Here are the Tweets sent out during Beethoven 6th Symphony at the National Symphony Orchestra concert at Wolf Trap last night. (Washington Post introductory article here) This will give you an idea of one possible style for this kind of “live program notes”. Though I wasn’t at the concert, I followed the Tweets from my Palm Pre.
These Tweets were written by Emil de Cou, associate conductor of the NSO since 2003 and were sent during the live performance. I don’t know yet how it was set up, but they were probably sent by someone in the tech. booth following the score. They begin a few minutes before the music begins.
Welcome to the @NSOatWolfTrap real time program note stream for Thursday July 30 Beethoven Pastoral Symphony!
Beethoven was known for his long walks in the country to look for inspiration. The 6th is a reflection of his emotions during his walks.
The Pastoral is a celebration of nature that’s just perfect to be heard on the lawn at Wolf Trap.
Growing more and more disjointed from city life, Beethoven used the 1st movement’s cheery nature to represent his return to the country.
Beethoven wrote at the top of this movement: “Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country”
The symphony begins in the middle of a journey. The music evokes singing birds, the sounds of a stream, and wheels on cobblestones.
We come to the crest of a hill and suddenly see a bright new vista.
We turn a corner and see a totally different, amazing landscape.
We have arrived! Beethoven’s joy of being in his countryside paradise is expressed in its most emotional version here.
A prayer of thanks at the end of this first part of our journey – and now we approach a calm stream in the distance.
We find ourselves next to a peaceful brook. Inspiration for this movement comes from a stream in Dornbach, near Beethoven’s country home.
A breeze through the branches of a nearby tree creates the sound of rustling leaves.
A folksong-like tune is heard played by the bassoon – a fittingly lazy song.
As the notes get quicker, the stream moves faster. Beethoven said that as the tones get lower the water becomes deeper.
The orchestral birds have a conversation. The color of the flute and oboe are important to Beethoven even tho he was deaf when he wrote this
As your eyes get used to the light in the forest you can finally see more detail in the scene as the music gets more complex.
In the score Beethoven has printed “Nightingale = flute Quail = oboe Cuckoo = clarinet – a mini concerto for woodwind/birds.”
This movement is for the local folks in the country – Beethoven would hang out with them on his country trips.
In the Austrian countryside wine is a big part of any celebration – the dance picks up here.
Beethoven writes the music off a beat on purpose so it sounds like the country band is not that good – or maybe a little drunk…
The orchestra evokes bagpipe-like instruments playing for a reel dance. Beethoven loved sneaking into village pubs to hear country dances.
The bad little country band is back – the poor bassoon player only knows how to play three notes.
The party is starting to get out of control…
Suddenly the sound of distant thunder is heard – the violins make the sound of raindrops.
A DOWNPOUR!
Blinding bolts of lightning strike nearby.
Beethoven adds trombones for the first time in the piece to add to the sound of the sky opening up and the terrifying thunder.
A shepherd’s pipes are heard off in the distance – a horn call answers from another hilltop.
There is joy in the countryside once the storm has subsided.
This movement is one of Beethoven’s few symphonic hymns of thanksgiving – an inward version of the bombastic 5th Symphony.
Beethoven wrote, “When in the evening I contemplate the sky in wonder about the planets revolving in their orbits, suns or earths by name…”
“…my spirit rises into the cosmos.”
Rather than use a more complex musical language, Beethoven goes back to the simplest type of music to express his view of nature.
Here in Fantasia, Disney has a beautiful sunset begin. I see this in my imagination, and it’s something I think Beethoven had in mind, too.
It is twilight now, and the music becomes a meditation and a prayer.
Thank you for coming to NSO@Wolf Trap and for being a part of this first ever live “twittering” concert. – Emil de Cou
There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this vicarious Beethoven 6th performance through the thoughtful and fun Tweets of Emil de Cou. Another conductor or writer may have used another style, perhaps more serious and technical, or even lighter. That choice can also be influenced by feedback from concert goers.
Some musicians and die-hard concert goers my see this light-hearted verbal translation of the music as watered down and cheapened. I see it as a way to intrigue tech. lovers and to introduce inexperienced and young concert goers to the music. Those who bore easily may be able to stay focused on the music with the Tweet program notes. The next time they hear this piece, they may not want or need the Tweet, and will find their own way to enjoying it.
