14:06:00.000-05:00

Dear readers, after two successful weeks with our Music Director Marin Alsop (read Tim Smith's review here), we return to one of our very favorite guest conductors Juanjo Mena (pictured), who started rehearsals with us on Tuesday. I was too busy with practicing and with many other non-BSO related things (helping my oldest son get ready for his audition for Baltimore School for the Arts among them) to write last week, but I'd be curious to hear what everyone thought of the now-not-so unusual format of lots of verbal as well as musical communication from the podium. Marin is hands down better at it than most, and judging from the reception from the hall and Q&A period on Saturday (that was about as long as Shostakovich's Symphony itself), you like it. It'd be great to hear some comments from you, our readers and audience.

There are no plans for any words coming at you from the stage this week, and that may be a pity, since Juanjo has that quintessential soft latino accent that makes him sound even more charming than he is. However, he should have no trouble getting that charm across through the music. And Haydn's Symphony No. 85 exudes with typical humor and charm. On the program is Brahms' gorgeous Violin Concerto featuring 26-year-old Augustin Hadelich, who makes his BSO debut this week, as well as a local premiere of Puerto-Rican born Roberto Sinfonia's No. 4. We just started rehearsing it Tuesday morning, and it has many moments where one can imagine a great movie, yet to be made, that the score could accompany. Any producers among us?

-Ivan Stefanovic

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

2011-01-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

Dear readers, after a much-deserved break for you and me both, we're back in the swing of things. Welcome back!

I spent my days off with family, and, as luck would have it this winter of difficult travel, had some family members visiting me for a change. It was nice to decorate the house, then just sit back, relax, and let them worry about how they'll get here! My kids had a good time with the visiting cousins, and everyone took a few days off to recharge their batteries. During the short breaks like that, I don't touch my instrument unless I need to (and I give the kids a break from theirs), knowing that, even if it takes a bit longer to get back in shape, there'll be more hunger and enthusiasm for it once we're back.

I did, however, play a couple of New Year's concerts in Meyerhoff and Strathmore with the Strauss Orchestra of America, which reproduces, on this side of the Big Pond, those wonderful concerts that have started the new year for decades for many Europeans. I grew up with that tradition as well, and for me the calendar doesn't truly turn until I see the broadcast. And this year I got to play it, which was even better! I remember being in Vienna with my wife Jennifer many years ago and convincing the guard at the famed Musikverein Hall to let us just peek in, as they were getting it ready for the concert with hundreds of flowers. He told us to run and that we had to be back in two minutes. Who knew that I'd be back there many years later with the official backstage pass issued to me as a musician in the BSO, which was there on a European Tour!

Speaking of the orchestra, I celebrated 20 years since I started my job in it on January 3, 1991. Even I can't believe it when people ask me, time flew by so quickly. I was 21 years old, just out of college (I know, I just dated myself (: ), and now I own a house and have 3 wonderful sons. Funny how things sometimes just work out!

Please check out the link for this week's concerts: Music from Star Wars plus Icarus at the Edge of Time, as our Music Director Marin Alsop returns with an exciting program, then do yourself and some friends a favor and buy some tickets.

Hope to see you there!

-Ivan Stefanovic

Holidays (and BSO) in Frederick

2010-12-08T11:39:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I discovered that people in the handsome Maryland town of Frederick really like their holidays.

BSO was there Saturday night for a second performance of Handel's Messiah, after a very successful and exciting performance in the Meyerhoff on Friday. We played in the beautiful Weinberg Center for the Arts, which is an old movie theater turned into a performance space. As a matter of face, Ed Polochick, our esteemed Messiah conductor for decades, tells me that he inaugurated the new space a few decades ago!

I had some 30 minutes or so of free time after our bus arrived at the stage door and before getting into concert attire and warming up, so I decided to go for a walk. I have experienced the main street before as a happening place, with many diverse restaurants (let's not forget that Bryan Voltaggio's famous Volt is in Frederick!) that seem to be always at capacity, but this was different yet. Not only were the restaurants crowded, but there were many more people in festively decorated streets and shops, taking in some great holiday atmosphere! Trees were strung with lights to their tops, there was caroling on one corner, handbells on another, free food and drink in many places, horse-drawn carriages taking people up and down the street, tours with people in period costumes, you name it, and it was available! They really know how to have fun up in Frederick. I vowed to come back with my wife and our boys one day, without having to be there on business, and enjoy some of that myself.

The concert was wonderfully attended and received, despite a bit of unwanted accompaniment from an enthusiastic air-conditioning system and a crowded (small) stage. Madeline Adkins played her solos beautifully, then went on to get ready for her wedding day (Tuesday). Let's all wish her a great married life!

-Ivan Stefanovic

Splitting Logs

2010-12-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

Oh, how wonderful this quintessentially American holiday of Thanksgiving is! In this day and age, when families don't see one another much, and when they do, it's a short exchange of thoughts and ideas that mostly run the gamut from "can you get the milk on your way home" and "did you sign the kids' school forms" to "did you turn in your homework" and "please finish your fruit and dessert so you can have time for a shower and practicing," it's so relaxing and it feels so good to have some time off to catch up. A couple of days without rehearsals or late night bus rides from run-out concerts make a world of difference. In my household, that can mean splitting logs while my 6 year-old tells me all he learned about the lives of Native Americans and pilgrims: "Did you know that kids had to pull up the mattresses against the walls in the morning then do chores all day and could only play twice?" Playing Master Mind or Scrabble while the wood is burning in the fireplace and the turkey is spreading its aroma throughout the house. Enjoying a hike through Loch Raven on a crisp autumn day and seeing deer, foxes and an arm-length bass that a fisherman caught in the lake.

And not touching my instrument for a few days. It makes me grow fonder (and does wonders for the physical ailments we all earn during decades of using our muscles in all those unnatural and twisted ways), so when I return to it, it feels fresh and new, and the hunger to make music is so much stronger.

That was certainly true today, when we rehearsed Ed Polochick's so wonderfully unique interpretation of Handel's Messiah, which we perform Friday, Dec 3 at 7:30pm, as well as the Nutcracker suite with the Baltimore Ballet, which we play on Saturday, Dec 4 at 11am. If you've never heard Ed's Messiah, or haven't in a while, it's not to be missed. He makes it sound fresh and exciting in a way that not too many conductors can. And what a better way to start the Holiday season then with your BSO performing The Nutcracker?! While you're at the Meyerhoff, check out the wonderful decorations that are up in the lobby, take a few photos with your little ones, and don't forget to purchase tickets for the Holiday Spectacular, a uniquely Baltimore tradition featuring Maureen McGovern. Check out this video of Dancing Santas or the Holiday Spectacular Jingle, look at the dates we offer (Dec 10-19), and get those tickets before it's too late! Even if you don't have kids to bring, don't worry, this is a show with plenty of entertainment for all ages.

Hope to see you in our halls this December!

-Ivan Stefanovic

The BSO Takes a Bite of the Big Apple

2010-11-21T12:57:00.000-05:00

What an amazing weekend! Perfect weather, a pleasant bus ride, an excellent hotel (no bed bug reports as of yet), great restaurants, only a few delayed metro service stories...oh, and the concerts! BSO went to the Big City, and showed them (and the world) that we're still in top form, and just as capable of pulling off an excellent concert of classics (read NY Times review), as we did on Saturday night, as we are of bringing the house down with a boisterous rendition of the gospel version of Handel's Messiah (read review), as was the case on Sunday afternoon. Both in front of full houses of very pleased patrons who weren't afraid to show us that they liked it. It was so fun for us to play twice in two days in that legendary Carnegie Hall, with its impeccable acoustics and discriminating audiences.
On Saturday, the Barber Essay # 2 started off elegantly, and ended with all of Carnegie's decorations vibrating with our full sound. Our piano soloist in Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto, Macedonian Simon Trpceski, outdid himself in his debut with some amazing fireworks, and showed that soloists can still play chamber music with an orchestra, even in virtuoso pieces. After intermission, in Mahler's rendition of Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony, we achieved some incredible pianissimos, the kind which only top orchestras can do, just to end with forceful chords that had to invite an encore, bringing people to their feet. We all enjoyed a wonderful reception with many of our biggest fans and donors in an elegant Italian restaurant nearby.

Merriment couldn't last too long though, because on Sunday morning we had to get moving for a rehearsal of the Too Hot to Handel program. A few of us took a walk through Central Park before the afternoon concert. It was full of people, brought out by an amazing day.

In this post are a couple of photos I took while strolling around, hope you enjoy them and the fall colors.

Me, Chris Williams (Principal Percussion and Timpani),
Ken Goldstein (First Violin)

Then it was off to a different kind of concert, with a stage full of NYC kids that had been practicing for months, so they could be proud of their choral debut with us, in Carnegie Hall. What a feeling that must have been for them! They met and surpassed all of the expectations, and the audience was, once again, brought to their feet as Marin Alsop coaxed them to make even more noise, leading us to a rousing finale.

The buses returned late Sunday night, and now it's time for a couple days off before starting some new repertoire.

-Ivan Stefanovic

BSO goes to NYC

2010-11-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

This weekend, the BSO is embarking on a mini two-concert tour of New York City.

On Saturday evening, we'll be playing a program of classics, and on Sunday afternoon, a soul version of Handel's Messiah, cleverly named Too Hot to Handel.

The first program includes Beethoven's familiar Eroica Symphony, but with a twist: it's Gustav Mahler's version. He does leave a lot of it intact, but every once in a while one can hear some unexpected dynamics, comas in the middle of phrases, and the like. An interesting experiment, definitely worth hearing once, as a curiosity. However, that may have left me yearning for some genuine Beethoven, hence the quartet during my run (look at previous entry).
The rest of the program features Barber's emotional and powerful Second Essay for orchestra, and my (former, now that the country has separated) countryman, a brilliant Macedonian pianist Simon Tryčeski (I give discounts on private tutoring on the pronunciation of the last name (: ), with Prokofiev's exciting, fast-paced Third Piano Concerto. Concerts in Baltimore are on Thursday and Friday nights, then off to NYC we go!

-Ivan Stefanovic

There's Beethoven, and then there's... Beethoven

2010-11-11T10:52:00.000-05:00

Consider this the tale of two Beethovens.

On Wednesday afternoon, on a glorious Fall day, with the afternoon sun accentuating the brightest leaf colors of the season yet, I went for a short run in Roland Park, before picking up my three boys from school. Into my ears the headphones were transporting the sounds of the "real" Beethoven, his Op. 132 String Quartet, which I had just started rehearsing with my colleagues, and which we will be playing on November 21st at the Chamber Music by Candlelight series in Guilford (more on that as the date approaches). It is one of his late quartets, at times simple, almost childish, at times complex and deep, and of considerable length. The choice of music, any music, you might be surprised, was an unusual one for me (and some of my fellow professional musicians) : we are often so saturated in music that to not listen to it can be rather relaxing. I am much more likely to listen to some of my favorite radio podcasts (isn't that one of the best inventions of late?), then to job to a music beat. However, other than the obvious reason that I needed to learn from this piece, and listening to it helps that process quite a bit, I realized there was another reason: I was in need of some real, pure Beethoven. More on that in my next entry.

See You at Forte!

2010-11-04T16:48:00.000-04:00

Before I get to this week's programs, I want to say how proud we all are of our colleagues that played solos in our Frederick concert at the beautiful Weinberg Center for the Arts last Saturday. Jonathan (in a triple role as a soloist, concertmaster and conductor), Shea, Fei, Gabe, Bill Jenken, Igor and Daruisz played beautifully and masterfully in a program filled with masterpieces by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. They all reminded us why this is one of the greatest orchestras around. One doesn't usually find that high level of solo playing in orchestra members that are, with the exception of Jonathan, not First Chair players. Bravo to all, and looking forward to another "in-house" concert.

