Musicians' Picks :: Emily Skala

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?

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!

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!

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

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

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?!

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!