The orchestra will use the micro-blogging site Twitter to send text messages of 140 characters or fewer from conductor Emil de Cou during the performance. (Example: “In my score Beethoven has printed Nightingale = flute Quail = oboe Cuckoo = clarinet — a mini concerto for woodwind/birds.”)
Young users of multi-tasking devices such as Blackberry phones and other smart phones such as iPhone and PalmPre, will be able to follow the timed program notes as the music happens, an improvement over the traditional printed program notes which the reader may not be able to apply easily to the musical event live.
Of course, the devices (and users faces) will glow, a possible distraction to others, so organizers have designated a separate lawn area for those users.
The question of integrating technological innovations into the normally conseravative concert experience is addressed in the article, from using videos to laser light shows to maintain younger audiences interest.
An earlier device to deliver live program notes, called the Concert Companion is mentioned, since it was the precursor to this Twitter experiment. Invented by Roland Valliere, Columbus Symphony’s new President and CEO, it failed to gain universal success after its hopeful beginnings in 2003.
Many of the people who used the [Concert Companion] devices were enthusiastic. One longtime subscriber said he had heard “Petroushka” numerous times, but had never actually understood so much about what was going on. But others found it tiring because following a piece with the Concert Companion called for a greater level of concentration on the music than they were used to: It made them listen more, not less. Those who were up in arms against the thing generally didn’t try it out at all because they were so certain that it represented egregious dumbing down. (One problem the project ran into is that the hand-held devices kept getting stolen; so much for the refinement of classical music audiences.)
Whether the National Symphony’s Twitter experiment is the next wave of concert guides for classical music venues or just another passing fancy, remains to be seen.
Personally I support the idea. But I have to admit I am biased. I just got a Palm Pre (which can receive Tweets live), and I love it! I hope the Columbus Symphony, with its new leader Roland Valliere, engages younger audiences with innovative ideas such as this.
Though I cannot attend the concert live I’ll be there in spirit. Apparently you can receive the National Symphony concert Tweets by following NSOatWolfTrap on Twitter.
Will Roesch started a small group discussion on Facebook where he posted the query:
What’s the next step to get beyond good enough? is it as simple as devoting more time to my instrument? Or is a new approach to my instrument necessary?
How did you do it?
There were some good answers, but I don’t want to presume those writers would want me to quote them unannounced here.
I answered:
Quality is not a state to achieve; it’s more of an attitude, a process and a direction.
I am happiest when I practice clarinet for myself. I actually dislike performances, at least as a measure of my abilities as a clarinetist and musician. A goal for me now is to bring the joy I find (at times) when playing alone to the performances.
I enjoy experimentation and playful freedom. I occasionally improvise during some of my practice sessions. I play along with Jazz songs or a Jamey Aebersold CD (I’ve been using Volume 24 Major and Minor) It helps me to free up my own abilities, to get beyond my fears of limitations and expectations.
It hard to overcome fears that someone might hear me messing around, playing “wrong notes”. (I’m improvising! What’s a wrong note?) That admission reveals a lot about myself, and I’m sure most classical musicians experience the same apprehension when improvising. Yet it’s a critical test, for which there is no grade, no right or wrong. Untying that psychological knot, that paradox of fear or perfectionist expectation, can be the most valuable achievement toward the “freedom” of the highest quality music making.
An anonymous commenter sent this link (search results of Columbus Symphony NEA grants) listing all NEA grants recently given to the Columbus Symphony and related arts organizations in the Columbus area.
The Columbus Symphony definitely got NEA funding, as recently as 2005, thereby exposing the CSO administration’s failure to apply for and claim NEA’s stimulus money. The CSO would not have qualified for the money is if they had never received NEA funding in the past. This is definitely not the case.
The musicians could have had a raise, at least for a year, if that money had been applied for by CSO management (who were paid full salaries during the “work stoppage” last year). The deficit could have been reduced. Our most generous benefactor could have been relieved of some financial support for us this year.
I’d like to ask the Columbus Symphony administration publicly, “Why did we not receive any of that money? Did you apply for it? If not, why not?”