Marin is back on stage this week, and we started on a couple of programs on Tuesday for this weekend. Thursday nights program was only at the Meyerhoff and featured Mahler's and Beethoven's Unfinished Symphonies.

Friday at Strathmore (8:15) and Saturday at the Meyerhoff (7:00), the program Analyze This: Mahler and Freud is sure to be one of the most unique ones we have presented in years. And don't forget, Saturday there's also a Forte Party in the Meyerhoff Lounge...I'll be there, so stop and say hi!

I hope to see you at our concerts!

P.S. Check out this cool webumentary with Marin Alsop:

Greener Fall Colors?

2010-11-04T16:35:00.000-04:00

I hope you've been enjoying this beautiful autumn weather. It's such a pretty time of the year in Baltimore, with crisp mornings, bright rays of sunshine cutting through the many colors of the leaves, and the squirrels hurriedly stocking up for the winder. Except for when the crisp morning enters your house because your furnace quit working. Wednesday morning I was actually a bit late for a BSO rehearsal (which happens very rarely), because I had to wait for a service person to show up and fix what turned out to be a relatively minor problem.

I have taken advantage of the dry weather to ride my all-electric scooter (yes, with my violin on my back!) that I bought almost a year ago this month. I live by Belvedere Square, in a location that's about 5 miles or less from just about everything, so I sometimes make several short trips a day.

Last year, as I spotted this beauty in Fell's Point shop, I came to a realization that these trips, in addition to wasting gas, do a great job in keeping food on my auto mechanic's table. The scooter I bought is all electric, and it recharges in my garage in a few hours on minimal amount of electricity. I have since logged over a thousand miles without spending a cent on gas (plus it's almost noiseless, and, of course, doesn't pollute). So, if you ever see an unusual looking yellow/black scooter in town ridden by a black-helmeted guy with a violin case on his back, give me a honk!

This Week's Events

2010-10-21T12:53:00.001-04:00

As promised, here's a (mostly) musical continuation of the last blog.

As most of you know already, our BSO/Peabody conducting fellow, 17-year-old Ilyich Rivas, made his subscription debut last week with a wonderful program of Brahms (Academic Festival Overture), Beethoven (Second Piano Concerto with a very elegant pianist Marcus Groh), Mahler's devine Blumine movement from his First Symphony, and Shostakovich's powerful First Symphony. I'm not planning to turn this blog into a place for concert reviews (I'll leave that to professionals), but my impression is that Mr. Rivas has great potential to become a wonderful conductor. His score memory is obviously strong, and he has great, deep feelings for music that he is not afraid to share with the musicians in front of him. Any other possible shortcomings can be easily corrected with the right guidance and invaluable experience that will come with many more hours on the podium. On the trivial side of things, we have all seen many a baton fly out of hands of conductors (both forward, into the orchestra, and back, into the audience). However, Mr. Riva's cufflink that flew a few audience rows back last Thursday night in a dramatic arc during one of his particularly demonstrative gestures in the opening Brahms piece was a first! It was cordially given back to him so that he could start the Beethoven Piano Concerto in full gear (and he is an elegant dresser). As my violinist colleague Greg Mulligan joked, that was a true Off the Cuff performance!

This Tuesday morning we were treated to a masterfully run rehearsal by Gilbert Varga, a conductor new to us. We rehearsed the Stravinsky Petrouchka, and a complex and exciting piece that is full of traps (mostly rhythmical) out of which it's hard to climb. Mr. Varga showed us, from the first few seconds of the rehearsal, that he is so in control of things, we have little to worry. He is a very organized, energetic conductor that knows exactly what needs to be rehearsed and how, and orchestras always appreciate that. Wednesday, we are rehearsing the rest of the program which includes Glinka's Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla and Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1. It's sure to be an energy-filled week!

Concerts are Thursday at Strathmore, Friday and Saturday at Meyerhoff, all at 8pm. Get your tickets now, and don't forget to contribute to BOLT for the BSO (see last blog), so you can get your tickets free and join us for a lobby party after Friday's concert. I'll be there with some of my family, and would love to meet some of you, so you can tell me in person what you'd like to read about in this space.

Talk to you next time.

Running like a BOLT of Lightning

2010-10-20T10:19:00.000-04:00

Dear blog readers,

No, the reason I haven't written in a while isn't that I needed a long break after my first blog. I did, however, need some prep time and the rest after my first ever running race.

After grasping the whole concept of recreational running this summer (up until then I only ran after buses, and, when I was younger, girls (: ), I ended up running the Baltimore Half-Marathon on Saturday. It was an amazing experience, and I achieved my two goals: to finish and feel good about it. For those that care, I ended up with a time of 1:57:39, which is a lot better than the time I decided I'd have been happy with, somewhere between 2:00 and 2:15. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the wind only started getting really crazy after the finish. The city looked amazing, especially from some vantage points along the course that I haven't been to. And the people along the race were simply amazing: from all walks of life, ages, races, in suits and pajamas, holding cats and dogs, sitting on steps and looking through their windows. Many dancing, some in silly costumes, playing pots and pans or some serious music, holding personal and general signs (my favorite: "no one made you do this!"), handing Natty Boh beer to racers (not too many takers, most preferred water or Gatorade), and generally helping us keep pushing.

What made the whole experience even more special was the face that one of the BSO's biggest supporters, Governing Member Cynthia Renn, organized a fundraiser named BOLT for the BSO, which, as of this afternoon raised $13,500 toward your favorite orchestra. My fellow violinist Ellen Troyer, her husband John Troyer and I, plus several of our Administration and Board members, participated in both the race and the fundraising effort, adorned with very visible lime-green (it's the new black!) BOLT t-shirts. Here's what Ellen, John, and I looked like right after we finished:

I loved when one of the race organizers, standing along the race course somewhere around Lake Montebello, who was reading shirts and signs and encouraging such individual efforts, yelled "Go Marathoner for Music!" as I rounded the bend by her!

If you're a runner, or just inspired like so many of your fellow BSO fans to contribute, the BOLT website is still open for just a few more days, and it is a very simple, fast, and easy way to show your support. Please click here for the site where you can contribute (I suggest my name (: ), and then join us for a BOLT party this Friday after the Meyerhoff concert for a celebration. After you contribute, you'll receive an invitation to the party, and we might even be able to swing some tickets for you for the concert!

My great friend and colleague, BSO Concertmaster Jonathan Carney, was nice enough to replace me for some coaching I had missed that morning at Peabody (where I spend most of my Saturdays teaching at the Preparatory Department), but after the race was over and I had caught my breath, it was time to head on foot (cars were useless in the traffic jams of that day) to Mt. Vernon for more teaching. My race support team (my wife Jennifer had brought our three boys Sebastian, Luka, and Tristan for some coaching and rehearsals of their own) adorned in the BOLT t-shirts, were happy to see me in good spirits and with a medal around my neck. After an afternoon of some great music, it was time to be whisked away in my family van (logistics of parking two cars that day took a few days to figure out!) to the bus awaiting to take the BSO to Strathmore for a concert. What a day!

That should do for today, I promise to continue tomorrow with a review of Ilyich Rivas' concerts and a preview of this week's with Gilbert Varga.

Changing of the Blog Guard

2010-10-11T10:07:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone, this is Ivan Stefanovic, BSO's Assistant Principal Second Violin (don't you just love our titles?). I'll be happy to share some of my thoughts on things musical and otherwise in this space, so please visit often and tell everyone you think might be interested in a bit of an insider view into a life of a BSO musician. I've always enjoyed writing (as little as I have done so) and I like to think I may have gotten the bug from my Dad, who was a journalist (an Associated Press Chief of Bureau in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for many decades, now retired). So, here she goes. I hope it'll be a fun ride for you (and I am already enjoying it).

A note to self: do not take a rabbit stew on the Strathmore (or any, for that matter) bus again. The bones are way to small, and the whole ordeal, even if tasty, is just too messy. Oh, and my apologies to any non-meat eaters out there; you have my utmost respect! But, that is now history, as is Gotta Dance, our first Pops concert of this season, the week of which we just finished this Sunday afternoon. It was a fun affair, as it always is with Jack (Everly, our Principal Pops Conductor): many different styles of music, and many different types of dance, one of which was most (if not all) of us in the hall had seen before. These twins from Argentina danced to their country's counterpart's music (the ever popular Piazzola) with so much energy that it was difficult for us not to take our eyes off the music we were playing. And their dancing style bridged tap, disco, modern, and even some of the late Michael Jackson's moves. Quite a treat! It was also a great week for the fans of our Associate Concertmaster, Madeline Adkins, who, in spite of a nasty cat bite that had her in a hospital emergency room after Friday night's concert, handled her many solos with her usual elegance, style, and virtuosity.

Now I am looking forward to, first of all, another week of incredible weather (hasn't it been just brilliant?). I'm especially hoping it will hold until this Saturday, when I am running in the Baltimore Running Festival (a long name for a Marathon, don't you think), where I'll be running the Half-Marathon (a fancy name for "those who can't make it"). Cut me some slack though, I just started running this summer and I absolutely love it! That should make the third of this week's concerts rather interesting for me--my plan is to concentrate REALLY hard that evening at Strathmore (previous two nights are at the Meyerhoff).

The program this week features a 17-year-old conducting a first Symphony written by a 19-year-old! Namely, Ilyich Rivas, a 17-year-old BSO-Peabody Bruno Walter Assistant Conductor and Dmitri Shostakovich, the famous Russian composer, who made his feelings against the oppressive regime at the time known through his art (all the while fooling the officials into thinking that he was just writing patriotic music). Rivas, under whose baton we've only had rehearsals so far, is a brilliant and very amicable young man, and he makes his subscription concert debut with an American orchestra (that would be us) this week. I can't help but wonder how intimidating it must be for someone of his young age to conduct and demand things of a big group of people, most of which are all much older than him! He will be joined by a rising young German pianist Markus Groh, in Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto. Don't miss this one, it's a such winner!

So much for now, more as the week unrolls. Have a good one!

Musicians' Picks :: Emily Skala

2010-10-08T14:21:00.000-04:00

Each of the musicians who makes up the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a talented artist in his or her own right with unique musical tastes and ambitions. While they have a voice in repertoire selection, there are some pieces our musicians would love to perform that usually do not find their way into the BSO seasons. This year, Music Director Marin Alsop and the Orchestra have identified and programmed six selections that we call Musicians' Picks. We hope you will enjoy them as much as we will enjoy performing them.

Emily Skala is the principal flutist of the BSO (since 1988). She received her Bachelor of Music with Honors from the Eastman School of Music in 1983 and within five years of graduating was affiliated with six major American orchestras. Emily regularly appears as a soloist and recitalist in the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West regions, has performed at the National Flute Associations’ Annual Conventions, as well as at many of the world’s most prestigious music festivals.

Emily has granted us a look into her thoughts on the Musicians’ Picks of this season.

Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Mahler 7 was especially intriguing because I last played it over a summer break during my years at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. I had been called to sub with the RPO (Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra), led by David Zinman. I played fourth flute alongside my teacher, Bonita Boyd, who was Principal Flute. I remember how exciting the sonorities were. This same excitement arose when, at 16 years old, I played my first Mahler Symphony (the 3^rd) with the Aspen Festival Orchestra led by Sergiu Commissiona. For me, and many fellow musicians, there is nothing more thrilling than playing a Mahler Symphony. Perhaps it is because his use of percussion and bass are so visceral, or because more teamwork is required than in most works (the melody is passed back and forth between instrumental groups or players causing the phrase to take shape through the broad collaboration of the orchestra – you must therefore be attentive to what your colleagues have made of the thread before picking it up and continuing on!). The fact that his music is so programmatic, even if it is not declared outright to be, makes it so engaging it is bound to stimulate the imagination! As Marin says, “Who doesn’t love a good story?!” During the performance with my teacher, she had a terrible flu that week which caused her to leave the stage mid-performance. She returned just in time for one of her solos which she played beautifully. I was so very impressed with this feat; the Mahler 7 remains one of my favorite pieces to this day. It will be a special reward to play it again after all this time.

