Mare Somniorum: Adrift in the Sea of Dreams
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Sunday, May 7, 2006
12:12AM - The Gilmore 2006, Day 15: I Am Never Washing This Hand Again!!!
So this is it, my last day at the Gilmore.
There wasn't a whole lot on the docket today--both Lynne Arriale's and Christopher Taylor's master classes were scheduled on top of each other this morning, which kind of stinks. I ended up going to see Christopher Taylor, who was interesting to watch but who otherwise didn't have much to say. Because they put him in the lecture hall where there was only one piano, most of the class was spent with him demonstrating phrases while the students stood. This was especially true of the Rzewski Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues, which the second student performed. Mr. Taylor pretty much took his entire alotted time learning how to play his piece, it was so fascinating. Poor Fellow! ;)
While Mr. Taylor's master class left a bit to be desired, Laura said the jazz class in the recital hall was really good. Apparently Ms. Arriale had to go back to the very basics with some of her groups as the performers didn't know many standard jazz tunes to play for her and couldn't improvise very well. I probably would have learned quite a bit had I gone to see her work her magic, but I enjoyed Christopher Taylor, so I don't feel any regret.
I skipped the last rush event in the Wellspring--I didn't have a ride over there and actually felt like soaking up the sun after spending some time in the library. We had a meeting at 3:30 to go buy gift baskets for our host families, too, which I realized would already put quite a damper on my free time. Since we included some cheese and salami in our basket for the Watsons, we decided to drop it off so it wouldn't bake in the sun all afternoon. One thing led to another, and we ended up organizing a nice dinner at the local Mongolian Barbecue--my absolute favorite!!! I only made one stir-fry dish, so I splurged and tried out their new peanut butter cup dessert. Crazy good times with the gang and a video camera on top of amazing food... Yep, I was pretty much in heaven for the rest of the evening.
Jason called me from Arizona while I was in the car on the way to Chenery. Unfortunately, we were in the process of getting run over by oncoming rush-hour traffic so I didn't speak to him for very long. I'll have to catch up with him later and see how he's adjusting to life after college. =)
The grand Gilmore finale was given by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and Ingrid Fliter on the piano. They opened with the Bartok Dance Suite, Sz. 77, which was brilliant! So many contrasting dance styles, and all played so well! The Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor for piano and orchestra, Op. 22 was next. I absolutely adore Saint-Saens, but I've never heard his piano concerto before. Ms. Fliter was amazing, and I loved the entire performance. Oh, and I'm pretty sure John Williams totally ripped of the B section of his Star Wars theme from the second movement of this concerto. As soon as it was done, Laura and I looked at each other and pretty much read each other's minds:
Her: "Did that remind you of Star Wars at all?"
Me: "Yes, yes it did..."
and the silly theme went on being stuck in my head for the next half an hour. *laughs*
After the intermission, the 2006 Gilmore Festival ended with the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major for piano and orchestra, Op. 73, "Emperor". I hadn't heard this concerto either, but I can see why it is one of Justin's favorites. The first movement is incredibly regal, the second is very delicate and so beautiful. Ms. Fliter played it so well that the man sitting next to Laura leapt out of his seat and punched the air when she transitioned into the last movement, a rollicking rondo that pretty much leaves you happy to be alive.
There was a final reception at the Radisson Hotel which I was all about. Yes, even more amazing food, but no roast duck, and no chocolate fountain... Honestly, I think Duane and Justin just made that up to make me jealous. ^o^ Let's see... I stuffed myself with fruit and cheese and chardonnay and corned beef and wasabi crusted tenderloin... really, really hard to do after you've porked out at Mongolian. I had a great time with the rest of the Alma guys and Dr. Riley, and I even got to shake Ingrid Fliter's hand before we took off for our last night at our homestay. She was incredibly personable and easy to approach which completely makes me respect her as a musician all the more.
Whew, and I think that's about it. What an amazing time! If you ever get the chance to partake in any of the activities at subsequent Festivals, jump on it! Even spending a single day or two in Kalamazoo during this time will be an enriching experience. And now to reflect upon some fond memories. Goodnight, Sea Dreamers.
Current mood:  thoughtful
Friday, May 5, 2006
No master class this morning! I definitely took a loooooong bath before we headed out for lunch and the film. It was delicious. Mmmmmm!
We caught up with Tony and Kilday at the Hicks Center and decided to carpool to the Museum. The film was called Gyorgy Sebok: A Lesson in Music, and like yesterday's, it was done by a French producer. I liked this film as much as I liked the one on Leon Fleisher--Gyorgy Sebok is extremely spiritual, and I marvelled at pretty much everything he had to say. How is it that musicians seem to be the ones with the most comforting words to impart? The ones who are so in tune with life and purpose that they can tweak your perspective just enough to make you say "Ooooh... yeah, I get it now." I think that the most powerful thing about Gyorgy Sebok were his eyes, though. He's a tiny old man, he's got a hunch in his back and ancient, gnarled fingers. But his eyes are so clear, so full of vitality and a profound love of life... In the close-ups of him in his interviews, it was like looking into two bright mirrors that reflect a deep understanding all the mysteries that elude most of us our entire lives. When he spoke, he was so calm and his words so meaningful. He kept talking about all the great masters in history and always his teachers were "much wiser than him..." So humble! But he said that in music, we have the opportunity to touch the greatness of the past, to become for the duration of a piece the genius behind its composition, to think and feel as the demigods among us thought and felt once. He seems like an incredible person to sit down and have lunch with.
We dinked around in the museum for about half-an-hour getting footage for the Gilmore documentary and literally just playing with all the fun toys. In our brief time there, we managed to:
1.) Destroy several tornadoes.
2.) Create a windstorm and bury an entire city in sand.
3.) Turn on a light, listen to the radio, watch television, and fuel a Lite-Brite all at the same time.
4.) Dissect and reassemble a human body (minus the duodenum. You don't need that.).
5.) Confuse a giant heart into pulsing alternately at 60 and 102 bpm.
6.) Do-si-do to "Cotton Eye Joe" (arr. Kacie and Tony) in front of infrared sensors. And lots of little schoolchildren.
Yes, good times, good times. But parking isn't always free and tickets come quickly in the city of Kalamazoo, so we cut short our playtime and headed back to K-College. I spent the afternoon by the reflecting pool, the most beautiful spot on campus. I thought, and laid in the sun, and watched the wind shower the fountain with crabapple blossoms... dreamy! Katie wandered by at about 2:30 and offered to grab me a ticket to the rush event, so I said "Hell yeh!" and forked over five bucks to hear Lori Sims play at Stetson. She opened with Sofia Gubaidulina's (Gooberbwaaaah??!) Chaconne, which was quite modern and inspired Duane to have a field day with Tacet, my sketch book... Did you know Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick the AIDS out of little boys? Yep, s'truth. But I digress yet again. Ms. Sims played the Bach Goldberg variations (the aria and variations #1, 10 & 11) and some newer variations that were actually premiered at the last Gilmore Festival (yeah, I kinda remember those!). She then finished the first half with Bach's Concerto in the Italian Style, BWV 971, which I enjoyed. She plays with a lot of fire and I've always admired her skill. Her finale, the Liszt Sonata in B Minor was amazing, too, so overall I'm very happy that I made it to this rush event.
There were two concerts tonight after dinner; the first was Christopher Taylor (yessssss!) with the Avalon String Quartet (yessssss!) playing an all Robert Schumann concert in Dalton. Tony, Kilday and I were a tiny bit late to the concert (I won't say why ^_^) and had to wait outside while Avalon played the String Quartet in A Major, Op. 41, No. 3, but we still heard quite a bit. We found seats before Christopher Taylor played the Fantasie, Op. 17, for solo piano, which is one of my favorites. He played it with so much intensity that some of the audience members clapped after the second movement, and when he completed the third and final movement, they gave him a standing ovation before the intermission. He was rather tame (relatively speaking...) tonight, unfortunately... I was really hoping that the running crew was going to have to come out with a mop and a bucket, but no cigar. *laughs* Mr. Taylor joined the string quartet for the final piece, the Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44. Just wow! They were all so attuned to each other the whole time, and so expressive and passionate! I love Schumann! I loved the quintet!!!