Please feel free to contact the CSO and ask them yourself. The number is 614-228-9600.
Email delivery does not contain the videos posted, and these may be critical to enjoy the content of the post. To see the videos, please click through to the original post. (just click the title of the post in your emailed version)
Below are several videos, parts of a coaching I gave to Stephen Savage, a former High School student of mine, who will be a sophomore at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music next year.
I have excerpted 4 parts of this hour coaching on Rach. 2 to highlight the various stages we explored to help Stephen master this difficult slow orchestral excerpt for clarinet.
(If you are getting this post via email, you may have to click to the original post to see the videos.)
This excerpt is required on many clarinet audition lists, but that is not the only reason to study it. It is a beautiful and languid theme, with very long phrases which challenge any player’s breathing and phrasing skills. Robert Marcellus suggested playing this excerpt 3 times in a row to test (and develop) stamina.
The four levels explored in these videos are: 1) Freeing up breathing by taking lots of relaxed breaths and thinking of the air intake and output at a circle, no beginning or end, just cycles around. This helped to keep the tone full and directed during the taxing long phrases. 2) Freeing up the rhythm to explore the shape and direction of the phrases more intuitively. 3) Discussing the underlying architecture of the whole solo from beginning to end to get a overarching sense of its expression and direction, and 4) adding more appropriate musical breaths, and putting it all together.
Stephen’s wonderful musical abilities shined through more with each successive level of repetition. Enjoy.
Why is the Columbus Symphony not listed as recipient of stimulus funds? Did our administration even apply for the well publicized money? Goodness knows we need it. After our drastic pay cuts last year, it would be nice to think that our administration is striving for every bit of financial help it can get.
Here is the alphabetical list. Orchestras of all budget sizes are included, from much larger than the Columbus Symphony to tiny town orchestras.
Alabama Symphonic Association, Inc.
Birmingham, AL
$50,000
Albany Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
Albany, NY
$25,000
American Boychoir School
Princeton, NJ
$50,000
American Composers Forum
Saint Paul, MN
$25,000
American Composers Orchestra, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
American Music Center, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
American Symphony Orchestra League
New York, NY
$25,000
American Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
New York, NY
$25,000
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$50,000
Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Inc.
Malden, MA
$50,000
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Society, Inc.
Buffalo, NY
$50,000
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Santa Cruz, CA
$25,000
Canton Symphony Orchestra Association
Canton, OH
$25,000
Carnegie Hall Society, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra Association, Inc.
Cedar Rapids, IA
$25,000
Central New York Jazz Arts Foundation, Inc.
Syracuse, NY
$25,000
Chamber Music America, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
Cheyenne Symphony Society, Inc.
Cheyenne, WY
$25,000
Chicago Sinfonietta, Inc.
Chicago, IL
$50,000
Chorus America Association
Washington, DC
$50,000
Cityfolk, Inc.
Dayton, OH
$50,000
Community Musicworks
Providence, RI
$50,000
Concerto Soloists
Philadelphia, PA
$50,000
Copland House
Cortlandt Manor, NY
$25,000
Cypress Performing Arts Association
San Francisco, CA
$25,000
Delaware Symphony Association
Wilmington, DE
$50,000
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall
Detroit, MI
$50,000
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra
Dubuque, IA
$25,000
Early Music America, Inc.
Seattle, WA
$25,000
Early Music Foundation, Inc.
New York, NY
$25,000
Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle
Seattle, WA
$25,000
El Paso Symphony Orchestra Association, Inc.
El Paso, TX
$25,000
Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center/Lucy Moses School for Music and Dance
New York, NY
$50,000
Elkhart Centre, Inc.
Elkhart, IN
$50,000
Emmanuel Music, Inc.
Boston, MA
$50,000
Erie Philharmonic
Erie, PA
$25,000
Eugene Symphony Association, Inc.
Eugene, OR
$50,000
Festivals DC, Ltd.
Washington, DC
$50,000
Fischoff National Chamber Music Association
Notre Dame, IN
$25,000
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Association, Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
$50,000
Great Falls Symphony Association, Inc.
Great Falls, MT
$25,000
Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival Operating Corporation
Southfield, MI
$25,000
Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra Association
Timonium, MD
$25,000
Greensboro Symphony Society, Inc.