Barber: Essay No. 2, op. 17
Barber Essay #2 was one of the first pieces I played and recorded with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra shortly after joining the group in 1988. It is wonderfully written, evocative, and under played. The audience surely needs to hear this piece again, as do I!

Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra
Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra is a work that music students study in Conservatory. It was a ground-breaking work of its time because of its innovative use of tonalities and technical demands. Although I reluctantly admit, I do not remember the specific points my teacher made, I do remember the feeling my classmates and I experienced while we listened to it for the first time as amazement and awe fell over the room. We then compared several different orchestras handling of the concerto. Like Mahler, it is a tour de force for the entire group and we enjoy a good challenge here at the BSO! Unfortunately for me, it is a week before my concerto appearance and I will be home practicing the Pied Piper instead.

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6
Prokofiev wrote some of the most difficult for flute in the entire repertoire. The week of the 6^th Symphony is also the week of the notorious Classical Symphony, a frequent contender for placement on flute audition lists everywhere. If the 6^th Symphony has anything in common with the 5^th then we are in for an awakening – a true enrichment of our musical horizons. In all my years of experience specializing in symphonic repertoire (since about 14yrs old), I sadly admit that this is a piece I have never performed. I look forward to the opportunity to bridge this gap in my repertoire – perhaps this is why it has made it to the Musicians’ Picks.

Walton: Symphony No. 1
The William Walton Symphony No. 1 puts me in a similar situation as the Prokofiev. The only piece I know by William Walton is his Shakespeare Suite and potentially another whose title has escaped my memory. I would like to know more of this compose and I am glad that one of my colleagues thought to suggest it! I think it stands to reason we should be an even better orchestra after this season as we shall be much better-rounded!

Shall We Dance?

2010-10-08T10:28:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed last week's concert of Adams/Mendelssohn/Dvorak. I think Marin did a nice job combining the three pieces into a compelling program. The New World Symphony, warhorse that it is, wears very well, at least for me. It is so original in its harmonies and so vital in its rhythmic thrust. And then there is the constant stream of amazing melodies. I remember that the beautiful English horn theme in the second movement became a Methodist hymn, "Going Home," one of my grandfather's favorites. My grandfather lived his whole life in Kansas, and of course Dvorak spent some time in Iowa, which led to his writing the symphony.

Stefan Jackiw was his usual amazing self as our soloist. His playing always has such beauty; believe me, it isn't so easy even for us professionals to produce a consistently great tone, but no matter what the music is that he's performing, Stefan always shines with that gorgeous sound.

I love John Adams. I truly think he is the most amazing late 20th/21st Century composer- my favorite, at least. I didn't know the Dr. Atomic music before last week; maybe one day I will be able to see the whole opera! I think Marin has a special feeling for Adams' music, and I enjoyed her interpretation of the Dr. Atomic Symphony.

Looking forward to Jack Everly's return this week. His program is called "Gotta Dance ," and I bet it will be tons of fun. Jack can really put a good show together, with lots of variety and pizazz. Come out and join us!

Summer is Over, Here Comes Mahler!

2010-09-22T10:36:00.000-04:00

I had a great summer relaxing awhile at the beach, seeing family and doing a lot of practicing. I put the violin down completely for an entire week this time, enough to get a break but not so long as to forget how to play it. I have to be careful because when I start up again, it is easy to overdo it and stress the muscles more than they can easily handle, especially when you have been playing the violin for about 45 years, as I have.

Still, I can't complain about spending some time at the beach, seeing an O's game with my son Eric, catching up with my son Stephen after his long trip with the Yale Whiffenpoofs, a male a cappella group who traveled around the world this summer. The summer concluded with a family reunion in Glen Summit, Pennsylvania, (near Wilkes Barre) where my dad and his brothers and sisters own a very old summer home. Every Labor Day we gather there for tennis tournaments, swimming in the lake, playing chamber music together and just catching up with aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Even first cousins once removed, etc. This time I met some relatives I didn't even know I had! Pretty big family.

But I am glad to get back to work this week. I believe that I have only performed Mahler's Seventh Symphony once in my career. The violin part is unusually difficult, even for Mahler, I think. If I am not mistaken, the last time that we did Mahler with Marin, we played the Ninth Symphony. I thought that was a really good performance, so I am excited about this week.

Hope to see you there!

Rusty Musicians is Back!

2010-09-22T10:14:00.000-04:00

Last night we had our second Rusty Musician event. This time it was right here in Baltimore, at the Meyerhoff. We rehearsed and then performed Brahm's Academic Festival Overture and the Finale from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite with four different groups of "Rusty Musicians." (The BSO was split into 2 orchestras, each BSO musician performed with two of the four groups of Rustys.)

Funny, though. Both of my stand partners, Tanesha and Gwendolyn weren't rusty at all! They both perform in Maryland orchestras (Columbia and Susquehanah), and I could tell that they both know how to be good orchestral players. I enjoyed sitting with them, hearing them play, and even talking just a bit. They both had children in the audience; Tanesha's son was right there smiling in the front row. He plays the violin too.

It is impressive and inspiring to me how much musicians like Tanesha and Gwendolyn are able to keep up their instrumental skills while working and being moms!

Summertime, and the livin' is easy

2010-07-21T13:05:00.000-04:00

It certainly has been an eclectic summer, musically speaking! From Tchaikovsky to Michael Jackson to the Eagles and NOW, this week, to famed Baltimore composers Philip Glass and Frank Zappa. I practiced the Zappa music today; it looks like he probably admired Bela Bartok (I do too), as he uses lots of irregular meters, snap pizzicati (where we pull the string hard enough while plucking it to make it hit against the fingerboard of the violin) and glissandi (obviously sliding between notes).

But before we play Glass and Zappa Friday night, Thursday night we FINALLY get to perform Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. We were supposed to do it (three times, I think) in February, but there was that little blizzard or three we had. We lost all of those performances.

I love Porgy and Bess; besides all the wonderful songs that became so popular, there is lots of less familiar music that Gershwin composed in between the songs. After all, opera is mainly a piece of music that just happens to have a plot and characters, right? So while characters are performing some action other than singing, or the strange changes are occurring, instead of just waiting, we in the orchestra play some pretty cool stuff. Actually it is some of the most intense symphonic music that I know of by Gershwin, very moody and dark, action packed. Since we often perform only the songs from the opera, we don't get to play these fairly serious sections nearly as much. I am excited to rehearse and perform them this week.

And to top it all off, Marin will be back (a rarity in the summer!) to guide us through all the music Thursday and Friday. I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

Recapitulation

2010-07-13T14:47:00.000-04:00

Playing Planet Earth last week was cool. Great photograph, of course, and nice music. I especially liked the way George Fenton, composer and conductor, worked the soprano's voice into the texture in such a beautiful, almost eerie way. It was also nice that at the conclusion of the concert Mr. Fenton expressed some optimism that, because we all value the beauty and diversity of the earth, we will begin to the solve the great problems that are challenging our environment. Let's hope so! (It was great this morning to see that BP may have gotten a better cap on the leaking well; as I write this they are still testing it.)

Our concert on Saturday, conducted by my good friend Christian Colberg, was really fun. Two great young soloists, Sirena Huang and Conrad Tao, playing Tchaikovsky's most famous two concertos, the Violin Concerto and the Piano Concerto No. 1, and his Capriccio Italien. Christian does a remarkable job on the podium, especially considering how much of a newcomer he still is to conducting professionally. Too bad he is leaving us at the end of this summer season to become the Principal Violist of the Cincinnati Symphony. We will miss him greatly!

If you missed it, you can see him in action again this Saturday at our FREE Artscape concert at 2 pm at the Meyerhoff, conducting us in the Capriccio Italien and a few other pieces. AND then that night we repeat last Saturday's program at Strathmore. Come check it out!

HOW ABOUT THAT NADAL?!

2010-07-08T11:57:00.000-04:00

And Serena's not too shabby, either. The Orioles, on the other hand... so sad to see all the losses. It's not as if they aren't trying. Good thing there are lots of opportunities to win games, with 162 of them each year!

This week we are playing the soundtrack to Planet Earth Live video; should be pretty cool, as that was an amazing series.

Then come out and see Christian Colberg, BSO violist and talented conductor. lead us in an all Tchaikovsky program. I can't wait to see what he does with Capriccio Italien!

The End of the Beginning

2010-06-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

Last night the Academy musicians, with occasional help from BSO musicians, performed an informal chamber music concert. It was a joy to watch and listen to them perform such a variety of works, many of which I didn't know. The lobby of the Meyerhoff made for a beautiful setting (as the sun was setting) for this event, and there were excellent desserts and drinks.

I particularly enjoyed listening to my group, Steve, Xiaobin, Naomi, Suzanne and Nancy, perform the first two movements of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet. They did a beautiful job of not only getting almost all the notes, but of playing musically with each other. It sounds as if they are interested in returning next year, perhaps!

This afternoon is the orchestra concert. Fun!

Mozart Clarinet Quintet

2010-06-18T09:42:00.000-04:00

Last night I coached the group playing the Mozart Clarinet Quintet for the second time. They got four coaching sessions altogether from my friend Ivan Stefanovic and me.

Wow, what amazing progress! Steve, the clarinetist, has a beautiful sound and knows the piece well. This serves as somewhat of an anchor and helps everyone else. The string players, (Xiaobin and Naomi on violins, Suzanne on viola and Nancy on cello), have really worked on their sound, their overall tempo/rhythm/ensemble (their pitch was already quite good the first time I heard them!) these last few evenings. Noticing each others' dynamics, type of sound and articulation for given passages as well as rhythm, they now sound more cohesive as a group, though they were already accomplished instrumentalists to start.

They are now ready to perform the first two movements of the Quintet in an informal concert in the JMSH lobby tonight. I am excited for them, and looking forward to hearing them and other chamber groups play.

The BSO Academy Is Here!

2010-06-16T15:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had our first orchestra rehearsal for the BSO Academy, our brand new week long program in which amateur adult musicians come to rehearse, perform and hang out with the BSO. I met several Academy participants, and it is a pleasure to work with them. My stand partner Sue has clearly played in orchestras a lot; I can tell by how she listens to everything going on around her. Our first piece of the rehearsal yesterday was the Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, a challenging piece for professionals. Marin was her usual professional and jovial self, and it actually was very much like a normal BSO rehearsal. Of course there were moments that were less together than usual, but you would expect that even if you added a few dozen new professionals to our mix. Partly it is a matter of getting used to how to play in our hall. When do you play with the other parts you are hearing, and when do you need to try to "play with the stick (baton)"? Because the acoustics can confuse you a bit. These are the questions I'm sure the participants are facing, because we also deal with those issues every week at JMSH.

Last night I coached a group playing the Mozart Clarinet Quintet. Three of the five of them work at the National Institute of Health! Another is a piano teacher, and Suzanne, the violist, came the furthest. She is from New York, and she is an editor. They are very nice and good players. Steven, the clarinetist who studies with Eddie Palanker, our bass clarinetist, has a beautiful sound. We covered a lot of ground in two hours; going through the third and fourth movements, working on articulation, quality of sound, keeping the tempo. Then we went back to the first movement and concentrated on the first half. I love coaching chamber music. I was ready to continue when I finally looked at the time and realized that we had already gone ten minutes over. They had had a long day, and the shuttle was waiting to take them back to their hotel.