We hurried over to the Gilmore Theater Complex to catch our final event of the evening, the Lynne Arriale jazz trio. I have to say that she played the most lyrical jazz I think I have ever heard. There was one original composition that she played for us which she hasn't titled yet that was absolutely gorgeous. Justin and I both were like "Noooooooo!" when she said she hadn't named the piece because we both know we probably won't be able to find it easily when we're hunting for a recording of it later on. For once I actually felt like I understood jazz, not merely appreciated it for its surface appeal. She ended with one of the most incredible arrangements of "Loch Lomond" ever (though she called it "Red is the Rose" or something), too, which is always a big hit with the Alma choir kids. ^_^ The only ridiculous part of the presentation was the crazy drummer. He... just... gah! He was air drumming at points, just for some sort of visual appeal... if you can call it that. When he got the death glare from Ms. Arriale, he reverted to fluttering his brushes (thank GOD he switched to brushes!!! I didn't think sticks could sound so clumsy... TRIP-uh-let one-two... TRIP-uh-let three a-four...) around like they were flying away at the end of every ballad. Hey, I can deal with a whole lotta different performance styles, and I will admit that I know *nothing* about percussion technique. I do know, however, when I see the bassist and the pianist grooving with each other and then way out in left field I see this little Drummer Island, jamming away to no tune in particular and with very little adherence to anything that could be regarded as a tempo... yeah, that pretty much completely destroys the vibe that is so nicely set up by the other musicians. Overall, I was really excited by the performance, though, and will probably see if I can't see what the Arriale Trio is up to down the road.
Wow, hard to believe I only have one ticket left... the grand Festival Finale concert. It's been a good festival for sure, though, and I won't be sad! Well, not especially sad... Yeah, okay, so I probably will be. I don't want it to be done already, and I guess I could use a few more days before I have to go back to Alma and figure out what I'm doing with my life--something I've been trying to avoid for the time being because dwelling on it really hasn't been very healthy. Anyway, the concert tomorrow night should be really amazing and a fitting conclusion to the events of the past couple of weeks. We may even be able to fit in a stop at Sweetwater's tomorrow afternoon before the group fragments. It'll be a good day.
Current mood:  calm
Yeeeeaaah... so I was definitely the only person at the master class this morning. Aviram Reichert was teaching, a pianist who I'm not really familiar with. I heard the Chopin Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1 and the Scriabin Sonata in G Major, Op. 31, No. 1 and thought that he had some interesting things to impart to his students. He was very sure of how he wanted passages to sound and nit-picked a lot of little details, having students replay lines again and again until they sounded satisfactory to him. In that respect it was a little tedious, but I never really found myself bored with his style. I had to cut out to meet Ann around a quarter of eleven, so I missed the Liszt "Dante" Sonata, which I really would have liked to have heard but will get a chance to listen to elsewhere, I'm sure.
After a quick lunch, we sped to the Museum to watch the film entitled Leon Fleisher: Lessons of a Master. This was a French-produced film, so all of it was subtitled in French (except for the interviews that were conducted in the language itself--I actually managed to catch a fair amount of what was being said with my rusty ear. Quelle suprise!). I actually thought that the film was very, very interesting. Leon Fleisher is definitely a master, and his story was really inspirational personally. In his interviews, he seemed so wise and passionate, and I drew a lot of strength out of hearing his tale of wrestling with the paralysis of his right hand. That somebody could find such joy in music to draw himself out of a marriage-shattering depression, that he could resolve to use his crippled hand to become an even stronger musician and more capable teacher... that is really something for me to grab onto and think about for awhile.
We unfortunately left about ten minutes before the film ended so we could get rush tickets to hear the Avalon String Quartet play at the Wellspring. They were breath-takingly good, and their music even included a harmonium, a piano/hurdy-gurdy (for me!!!) instrument that you don't really hear anymore. They started the program with Dvorak's Bagatelles for two violins, cello, & harmonium, Op. 47, which is always a good start to a program in my opinion. ^_^ Yaaay Dvorak! The harmonium then played some solo Janacek Po Zarostiem Chodnicku I (On an Overgrown Path I), which was also pretty nifty--I'm not that familiar with Janacek, but he writes some good music that sounds somewhat nationalistic, but which is also very intimate. The Debussy String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10 was next, and it was a treat to hear. Ann and I were quite taken by the cellist--she's a machine!!! And her hands are really small, so we could only marvel at how she found her way around her instrument and managed to alternately bring her singing melodies out and blend her ostinato passages and harmonies so seamlessly with the rest of the quartet. Finally, the group ended with Johann Strauss, Jr.'s Roses from the South Waltz, Op. 388, a lighthearted... well... waltz. Pure fluff, but good fluff for sure! =)
We had a little bit of time to kill this afternoon, so Ann and I got some ice cream (they had chocolate AND royal raspberry soft-serve! BONUS!). After dinner, we decided to check out the pre-concert lecture on Janacek's Diary of One Who Vanished. This was probably the most interesting lecture I've attended at the Gilmore--it ran really long, but it was fascinating to hear a little analysis of the poetry that Janacek set his music to and some of the musical techniques he used to impart the change that the main speaker undergoes in this "diary". I left the lecture hall pretty interested in hearing the evening concert, and I wasn't disappointed at all. The first half was devoted to some of Janacek's Rikadla (Nursery Rhymes), Four Moravian Songs, and his V Mlhach (In the Mist). The whole concert was given in its original language (Czeckoslovakian, I think), and the nursery rhymes and Moravian songs were sung by students who I think attend Western. I was impressed! It doesn't sound like an easy language to familiarize oneself with. In the Mist was more of an impressionistic piece for solo piano. The first movement was especially gorgeous, and it seemed like the intermission came all too quickly. We finally herded the audience back into Dalton to hear The Diary of One Who Vanished, and I have to say I was really impressed by whoever put the media and lighting geniuses for this performance. The English translations of the poem... er... opera?... were projected onto screens on either side of the stage. The text was actually overlaid on some beautiful photographs of Moravian landscapes and subtle lighting changes really accented its mood. The singers (Jay Hunter Morris, tenor, and Erin Neff, mezzo-soprano) were amazing and the poetry was so beautiful. The story is incredibly romantic on an extremely subtle level and Janacek conveyed a lot of powerful emotions with his music; I really, really enjoyed it.
After the performance, it was party night at the Heavys. They have the most incredible game room in their basement, and the entire Alma group turned up to take full advantage of it. I got some footage of the fun (so that I actually have something to put in the trip documentary) and even sketched for awhile. I played a nail-biter of a game of euchre with Laura, Ryan and Tony, too, and when things cleared out a bit, I threw darts with Duane. Of course... considering the fact that you had Duane, you had me, and you had a whole lotta pointy projectiles, you understand that we most certainly weren't going to keep a nice, orderly, responsible game of darts going for long. It was inevitable that we would turn into ninjas before the night was out (I may have shurikened the ceiling once...), you see. Fortunately, our A.D.D. kicked in before too much havoc was wrought on non-dartboardesque objects, and we decided to golf ping-pong balls across the room at each other instead. Much safer--they ricochet, but never pierce. ;) At this point, Laura not-so-subtly kidnapped me outside and Ann whisked me away to our homestay. Yes, get her out of there and put her to bed! ^_^
Current mood:  hyper
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Just before midnight... Today has been a rather long day. The master class was given by Ingrid Fliter, and I thought she was a pretty good teacher. She had a lot of good ideas for the Chopin Barcarolle, Op. 60 and Beethoven Sonata in G Major, Op. 31, No. 1 that her students played, and yet she always wanted to make sure that the performers were comfortable with her musical ideas. She was very patient and also highly complimentary of her students, so that made the class interesting to watch.
As usual, we cut out of the session on the early side to make lunch, but the day was so nice for a change that none of us really wanted to go to the film. We parked behind a familiar Battlevan, and I may or may not have drawn a phallus in the dust of its rear driver-side window. ^_^
I spent quite a bit of the afternoon in the library, catching up on some journaling. Silly K-Zoo--only two stations in the entire three-story library are available to our class now, so my online time has been constrained considerably. I got a bit of a chance to enjoy the sun, though, and the reflecting pool fountain was on again so I listened to that for a bit while Duane and Ann and I waited for the afternoon rush event to begin.
The rush event was the Piffaro Renaissance Band, which was pretty nifty. They played on replicas of old instruments, shawns and slide trumpets and sackbuts, too! There repertoire included Medieval and Renaissance music from Germany, England, Italy, France and Spain and included a lot of hymns, but some neat dances and other fantasies as well. The concert was over two hours long with the question-and-answer period at the end, though, so I was getting pretty antsy by the time it was over. And much to my dismay, the ensemble hadn't brought their hurdy-gurdy, so I didn't get to see anybody play it. Bummer.
