Green Music

It seems that the music "industry" in Britain has a rather large carbon footprint. Perhaps people interested in things environmentally-friendly could consider that live small-scale classical music concerts are really quite ecological. Programs can printed on recycled paper with recycled ink, and they can either be recycled or saved after the concert is over. Only a modest lighting system is needed for chamber music concerts, and in a proper concert hall there is no need for amplification (singers with voices developed as instruments to project don't need to use microphones). It is also much greener to heat and cool a cozy concert hall than it is to heat and cool a huge arena-style performance space. With the number of highly-qualified chamber music groups around, you could hold several smaller concerts played by the same ensemble without putting that much more carbon into the atmosphere. An added environmental bonus is that when smaller groups of musicians go on tour, they often travel in one or two cars, rather than on a tour bus.

Just think about the amount of excellent music we have that was written, published, performed (all over the place), and taught before the days of electricity, or even indoor plumbing.

N.B. I HATE the idea of music being referred to as an "industry," and I refuse to even write it without the protection of quotation marks!

The guy who plays Mr. Bean "plays" music by Mr. Beethoven

Applause

There are too many discussion on line (by musicians as well as by non-musicians) criticizing the formality of classical music concerts. People claim that it is the formal protocol that keeps new audiences out of the concert hall because they are afraid that they won't be able to "play their part" properly.

Last night I went to a school board meeting where awards were being given to a group of between 20 and 30 grade school students (awards having something to do with being kind, which I found kind of touching). After the superintendent called out each name, the audience applauded. Michael whispered to me, "they should wait until all the names are called." A man in front of him turned around to say that he was thinking the same thing, and the people in the audience clapped politely, while many of them, I'm sure, wished that some kind of protocol had been set.

Next came awards for the members of the high school speech team who went to the state competition. The superintendent called one name, and the audience applauded politely. Then the student walked all the way up to the podium (the meeting was held in a rather large auditorium), silently collected the certificate,and walked back. This happened three times. Three students returned to their seats in awkward silence. I wondered if some kind of protocol had been established for the elementary school kids, the audience would have changed their applause pattern for the high school awardees, saving their applause for the transfer of the certificate and, perhaps, a handshake between the awarder and the awardee.

The audience was then given the pleasure of watching a verse reading by one of the state finalists, who gave a brilliant performance. The audience applauded wildly after he was finished, and we applauded him after he left the stage (I wanted him to take a second bow, and I imagine that I was not alone). They understood that bit of protocol: a person performs, the piece is finished, and that's when you applaud.

Anyone going to a classical music concert can do a google search for "concert protocol" and find out when it is appropriate to applaud. It is perfectly fine to write a note in the program that reads "please hold your applause until the end of the piece." You could put it in the same place in the program that asks you to refrain from using flash photography during a performance. The Canticle Singers offers a very clear set of guidelines for concert protocol.

Bohlen Pierce Scale

The Boston Globe had an article a few days ago about the Bohlen-Pierce scale that includes a demonstration played on a Bohlen-Pierce scale clarinet. Once the pitches are sounded a few times, the music doesn't really sound that "out of tune" to my very western ears, but if I were asked to sing the scale in tune, or duplicate it on the violin, I know that I wouldn't be able to do it by ear. I am able to play quarter tones, when necessary, but there are ways to use technical means to assure they are in the right places when playing the instruments I play (string and flute-like instruments).

I have always wondered if western musicians who write microtonal music and play alternative-scale instruments can sing "in tune," without the help of a specially-designed instrument, within those systems.

Has anyone reading this wondered the same thing? Can anyone (who doesn't have perfect pitch) explain how a person with only a western musical background could sing microtonal or alternative-scale music accurately.

A Moment of Kaye

Be sure to notice Danny Kaye's fine fiddle faking beginning at around 4:20!

The Werner Icking Music Archive Is Back!

Thanks to very hard work on the part of Christian Mondrup (the editor of the WIMA), an IT company in Arhus, Denmark, and Massimo Capozza, the owner of Choralia (a site that provides training aids for choral singers), who is also the IT manager for CPDL (Choral Public Domain Library,) the Werner Icking Music Archive is now living on a server in sunny California. If the first link doesn't take you to the WIMA, this one will. (The normal link will take a while to reach every server.)