I'm really excited for the rest of this week. The BSO Academy is off to a good start!

Season Finale!

2010-06-11T10:07:00.000-04:00

What an amazing way to end our regular season! (Don't forget about our summer season, with lots of variety.) It is impossible to put into words the beauty of Janie Chandler-Eteme's singing. She has sung with us many times over the years, and she is always outstanding, but her singing in Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 last night at Strathmore is as good as it gets.

There are a few tickets left for tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at the Meyerhoff and you absolutely should not miss this performance. Stephen Powell, bass soloist, is also excellent, and the Washington Chorus, who sing Brahms' A German Requiem, sound wonderful too.

See you at the Meyerhoff, and Oregon Ridge, Strathmore or Pier 6 this summer.

Tennis Season, My Favorite Season!

2010-06-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

Who caught the womens' final of the French Open this morning? I love watching womens' tennis, maybe because I can relate to their game more than I can relate to the sheer power of the mens' professional game. Also, tennis on clay is very cool. I get to play on clay once a year at my family reunion in Mountaintop, PA. And we play on Har-Tru, which is artificial, but very similar, at the Roland Run club when David Coombs, BSO contra-bassoonist extraordinaire, hosts us here. Clay slows the game down just enough to give us amateurs a little more time to hit decent strokes. And it is easier on our bodies than hard courts, too.

Anyway, I thought both Schiavone and Stosur were amazing. I was rooting for Schiavone, I guess, because I love the variety of her game and the joy with which she plays. Fun!

The Strange, Frightening, and Often Very Beautiful World of Bartok

2010-06-02T11:36:00.000-04:00

This week we are rehearsing, performing and recording Bartok's Music for Percussion, Strings and Celeste. I have never performed this music before, and being a huge Bartok fan, I am really looking forward to it.

Yesterday was our first rehearsal, and it is quite a learning process. In Bartok's melodies, he often uses intervals based on Hungarian folk music which are somewhat foreign to our ears. There is a lot of chromaticism, changing pitches moving in close range. For that reason, we spent much of yesterday playing sections of the piece under tempo.

First hearings of Bartok can be daunting; I remember going to a concert in college and hearing one of the more dissonant Bartok string quartets. I thought it was noise. Just a year or so later, when I learned one of the quartets, I began to appreciate Bartok's musical language. Now I believe that his quartets are right up there with Beethoven's.

Despite the strangeness of his melody and harmony, there is always a tonal center, a note or a chord around which Bartok builds. And with repetition, the listener begins to understand and wants the music to return to that center. For my taste, of all of the early 20th century composers who used non-traditional harmonies/intervals (like Stravinsky or Hindemith), Bartok is the one who speaks to me most vividly.

It is a strange, frightening, often very beautiful world to which he takes us. I am told that some of this music was used in the movie The Shining with Jack Nicholson. You can always count on Bartok for something scary.

Don Juan with Maestro Mena

2010-05-17T10:08:00.000-04:00

Funny story about Strauss's Don Juan, which we performed this past week with Juanjo Mena conducting. When I was in college at Eastman School of Music, our excellent and funny conductor, David Effron, told the violinists that when playing Don Juan, "Be glad you are a violinist!" I wrote this at the top of my personal copy of the first violin part of Don Juan, and I always smile and take that message to heart when we perform it.

Incidentally, Don Juan is on almost every audition list when violinists audition for American orchestras. There is lots of quick shifting, difficult arpeggios, fast scales, etc. Often for an audition the orchestra will ask for the first page only, which is plenty hard. Almost as often, though, the entire piece will be required to be learned for the audition. Of course you wouldn't play the whole piece in an audition, but you have to be ready to do it.

I liked Maestro Mena's Don Juan very much this week. It was a musical roller coaster ride, though with a strange and serious end.

Musicians Around Town

2010-05-05T10:18:00.000-04:00

One of the interesting things about being a BSO musician is the opportunity to meet other musicians who work around the area for other musical groups and/or as faculty members for institutions like Peabody and Towson University. It is always refreshing to get to know musicians who may have other interests, talents and concerns from BSO musicians. Many of our "extra" and substitute musicians are incredibly talented; in many cases they play instruments like piano or saxophone, for which there are no permanent positions in the BSO. We BSO musicians often wind up performing chamber music and other gigs with them outside the BSO. (A current favorite among many of us is Lura Johnson, pianist extraordinaire.)

A few years ago a woman named Eva Mengelkoch called me: she was setting up a new chamber music series at the Cylburn Mansion, located in Cylburn Arboretum near Sinai Hospital in North Baltimore. After many phone calls, we were able to put together an inaugural concert for this new series, lining up Ken Goldstein and Karin Brown from the BSO, along with Karin's husband, Dan Levitov. Eva performed as the pianist in that concert.

Since then (this was approximately 5 or so years ago, I think) Eva's series has established itself. My quartet, the Atlantic String Quartet, has performed there many times. This coming week, on the evening of May 12, Rebecca Nichols, Karin Brown and Bo Li will join Eva for another concert. We will be playing the Franck Piano Quintet with Eva and Beethoven's String Quartet Opus 59, #1.

Eva is a versatile musician. Just a week and a half ago, she was the soloist in a Pro Musica Rara concert at Towson University's Fine Arts Center on the fortepiano for a Mozart Piano Concerto. She is a pleasure to work with; we are rehearsing again with her this week at Towson, where she is on the faculty.

What it Takes to Step Up to the Podium

2010-04-29T11:52:00.000-04:00

Every BSO musician has his/her own ideas about what makes a good conductor. Here's what I think is needed, both personally and for the BSO, having been a part of so many concerts over the years:

Anyone auditioning the other day had to 1) show she/he understands the music being conducted, and 2) show that she/he can communicate that understanding to us BSO musicians. Neither of those criteria is as easy as it sounds. And in the case of the BSO, I have noticed that we respond well in general to rather extroverted conductors, the ones who can really "put it out there" for us to see and respond to, so to speak.

When a conductor "understands" the music, they know which tempos actually work, both from technical and from musical perspectives. They must show (sometimes in anticipation) changes of dynamics (loud and soft, decreasing and increasing) and changes of tempo very clearly so that all musicians execute those changes in the same way. They understand when their job is to be "traffic cop" and keep us together, and when to go slightly off the beaten musical track to provide an interesting detail we hadn't considered before.

Communicating the music might be the toughest part. I am amazed sometimes at how much conductor's facial expressions influence how we perform music, and how we sense that conductors are communicating with us. It is important to show that you are involved with the music, that you don't meet every different section of the music with the same poker face, smile, or grimace. On the other hand, too much emoting and even smiling can be off-putting. Dirty looks, even for an obvious mistake, are an absolute no-no.

I also like conductors who use their whole bodies to conduct, as opposed to standing very still and mostly using their arms. When you are a musician toward the back of the stage, it helps so much to see the conductor's movements peripherally. You frequently can't take your eyes of the printed music, or even your instrument at times, to look directly at the conductor, so her/his movements need to be big enough to see, and of course, they have to convey the appropriate musical signals.

I'm curious. As an audience, what do you look for in a conductor?

BSO Assistant Conductor Auditions

2010-04-27T10:38:00.000-04:00

This afternoon BSO musicians and Marin will perform an interesting task: we have invited 5 conductors to an audition to be the BSO's Assistant Conductor next season. The Artistic Advisory Committee, on which I have served for the past 4 years, will poll BSO musicians on their preferences after seeing each candidate for about 20 minutes of conducting. In many cases 20 minutes is hardly enough to make absolute decisions, but you can often tell quite a bit in that length of time.

Should be interesting...

Music with Mena

2010-04-21T11:20:00.000-04:00

The orchestra really enjoyed our concert last week with Juanjo Mena, one of our favorite guest conductors. We played an unfamiliar piece, the Fourth Symphony of Carl Nielsen, along with a violin concerto by Rodrigo (Jon Carney was the soloist) and Ancient Airs and Dances by Respighi.

Being a really good conductor requires so many talents; maybe it is like being the president. The conductor has to know the music as well as anyone else on stage, and then translate that knowledge into body motions and facial expressions that convey to the musicians just how to perform it. He/she has to know when to exert strong leadership, and when to let the orchestra go a bit on its own. In rehearsal, she/he needs to be showing/teaching us the piece and listening carefully at the same time to know where to stop and rehearse. (This is where some conductors fall short; they may have good ears, but it seems they almost forget that we still need them in rehearsal for difficult entrances, tempos, for the character of the music, etc.)

The nice thing is, if you missed Mena last week, you get another chance to hear us with him in mid May. We will be performing Brahms 3rd Symphony and Strauss' Don Juan along with the Schumann Piano Concerto on May 13, 14 and 15. Come see a really great program with one of our favorite guests!

Funny story about Don Juan: when I was in college, learning the piece with the Eastman Philharmonic for the first time, our conductor, David Effron, said about the attitude needed at the beginning of the very virtuosic piece "be glad you're a violinist!" I always think of that whenever we play this exciting, difficult piece, and it makes me smile.

AAC in Action

2010-03-31T15:36:00.000-04:00

I bet most patrons are not aware of the AAC and it's function. One of the committees that musicians voluntarily serve on, through the election by BSO musicians, is the Artistic Advisory Committee. We discuss many aspects of BSO operations with our CEO, Paul Meecham, our General Manager, Kendra Whitlock Ingram and other artistic staff. They listen to our requests and recommendations for guest conductors and for repertoire, and we discuss other topics such as acoustics and stage set up, too.

This week we are focusing on selecting finalists for an assistant conductor audition scheduled to take place in April. Over one hundred and twenty applicants sent DVDs of themselves conducting various orchestras. We are in the process of whittling down the list to ten or so DVDs that Marin Alsop will then watch, and ultimately an invitation will go out to about five conductors to come to the audition. At the audition, they will each have about 20-25 minutes to show their stuff to us.

It is fascinating to watch conductors: each has her/his own style. Some seem more "technically" oriented; that is, they convey the tempos and rhythms of the music, and things such as dynamics (how loudly we play) with accurate signals to us, using their arms, faces and bodies. Some "dance" on the podium while others convey almost everything from the waist up. And a rare few seem to describe with their entire bodies, in addition to accurate tempos and dynamics, moods, subtle turns of phrases, emotions, etc. When we see candidates who can "do it all," so to speak, then we get excited and put them on the "Yes" list for Marin.

It will be interesting to see the candidates in a few weeks.

It's March!

2010-03-03T12:40:00.000-05:00

My favorite month of the baseball season! Well, one of my favorite months anyway. Since I was a little kid, I probably have loved baseball best of all sports. Besides playing with friends after school, I played organized baseball every year from when I was 10 to the summer between freshman and sophomore years in college. Until around then, I wanted to be a major league baseball player. Then I realized that serious baseball players don't attend the University of Rochester, but that aspiring musicians do. (I transferred that fall to the Eastman School of Music, part of the U. of Rochester.)

I started out as a shortstop, and when I was 10 our team won the city championship (my first and last.) Unfortunately the following spring at a practice fielding a ground ball, the ball struck a rock and bounced up into my eye. It knocked me out and put me in the hospital for 10 days because of the internal bleeding. Needless to say, I moved to the outfield for the rest of my career! I think my batting style was of the "swing hard in care you hit it" philosophy. I could hit it pretty far on occasion, but I missed it entirely sometimes too.