The evening performance was back at Chenery, with Peter Serkin playing a rather odd amalgamation of Renaissance, Classical, and modern music. We went to the pre-concert lecture to hear a bit about the pieces, but Kilday and I were pretty much lost to a fit of the giggles, so I'm not sure how much I actually gleaned from the experience. ^_^ Serkin started with a piano version of Josquin Desprez's Ave Christe, moved to Bull's Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and played Byrd's La Volta before premiering Elliott Carter's Intermittences, a piece commissioned for him by the Gilmore and the Carnegie Hall Corporation. It was very modern and didn't really hold my attention. I understand that it was supposed to be reflective of all these conflicting emotions, but I just couldn't hear the differences in timbre that were supposed to express that. He finished the first half with the Bach chorale Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten, BWV 691 and Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903. The whole second half of the concert was devoted to the Beethoven Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier." Overall, the concert was well-played, I think... I just didn't really enjoy it, and I'm not really sure why. It's a strange thing--that seems to be the consensus among the group. Serkin used a different tuning for the piano, maybe that had something to do with why the music just seemed... off, somehow.
We spent an hour or so at the billiards hall after the concert. I think I remembered how to hold a cue stick, but I still am not getting any power when I shoot, and I got my butt handed to me pretty readily by Tony. ^_^ It was nice to hang out with the group for a bit, though. I feel like I see the Alma gang, but I don't really interact with them while we're running from concert to concert. Katie was sweet enough to drive Laura and me home since Ann left after the concert to go try to recuperate some more. I think she's doing better now that she's got her antibiotics, but I hope she really kicks whatever she's got soon. She's been under the weather for quite awhile, now, and I want her to enjoy her spring term.
And that's it for now. Off to think deep thoughts until tomorrow.
Current mood:  morose
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
10:42PM - The Gilmore 2006, Day 11: Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!!
Yes, it's my parent's Silver Anniversary today. Congratulations, Mom and Dad! =)
Today has been crazy, crazy weird.
I had a ridiculously difficult time getting out of bed this morning. It was honestly the first day that I wanted to just fall asleep and not go anywhere or do anything that required, well, me moving. It was raining this morning, too, and I was enjoying listening to the sound of it on the window, half-asleep. My stomach hurt. I didn't want to get up.
However, the master class I've been waiting for all Festival, the very first chamber music master class ever, led by Ralf Gothoni, was today. Yes, I have been biding my time for a week and a half, waiting, anticipating... ^_^ Ms. Imafuku played today!
^o^
^O^ ^O^ ^O^!!!!!
Yeah... so... hrm... The, uh, chamber ensemble played Dvorak's Quintet in A Major for piano and strings. I love Dvorak so much, and the quintet sounded fabulous. I wondered if at times the violins weren't burying the piano's sound a bit, but overall they were very, very musical, and I even got to hear some amazing viola melody! Hooray for Dvorak! Mr. Gothoni really worked some intricate little details, mostly relating to phrases and little articulations that made the already fantastic quintet sound even more musical. Very cool!
I had an interesting lunch... I was expounding upon my idea that it would be the best thing ever to see a shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral in the shape of a Lego Rocket Ship when Dr. Riley sat down at the table. Hehehe, he's sat down during the most interesting conversations. I don't think he knows what to do with me. ^_^ Laura and I caught a ride with Tony and Kilday to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, where the noon films are being held. This one was entitled "Knowing the Score" and was essentially a lecture on how pianists need to look at the scores composers themselves wrote to really get in touch with the deepest essence of the music. It was kind of interesting to think that part of a piece of music can be transmitted in the fingerings a composer chooses and so forth. We watched a bit of a bonus feature in which the speaker had invited David Owen Norris to check out his old pianos. It was all hand-shot and pretty jerky, but interesting for a little while. It kind of dragged on and on, though, and the group finally decided enough was enough and left.
We walked out of the museum and into a torrential downpour. My stomach was giving me hell. My cell phone rang. It was Dad. He was in the area and wanted to do lunch.
Whoa, weird.
I got myself excused from our class meeting at three (I'm technically not in the actual Gilmore Festival class and consequently the meeting wouldn't have really applied to me, anyway) and we went to the Jimmy John's down the way. It really did me some good to talk with him, to hear all the craziness that continues to parade through the Schaeffer family, to get some things that have been plaguing me off my chest, to hear that somebody thinks I'm doing something worthwhile when all that I feel is that I should be doing more.
He dropped me off at the cafeteria around a quarter to five--he still had to get home in time to make it to dinner at the Club. I called Mom and found out that Brian has a good chance of actually working with a real pitching coach this summer, and that even his stone-faced Advertisement prof liked the DVD we spent so long on. It seems he's made quite an impression with the softball girls at Olivet, as well as their head coach, with his little project. That does my heart good. I still don't know what's going on with Erin, but then I don't think anybody does. I'm not sure anymore if she's staying in Mt. Pleasant or at home this summer, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. Apparently, Mr. Wilks is interested in seeing some of my own video projects, and he has connections in that area all over the state. If I give him the link to my portfolio (I think I'm going to have to snag my own domain name for it this summer...), there is a good chance that he might know somebody who wants to hire me, or at least give me some experience with fun multimedia toys.
And then there is DigiPen. *shakes head* What am I to do... Wait until I'm back on campus, then figure it out. =)
I grabbed some ice cream from the commons and chilled until our final event of the night. Ingrid Fliter, the 2006 Gilmore Artist played her debut at Chenery. I didn't feel great through the Haydn Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34, Beethoven's 32 Variations in C Minor, WoO 80, or the Beethoven Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3... I had a bit of a headache and wasn't focused entirely on what she was playing. After the lengthy intermission I felt better, though, and Ms. Fliter played four Chopin pieces that were absolutely gorgeous. First was the Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2, which was probably my favorite. She was so expressive and melodious, it was incredible. She also played the Polonaise in F-sharp Minor, Op. 44, the Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54, and the Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52. Ms. Fliter got a standing ovation and played two encores, which was pretty sweet. She's a very fine pianist and I enjoyed her recital a lot.
Home on the early side again. I think I'll turn in early as well. My ninja keeps getting thrashed in Shining Soul II Advance Mode, and building up my resistances will probably zonk me out reeeeal quick. Goodnight, crazy, crazy day!
Current mood: contemplative
5:15PM - Interjection
I just found out, quite by accident, that I've been accepted into DigiPen.
Current mood:  confused
Monday, May 1, 2006
Today's master class was jazz-related and led by Danilo Perez. I wanted to see if I couldn't lessen my ignorance on the subject, so I listened pretty attentively to what was going on today. Several local jazz trios played for Mr. Perez; I thought the first two were okay, but it seemed like the pianists were really concerned with hitting the right notes instead of feeling the music and the vibes from the bassist and drummer. I suppose that's the difference between an undergraduate student and a world-class musician, eh? ;) The third trio played an original composition (as did the first two), but they had some fire and soul that I really didn't feel with the first two. And when Mr. Perez finally turned the piano so I could hear it (stupid acoustics in the stupid multi-media room...) and got the drummer to use brushes instead of sticks... Aaaaah!!! Yessssss!!!!!! Glorious!!!!!!!!!!! The last trio was very good as well, but I can't remember the name of the tune they played. As we were getting ready to leave, Mr. Perez invited some other musicians down to jam for a bit. One had come up from the Dominican Republic, apparently, and he got a bit of a master lesson for his efforts. Another pianist/soprano played and sang "Summertime," which we stuck around to hear before bolting off to lunch. It was a bit too classical for my taste, with that "Wow, stop hitting me in the face with your vibrato!" effect, but still fun to listen to. =)
Since the jazz series in the Civic ended last week, a new Noon Film Series has begun. They were pretty dry last time, but I'm still interested in seeing what they're all about... later. Hehe, yeah, we skipped today's film and hung around K-campus for awhile until the Claremont Trio performance in Stetson Chapel. They played last week with the Laredo & Robinson Trio and I loved what I heard, so I was particularly interested in seeing them again. They opened with the Haydn Piano Trio in C Major, Hob. XV:27, and it was pretty darn amazing. Next was some atonal Kirchner, the Piano Trio No. 1. The trio actually played it really, really musically, but it was still atonal and it definitely inspired our little clique to spend the rest of the concert doodling a serial comic about the evils of 12-tone music in Laura's notepad. It's frickin' hilarious, by the way. ^_^ After the intermission, the trio closed with Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66. Lots of great energy and really tight articulations on the part of the musicians. I can see some of the concerns Ann and Dr. Riley find with the energy they expend when they raise their bows after they some of their phrases, but they still sounded amazing and were really great to watch. They're recording a CD (or have already, I'm not sure which)--pick it up, you won't be disappointed!
