This coming Saturday, I will say Kaddish for my father, to mark the seventh anniversary of his passing. As readers of this blog know, he and I often played and talked about music together, and a set of concerts I just played reminded me how much I miss that.
ProMusica Chamber Orchestra played Beethoven’s FourthSymphony this past weekend. This has always been my favorite of Beethoven’s symphonies – lighter, shorter, and more upbeat than its odd-numbered neighbors, the mighty “Eroica” and the famous Fifth. It is a workout to play – the last movement in particular goes like the wind (especially with David Danzmayr conducting!). However, it’s the slow movement that’s always been my favorite, and there’s one moment in particular that touches me more deeply than any in music. It took me until this weekend to realize why I love this passage so much – it is the most human, vulnerable music I know. In turn, the principal bassoon, principal clarinet and horns are all asked to play very high and softly, while the cellos, basses, and timpani softly echo the movement’s main rhythm, a “heartbeat” figure, miles beneath them in the bass. Have a listen:
For these few moments, Beethoven takes us right to the edge of the abyss, but doesn’t linger too long – the flute solo which follows is the most beautiful, loving part of the piece. And that’s Beethoven in a nutshell, going from the depths to the heights in no time. These are the sorts of passages that I remember talking about with Dad – I hope he still gets to enjoy them as much as I do.
Bravos to my ProMusica colleagues – bassoonist Rachael Young, hornists Stephanie Blaha and Bruce Henniss, and especially clarinetist Ilya Shterenberg – your playing was absolutely wonderful. And a special thank you to my stand partner Joel Becktell, who had to listen to me talk about this passage every time we got to it in rehearsal – sorry, man!
The news these days is full of examples of selfish, destructive behavior – lucky for me, I’m part of something that shows what can be achieved with cooperation and compromise.
Readers of this blog know I’ve been talking for a long time about my dream of being part of a chamber ensemble, and it’s finally happening. Meet 4-Way, Cincinnati’s String Quartet.
With me from left, violinist Sujean Kim, violist Kevin Boden and violinist William Manley. I am so glad these guys agreed to do this – quartet playing is the most gratifying kind of music making there is, and it’s especially so when you’re getting to work with people you care about and respect!
We have been busy rehearsing for our first concert, taking place Sunday, March 13 at 2:30 P.M., in Cincinnati’s beautiful Taft Museum of Art. In celebration of the Taft’s new Impressionist exhibit, we’ll be playing Ravel’s String Quartet, along with Beethoven’s Op. 18 #6 and short pieces by Gershwin and tango master Carlos Gardel.
Readers of this blog know I have little patience for the distance classical music’s traditions place between performers and audience. Central to 4-Way’s mission is removing that distance. The March 13 concert will have the quartet surrounded by the audience (Beethoven in the round) – no matter where you sit, you’ll have a great view of the interplay that makes quartets so compelling. We’ll also make a point of talking to the audience about everything we play, and will present concerts in settings that encourage new listeners to come, like schools, community centers and offices.
We’re also looking for a home – actually, several! In the fall, 4-Way will begin providing free lessons and chamber music coachings to underserved children in our city – we’re currently in discussion with several local schools to find the right place. In support of this essential part of the group’s mission, we’ll be holding fundraising house concerts over the next few months – if you want to host one, please let me know! We’ll also be having a crowdfunding campaign in the coming months – more on that soon.
In the coming weeks, we’ll also be posting stories and short videos from rehearsals, as well as profiles of members of the group, with conversations about what makes chamber music so special to us. All these will be on the quartet’s website, as well as our Facebook page (please take a moment and give us a like!).
If you’re in Cincinnati, I hope to see you on the 13th at the Taft Museum! If not, there’ll be more to come soon!
“Quit thinking like a classical musician and start thinking like a rock musician.” So says Ivan Trevino, one of the cellists in the band Break of Reality. In a blog post on the website of The Strad magazine, Trevino shares his thoughts on how classical musicians can learn from the rock world.
His best observations are about the over-thinking we classical players do, and how it can hurt us. “Rock musicians understand rejection and don’t fear it. Most classical musicians don’t have that mindset…We believe, because it’s how we were taught, that there’s a perfect way to do things, and we can’t settle for less.”
Trevino urges classical musicians to play more gigs: “Just look at most local rock bands. They have show after show lined up. Every weekend, they are playing in a new bar or club. They’ve got their albums for sale, their email list out, and they are slowly but surely growing their fan-base. Meanwhile, classical musicians who have been playing their instruments for decades, who have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their musical training, don’t have this same mindset.”
Some savvy classical musicians have embraced this idea of getting out there more – the great cellist Matt Haimovitz plays Bach in bars regularly, and the Classical Revolution movement has taken off in many cities. But on the whole, we aren’t really succeeding in this area – we need to do more.
Trevino’s suggestion to “start thinking like a rock musician” got me thinking – when did we stop thinking that way? Some of the biggest names in classical music history thought (and acted) like rockers – Paganini, Mozart and Beethoven all come to mind.
Music is supposed to be challenging, in your face and uncompromising – all rock musicians know that. Beethoven certainly wrote his music with that mindset, and sometimes acted a lot like a rock star, throwing food at his housekeeper, etc. Mozart certainly partied like a rock star, and you could argue that he paid the price, dying at 35, at least in part because of his “lifestyle choices.”
Franz Liszt may have been the first rock star – at his concerts, women tore his clothes and fought over broken strings from his piano. He even got to be played in a movie by a rock star! The picture above is from it – Roger Daltrey of the Who portrayed the great pianist in “Lisztomania,” which also features Ringo Starr as The Pope (who knew he had such range?).
Let’s just say this movie is NOT an example of the inspiration I’m hoping classical musicians will get from rockers – skip it. Still, in 1975, someone thought enough of the idea to back it financially, and it got made – I doubt that would happen today.
Bad movies aside – no one performing Liszt’s concertos today gets the kind of reception he did – is that good or bad? So what happened? One possibility is that Liszt was a rock star because there was no “pop” music to compete with in his day – classical music was pretty much it, and everyone knew its stars. As other styles of music emerged over time, classical music became pigeonholed as something for certain people with “taste” and “sophistication” (an idea that Mozart and company would probably think was complete nonsense).
There’s a great book about how classical music (and other art forms) got separated from more “popular” styles – “Highbrow/Lowbrow – The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America” by Lawrence Levine – required reading, in my opinion, if you care about great music and its future. Classical music doesn’t have to live in isolation – that’s a recent development, and a really bad one, I think. Trevino and others like him are trying to bring it back into the mainstream – let’s get to it! Please post your comments and thoughts about how we can (re-)learn from rock musicians!
Why is Beethoven’s 5th Symphony the one piece of “classical” music everyone knows? Because it’s the same four note idea repeated several hundred times!
You know those songs you can’t forget? Usually, it’s the hook that gets stuck in your head, whether it’s Beethoven’s Op. 18 #1 or My Sharona. (I grew up in the 80’s -no judgement, please!)
Whenever I present Bach and Boombox, I start with music that has a good hook. From Bach’s G major Prelude for Cello to AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” pieces that give you something to hang on to tend to stick in your head longer, and all good musicians use these hooks as building blocks.
If you want scientific proof of the power of repetition in music, you can read this article. Or, you can just listen to this Spotify playlist – all the pieces have great hooks.
Many of these are pieces I use in my program – and I’d love some more ideas from you! The playlist is collaborative – so please add some of your own favorite hooks, post your feedback, and share it with your friends!
Till Wednesday,
Nat
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