I love the O's. I am a die hard fan, usually losing interest only in late August and September, when the losing seems to accelerate. I watch and/or listen on the radio to parts of many games, and follow the players with interest. I'm excited this year because in addition to the young pitchers and position players, the O's seem to have added a few crucial veterans, like Tejada and Millwood. I know we are in a tough division with the (stupid) Yankees and the Red Sox, but who knows? Could this be our surprise year?

By the way, BSO musicians are very appreciative of the support of Peter and Georgia Angelos, who have given generously to the BSO over the years.

In March, all the teams have the same record, so anything is still possible. ;-)

Snow-mageddon

2010-02-17T10:47:00.000-05:00

Snow. I love it. Shoveling. Don't love that so much. In normal winters it doesn't bother me at all. It's almost a nice challenge, a small workout since our driveway is only about 30 feet long or so, and the sidewalk/steps to our front door are short too.

But since this winder is far from normal, I'M TIRED OF SHOVELING!!! And chipping. And walking around the house, which isn't easy in thigh high snow, to try to remove ice from areas that need to drain away from, and not into, our house.

Without help from my wife Jeanne and my wonderful neighbor Scott and his snow blower, things would be really bad.

Of course most of us in Baltimore have been doing some amount of snow/ice removal in recent days/weeks. What has been hard for me is trying, and sometimes failing, not to do so much as to affect my violin playing. Those forearms get pretty tight after hours of shoveling. I have to be careful since I need my arms and hands for playing violin even more than I need them for shoveling.

Yesterday was the first day in over a week that I didn't shovel or remove ice. And last night, I finally slept through the night without my numb hands waking me up at 5 am or so! Guess I might be better off with an icy driveway and a little water in my basement, huh? At least I would still be able to play the violin. Actually, I can still play...I just worry sometimes that, being a "musical athlete," I could injure myself.

Playing violin should be fun this week, with Itzhak Perlman coming! It's been quite awhile since he has been here. It will be interesting to see him conduct, as we haven't experienced that here in Baltimore before. And he is playing a great Bach Concerto with Katherine Needleman so we won't miss his amazingly beautiful violin sound. If there are any tickets left, don't miss him!

Symphonic music and the Olympics? Yes, there is a connection.

2010-02-12T22:52:00.000-05:00

Those who know me would not find this surprising, but while I am sitting here watching the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Vancouver tonight on my telly, I cannot help but ask, who composed this fabulous score?
After more digging than I thought it would take, the answer is Howard Shore. Famed composer of movie scores such as Lord of the Rings, and most recently, Doubt, Canadian native, Shore, recorded the opening ceremony music with the Montreal Symphony. While you're paying attention to the great special effects and visuals, don't forget to let your ears enjoy it too!

Mission Accomplished

2010-02-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post this entry sooner, but with all the snow, I spend the weekend digging myself out! I hope everyone out there stayed safe and warm.

I enjoyed my time with all the Rusty Musicians on Tuesday and Thursday. They were all there to play their best, and I just hope that they enjoyed the experience as much as you did, Dianne! Sorry about those day long butterflies. I know other "Rustys" were nervous also, from what they told me. That can come with the territory even for us professionals at times. Sometimes they days that I am the most nervous about a performance are the days I play the best! (Sometimes not.)

Marin is very personable, isn't she? I agree that it was classy for her to come around and shake everyone's hand after each segment, but I'm not surprised. She absolutely believes in connecting with everyone who comes into the BSO's orbit, so to speak. You probably already know that Rusty Musicians, at least for the BSO, is her idea.

I'm glad to hear that you were so excited that you almost floated away! That's the kind of excitement we hope we generate whenever we make music.

By the way, Lorie (my Tuesday 6 pm stand partner,) if you read this: thanks for your generous comments you wrote for B Magazine about sitting with me on Tuesday evening. I strive to let the music "speak through me," so to speak. I'm glad that it seemed that way to you. Because while we pros might have more experience doing this than you "Rustys," we often have the same concerns and fears that you might. "Will I be able to play this difficult passage fast enough? Can I keep a beautiful sound at all times? Can I hit that high note that I have to shift to?" That's life as a musician: the goals are very lofty, and the real life issues are pretty commonplace. Usually when the final note of a concert is played, you can let go of those concerns for a while, but they always return with the next concert or rehearsal.

Rusty in Review!

2010-02-04T11:06:00.000-05:00

Tuesday evening the BSO held its first Rusty Musician event at Strathmore Hall. Thankfully I had had my annual physical the day before and my doctor told me that I was due for a tetanus shot :)

Rusty Musicians was fun! The format was a 40 minute chunk of time devoted first to rehearsing, then a short performance of "Nimrod" from Elgar's Enigma Variations and then the 4th movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony. (We did this 4 times in the course of the evening, with each BSO musician scheduled to play either the first 2 or the last 2.)

My two stand partners were charming. The first, Lori, does research at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She told me that she had played consistently through her sophomore year of high school, so it has been a few years for her since she played with an orchestra, I think. Nevertheless, she was able to hand in there and contribute!

My second partner, Jay from Columbia, was clearly very well prepared. After rehearsing the first few bars of the Tchaikovsky, I said to him "you've played this before, haven't you?" He was getting every note! He nodded yes. As it turns out, Jay plays with the Annapolis Symphony, Concert Artists, and other local orchestras. I wasn't expecting that I would be sitting beside a violinist with as much ability and experience as Jay has. It was a treat!

Overall, the combination of BSO musicians and "Rustys" sounded pretty good. Tonight we do it again; I wonder who I will meet?

Feeling Rusty?

2010-02-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

Today we begin our Rusty Musicians rehearsals/concerts. This is new to me in an orchestral setting, though I do something similar a couple of times each year with my family. My two sisters both teach music, but my dad was a pension fund manager and my brother is an architect. The chamber music we play at family get-togethers is sort of a min Rusty Musicians, I guess.

It's easy as a performer to focus on getting the right notes and rhythms, making sure that the quality of the sound is just so, and whether or not you are perfectly in tune. I occasionally have to remind myself that while those efforts are important, it is the expression of music to the audience which is most important. Over the years, I can remember concerts that were technically imperfect but musically extraordinary. A bond of sorts is formed when the music leaps from the stage out into the hall and moves through, bounces off, is absorbed by everyone in the hall hearing and performing the music at the same moment.

I guess that is what should happen tonight with Rusty Musicians, though on a more intimate scale. Having done our "Side by Side" rehearsals and concerts with Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Harford county high school students over the years, I know that it is gratifying not only for the students, but also for us BSO musicians, to make musical connections by sitting next to each other and by experiencing great music together. So I guess I have done a version of Rusty Musicians with the BSO after all, only with Developing, not Rusty Musicians.

I bet some of the Rusty Musicians will be nervous tonight, not knowing whether or not they will play "well enough," so to speak, to be on stage with us. Don't worry, Rusty Musicians! We'll have fun, probably laugh a little at all the missed notes (ours as well as yours,) and enjoy the camaraderie. (Sometimes, being somewhat perfectionist, we wonder if we are good enough, too!)

Spring Arts Preview in Washington Post

2010-02-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post published their Spring Arts Preview yesterday in the Style Section. Although you have to cipher through the other music sections to find the Classical Music list, there's a better view of everything in the hard-copy version (the luxury of paying for print). Anne Midgette's Classical Music and Opera Picks completely excluded the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Spring Season, but then again, I'm inclined to think she favors the aura of The Kennedy Center since over half of the events listed occur there. The BSO is listed in the general calendar for

Feb. 11- Dave and Chris Brubeck

April 29- Alsop conducts world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff's "Starburst";

June 10- Alsop conducts Barber's "Knoxville" and Brahms Requiem,

all at the Music Center at Strathmore (and the Meyerhoff, but that's just too far for the Post to include, of course).

I was pleased to see Midgette finally included the UMD School of Music on her list with the world premiere of Shadowboxer: An Opera Based On the Life of Joe Louis in April, as well as the Kronos Quartet on Feb. 12 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

On another note, it was disheartening that the BSO did not receive the Grammy for their Bernstein Mass recording, but it was nice to see Marin Alsop win for the Higdon Percussion Concerto recording with the London Philharmonic, and the Mass' Producer, Steven Epstein, won as well for Producer of the Year, Classical. See all the Grammy winners Here.

Back in the Saddle

2010-01-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

Back in the Saddle. That's how last week felt to me. Not only did we play a Side-by-Side concert with Baltimore County high school students and a very nice baroque concert with Madeline Adkins leading a slimmed down BSO, my quartet had a performance at one of our very favorite venues, Second Presbyterian, last Saturday evening.

Violinist Rebecca Nichols, violist Christian Colberg and I have performed together in the Atlantic String Quartet since our first concert a Second Presbyterian back in September 1995. Bo Li, our cellist, joined us in 2002. Sometimes the ASQ feels like my 2nd family. There is an intimacy in chamber music that can be remarkable. Thankfully, we are all friends and we thrive on the intimacy and on the great repertoire written over the centuries for string quartets.

After our performance of Schumann's 3rd String Quartet Sunday evening, a very enthusiastic fan came backstage to greet us. He mentioned that we performed the piece "with gusto," and that this was Schumann's 200th birthday year. Schumann is this man's favorite composer, so it was very satisfying to me that we provided him with an experience that he savored so much.

This must be Schumann week here in Baltimore as well. Gunther Herbig, one of our favorite guest conductors over the years, is on the podium to conduct Schumann's 4th Symphony, along with the Corialan Overture and the Third Piano Concerto of Beethoven. Garrick Ohlsson is our soloist for the concerto.

I'm excited about the week!

Holiday Tidings

2010-01-06T10:59:00.000-05:00

Both my boys (young men, I suppose) made it home for the winter break, although Stephen had quite a time getting out of New York on December 20 because of the snow storm. I finally was able to pick him up after 6 pm from a bus stop at a Best Western in East Baltimore that I didn't know existed.

After the December 23 - 2 pm Holiday Spectacular show, my wife Jeanne and I celebrated our 25th anniversary the way we have celebrated almost all of the others: by driving to Alexandria, VA, dropping our kids off with my parents there, then heading into Washington, D.C., always pretty deserted around that time of year. You can get great rates on hotels there because the city is so empty on December 22, so we have tried many different hotels over the years. We have a favorite though, the Willard. Normally we wouldn't be able to afford it, but on December 23 we could! We had dinner in the round bar there; the bar and the hotel itself are quite historic.

The next day we headed down to Charlottesville to visit my sister Laura and her family, just as we have for the last twenty-some years. It was a beautiful drive; the snow from the storm on December 19 was on the ground the whole way. Christmas was great, then on December 26 before heading home we played string quartets for awhile. Laura is the cellist, her daughter Emily and I played violin, and Stephen (though he is really a violinist) read the viola part with a viola borrowed from Laura's school. She is the director of the Charlottesville High School Orchestra, an award winning and well traveled group of young musicians. Last year they were invited to be a part of the summer program at Loren Maazel's estate in rural Virginia, learning and performing repertoire with older students and professionals. We read through a couple of short pieces by Glazunov, but also more popular fare, including a fun Star Trek arrangement.

My son Eric is still here for another week so he and I will check out the skiing at Whitetail today and catch a Washington Capitals' game Thursday. Eric is a big hockey fan. We don't have BSO rehearsals and concerts until next week, but I am practicing every day as a good violinist should.