Our evening concert was back in Dalton, where we heard the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ralf Gothoni. Can I just say that we had amazing seats? Front row center for half of the group; I myself was in row B and off to the right a bit, but wow! The concert began with a Concerto for piano and string orchestra by a composer I had never heard of before: Schnittke. When I saw that he was a modern composer, I sighed a bit. The program notes said he dabbled in serialism and I sighed a bit more; they then went on to say he developed a musical language of his own called "polystylism," and began to describe him as a sort of Russian Charles Ives. Apparently he he uses little quotes by older composers like Beethoven and Mozart throughout his music, which is sort of a mish-mash of all types of Western music. Wow, interesting! I actually was pretty interested in hearing his concerto at this point and when it was over, I found that I really liked it a lot. It's one of those indescribable pieces... I heard a lot of religious hymn-like melodies and picked out a variation on Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata--I'm sure there was much, much more that I missed. That's all well and good, music that I can wrap my brain around; however, the music never seemed to resolve nicely... You'd get into a nice, comfortable, tonal-sounding passage and all of a sudden it would end on some crazy, dissonant cluster and take off in a completely new direction. It was alternately comforting and upsetting, which must have strongly appealed to my bipolar nature. ^_^ Oh, and Ralf Gothoni played the entire piano part and conducted the Symphony at the same time. 0_o
For the second piece, the Orchestra featured Ms. Yuja... uh... Wang... in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414. It was lovely, it was Mozart... On to the final piece, the Concerto for violin, piano, and strings by C. Curtis-Smith. Okay, so apparently the Gilmore Festival commissioned this piece last year. It's dedicated to Mr. Gothoni and Elina Vahala, a violinist who appeared to play it tonight. It was very modern, and I can honestly say I didn't really understand a single note of it. I did, however, have to marvel at Ms. Vahala. After my string pedagogy class I can say I have never wanted to exercise pyrokinetic powers on any instrument so much as the violin, but she made playing it look absolutely effortless. There was one point where she was playing probably a couple of finger's widths from the bridge of her instrument, and her tone was so beautiful and pure. In-credible! Oh, Ann would appreciate this, too: I found myself wondering halfway through the concert how much she spent on her bow--I'll bet it was over $20,000. *grins* Hooray for a constantly (randomly) ticking brain! ^o^
Tonight was the Night of the Dollar Sundae from McDonalds. Hoooraaaaay!!! Just like old times! Justin, Brett, Walker, Ryan-Bong, Tony, Laura, Ann and I hung out there for quite awhile, over an hour. Boo for percussionists being all professional and practicing instead of being sociable. =( They really missed out, in my opinion. We did have a great time, just chatting about fun things and enjoying one another's company while savoring some all-American fast-food goodness. Now if we can just make it to Sweetwater's for a donut and some cider, my Festival will be complete! ^_^
Current mood: calm
Sunday, April 30, 2006
So I completely didn't bother to get out of bed until 12:30 this afternoon. It was delicious!!! When I finally pushed off the comforter and decided to join the land of the living (or at least semi-conscious), it was to find that Mr. and Mrs. Watson (our homestay parents!) had fixed a ginormous pizza and several chicken patties for us for lunch! *BONUS!* So we ate like queens and discussed a pretty psychotic movie that Laura and Ann had watched with the Watsons while I slept. It's called "Hide and Seek," and apparently Robert de Niro, Dakota Fanning, and Jean Grey are all in it, so I'll have to catch it sometime.
Our first event was in Vicksburg this afternoon--the second Gilmore Young Artist, Yuja Wang (.... ....... ........ BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! =D =D =D *tear*)......
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Hehehe... Okay, *ahem* so the second Young Artist debuted yesterday, but we decided to go see her recital in Vicksburg today, probably because Dr. Riley wanted to catch it but had to be back in Alma for his son's birthday yesterday. Her concert was one of the most varied I think I've ever heard! She started with Scarlatti's Sonata in D Major, K. 491 and Sonata in D Minor, K. 141, for one! Then she played Gretchen am Spinnrade, Auf dem Wassern zu Singen, and Der Erlkonig by Schubert/Liszt. I was really excited to hear The Erlking--we studied it in Dr. Messing's Music History class and it is absolutely fascinating. Ms... *giggle*... The Young Artist played all those left hand runs and the pounding horse-hoof motives incredibly well, too. Next on the program were two etudes by Gyorgi Ligeti (Ligeti-Split if you find humor in making fun of people's names in the middle of Theory class. I obviously don't have an issue of this sort...): No. 4 Fanfares and No. 10 The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It was pretty typical atonal stuff, I guess. My first reaction was "That's not the Sorcerer's Apprentice." My second was "I FOUND THE AGGREGATE!!!" but apparently one of my Theory buddies had already beat me to that punchline, so it wasn't very funny. ^_^ But I digress. There were some cool effects in the pieces, especially in the second etude. It sounded very mechanical, like this sorcerer worked in some sort of a laboratory where all these machines and electrical gadgets were whirring away. Pretty cool, actually, even if I don't appreciate much atonality. Two Danzas Espanolas, No. 5 Andaluza and No. 2 Oriental followed the Ligeti(-Split). The first one was very pretty, but the Oriental dance is just about the most gorgeous piano piece I think I've heard in my entire life. This Festival has found me toying with the idea of investing in an i-Pod; it is very difficult to find a reason not to jump on the bandwagon after hearing this piece. Yes, it was *that* beautiful.
The Ravel Alborada del gracioso ended the first half of the program, and after the intermission, Ms. Wang began with the Rachmaninoff Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14, which was grouped with his arrangements of the Mendelssohn Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Behr Lachtaubchen, Op. 303. She finally ended wtih Ravel's Jeux d'eau (a popular one, apparently!) and La valse. She played extremely well, and I was continually amazed at just how versatile she is as she moved from one genre to the next in her program. There was a nifty little reception afterwards, too, so I had a couple of little cheesecake bites and we headed to dinner at K-College.
Just before we headed out for our evening performance, Ann found out that she's been offered a position directing (yes, leading *AND* conducting) the Youth Symphony Orchestra in Alma. Mr. Economides can't do it because the college only offered him a part-time position, and Ann is the best in the area for sure! The position is much more hefty than what she originally thought she was applying for, but after playing with her in my recital and all, I know that she is going to work her magic with those kids and have a great time, too. I am so proud of her! What an amazing opportunity, going into an ed career and all... Go Ann!!! =D
The Danilo Perez trio was on at 7:00 in the Gilmore Complex, and I was happy to find that we were at tables again instead of in the balcony. This group had a really light style and played really well together. Again, I don't know much about jazz and what to comment on. Laura and Kilday both felt that, while it wasn't their favorite type of jazz, the musicians were extremely responsive to each other in terms of pushing and pulling tempos and obviously knew what they wanted to get across to the audience. I pretty much just enjoyed relaxing to the music and watching how Perez interacted with his audience. He mentioned that every set he plays is different and influenced by the crowd's mood. That's to be expected, but he seemed exceptionally reflective and intimate with his music and the crowd, inviting them in so he could bare his soul to them. Pretty nifty.
It's beginning to feel more and more like summer in terms of the lengthening of days, if not the weather. It's nice to leave an evening concert and still have light on the drive home. I think I'm going to enjoy a nice, long bath and soak in the rest of this relaxing day.
Current mood: calm
Saturday, April 29, 2006
11:43PM - The Gilmore 2006, Day 8: Sambia!
Leif Ove Andsnes taught the master class this morning. While he's not anywhere near as animated as Lori Sims (is anybody?), he still plays incredibly and he had some great ideas for his students. I've been waiting all week to hear the Ravel Ondine that his first student performed and was amazed at how expressive he got it to sound by the end of the lesson. There was one bass note in particular that he managed to pick out--just one single note at the end of a watery, sweeping arpeggio in the last few phrases of the piece--and the way he drew attention to it in his demonstration gave an incredible depth to the whole phrase. Quite amazing! Mr. Andsnes had only two students today, but the second one played two movements of the Schubert Sonata in C Minor, D. 958. Again, wow. We left right after we heard the student play the second movement as we still had to get to our noon event and we were a bit pressed for time--the K-Zoo Saga opens late on Saturday for brunch.