Patricia Travers

The New York Times refers to Patricia Travers as the "violinist who vanished" in her obituary. She grew up in a world where there was a great deal of competition and a great deal of audience support. She had the advantage of having a great fiddle, a great deal of family support, and she got a chance to be in the movies.

It is a shame that her 1951 Ives recording was never re-released. Perhaps Sony (who I believe holds the rights for CBS recordings) will reissue it.

Making a career in the musical world as a grown-up is difficult. It is especially difficult for soloists, and was especially difficult for woman during much of the 20th century. Critics had far too much power, and some seemed to pride themselves on ruining careers. Managers also had far too much power over musicians.

Not being able to get concerts is as good a reason as any to "vanish," even if you don't mean to. Consider the case of Michael Rabin (be sure to scroll down to the article posted by Michael Waiblinger). Competence and passion do not necessarily breed lasting success in the musical world. Success in the musical world as a child does not give anyone a ticket to success as an adult, but I believe that it is terribly unfair to compare a grown-up child prodigy unfavorably to the way s/he played as a child. That child probably gave up a large part of his or her childhood for your pleasure.



She reminds me a little of the young Leila Josefowicz (who is nine in this video).


Now we have people playing Mendelssohn at 5 and Sarasate at 6. I wonder what the future will hold for this amazingly-competent violinist. I hope that she gets a great education and remains a musician out of choice. Who knows what kind of a world she will experience as an adult.

Happy 90th Birthday, Ray Still

Oboists from all over the world will be flocking to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois this coming week for Ray Still's 90th Birthday Celebration. WFMT FM (98.7 in Chicago) will begin their part of the celebration tomorrow (March 8) by devoting a lot of air time to Still's orchestral, chamber and solo recordings. They will end the week with a two-hour audio documentary about his musical life on March 12, his actual 90th birthday.

Those of us who live outside of the 98.7 listening area can listen online. Still will be co-hosting a program from 10-12, and the documentary will be on from 1:00 to 3:00 American Midwestern time.

Ray Still is a marvelous musician and a wonderful human being who enjoyed a fantastic career in music. I hope that people far and wide will listen in and enjoy this celebration.

In addition to the radio program, Ray Still will be giving a free masterclass on the 11th of March at Roosevelt University from 2:00-4:30, and another in Evanston on the 15th (the Ides of March) which you can get information about here. Admission to the concert held in his honor that evening is also free.

Vegan Spinach-laced Minestrone (without Beans)

There is no photographic trace left of this soup, but I promise you that it looks as good as it tastes. This recipe makes four hefty main-course servings.

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 carrots, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 celery stalks, diced

4 small (or two large) zucchini, cut in any way you choose

1 28 oz can crushed or petite diced tomatoes
1 4 oz can tomato paste
2 tablespoons pesto (I used a homemade mixture of pulverized basil leaves, garlic, and olive oil)
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup tiny pasta (like Acini di pepe, Occhi di pernice, or Stellette: you can find a visual encyclopedia here)

2 teaspoons fennel seeds crushed slightly, and tied up in a cheesecloth sachet

1 pound fresh spinach for every two people (so if you are making this for four people to eat at once, use two pounds of spinach, and if you are making this to be consumed over more than one meal by two people, use one pound for each meal).

Heat the oil in a soup pot, and cook the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery on medium heat for ten minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for another two or three minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, pesto, and pasta. Toss in the sachet, and simmer for 25 minutes. Make sure to stir the soup from time to time so that the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. You can do this hours ahead of time.

When you are just about ready to serve put some olive oil in the bottom of another large pot, and saute the spinach for a few minutes. Place some spinach in the bottom of each soup bowl, and ladle the soup on top of the spinach. A little pepper is nice, but this soup really doesn't need any extra salt. I imagine that this soup would be really nice with escarole as well as spinach.