The Spectacularness of Holiday Spectacular

2009-12-18T12:12:00.000-05:00

About a week ago, I was walking down the hall in the UMD School of Music, on my way to the mail room, and the Opera Studio Coordinator, Laura Lee, stopped me and said "Are you coming Thursday?" "Coming to What," I said. "Holiday Spectacular!" I came to find out she has been stage-managing the Baltimore Symphony's Holiday Spectacular show for several years now. A sneak peak at the final dress rehearsal? Can't really pass that up.
This past Thursday, I beat my way up I-95 in rush hour traffic, and it was well worth it. The host, this year, Ann Hampton Calloway, of broadway fame, has a fierce set of pipes, and opera star, Daniel Okulitch, duos and solos with the deepest bass-baritone voice I've ever heard.
And I'm going to let out a secret about those Dancing Santas (which, by the way, are really something to see): they are high school students from the Baltimore School for the Arts!
I know the BSO musicians might find the music a bit tedious; the level of music does not rank up there with Mozart, Strauss, and other classical greats. I've even heard some of them say it's all a bit chintzy- but you know, chintzy is as chintzy does. And, in this case, they do chintzy well!
There are four shows left: two on Tuesday and two on Wednesday, to accommodate the wee folk. Check it out Here.
Happy Holidays!

Show Time

2009-12-16T15:36:00.000-05:00

Friday the 11th, I performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with my son Stephen conducting his student orchestra at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. The program began with Stephen conducting a commissioned piece by a Yale composer, then the orchestra played the first movement of Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony, conducted by the Berkeley College Orchestra's assistant conductor.

Thankfully we had about 25 minutes shortly before the concert to rehearse the entire second movement, and spots in the first and third movements. That was valuable because it was our first time together in the Battell Chapel, the site of the concert. The acoustics there were quite different than they were for our rehearsal the previous Sunday. There was warmth and reverberation in the chapel, both great qualities for making music. However, reverberation often makes it more challenging for a performance with a soloist, because the orchestra can easily be too loud for the soloist, especially a violinist. So I spent some of the rehearsal tying to play as loudly as I possibly could. That isn't usually the best strategy for making music, or even for getting the most sound out of a violin!

So getting ready for the concert, I made some mental adjustments, planning to play just a little faster in the slow movement, for example, in order to sustain my tone more easily. And I tried to ignore the thought that I might be drowned out in this very symphonic concerto. I knew that if I played well, the way I had been practicing, I would be heard at least most of the time.

Playing one of my very favorite pieces with Stephen conducting was truly magical! He controlled the orchestra very well, both in terms of tempo and volume. I was just a little nervous and tight for the first part of the first movement, but gradually I felt more comfortable and I started letting go. All the practice since early August really paid off, my memory didn't fail me, and my pitch was generally good (though there are a few notes I wish I could have back). Before we knew it, the 35 minute piece was over, and we faced the applauding audience, many of whom were standing. What a moment! I am blessed to have had such a great opportunity with my son. The members of the orchestra were very appreciative of my coming to play with them. I thanked them for such a great opportunity.

My other son Eric came up from New York to see the concert, and of course my wife Jeanne was there. My parents made the trip from Virginia, my brother and his partner came from Boston, and my cousin from Rhode Island even came! So afterwards we all went out and celebrated.

Then another blessing over the weekend: two whole days without touching the violin!

Sibelius, Family Style Part 2

2009-12-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday afternoon I rehearsed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Berkeley College Orchestra of Yale University. My 21 year old son Stephen conducted. It was a wonderful experience for me!!!! The orchestra members were good musicians and very supportive. The Sibelius is a complicated piece to put together, especially if many of the musicians are playing it for the first time, as was the case on Sunday. Fortunately, we had a 2 and a half hour rehearsal to work on everything. By the end of the rehearsal, Stephen and I felt really good about all that we had accomplished.

The orchestra rehearsed again last night. Today I drive to New Haven, this time with my wife Jeanne. We have the privilege of staying in the guest suite at Berkeley College, at the invitation of the Berkeley Master, Marvin Chun. Then tomorrow, we will rehearse a little around 6 pm for the 8 pm concert.

I'm very excited, thankfully not too nervous, that the concert is almost here. I've worked really hard on the piece this fall, and I am enjoying the results to this point. I look forward to sharing the piece with tomorrow night's fellow performers and the audience.

Wish me luck!

Oh, here is the link to the BCO's website, if you would like to learn more about my concert and my son's orchestra. Above is a picture of my son Stephen.

BSO Awarded Grammy Nomination

2009-12-04T10:13:00.001-05:00

Got a tip-off about this from Tim Smith's noteworthy blog: the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra received a Grammy nomination for their recording of Bernstein's Mass yesterday in the Best Classical Album category. I suspected this recording would get this level of notoriety soon. Listen to clips or purchase the CD Here.
And Marin Alsop got another Grammy nomination for the recording she did with the London Philharmonic with her pal (We can assume they are friends, right?- since Higdon's pieces and premieres are all over the BSO's lineup every year), Jennifer Higdon's piece, the Percussion Concerto.
So, in other words, congrats to the musicians, Marin, and the staff who put this together!

Sibelius, Family Style

2009-12-03T12:37:00.000-05:00

My son Stephen was home for Thanksgiving last week. He brought his orchestral score to the Sibelius Violin Concerto. He and I spent several hours studying it, mostly in the form of me playing the solo part as he followed the score, singing and conducting. We discussed how Stephen should conduct some parts where the meter of the piece is somewhat confusing, as the violas are in 4 while the rest of the orchestra is still in 6. We discussed tempos and how to make transitions.

Not only was he learning how to conduct this particular concerto, and how I want to perform it; I too was learning again what it is to play a big romantic violin concerto with an orchestra (in this case the Berkeley College Orchestra of Yale University, an undergraduate group.) Despite the fact that the soloist gets most of the audience's attention in any concerto, there is a lot of give and take between soloist, conductor and orchestra. It is one thing for a soloist to know his notes, and quite another for him to understand where he must play as loudly as possible because the horns are playing at the same time, to know where there can be rhythmic freedom, and where he must play strictly in tempo to avoid causing the orchestra to have a train wreck!

The last time I played a big solo concerto was 1993, so this is a reawakening of sorts for me. It truly is satisfying to practice one of the great masterpieces, to learn more and more about a piece that I have loved for decades. And the chance to perform it with my son conducting his orchestra makes it even more special than it would already be.

I go up to New Haven this Sunday to rehearse with the orchestra, then the concert is the evening of December 11.

It's a Family Affair

2009-11-25T15:06:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving week. FINALLY a break! It has been a great 5 weeks of BSO classical concerts, with 2 guest conductors and 3 weeks with Marin. Mix in a couple of November chamber concerts, and I am a little tired out. One day away from the violin, then back to practicing. In two and a half weeks, I go to New Haven to perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Berkeley College (of Yale University) Orchestra with my son, Stephen conducting. I'm excited about this project, as I haven't performed any concerto with any orchestra for over 10 years. And the Sibelius is my favorite of many favorite violin concertos. There is nothing like it: it is a virtuosic workout for a violinist, but it is too great to call it a "showpiece." The orchestral writing is superb; after all, it is Sibelius.

Making music with my family goes back a very long way. When I was quite young, I used to play violin while my dad accompanied me on the piano. My brother took up the violin, and my sisters, pianists to start, eventually also learned the cello and the viola. So a least once a year we like to get together and play great string quartets. Now that there is another generation of string players, we can expand that to string quintets, etc. when we want to.

Meanwhile, I'm grateful that both my boys, Eric and Stephen, are home this week from law school and college. We'll have a nice Thanksgiving with my parents and my sister's family, who will all drive up from Virginia Thursday.

And if this weather would just clear a bit, we could manage one more outdoor tennis match this fall!

The Joys of Engagement

2009-11-24T09:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight I'm going to see Maryland Opera Studio's L'elisir d'amore (Elixir of Love) at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. (Yes, tonight is the last performance-not fabulous on the timing!) I've heard some great things about this year's opera students, so I'm hoping to thoroughly enjoy myself (as you will too, if you come.)
And now, similar to the Baltimore Symphony's multimedia for events, you can further engage with with the performance before and afterwards by going to the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library Previews page to find books, recordings, and scores relating to the event.
With so much cyber media these days, there's no excuse not to be an educated concertgoer!

The Difference Between a Bassoon & a Violin

2009-11-12T11:04:00.000-05:00

Here's a funny story to follow up on the performances of Beethoven's Symphony #4 that the BSO performed a few weeks ago, and that the Berkeley College Orchestra of Yale University also performed, with my son Stephen conducting, the same weekend.

We were comparing notes that week, and I asked how the violins were doing with the very difficult last movement. Stephen said the violins were really cooking, then he told me about the notoriously hard bassoon lick midway through the last movement. It is a few bars of very fast 16th notes more suited for violins than for bassoons! In the dress rehearsal, Stephen looked up at the bassoonist to give him a cue for this passage, but the bassoon was sitting on the musician's lap, and the musician just shook his head "no," as if to say "you gotta be kidding me."

In the end, Stephen and the bassoonist worked out the version of the passage to play for the concert. Seems like an effective technique; maybe I will try the instrument in the lap, shaking my head thing the next time we have an impossible passage! lol.

How I LOVE the Fall!

2009-11-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

The beauty of the leaves on the trees, and especially the crispness of the air. I think I also love fall because, though a nice vacation at the end of the summer is always welcome, we get back to work on great music.

It's also perfect time for tennis, usually. A bunch of BSO guys play often on Monday: David Coombs, Ken Goldstein, Ivan Stefanovic, Chris Williams, Karin Brown's husband Dan. Jon Carney sometimes plays too, though not lately. We always whoop it up onthe court, pretending for a day that we are athletes, not just musicians.

Fall seems to be the only part of the year when I remember to ride my bike. I have a mountain bike, though I discovered that rough trails weren't exactly kind to the muscles in mmy forearms, which get enough wear and tear playing the violin. I live fairly near Worthington Valley, north of Owings Mills/Reisterstown, so it is easy for me to ride through a couple of neighborhoods and get into the great part of Baltimore County that is still horse farms, etc. Great vistas from my bike!

Mahler's Symphony No. 4 is on the program this week, conducted by Marin Alsop. There is such a great sense of peace in the work, less of the overt drama characteristic of most of his symphonies. It has been a long time since we performed it, so I will savor the rehearsals and performances of it.

Like Father, Like Son

2009-10-22T11:36:00.000-04:00

I'm looking forward to the concert this week, Simply Classical. Louis Langree will be our guest conductor. He conducted us in the Mozart Requiem a couple of years ago, and I enjoyed him then. One of the interesting parts of our job is to be able to experience the inspiration of guest artists, both conductors and soloists. They come from all over the world to make music here in Baltimore and at Strathmore (and occasionally, like this week, in Wye Mills on the eastern shore.)

Simone Dinnerstein will make her BSO debut with us, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. I have heard that her playing is wonderful. By the way, she also happens to be a beautiful young woman. Today she has an interview on WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi show at 1:30 pm. Listen live at wamu.org! Should be very interesting.

We will also perform Haydn's Symphony No. 44 and Beethoven's 4th Symphony. I love the 4th: it isn't performed as frequently as many of Beethoven's others, but it is a great piece. The outer movements are lots of fun, and the slow movement is gorgeous! Coincidentally, my son Stephen, a student a Yale University and an aspiring conductor, will be conducting a student orchestra in Beethoven's 4th Symphony this Saturday evening, too. We will be comparing notes, I'm sure.

The BSO and -State Your Name Here-

2009-10-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

Have you ever fantasized about playing alongside Emily Skala on flute, or perhaps thought about sharing some nice harmonic support with Chris Dudley in the brass section? Well, here's your chance, but you'll need to sign up early on November 2.

The BSO is auditioning "Rusty Musicians" to play the fourth movement of the Tchaik 4. I've seen this kind of publicity before, but not with such a top tier symphony orchestra. This should be interesting...