The last Noon Series jazz event in the Civic was Lil' Brian and the Zydeco Travelers. If you're not familiar with zydeco... don't ask me to try to define it for you. *laughs* You kind of have to hear it and then you'll go "Ooooh, so that's zydeco!" The best I can do is to say it's very creole, and it's what you hear when you watch those movies where Ma and Pa Jode are jamming down in the bayou on their washerboards and guitars. Lil' Brian put quite a bit of funk into it, he had great energy and presence, so I really liked the concert. It was incredibly loud, too, and for once I didn't have to strain to hear the bass. *BONUS!* Oh, and Lil' Brian should be hosting the next episode of Pimp My Accordion, too. ;) His instrument was so totally blinged out, and you know how I am with shiny objects. Good music, unending visual stimulation. Hooray!
I skipped the rush event at the Wellspring. I did want to hear Lori Sims play, but I hate trying to get into the Wellspring and Tony, Kilday, Ann, Laura and I all carpooled to hear Lil' Brian. I was definitely sitting bitch on the way back and didn't really feel like crawling all over people to get to the event, or trying to secure a ride back to campus afterwards, for that matter. That said, I enjoyed a leisurely afternoon by the K-College reflecting pool before we headed back to Chenery to hear the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. They were incredible! Big band jazz and amazing soloists... at one point, the lead alto saxophonist and one of the trumpetists even got out of their seats and danced on stage at the audience's behest. Yeah, they improvised and played a duet together while dancing their sexy little Latin steps... that trumpet player was mighty good-looking, too, I must admit. *grins* At about this point, Brett offered to massage my hand, too, which improved my less-than-stellar mood about a zillion times over since my arms and back have been really tight and sore lately. Yeah, I was pretty much in heaven for a good portion of the second set, and when the show finally wound down, Arturo O'Farrill (the pianist and director of the band) told us that he wanted to see the audience moving during the encore. So when Katie extended her hand, I couldn't refuse her invitation and disappoint Mr. O'Farrill--I went to the front of the auditorium and I danced with the rest of the Gilmore Girls. ^_^ They thought that was a real hoot... I forget that the people at Alma don't know that I like to dance. I forget that I haven't really done anything to shake off the prudish reputation I've earned during my time there, either. Quelle mysterieuse, non? Oooooh.
Apparently there's a big party going on at one of the homestays tonight, complete with live music. Earlier I was really hoping to go and hang out for a bit, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Honestly, right now I'm feeling better than I have in days and I'm not even exceptionally bummed out that I'm missing the fun. I'll probably chat with Laura and Ann a bit, and there's no master class tomorrow morning, so I'll probably get a ridiculous amount of sleep to boot. And on that note, it's sign-off time!
Current mood: calm
Friday, April 28, 2006
Can I just say that I love Lori Sims? She is so effervescent and such a great teacher. Of all the masters I have heard thus far, Ms. Sims has probably complimented her students the most. She has also proven herself the most animated teacher, and that trait carries over into how she plays as well. So much vitality!!! The first student played the first movement of Schumann's Fantasy, Op. 17, and the wonders she worked with her student boggle my mind. I always have to marvel at how you can listen to a performer and think "Wow! How did she get to be so amazing?" and then listen to a master ask the performer to try a phrase just a little bit differently and hear all sorts of things that weren't apparent before. In the Fantasy, Ms. Sims worked to get the student to observe some of the nuances in dynamics, and the passages became so much more powerful, not because the player was pounding more out of her piano, but because the music automatically falls into place when phrases are treated with so much consideration. It was amazing to watch and hear. The second student was very young, with ramrod straight posture and a very stiff demeanor. Laura joked that she bet Lori Sims was terrifying him with her stark contrast in personality. He played the Ravel Jeux d'eau, and again, I thought he was brilliant. When Ms. Sims started working with him, however, I began to hear how he was cutting some of his phrases short instead of creating long, connected lines with his melodies. It was a great master class and a shame that we had to leave early again to make our Noon Series jazz event.
Our early afternoon performance at the Civic was Essence of Green: A Tribute to "Kind of Blue," given by Ron Di Salvio. My Dad randomly met Mr. Di Salvio just before the last Gilmore Festival and found out that he was playing there. He got a CD to give to me from the artist, so I was pretty interested in actually seeing him live. In all, though, the jazz seemed pretty dry to me. I don't really understand it that well, but the sextet didn't seem to be cohesive as a unit and none of them seemed to be loose or enjoying themselves. I thought it was neat to see some students from Western singing the vocals--though they were very theatrical, at least they looked like they were having a good time. I thought perhaps my luke-warm reception of the concert was due to my ignorance, but Laura knows her stuff, and she really hated the performance. Ah well, I still have the CD that Mr. Di Salvio gave my dad, and I still like it.
There was a rush ticket event at Stetson, a Bolcom & Morris Cabaret Song extravaganza, so-to-speak. It was charming, but I wasn't really in the mood for cheesy love songs--they put me in a foul temper pretty quickly these days. Still, the duo did well for themselves; the vocalist, Joan Morris, has wonderful stage presence and William Bolcom, the pianist, is phenomenal. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for some piano etudes that he wrote, and I'd really like to hear those sometime.
After dinner, it was back to Chenery to hear Leif Ove Andsnes. He is amazing, and Dr. Riley's hero to boot! He began with Schumann's Vier Stucke, Op. 32 and continued with three unfinished fragments written by Schubert, an Allegretto in C minor, D. 900, an Allegretto in C Major, D. 346, and an Andantino in C Major, D. 348. The fragments were really wonderful to hear--you don't often get pianists who play incomplete works at major concerts. ^_^ Mr. Andsnes followed them with the Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 21 in A-flat Major, Op. 110 and did some amazing things with this highly reflective, introspective, passionate sonata. There is always great depth to what Mr. Andsnes plays, so I decided to forego the Eric Reed jazz trio at 9:30 and stick around to hear Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Absolutely fantastic!!! There is so much contrast between the little vignettes, and the pianist absolutely nailed everything from the creepy little Gnome to the troubador's ballad outside the Medieval Castle to the quarrel amongst the women in the Market Place at Limoges to the dark and mysterious Catacombs to the regal Promenade and the Great Gate of Kiev. He played so musically that the audience gave Mr. Andsnes a standing ovation that lasted through three bows, after which the performer played a wonderful encore. Then he played another one when the audience applauded wildly again. Then, after a second standing ovation, he played a third encore. *grins* Then we decided to let him leave and carry on with his evening.
Ann and I managed to get in to see the last half-hour or so of the Eric Reed trio at the Gilmore Complex. I honestly wasn't paying too much attention to the group as I felt kind of awkward walking in close to an hour after the performance began. What I did hear was pretty darn tight, though, and the other Gilmore-goers were super-impressed with what they heard. Too bad I missed all the juicy solos; I did enjoy the last bit of the trio, though. It was a great way to wind down after a jam-packed day.
Current mood: melancholy
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Today has been an amazing day for concerts. First off, P-Diddy taught the master class this morning. He was wearing white pants today, so still no luck in that area. Boo. But I digress. P-Diddy's first student played the Chopin Ballade in A-flat Major, and Mr. Anderszewski really worked to pull out the amazing musical phrases. One thing I noticed is that P-Diddy is much more comfortable playing rather than describing what he wants to hear, so there was almost constantly at least one piano playing for the duration of the class.
We left a bit early again to make it to lunch and then to the Civic, where we went to go see God. I mean the Jeff Hamilton Trio. To many percussionists, he is God, and I'm pretty sure I know why after watching him. I sat next to Duane for the entire concert, and he was pretty much going nuts the entire time (I was helping him along, I'm sure ;D), and with good reason! The group was so incredibly tight, and Mr. Hamilton did things with his kit that I didn't even think were possible. He got like eighty different sounds off of one single drum, and his chops... The craziest thing was that he was so rhythmic! There was absolutely no discrepancy in his sound, it was completely smooth. And holy balls, he can swing! His pianist and bassist were also amazing, and the trio rocked out all afternoon. Since the participants in this Gilmore Festival constitute half of the ACPE, we all pretty much flocked downstairs to see the trio after the performance. We got a few pictures with them and they obliged us with autographs on our programs. Very, very cool!