Greensboro, NC
$50,000
Greenville Symphony Association
Greenville, SC
$25,000
Handel & Haydn Society
Boston, MA
$50,000
Honolulu Symphony Society
Honolulu, HI
$50,000
Indiana Symphony Society, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN
$50,000
Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival
Kalamazoo, MI
$50,000
Jacksonville Symphony Association
Jacksonville, FL
$50,000
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
Jazz Foundation of America, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
Jazz St. Louis
St. Louis, MO
$25,000
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
Kalamazoo, MI
$25,000
Kansas City Symphony
Kansas City, MO
$50,000
Kerrytown Concert House, Inc.
Ann Arbor, MI
$25,000
Knoxville Symphony Society, Inc.
Knoxville, TN
$25,000
Kronos Performing Arts Association
San Francisco, CA
$50,000
Kuumbwa Jazz Society
Santa Cruz, CA
$25,000
Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
Lancaster, PA
$25,000
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Society, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA
$50,000
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
New Orleans, LA
$50,000
Louisville Orchestra, Inc.
Louisville, KY
$50,000
MacPhail Center for Music
Minneapolis, MN
$50,000
Masterworks Chorale, Inc.
Belleville, IL
$25,000
Memphis Orchestral Society, Inc.
Memphis, TN
$50,000
Minnesota Orchestral Association
Minneapolis, MN
$50,000
Mobile Symphony, Inc.
Mobile, AL
$25,000
Monterey County Symphony Association
Monterey, CA
$50,000
Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey, CA
$50,000
Mount Saint Mary’s College
Los Angeles, CA
$25,000
Nashville Symphony Association
Nashville, TN
$50,000
New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
New Haven, CT
$50,000
Omaha Symphony Association
Omaha, NE
$50,000
Opus 118 Music Center
New York, NY
$25,000
Oregon Symphony Association
Portland, OR
$50,000
Pacific Chorale
Santa Ana, CA
$50,000
Philadelphia Orchestra Association
Philadelphia, PA
$50,000
Pittsburgh Symphony Society
Pittsburgh, PA
$50,000
Portland Maine Symphony Orchestra
Portland, ME
$25,000
Post-Classical Ensemble, Inc.
Washington, DC
$50,000
Present Music, Inc.
Milwaukee, WI
$25,000
Pro Musica
Joplin, MO
$25,000
Reno Chamber Orchestra, Inc.
Reno, NV
$25,000
Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra
East Providence, RI
$50,000
Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, Inc.
Atlanta, GA
$50,000
Rockford Symphony Orchestras, Inc.
Rockford, IL
$25,000
Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra Association, Inc.
Sacramento, CA
$25,000
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
St. Louis, MO
$50,000
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society
Saint Paul, MN
$50,000
San Francisco Jazz Organization
San Francisco, CA
$50,000
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco, CA
$50,000
San Jose Jazz Society
San Jose, CA
$50,000
Santa Cecilia Opera and Orchestra Association
Los Angeles, CA
$25,000
Santa Fe New Music, Inc.
Santa Fe, NM
$25,000
Santa Monica Symphony Association
Santa Monica, CA
$25,000
Settlement Music School of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
$50,000
Society of the Third Street Music School Settlement Inc.
New York, NY
$25,000
South Dakota Symphony Orchestra
Sioux Falls, SD
$50,000
Stockton Symphony Association, Inc.
Stockton, CA
$50,000
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
Syracuse, NY
$50,000
Tempesta di Mare, Inc.
Philadelphia, PA
$25,000
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
Washington, DC
$50,000
Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, Inc.
Tulsa, OK
$25,000
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
$25,000
Van Cliburn Foundation, Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
$25,000
VocalEssence
Minneapolis, MN
$50,000
Washington Chorus, Inc.
Washington, DC
$25,000
Waukesha Symphony, Inc.
Waukesha, WI
$50,000
Wheeling Symphony Society, Inc.
Wheeling, WV
$50,000
Yellow Barn, Inc.
Putney, VT
$50,000
Young Concert Artists, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
Young People’s Chorus of New York City, Inc.
New York, NY
$50,000