Reflections on Bartok

2009-10-07T13:30:00.001-04:00

Last week we recorded Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, a 20th Century masterpiece. Bartok used folk elements in his music; he combined them with an amazing mathematical sense for structure. Bartok is rarely "easy listening." The first time I heard a Bartok string quartet I thought it was noise. The music becomes intelligible when the listener can grasp some of the unusual harmonies through repeated hearing. Marin showed Bartok's connection to Eastern European folk music and its harmonic language by having the group Harmonia perform on stage before the BSO played the Bartok.

The Concerto, like most music Bartok wrote, is a very difficult piece. I think that, with lots of good practice and four performances, we were able to do it justice. In June we will record another piece by Bartok, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste. Eventually we will release those two pieces together on a CD.

This week Jack Everly returns for his always entertaining Pops programs. The program this week is "Hollywood: The Epics," and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society will be performing with us.

Come have fun with Jack and us this weekend!

Diversifying Your Musical Portfolio

2009-09-27T18:21:00.000-04:00

After hearing the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's season opener, with special guests, Time For Three, I have become a full supporter of the prevailing philosophy that classical musicians should do more than just dabble outside of western classical music. In other words, they should diversify their "musical portfolios" to include folk music, jazz, bluegrass, and other such similar genres to appeal to a wider audience.

I went to a lecture by Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker Magazine, a few years back during National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland that advocated this same message. The more versatile you are, the more likely you will be able to succeed in the classical music climate of the twenty-first century.

Just take the group, Time For Three, for example, who performed Jennifer Higdon's Concerto 4-3 with the BSO Saturday night (and held a jam session in the lobby following the concert). The group is composed of three talented young musicians who were classically trained at The Curtis Institute of Music. While at Curtis, they began meeting after orchestra rehearsals to let loose and play some bluegrass music. Their casual jam sessions developed into a group with a sound that bridges the classical and bluegrass realms. Time For Three has gone on to produce two successful albums and they maintain a busy touring schedule. (Higdon composed Concerto 4-3 specifically for them.)

There are many other classical musicians that have had enormous success specializing in different genres, such as the group, Pink Martini (most of their "little" orchestra are former top tier symphony orchestra members ), and don't forget, Wynton Marsalis has a degree in classical music performance from Juilliard. In the end, it just makes the musician more desirable when they possess an expanded musical pallette.

And sticking around for a bluegrass crossover jam session in the lobby following the powerhouse Tchaik 4 is always an added bonus:

Opening Night!

2009-09-23T10:32:00.000-04:00

Today we start rehearsals for the piece by Jennifer Higdon, "Concerto 4-3." I'm looking forward to seeing what it is like. I almost always enjoy learning and performing contemporary music, and Marin does a nice job of finding interesting, accessible music of today. It is a different experience to learn and perform a new piece.

When we play something familiar, there are certain expectations that most of us have when we go into the first rehearsal: the tempos should be so and so, we will slow down in this spot, etc. etc. When we attack an entirely new piece there are fewer expectations. This can free us to make music in a different way. In one sense there is more risk to us as performers. We don't know how well we will perform the piece, or even which sections might prove to be most difficult. We don't know whether or not the audience will enjoy the piece.

On the other hand there is less risk. Since there aren't 15 recordings by famous conductors and orchestras that we and the audience may know of the piece, it is "ours" to make what we will of it, both from the performers' and from the audience vantage points. And if we miss a few notes here or there, will anyone but us know?

Enjoy life's little surprises. Come hear the Higdon Concerto 4-3 this week. And by the way, we are playing great standards by Tchaikovsky and Brahms, too!

BSO 2009-2010 Season Kick-off

2009-09-10T10:39:00.000-04:00

After several weeks break, I am looking forward to playing the violin with the BSO this weekend for the Gala concert. Lang Lang will be the pianist. He is a big audience favorite, and he hasn't been here for awhile. The Tchaikovsky Concerto should be a great piece to hear him play.

I have been practicing hard for the last many weeks, even though the orchestra hasn't performed since late July. It is essential to keep up my skills, and this quiet period for the orchestra gives me a chance both to prepare repertoire for the upcoming BSO season and also, to work on pieces that I will perform this year as a soloist and a chamber music performer.

One piece I have worked very hard on the Sibelius Concerto, my favorite romantic violin concerto. I will perform it December 11 in New Haven with my son, Stephen, conducting the Berkeley College Orchestra, a student orchestra at Yale University.

There are lots of great programs to look forward to this fall. Hope to see you all at JMSH and Strathmore!

Click here to view the season.

Live Classical Music on the Cheap?

2009-08-28T21:09:00.000-04:00

My bank account has been hurting the last few months. That west coast vacation I went on took a tole on my "going out" funds, not to mention this "recession" phenomenon. It has sadly been too long since I was able to see some live classical music, so I went online to see if there were any events in the DC/Baltimore area coming up. As the 2009-2010 concert seasons are raring up, it is the perfect time to list some good deals. Here is what I came up with:

Many people do not know that the Kennedy Center has a FREE concert every day on the Millienium Stage. Check out their series here. They also have deals for the 17-25 age range through the Attend Program once you set up an account.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has two ways to save, depending on your age range: (1 $10 Student tickets to most concerts in the 2009-2010 season (valid Student ID required), and 2) BSO Forte events (Friends Under Forty), which include parking deals, free food, and discounted concert tickets.

Free Fall Baltimore- I just discovered these FREE open rehearsals on the BSO website this fall.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland offers free Engagement Events every week during their 09-10 season, including 5:30pm weekday concerts if you want to grab a concert right after work.

The University of Maryland School of Music has many student performances throughout the year, as does many other colleges and universities in the Baltimore/DC area. The Peabody Conservatory of Music is another local music school with exceptional student performances.

Many museums in DC have FREE concerts (many with world music) several nights a week. All you have to do a reserve your free ticket or arrive early (first-come, first-serve): the Freer and Sackler Galleries series, American Art Museum Concerts (including their every-other-Sunday Steinway Series in McEvoy Auditorium), National Gallery of Art Concert Series, and many others (google Smithsonian Institution concerts).

The Library of Congress has more than books, archives, and every newspaper in existence. Their FREE Concert Series is held in the Coolidge Auditorium located in the gorgeous Jefferson Building. The LoC also requires you to pick up advance tickets. Information will be up soon on their 09-10 season.

Do you know of any other live classical music deals in the area? Post a comment and I'll add yours to the list.

BSO Goes PSYCHO

2009-07-09T01:00:00.000-04:00

Today we rehearsed Psycho. The music was written by a well known film score composer, Bernard Herrmann. It is very creepy music, very interesting and dissonant at times. Then there are the sections with the pretty famous slasher music. Herrmann uses motives, chords and themes repeatedly; I'm sure that must be connected with various characters and/or moods in the film.I wish that I could see the screen. On some occasions, like when we played the music for Wizard of Oz last summer, I can look up when the violins have rests in the music. But for this performance, I am in back of the screen. I guess I will have to use my imagination and listen for the screaming!

July 3 and 4 were great last week at Oregon Ridge. Absolutely perfect weather, nice big crowds, and I enjoyed our conductor, Damon Gupton, quite a bit. I think that was the first time we played the entire Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture at OR for a long time; how nice.

Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY - June 27

2009-06-25T11:50:00.000-04:00

I'm really looking forward to this concert, and I'm glad that the Baltimore Symphony has decided to perform this music. I've been a serious gamer for years, and in my experience, a soundtrack can make the difference between a good video game and a great one.

Video game music, like everything else about video games, has evolved greatly since Tetris, Galaga, and Super Mario Bros. Crude synthesizers have given way to more advanced ones and in many cases to full orchestras.

Nobuo Uematsu, who composed the music for the Final Fantasy series through Final Fantasy X, has witnessed this evolution as well as anyone. His music has helped make this fantasy/science-fiction series one of the most popular video game series in history, and I am happy to see the Baltimore Symphony recognize his achievements.

I will also be glad to see some people my age at the symphony. The concert is this Saturday, June 27 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore.

Eric Mulligan (age 23), son of Greg Mulligan

Reflection on the 2008-2009 Season

2009-06-12T13:00:00.000-04:00

The main season is almost over. We are playing this weekend to full houses, with a concert of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto, performed beautifully by Yefim Bronfman, and excerpts from Wagner's great Ring Cycle of operas. It will be nice to have a little break next week!

We have had a great season that included some unusual repertoire this past year. Bernstein's Mass, which we performed in Baltimore, New York, and Washington last October, was a once-a-career opportunity for us. Though we all admire Leonard Bernstein, I think that it was still a pleasant surprise to experience the eclectic chaos of the work. Marin put together a great cast, and it was truly thrilling to perform the work with children's choirs from here and from New York. Click here to watch Marin discuss the project.

Mahler's Ninth Symphony, which we performed this spring, was another highlight. This is a difficult piece, even by Mahler's standards, but we were all very pleased with the results. There were a lot of other great performances, too, but the Bernstein and the Mahler stand out to me.

So in couple of weeks we will have our first summer season concert, "Distant Worlds: The Music of Final Fantasy." To be honest, I don't know exactly what to expect from this show, but I will ask my 23 year old and 21 year old sons about Final Fantasy. I know that Eric, my older son, enjoyed "Play, a Video Game Symphony," last summer, in which we performed music from various video games while scenes from the games appeared on a screen over the orchestra. I'm sure that Distant Worlds will be a big hit with the gaming crowd, too.

Greg Mulligan's First Post

2009-06-02T17:13:00.000-04:00

Hi, I'm Greg Mulligan. I play in the First Violin section of the BSO. I have been here in Baltimore since 1980, except between 1989-1994, when I left to become the concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony. Now I'm glad to be living and performing in Baltimore again. Click here to read more about me.

It's funny to me that I am writing a blog for the BSO, because, while I am a good typist and I love to communicate, I am technologically challenged. Whenever something goes wrong when I am on the computer, I hope that my wife Jeanne, or one of my sons, Eric or Stephen, is around the house because there is little chance that I can find the problem! But with their help, and with the help of Jamie Jean Schneider, E-Commerce Coordinator of the BSO, I think I can do this.

Last weekend we performed a Pops show featuring music from the 1970s, "Disco Days and Boogie Nights," with our great Pops conductor, Jack Everly, and nine excellent singing and dancing solo performers. While the disco craze has the reputation of having produced some very silly music, I have to say that I really enjoyed the show. I was a teenager in the 1970s, and I remember very fondly going out with friends to dance to all that music. It all has a great beat and it inspires moving your body. And there is a lot of variety. This show wasn’t only disco; it also featured many other types of popular music from that era.

It was fun to wear 70s clothes. I used to have an old disco (loud pattern!) shirt, but I'm sure it got donated to Goodwill at some point. So I went into Hampden and found a copper-silver polyester shirt. There were some great costumes in the orchestra, including the French horn section dressed as the rock group Kiss. Join the BSO facebook fan page to view pictures of us dressed to the max for the evening.

I'm looking forward to this week. Hilary Hahn is a local girl who has amazed the classical music world with her incredible, beautiful violin playing. She is playing the Higdon Violin Concerto, which I don't know, but I am looking forward to learning it. Also, it will be nice to have Marin back again. Besides Higdon we are playing pieces by Beethoven and Dvorák, two of my favorite composers. If you want to see just how classically cool Hilary Hahn really is, visit her YouTube Channel.

O'Riley, Ravel, and Radiohead (that's right- you didn't read it wrong)

2009-05-07T22:31:00.000-04:00

It's not too often you can come to a concert and hear a musical potpourri of pieces, all in one sitting. The April 25 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert I recently attended at The Strathmore included pieces such as Ravel's well known but not often performed Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, to Ballet Music from Mozart's opera, Idomeneo, to piano arrangements of the band, Radiohead, and lastly, excerpts from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. I originally thought that this is just way too much to cram in to one concert, but I was blown away.