The afternoon was really relaxed after the jazz trio. I laid on the lawn with Ann outside of K-Zoo's music building and watched the clouds for a bit while I did some soul-searching; Jake spotted us and joined us for a little while, too, which is always great. We finally decided to grab a snack from the commons (we *are* paying for three meals a day, apparently) before heading to Grand Rapids for dinner and The Bad Plus.
Driving around Grand Rapids wasn't too crazy--Ann did a great job, and we got to dinner at Bobarino's before anybody had ordered. I was going to try some sort of a steak wrap, but I overheard the waitress mention that white chicken chili was one of the soups of the day. Yeah, my absolute favorite!!!!! So I ended up settling with a burger (no bacon, it was too expensive... boo). Or at least I thought I was going to have to settle... First off, the bowl of soup I ordered was about the size of Lake Superior, and it came with a side of tortilla chips (which went really well with what was left of some fantastic cream cheese queso!). Second, my burger was pretty much half a cow. It was a struggle to wrestle it into mah belleh, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be digesting it for about the next week and a half. Hahaha, I was completely with Scooter when the waitress came and asked if she could clear his plate and he said emphatically, "Yes! Take that thing away from me!!!" Yeah, mondo portions.
And finally, stuffed to the gills, we meandered upstairs to hear The Bad Plus. If anything, they were even more ecclectic than I remember. I think I preferred the concert I heard at the Gilmore Complex in 2004, and I'm not exactly sure why. Tonight was very, very atonal for one. I think after seeing Jeff Hamilton and McCoy Tyner's bassist I am a bit spoiled, too--the musicians tonight just seemed so far removed from everything I've heard soundwise and watched technically, I had a difficult time focusing. They are still using the Happy Apple, though, which is worth about a jillion bonus points, and though they didn't do the piece I remember with the baby monitors, they did have a keytar thing. Overall, I still appreciate some of the new sounds the group tries to create, but I think I am going to listen to some of their older songs and see how they compare to what I heard tonight.
We got back to our homestay on the early side. Ann still isn't feeling great, and though most of the group was staying at the B.O.B. to shoot some pool, we decided that a long, relaxing evening would do her more good. I had a great chat with Laura while Ann took a bath--she's such an interesting and fun person to talk to. It has been an eventful day today! Good music, good friends. Now it looks like it's about time to wind down and head for bed so we can catch Lori Sims' master class in the morning.
Current mood: contemplative
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
David Owen Norris, the very first Gilmore Artist, gave a master class this morning, but Ann has been feeling under the weather of late, so we slept in and took a leisurely lunch instead. The people who went said it was a great class; Dr. Riley was impressed as well. He told me an amazing anecdote: apparently one of Mr. Norris' students was playing a Haydn piece, and Mr. Norris told her that he wanted her to pretend that he was Haydn and she was helping him finish this composition that she was performing. What an amazing way of probing the music!!! As Dr. Riley said, it makes the piece fresh when you imagine that it hasn't even been completed yet, and it gives you a completely free way of exploring different phrasings and articulations until you can hit upon the one you think Haydn actually intended. What a wise, wise teacher!!!
After lunch, we scurried over to the Civic again to hear Nachito Herrera and his latin jazz quartet. They were HOT!!! I can't even begin to describe how tight they were, how musical... I can, however, tell you that the audience continued applauding after Mr. Herrera's very first piano solo well into the next solo some dozens of bars later. He is absolutely incredible on the piano and his percussionists and bassists are equally amazing. Believe me, even if you think you hate jazz, you have to hear this guy!!! He will change your impressions of the genre forever.
There was a rush ticket option at Stetson that I took advantage of in the afternoon--David Owen Norris with the string trio Sonnerie. I definitely got this, my second rush ticket, for free again--*BONUS!!!* I think the Gilmore people remember me... I got Walker a free ticket, too, so we'll tick off a few bonus points in that area as well. The ensemble was really, really tight. Ann noted how they all trilled exactly together, and to me they sounded like one single very full, very round body of sound. Oh, and the cellist looked like Vandenberg. Yikes, what's he doing up there?!! But I digress. As the concert was a tribute of sorts to the very earliest piano sonatas, Mr. Norris played on a period piano!!! Super-cool! I don't remember all of the specs, but it had brass strings and was considerably smaller than modern instruments. We had met the craftsman earlier in the parking lot this morning, so it was neat to get to hear him talk about his handiwork.
And finally, the evening's finale, none other than P-DIDDY!!! =D I was disappointed that his pants were indeed cloth and not leather this year, but I got over that pretty quickly when he started his Mozart Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475 and Sonata in C Minor, K 457. He plays so beautifully and musically, and the entire Mozart reflected such deep and differing emotions, it was really a treat to hear him again. After the intermission, I even got to hear the Szymanowski Metopes, Op. 29 that I missed last time!!! I almost wet myself, I was so excited. As I've mentioned, the Wellspring always sells out and it's so hard to get rush tickets to the events in that theater. I think Dena and Mel were the only ones who managed to get in, and they could only rave about how he played. While the Metopes were pretty modern and atonal, they were executed expertly and I actually was kind of able to pick out some of what my program notes hit on as far as the different themes and dance rhythms that the composer used to portray three characters from Homer's Odyssey: the Sirens, Calypso, and Nausicaa. P-Diddy closed with the Bach English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811, which was brilliant (especially the gavotte that I recognized and absolutely adore!). It's too bad that through the entire performance I was distracted by the crazy old people to my right, who were talking at each other, shuffling out of the side house doors, rattling them when they found they were locked out, coughing, sneezing, "buzzing" through their programs, and generally being just as rude as possible. I lobbed an invisible grenade at the three rows that were causing the most ruckus, but it did little to alleviate the problem. God, I forgot how restless the audience at Chenery is. What a shame for poor P-Diddy.
Brett asked who was doing their research paper on concert etiquette as we were leaving, which I thought was pretty funny. Dr. Riley does take the cake, though, with his comment on the situation:
"So... who let the inmates out?"
*rolls on the floor laughing*
The Bad Plus and the B.O.B. are tomorrow! I can't WAIT!!! =D
Current mood: melancholy
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
So this morning's master class was given by Mr. Bean. Hooray!!! His first student played the Bartok piano sonata, and he spent nearly an hour with her, as it was a beast of a piece. I think my favorite part of the class was when one of the Gilmore techies came out to tell him that he was spending too much time with her and he responded "Euh, non, because zee second peece ees much shorteur." And the techie had to walk off stage and curse his buddies back there for drawing the long straws. =) Laura, Ann and I stayed for Debussy's L'isle joyeuse, which is always a neat one to hear. Ann pointed out that the student player looked really tense and even pained when she played, but she was impressive nonetheless. I think one of the coolest things that Mr. Aimard had to say to her was not to "tell the story of L'isle joyeuse," but to focus instead on painting the impression of being there, with scents swirling in the air and vivid scenery. It's so amazing that there is so much depth to music... it boggles my mind, especially when I am continuously discovering that there are layers that I can't hear yet and nuances that I can't detect.
Ann and I left before the third student played as we needed to get in a quick lunch before the Henry Butler performance at the Civic Theatre. This is an amazing hall, and Butler is an incredible musician. First, he's blind. Second, he's got world-class photographs on display across America. Third, he plays the piano, and the baritone horn, and the valve trombone, and the drums. He's got a fantastic operatic voice, too. Yeah, I know--wow! He also lost his home to Hurricane Katrina over the summer (including his 1925 Mason & Hamlin piano), which is very, very sad. I actually listened to most of the concert from the lobby, but I could still feel the soul and energy with which he played. His piano licks were amazing, and his eclectic jazz style, which incorporates everything from classical to pop to R&B to blues, was different from pretty much anything I've heard.