Chopin and Liszt Meet: Hollywood Style

If real life could only be like this! Here we get to see Chopin meet George Sand: The pianist is actually Jose Iturbi and the some of the hand close-ups are of Ervin Nyiregyhazi. Chopin is played by Cornel Wilde, Professor Elsner is played by Paul Muni, Liszt is played by Stephen Bekassy, and George Sand is played by Merle Oberon.

What a Great Google Graphic!

Getting from Zero to Twinkle in Thirty Minutes

I love teaching adult beginners, partially because I was one (I started as a kid, stopped when I was 11, and started again when I was in my early 30s). This is my note of encouragement for anyone who feels that their life would be more complete by being able to play the violin (or the viola) to take the plunge and start.

It is rewarding right away, as long as you work with a good teacher. The average adult student who comes to me to take a first lesson (with no experience with the violin and no knowledge of how to actually read music) is able to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" at the end of a thirty-minute lesson. An adult with a background in music will be able to "Twinkle" in about 15 minutes.

Children, in my experience, don't learn as quickly as adults, at least at the beginning. Perhaps it is because adults generally have more physical awareness (having had the same sized hands and length of arm for a while) and more of an ability to focus attention on a task at hand. Adults become frustrated more easily, and they tend to be more self-critical, but they also tend to understand the ways and means of solving technical problems, and apply them.

Here are a few guidelines for adult beginners:

Do not buy a $100.00 instrument that "looks good" on ebay. Do not buy a $100.00 instrument from a music shop (on line or in the neighborhood) that specializes in electronic instruments and guitars. The music shop owner might have the same supplier as the ebay shop. These instruments tend to look like violins and have been known to function like violins, but they are difficult to play, are generally poorly made, and are difficult to tune.

If you want to buy an instrument, buy one from a reputable violin shop. There are shops all over the place. A good violin shop will make sure that you have an instrument that plays well and is set up properly. You pay about ten times as much for an instrument from a good violin shop as you would from a guitar shop, but you can be assured that your instrument will serve you well for a long time.

Another option is to rent an instrument from a good violin shop. Just about every violin shop I know has a rental program. Some apply all the money you pay in rent to the purchase price of an instrument. Any shop worth its rosin will provide repair and re-hair service (bows need to be re-haired once in a while). Many shops offer all of their services to people who live far away, and they do much of their business by mail: shipping instruments for purchase, rental, or repair.

Good teachers are more difficult to find than good student violins, but there are good teachers everywhere. Ask around. If you have a string program in your school system, ask the more advanced players about their teachers. Call the teacher who is recommended most often, and if s/he is unable to take you as a student, ask for recommendations.

Don't be fooled by "brands." There are some terrific teachers who teach by using the Suzuki method, which is a method developed for very small children who don't have reading skills (we're talking about 3-year-olds). There are also teachers who use the Suzuki method who are not able to communicate well with adults (or older children, for that matter). There are also people who use Suzuki materials, but do not apply the "method." The quality of a teacher is often quite separate from his or her method.

(Thanks to Michael for this ad from Popular Mechanics)

Clever Program Note Idea

Michael Monroe offers a great way to offer concise program notes for student recitals. There is just enough information to keep the audience up to speed. I don't think that program annotations like these really do the trick of replacing the information-rich prose kind, but I do think that they do a great deal to supplement the program.

Make sure to notice the "celebrity" sample program that has Dick Cheney accompanying Katie Couric in a performance of "Gretchen am Spinnrade." It is funny and telling on many levels. Perhaps what the nation has had to endure (and still has trust in its face by television reporters) with this man is all part of a Faustian bargain he made one night, long before he entered the political world.

Consider the text of the song (by the all-knowing Goethe), and read a synopsis of the play (if you are not familiar with it).

Thank you Ms. Lipman, Thank you Mr. K

A wonderful surprise by Joanne Lipman came in today's New York Times. This is one very striking explanation of the "why" of music, particularly the "why" of having music programs in schools: it has a great deal to do with community.

Notes per second?

Life in an alternate television universe. The judges needed to determine if all of the notes were played, and if they were played in the right order in order to break a world speed record. I wonder if they figure in the rests as well? Does pizzicato count?