Chistopher O'Riley, the guest artist, made the night. His immaculate performance of the Ravel was as fascinating to watch as to hear. After having grown up listening to O'Riley as host of the popular radio show, From the Top, it was thrilling to see him live, right here at the Strathmore Music Center. I always thought it was so cool that he would play the piano part for the young solo artist performing- I used to imagine how great that would be to have a chance to play with O'Riley, and he seemed to be able to converse with the young people with easiness. That same calm, collected, easiness was present during this performance.

James Gaffigan, the guest conductor, flown in all the way from San Francisco, teamed up with the BSO and ORiley for the weekend’s performances. He brought a fresh approach to conducting, and, although no other conductor works as well as Alsop (yes, I’m biased), Gaffigan's large and expressive motions seemed to pull every last drip of passionate playing from the musicians.

The Classical Period Selection of the Night:
Mozart’s Idomeneo, re di Creta, K.366 (1781), his first attempt at opera seria (serious opera), was composed when he was only eighteen years of age. The story of Idomeneo, Kingof Crete, was thought to be chosen by Elector Karl Theodor of Bavaria, who commissioned Mozart to compose the work. The Ballet Music from the opera, traditionally inserted at the end of the performance, is rarely performed with the rest of the opera today. This shortage is more than adequately filled in the orchestral field, where the ballet music is on repertoire lists the world over. As the opener, the BSO, always a pro group with Amadeus, performed the short pieces with a fierce daintiness. Mozart exists for strings, in my opinion, and the string section, led that night by Madeline Adkins, performed with a pure, unified sound. I could almost see the dancers on stage during the opera.

Romantic/Contemporary Period Work of the Concert:
After much striking and set-up of the stage, (Mozart performances require a much smaller orchestra- some of the instruments in today's symphony orchestra were not yet invented during the eighteenth century and it was not until the works of Berlioz and Beethoven that the orchestra grew in number and variety of instruments), the Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (1929-1930) was performed with O'Riley on the piano. I had forgotten the extensive jazz influences in this work. The offbeat, syncopated rhythms and clarinet/saxophone slides (yes, there’s a tenor saxophone part) significantly move the piece up to the twentieth century. The work does demonstrate many Romantic Period traits as well, especially in the traditional concerto structure, disguised within one lengthy movement.

It is truly a shame that this work is not more developed into the musical canon. It appears that one would have to spend as much time and effort developing the skill of keeping the right hand limp and resting in the lap as pushing the limits of the left hand, the unfortunate appendage that rarely gets a chance to play the melodic line. The work was composed for Ravel's good friend, Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961), who lost his right arm during WWI. Apparently, Wittgenstein could not stand the work at first, but it quickly grew on him as he came to perform it many times over the course of his career.

Rock Music Work of the Concert:
Radiohead arrangements for the piano, composed by O'Riley himself. He took the time during the changeover of the stage to talk about how he developed a liking for Radiohead's music (beginning with their CD, OK Computer). He began playing the arrangements on From the Top, and their popularity took flight after that. There were some really advanced technical moments that the audience Oood' and Ah'd to, and he performed more works as an encore. I have to admit I really like Radiohead's music, but I don't know it that well. When O'Riley played an arrangement of the song, Paranoid Android, I (and the rest of the audience) clapped prematurely, before the song was actually over. My date, a devotee of Radiohead (and not a devotee of classical music), did not clap, and gave me that eyebrow lifted, judging look that I usually give him when he claps too early! The roles were certainly reversed for a hot second, and it was oddly refreshing to be out of my element.

Contemporary American Work of the Concert (out of the Canon):
Leonard Bernstein's "Three Dance Episodes" from On The Town, was another jazz-influenced work, but more mainstream since the pieces were from the 1944 musical. I always enjoy Bernstein, and this was certainly an audience favorite. People couldn't stop "air toe-tapping" in their seats and mouthing the words during the BSO's performance. This was the only piece on the program that I felt had weak moments; there were occasionally transition points where it felt like the ensemble was not completely together, and althought I loved seeing the sax onstage, he could have projected more over the orchestra as it was hard to hear his solos.

Contemporary Period Work of the Concert (in the Canon):
Prokoffiev's Romeo and Juliet, Op.64 (1935, with revisions), was a fantastic way to end the concert. I did not read through the program close enough to see which Romeo it was, falsely assuming it was Tchaikovsky's version, written many years prior. I am now decidedly a fan of the Prokofiev, moreso than Tchaik's. The Prokofiev has more tension and drama- it is so much more powerful, especially in the first movement, Montagues and Capulets.

After a whirlwind tour of classical music, the college night festivities began. O'Riley and Gaffigan (and their lovely dates) came to the party to meet everyone and of course participate in some fun photo-ops! The only downside for me at these events is the food is always gone by the time I get to the table! Please bring more food, BSO staff, and don't forget about vegetarian options!!

Music Matters. Spread The Word.

2009-05-04T09:45:00.000-04:00

Check out the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's new campaign, Music Matters. I know I don't have to tell you that, so pass the message along to those who don't know how vital music and the BSO are to this region!

Donate Here

Cirque de la Symphonie

2009-02-27T21:06:00.000-05:00

For me, the debate always returns to whether or not orchestras should involve extraneous performers or acts to glitz up the concert. Does this take away from the music itself? Is this somehow a way to get those not interested in classical music to attend? Or, is this a way to make the symphony orchestra more approachable, not so lofty in its aim and intentions? As evidenced by the full house that night, this concert was a giant success, and those who do not normally attend BSO concerts were drawn by its appeal. I'll have to attend another pops concert for more "research," but in the meantime, it's certainly safe to say I had a good time.

The College Night reception had good food and great prizes. A Hopkins student won the Baltimore harbor cruise in the raffle and just about flipped her lid with excitement. The gymnasts came out for the concert and mingled through the crowd. (Pictures are up on the BSO fan page.) I heard through the grapevine that all the student tickets were sold out for that concert, so you might want to get your $10 tickets for April's Romeo and Radiohead concert early!

URGENT - REJECT THE STATE BUDGET CUTS TO THE ARTS

2009-02-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

Friends of the BSO and the arts in general,
Please take some time to read this letter and follow the instructions below. The arts have suffered enough without a significant cut in the MD State Arts Council budget in these hard economic times.
Thanks,
Elizabeth

Dear Friend,

As many of you know, the Governor's proposed FY10 budget includes a drastic 36% cut to the Maryland State Arts Council. If passed, this would be a devastating blow to the arts community. For the BSO, this would represent a cut of $700,000 on the FY10 budget (2009-10 concert season).

Please take a moment to click on the following link, enter your zip code, and write to your elected representative. There is an already scripted letter, which you can use as is, or feel free to edit. I can't emphasize enough how important it is that our legislators hear from us – silence will be taken as acceptance.

Thank you,

Paul Meecham
President & CEO

BSO College Night- The Raven

2009-01-20T15:49:00.000-05:00

A great way to spend a classy evening out on a tight budget is with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at one of their acclaimed College Nights. I attended my first BSO College Night a few months ago, on November 6. It was certainly a night of big names. The Baltimore Symphony aptly chose to have their Fall College Night during The Raven concerts.The BSO brought former NSO Music Director, Leonard Slatkin, on board to conduct the evening’s performance, which included his work, The Raven: a dark and exciting piece composed of several poems by Edgar Allan Poe accompanied by music. Among the very skilled poem readers was none other than John Astin- yes, of The Addams Family claim to fame (Gomez)- who read Poe’s most famous poem, The Raven. Other works such as The Sleeper, The Bells, Romance, and The Coliseum were also read by different speakers and accompanied by music. The recitations and music certainly put one in a ghostly mood, but it reminds one of just how many good Poe poems are out there, and that more than the “regulars” should be circulated more often.

As many locals might already know, Edgar Allan Poe was native to this region in the early nineteenth century. After his parents’ death, Poe lived with his unofficial guardians, the Allans, in Richmond, VA, even attending UVA for a year. Poe moved back and forth between Richmond, Baltimore, New York City, and Boston, and although the circumstances regarding his death are uncertain, he most certainly died and was buried in Baltimore, following a long list of ailments and illnesses.

What many might not know is that John Astin is also native to this region! He is Baltimore born and raised, graduating from Hopkins with a drama degree before departing to Hollywood. Slatkin, whether or not he was born and raised here is obsolete; once you are the music director of the NSO for THAT long, you are a local. End of story.

With all these big name artists, the evening was sure to be a hit. To keep the event evenly spread throughout their two concert halls, College Night was at the Music Center at Strathmore to make it easier for the Western MD and DC students to make it out. The hall at the Strathmore is a work of art on its own, and with the place metro accessible (Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro) and the BSO’s great student discount tickets (we’re talking cheap here- 10 bucks), there’s no excuse for the young, low-on-funds college student not to attend!

After a lively rendition of Rossini’s "The Thieving Magpie" Overture, complete with a solid and steadfast drum roll solo by Christopher Williams, Slatkin conducted his Raven. The work is organized around five of Poe’s works, each set in different musical “guises.” He states, “The first four are scored for narrator, with each utilizing just one section of the orchestra. [The first poem features the woodwinds; the second, “The Bells,” a variety of bell-like percussion; the third is a dreamy waltz for strings; the fourth uses brass instruments to evoke ancient Rome.] In the final poem [“The Raven”], the whole orchestra is represented by solo instruments from each section.” One by one the readers came out slowly and solemnly onstage to recite their poems, each rendition increasingly creepier that the last. A personal favorite was the rendition of The Bells was performed by Rosemary Knower and the percussion section of the BSO. This piece reminds us of just how disturbed and demented the author’s psychological state was for most of his life. (I was definitely on edge throughout the entire work.)

John Astin came out to read the big finish (The Raven) and it was remarkable. It was obvious this was not his first public reading of that poem! It is very easy to see why this work was originally composed for Vincent Price to do all the readings, but having the pleasure of hearing John Astin and the other talented speakers, I believe their interpretations were just as provocative and gripping. Except for some minor sound problems, the work went off without a hitch.

After a brief intermission, the second half was devoted to another big name, Sibelius, and his second symphony. Composed in 1901, this Finnish favorite was actually inspired by the warmer climate of Italy- the location where Sibelius vacationed for a time. Excluding the slow movement, the majority of the symphony exudes joyousness and gaiety, and Slatkin and the Baltimore Symphony worked well together to achieve this atmosphere.

Some symphony goers get a bit tired during the long programs of the second half (the Sibelius included at a whopping forty-five minutes), and I feared this for my date, who does not typically attend symphony orchestra concerts. I glanced over halfway through and was shocked to see him wide awake and attentive- in fact, a quick glance over the rest of the audience, and they too were sitting up in their seats, quite alert. This was probably owing to College Night, but it was so nice to see such a variety of ages in the audience as well. This has definitely improved in recent years, and the BSO is doing an outstanding job attracting younger audiences with College Night and Forte BSO Friends under 40 events.

The College Night soiree after the performance was held in the swanky Comcast Circles Lounge, complete with soft lighting, yummy appetizers and desserts, and a cash bar. It is always exciting to see other students with an interest in symphony orchestra concerts, and I mingled briefly as a handful of orchestra musicians, fresh off the stage, and John Astin strolled in. I was highly pleased that Astin attended College Night. It was quite a treat to meet the legend in person and very generous of him to stay a while and mingle. The pictures of the event (available on the Facebook BSO Fan Page) turned out great as well!

Not that it’s too obvious, but I will definitely be attending the next College Night with the BSO and Cirque de la Symphonie on February 6 in Baltimore. For more information, visit BSOmusic.org for a full listing of future concerts!