Immediately after Henry Butler, I managed to get a ride over to the Wellspring Theater so I could catch Gilbert Kalish. The Wellspring is always sold-out and I didn't really expect to get a ticket, but one of the ladies over there (as terse as always! *laughs*) gave me a rush ticket that was supposed to go to one of the master class students when he/she didn't show. She didn't even charge me the $5.00 for it since I arrived just as they were closing the doors and I don't think she wanted to wait for me to fumble around in my envelope for my money. So I listened to Kalish and Christina Dahl play the Beethoven Grosse Fuge, Op. 133, the four-handed piano score to which was lost until last summer. Yep, it was pretty amazing. My main interest was Stravinsky's piano four-hand version of Le sacre du printemps, which is, yes, CRAZY!!! We are talking about Stravinsky again, after all. Yeah, The Rite of Spring was so crazy it definitely incited a huuuuuuge riot in Paris at its premiere in 1913 (hats off to Dr. Messing, the music history genius!). People were so out of control that they were drumming on heads until they bled and, oh yeah, challenging each other to duels because they were so upset. Of COURSE I had to hear this arrangement. *grins* And holy cow!!! Mr. Kalish and Mrs. Dahl were playing around, on top of, and underneath each other's hands and still hitting every note, every ridiculously difficult rhythm, every sforzando! Definitely very cool! I am *so* glad I got in to see it!!!
The final performance of the evening was a play entitled 2 Pianos 4 Hands. It is a two-man play and has an extensive history--the two co-writers starred in it over 750 times, and the guys we saw last night have performed it over 250 times. It was an amazing performance, detailing the lives of two pianists-to-be, their childhood rivalries, and how music shaped their lives. The first half was mostly a reflection on the childhood of the two characters and was extremely funny. It poked lighthearted fun at typical encounters in the life of a young musician, from not being able to figure out key signatures to those nerve-wracking piano recitals that make you forget the music you've practiced. The second half was a lot heavier, and frankly it really depressed me. Two very good musicians who are unable to achieve the utmost with their talent, who sacrifice their young lives to their instruments and are then told they aren't cut out to run with the really big dogs. I suppose the two young men found some solace in the very last scene, playing just for the sheer joy of making music, but the brutal depiction of the pianists' dreams being crushed upset me very deeply.
Bah. I can't dwell on it right now. I will say, however, that if you play an instrument or sing, if you enjoy music, if it affects you in the least, you have absolutely got to see 2 Pianos 4 Hands. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you remember why you follow a musical path, why we strive for perfection even when it eludes our grasp. It is a powerful experience, and you should share in it!
On a less cerebral note, P-Diddy plays tomorrow! W00t!!!
Current mood: pensive
I still can't get over how much free time I've had at this festival so far. I actually got to doze in the sun for a little while by the K-College reflecting pool and even sketched for a bit while the percussionists among us practiced pad outside of the commons. Yeah, drummers rock!!! ;D
The morning master class was led by Joseph Kalichstein from the trio yesterday afternoon. We arrived just a couple of minutes too late to hear the first pianist play, but the critique was pretty interesting. I think the first student was pretty nervous; it seemed to me that he rushed through the Liszt and didn't linger long enough on some of the notes to make the melodies sing. Mr. Kalichstein had some great suggestions for really drawing out the stylistic differences in the passages of the Spanish Rhapsody, which requires incredible versatility from its performer. The second student played the Schumann Novelette, Op. 21, No.1 and was much more relaxed and extremely talented. He asked questions of Kalichstein and it was obvious that he was completely ready to learn everything that he could during his portion of the class. He really poured himself into the Schumann and made it exceptionally romantic, and seeing him respond the way he did to Kalichstein, you just know he's going to go really far with his music. The third student played Beethoven's final piano sonata. I didn't think that she filled up the auditorium with sound the way I've heard before, but other than that I thought that she was pretty good. Dr. Riley disagreed rather strongly, which goes to show how much I know about piano music. ;D ;D I still have to develop that piano ear of mine, I guess. Maybe I'll just have to come back for another one of these...
After a nice, long lunch and some library time, we went to Stetson to hear Natasha Paremski, one of the Gilmore Young Artists. Okay, so here's how it works: every other Gilmore Festival, an actual Gilmore Artist is named along with two Young Artists. For the years in between when no official artist is featured, the Young Artists are put in the spotlight. Now, my freshman year I heard Piotr Anderszewski (I am never typing that again. He will stay P-Diddy.), but the 2004 festival was all about the Young Artists, who didn't really leave me with many strong impressions after I heard them. They were both very talented, for sure! I don't remember their names, though, or what they played, or anything that really made them stand out among all the other pianists I listened to over the two weeks I was in Kalamazoo. Ms. Paremski was a completely different story, however. I don't think I have ever heard such a mastery of dynamic contrast in my entire life. Her program was extremely complicated and varied, and she played it all so superbly, I was captivated by every note.
Ms. Paremski started with Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2, (nicknamed "Tempest")--no cakewalk. I was really excited to hear it because it's one of my favorite Beethoven piano sonatas... well, at least the third movement is. All of it was so effortlessly executed... seriously, find this piano sonata, listen to it, and then imagine watching somebody create this tempest right in front of you, flawlessly. The Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35 that followed was just as amazing. I found myself leaning in to hear the softest pianissimos, so powerful is Ms. Paremski's ability to draw her audience into her music. The Funeral March was especially masterful--it always kind of struck me as simplistic, but there was so much raw emotion--anguish and bitterness in the A section and sublime comfort in the B section, and the final return to the funeral procession theme in the A section with its relentless, pounding crescendo... the movement really struck me in a profound way. We were joking about the fact that Ms. Paremski was quoted in the local newspaper saying that the Chopin will put you in a depression no matter how good a mood you are in, and she was partly right. The way she plays it really makes you think about deep, spiritual things... life and death, hope, resurrection, sorrow, comfort... Completely masterful.
After an intermission, this Young Artist performed Three Character Pieces by Fred Hersch (yes, he dedicated one of them to his cat, Spike. You rock, Mr. Hersch!!!) and Debussy's Estampes. Though these felt more like etudes when compared to the Beethoven and the Chopin, they cemented Ms. Paremski's versatility as a pianist in my eyes. The Hersch was pretty contemporary, the Debussy of course is extremely impressionistic. And to completely blow the incredulous audience out of their seats, she decided to close with a piano arrangement of three scenes from Stravinsky's Petrushka.
WHAT?!!
Anybody who is familiar with Stravinsky knows how much he altered perceptions of music, especially with his ballets. He was a crazy mo-fo, and so is his music. I'm actually pretty sure that he wanted to de-throne Tchaikovsky as the composer of the most impossible-to-play music ever, now that I think about it (Petrushka = Dance of the Snowflakes times eleventy-billion. All the bad little musicans who don't practice go to Petrushka Hell when they die.). But I digress. So Ms. Paremski plays Petrushka nonstop for like twenty minutes or something and gets a standing ovation that lasts through three bows. Then she gives her adoring audience a nice little Rachmaninoff encore.
Just. Incredible.
The evening concert was given by Pierr-Laurent Aimard, an amazing French pianist who looks pretty much exactly like Mr. Bean. In fact, Laura said that she was pretty sure that he was in fact Mr. Bean, the way his piano kept rolling away from him on the stage, his pedals kept sticking, and his pages un-ordered themselves during a difficult piece. I said that he needed a turkey on his head, and then he would complete the persona. *laughing*
All joking aside, though, Mr. Aimard was freaking amazing. The mechanical problems of the evening didn't faze him in the least, and he was very warm and comfortable with his audience. He opened his performance with Debussy's Preludes, Book I, and played them with great expressive style. Duane was pretty much beside himself as soon as he found out that "The Sunken Cathedral" was on the program, and we were all in for a major treat when we heard it. I thought it was hilarious that Mr. Aimard followed up the Debussy with Gyorgy Kurtag's Selections from Jatekok (Games), because he began his excerpts with "The crazy girl with flaxen hair." This probably doesn't make sense yet, but I'm getting there... Get this, one of the Debussy Preludes is called "La fille aux cheveux de lin"--"The Girl with the Flaxen Hair". Kurtag used the theme from this Prelude and... well... unbalanced it. He rewrote Debussy's theme and made it sound so bipolar, I had to stifle my amusement throughout the entire piece. Fortunately, I was able to giggle somewhat subtly at Duane so I didn't explode with laughter and disrupt the concert. Mr. Aimard closed with the Schumann Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13 when he returned from his intermission (during which the tech crew frantically tried to remedy the rolling piano). I kind of like variations on a theme, so I enjoyed this portion of the concert. I thought that the best part was the Finale, which Schumann made like eighty times longer than the other sixteen etudes and filled with cadences that gave the impression that he was ending multiple times. Oh Schumann.
