Back to normal again after the Sgt. Pepper show.  It was fun (see above)!  Here is a short list of things about this concert that I wish happened in classical music more often.

1. Everyone knew every note of the music we were playing 

2. I got to wear a rockin’ outfit (I’m the guy on top with the vest)

3. I got to sing backup

We’re working on Sgt. Pepper’s again at the Hollywood Bowl with Cheap Trick and Co. The band sounds amazing, and Robin Zander again blows me a away with his vocal power and ability. The entire band is so focused and tight, but the atmosphere is relaxed and fun. That’s the way to rehearse. I spent a lot of time working with the musicians on background vocals this time, trying to get the voicings right and the kind of light, blended and punchy sound that the Beatles had. It’s amazing how well the musicans play by ear, nailing every harmony perfectly off the top of their heads — it’s something I wish I could do better. I guess I process music through the page first, but it seems much more primal to process music without the eyes, using only the ears.

Speaking of that — I’m finally getting to see Stevie Wonder on July 7! I think he may be the best musician making music right now, period. Check out this report of a recent concert. I’m so there!

…for a reprise of last year’s Sgt. Pepper concert. Lots of fun stories and pictures to follow on this blog, I’m sure. And my readership goes way up thanks to the Cheap Trick fans. Yesterday, I dropped by SF Opera for a reading of The Bonesetter’s Daughter. I’ll be assistant conductor of that show in August, and the score looks very colorful and fun. The composer, Stewart Wallace, and the conductor, Steven Sloane are cool, and I’m looking forward to the teamwork involved in opera … it’s a lot different than traveling from place to place by yourself to conduct. Steven Sloane went to my rival high school, Palisades High (aka PALI aka the Dolphins). We were laughing about that. Oddly enough, across the street at the Symphony, David Robertson is conducting. He went to my high school (Santa Monica High, aka SAMOHI, aka the Vikings) as well. It’s weird that three conductors from rival high schools are in one place. It’s happened before though — Michael Tilson Thomas used to face off with Leonard Slatkin back in the day in the LA-based nerd contest “The Knowledge Bowl.”

Well it’s been a while since I posted. Since we last checked in I finished the season with the KWS, including a wonderful performance of Les nuits d’été with the fabulous Measha Brueggergosman. She has a nice history with the orchestra, having done her first Verdi Requiem and more with the orchestra. She has the bearing of a diva, but the truth is she is a very serious, no-BS musician who likes to work things out. We have plans for future concerts in KW, and they are cool.

After the season, Tom and I spent a week in “cottage country,” Stratford, Niagara Falls, Niagara wine country, and Tornoto. It was nice to hang out in Ontario with out work hanging over my head — it’s a beautiful, fun place to hang. Next summer I have to get more of my Cali friends up here.

Then three days in Cardiff, Wales with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) for some radio recordings. Britten Cello Symphony with Danjulo Ishizaka and Hindemith Schwanendreher with Maxim Rysanov. These are two concertos that I’ll probably never get to do live without some serious explaining, but they’re both great works. The Cello Symphony in particular is not easy going for the listener. The music makes me feel trapped and empty. It is full of the intense yearning you find in Peter Grimes, but yearning for what? Britten never exactly answers the questions he poses in his music.

Now I’m back in SF, and I must have serious jet-lag because I heard Mahler’s Adagietto in the men’s locker room of my yuppie gym. This kind of stuff is what drove Daniel Barenboim out of this country. Anyway, I would like to believe that it subtly reminded all of us trying to keep fit, that we’re all gonna die anyway.

The Calgary Philharmonic is another fine Canadian orchestra (there really are so many — it’s fun to conduct in this excellent country). We played a sold-out “light classics” program with them last night. It was all great music related to fairy tales and fantasy: Magic Flute Overture, Dream Pantomime from Hansel and Gretel, Once Upon A Castle (an organ concerto by Michael Daugherty), Ride of the Valkyries, The Swan of Tuonela, and Sleeping Beauty Suite.

I wonder if these are all “light classics” though, and what “light classics” actually is …

Personally, I’d like to do away with the whole “light classics” category altogether. It feeds into the whole “I’m afraid of classical music” thing, and diverts our audience from our core artistic mission as orchestras, which is to play the greatest music possible for as many people as possible.

The thing is, the audience gravitates to light classics for a reason. Many “main series” concerts are so heavy and serious the create aesthetic indigestion for the average concertgoer (the one who doesn’t know the repertoire inside-out). “Main Series” concerts are, in my opinion, too long, too heavy and too self-important. Even I find myself suffering from the Stendhal Syndrome at concerts. So much great art is crushed into a small space that I really take anything in.

Let’s get rid of “light classics” and consolidate our audiences by making main series concerts more digestible and fun. It shouldn’t be difficult. It’s all great music.