And of course, what is the Gilmore without some billiards? Ah yes, Dr. Riley recovered from his travel fatigue enough to demonstrate his crazy mad pool skillz, so the entire group was at Playtime Billiards for most of the evening after the show. I unfortunately can't really remember how to hold a pool cue, so I only sank one ball the entire night (I think Jake scratched because he felt sorry for me ;p). It's frustrating, remembering that you used to be good, or at least halfway decent. *sigh* I'll probably play again later, but I don't think I want all the guys watching me shame myself any further (*coughDrRileycough*), so I'll probably practice a bit with Katie, Laura, Brett, and Ann before I accept another invitation to play with the boys. Maybe by the end of the Festival, I'll remember how to aim. ^_^
Oh, and I actually bought and finished a White Russian, too. I remember the last time I was keeping these journals, I was miffed because I was 20 years and 11 months old and the bars kept turning me away when I wanted to celebrate Anna's birthday and be sociable with Mel and Dena. I know it's pretty hard to imagine that there's somebody out there who doesn't subscribe to the underage drinking thing, a musician wants to go to a nightclub to listen to some good jazz and enjoy a nice Sprite. That really seems to be a foreign concept in a city bustling with nightlife like Kalamazoo, however. Eh. Well, now I guess it's not a problem anymore, so hurray for hanging out and up yours, bars of Kalamazoo!
Current mood: content
Sunday, April 23, 2006
So far this Gilmore has been pretty relaxed. It helps that I somewhat remember what directions to give to get people where they need to go, but the schedule today was pretty laid back. After our class meeting, we ended up heading to Stetson Chapel for a master class with Dawn Upshaw. This was again somewhat different--usually the master classes are held at the Dalton Center on Western's campus, and usually they are for pianists. Today, we heard four very powerful soprano voices, however. The class was really long, just over two hours, and actually most of the Alma students ended up leaving about an hour and a half in. Honestly, I didn't think that Ms. Upshaw had as many constructive things to say as the pianist masters I've heard usually do, but then it is much different to critique vocals than pianistic style and phrasing. She did have several good ideas for bringing out the expressivity of music and suggested that diction should never interfere with beauty or expressivity. On an amusing note, I also learned during the question-and-answer session after the master class that audiences don't like to hear songs in foreign languages. A certain non-music major young gentleman surely speaks for all of us when he states that audience members feel extremely "cheated" when they can't understand the text, and this of course makes Ms. Shaw a huge hypocrite for trying to dive to the heart of expressivity--after all, who can convey profound emotions when they aren't singing in English? ;)
After the master class, we had about a half an hour of downtime to tour the newly renovated K-College library before heading off to Dalton to hear the Kalichstein-Lared-Robinson and Claremont Trios. The trio opened with the Beethoven Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 and sounded amazing. The cellist was especially fantastic, and the second "Ghost" movement was pretty cool. The violinists from both trios played some Bartok Violin Duos from Book II (including the Song of the Harvest that Dr. Messing put on our Music History III final!!!) and I was completely blown away. The violinists were so completely in tune and in time with each other, even in the difficult pizzicato sections, and they made playing look more graceful than I thought possible. The Schumann Andante and Varioations for two pianos, two cellos and horn, Op. 46 was equally easy to watch with all the various instrumentalists--what an odd scoring! The french horn did sound really great, though--it is hard to remember sometimes how controlled and mellow they can sound. The two cellists were completely in synch with each other and the pianists were simply fantastic. The final Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 by Brahms really took the cake, though. He was really a master... I couldn't get over how difficult the Scherzo was for the strings and how easy they made it sound. It definitely brought back some good memories of my senior recital, playing the Brahms clarinet trio with Ann and Tony. Just wow!!!
We finished the evening with a jazz performance--the McCoy Tyner trio. They were very, very good, and it's easy to see why Mr. Tyner has appeared on over 80 different albums to date. I don't know so much about percussion, but the drummer wasn't too interesting to me... I hope I'm just spoiled on all of Zerb's students and not completely off base! ^_^ The bassist really stole the show, though, even from Tyner himself. I don't think I've heard a bass sound the way he made it sound at any of the jazz ensembles I've heard. He was just incredible in his technique and his tone, his style, his improvisations... he's the kind of bass player who makes you go "Why did I decide to play the clarinet instead, again?"
We were done really early tonight, so Ann and Laura and I went back to the Watsons' to hang out and chat the night away. I'm really fortunate to be staying with such great people in such a nice home. I still haven't been feeling that great, but I guess that's the price I have to pay for spending time at the Drum House. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel much better and get to see some more great concerts!
Current mood: calm
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Today has been a long, long day. Start with those last few preparations for the Gilmore, add a dash to brunch, get waylaid by the Duikas, ignore the nausea threatening to spill out of you all over the sidewalk, make it to the pre-Commencement band concert with just enough time to throw your instrument together, and your day will have only just begun. Endure the two-hour heart-wrenching graduation ceremony, fly down to Kalamazoo, wolf down your dinner, try not to throw up, and ring in the Gilmore at last.
The Festival is a bit different this year. Apparently the Phantom of the Opera is in town, so there wasn't a big opening gala at Miller Auditorium tonight. Instead, we went to go see Bruce Hornsby at the State Theater, which is still probably my favorite venue in Kalamazoo. This performance was more bluegrass and pop than classical, which was all right, if unanticipated. The crowd was pretty out-of-control, though--people were lined up around the block to get tickets even as the performance was supposed to begin, so they were filing in until well after 8:00. Apparently there was a lot of chatter from where Mr. Hornsby was, too, because he actually left the stage for a few minutes after entering, stating that he would return when the house was quiet. All that was understandable, but the program lasted well over two hours and for the entire duration of the concert, people were filing in and out of their seats. The State is *very* crowded, so when one person wants in or out, the entire row has to stand up. Add to that the fact that most people were leaving to get booze and, by the end of the night, a great majority of the audience was completely hammered, mix in obnoxious catcalls and the people directly behind your head bellowing "Bruuuuuuuuuuce!!!" after every selection and the inability of the audience to stop talking through the entire performance, and you have a less than stellar experience to take with you as you leave. All in all, though, I enjoyed Mr. Hornsby's playing and thought that it was a pretty decent initiation into the Gilmore, even if it was a bit atypical of my previous experiences.
Tomorrow we're going to get the class kicked off at Kalamazoo College. It'll be nice to see the campus again, it's so picturesque. The events we're seeing should be great, too--hopefully I'll be feeling well enough to relax and soak them up! Ahhh, the Gilmore at last.
Current mood: melancholy
Sunday, April 9, 2006
Yes.
I have run out of underarm deodorant.
*Runs away laughing*
Current mood: amused
Monday, October 24, 2005
"Spanked!"
So apparently my news for the day has already spread all over Alma campus. I know that word travels fast, especially around here, but I am still continually taken by surprise at just how much people talk. I guess the positive part of being the subject of gossip is that since everybody already knows, I can journal freely without feeling too self-conscious or boastful... Here goes:
Music Theory Midterm: +43 / 40 points = 108%
Yeah, I'm pretty pumped... I was a bit *ahem* aggravated at that midterm last Wednesday when I left the MIDI lab at five in the morning after analyzing scores all night. The even better part was when I was up before eight to study for my Soc midterm that same morning. I have been struggling to keep up with my courseload all semester, and two harsh midterms + 3 hours of sleep (- several hours of sleep previously over the course of the week) = grumpy Kacie. Needless to say, I wanted nothing more than to pummel my theory exam into the ground until it whimpered and cowered at my feet like a whipped puppy. Today, I happened to win the duel, and I will consider myself properly revenged.
Now the best part... to further stomp the sorry Robber of Sleep examination into the ground, I decided to brand it. At the top of the exam, after the title portion that introduces the next hour-and-a-half of a music major's life with a cheerful "Comprehensive Musicianship III," I appended "got spanked!" Embarrassingly, however, after we were done reviewing the test in class, Dr. Messing announced that he wanted to re-collect them from all of us.
Whoops.
Perhaps the last laugh was not mine in the end, after all. ^_^
Current mood: spankeh!!!
Saturday, October 22, 2005
I knew it. And the mystery is solved, HA!
I rule at this game. ^_^
Current mood:  How long since I've updated?!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
So I finally got the SAI website minimally updated at some godforsaken hour last night. It is still terribly out-of-date, but at least it is more recent than it was. Yay for the slacker Webmistress.
http://www.alma.edu/organizations/sai/
Now I must excuse myself. I am lacking in the sleep department.
Current mood: peaceful
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