Just came back from a few days with the New World Symphony.  They’re getting ready to open their new hall in a few years.  Designed by Frank Gehry, the hall will have his usual visual flash, and will be designed esepcailly for multimedia presentations of orchestral music.  They’re preparing for this transition now.  My one hour presentation of Bartòk’s Miraculous Mandarin included a full video backdrop, complete with historical footage and animated original images outlining the plot.  I was asked to write the script, and instead of the usual historical background, I opted to put the music into a modern context.  I compared it to other shock art — A Clockwork Orange, etc.  I tied the work into current fears of the unknown, immigrants, etc. It worked well. The audience responded, laughed, and a few even got irate at the politics of the show.

I think our new audience members need to know what makes this music relevant to them now.  What are the things that connect us to Bartòk?  If we’re going to talk about music, what are we going to talk about? There are so many different thoughts about this now — and certainly no consensus.

Just finished a fantastic INTERSECTIONS concert with the one, the only, GILLES APAP* this weekend. It was a sold-out concert, and the audience for the series has grown exponentially in just a few months. I’m so proud of this series — it’s my baby. It’s neither a new music series, nor a classical series, nor a pops series. It’s simply a cool music series. There might be hardcore contemporary music, there might be bluegrass … you just never know. I just got an email from one audience member who perfectly described the feeling that I wanted to create here:

“The quality of listening in these concerts is remarkable … because you’ve created contexts in which people don’t know what will happen next, do need to listen; I’m certain we’re all learning huge amounts about music from this series (I discovered at least one fabulous composer new to me–Kancheli) and having a heck of a lot of fun at the same time.”

As a conductor, the two ways I can help sustain orchestral music as an artform are 1) getting the audience to truly listen to the music and 2) actually have a really good time at a concert. If these two things happened more often, we’d be in fine shape.

Intersections for 2008-2009 has been announced. We’ve expanded the series to four concerts. 1. MASON BATES 2. TIME FOR THREE 3. Brass Music with ALAIN TRUDEL 4. EVE EGOYAN + Video Art

* Here’s a picture a Gilles when he was 17 (that’s Claudio Abbado in the background in the brown v-neck sweater!)

I just got back from conducting Mahler 1 with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. It’s my second time – and now I know what Michael Tilson Thomas means when he says “conducting a Mahler Symphony again is like revisiting a favorite national park.” It’s big stuff, and this time through I found myself thinking a lot about the natural weight of the music. It’s heavy lifting, and the sheer mass of the music takes some getting used to. Getting an excellent young orchestra like Civic to play with that kind of weight takes some work, but I was really pleased with the results. I’ve heard many conductors say it’s easier to conduct Mozart than Mahler. Please. They’re both challenging.

Next week it’s Sibelius 3 in Kitchener, and moving from Mahler to Sibelius, I can’t help but recall their famous exchange, here in Sibelius’s words …

“When our conversation touched on the essence of symphony, I said that I admired its severity and style and the profound logic that created an inner connection between all the motives. This was the experience I had come to in composing. Mahler’s opinion was just the reverse. “Nein, die Symphonie müss sein wie die Welt. Sie müss alles umfassen.” (No, the symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything.)

Keeping with the national park theme, Mahler uses nature as a vehicle for Romantic revelation, while Sibelius uses nature in a more National Geographic kind of way. Listening to Sibelius is like watching a cloud move, or a crystal form. The notes themselves go through organic transformations. Yes, there is emotion and awe, but the surroundings are always bigger. In fact, in his third symphony, Sibelius really starts subverting the Romantic revelation thing. Every opportunity for a Mahlerian climax is avoided, but those very moments become unforgettable and deep in a very different way.

Living with these two pieces on consecutive weeks is a thrill and an honor. Kind of what you dream about when you start to conduct.

PS – in looking for the Sibelius / Mahler quote, I came across another interesting essay about the two composers by my friend Kenneth Woods. Worth reading!

PPS – Late one night in Chicago, I saw Marin Alsop and Alex Ross on Charlie Rose. I haven’t seen a conductor, let alone a critic/author on a talk show since I happened on Zubin Mehta on Politically Incorrect many years ago. That didn’t go so well …

Sometimes an orchestra takes you by surprise. Take this week at the Columbus Symphony. I had no idea how good this orchestra is. Great ensemble, chops to burn, quick in rehearsals, musically daring, and it’s clear that everyone is REALLY listening to each other. AND — they use their skills and play like they mean it. What a pleasure.

The sun rose at about 9am as I was eating breakfast. It was blinding bright orange, and it poured through the windows of the restaurant, quick and dramatic.

It’s quiet and dark most of the time. I feel far away from home … but closer to some feeling I can’t describe.

The dancing light and gentle darkness draw my imagination even further north. I wonder … what’s up there?

This afternoon, two New Year’s Concerts.

Happy 2008, wherever you are.

Up here in Malmö, we’ll be doing the Mambo.