The amount of snow falling here is really incredible. But the Canadians are coming to the concerts. Which warms my heart. To a Californian, seeing how people deal with relentless, adverse weather is actually inspiring. No wonder so much great music was written in bad weather.
I had a fun time hearing Henry Rollins speak this week. He basically stood in one place and went on about all sorts of stuff for over three hours. It was pretty witty and entertaining, but the sheer endurance involved in such an undertaking was the most impressive part. I felt reconnected to the pure punk energy of the 80’s — a great feeling.
… out of touch with the world, more or less. Getting back to SF yesterday, I feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of music ahead in the next few weeks, but I’m sure I’ll be firing on all cylinders before long.
It’s amazing how differently I’m feeling about some old favorites (Beethoven 5, Sibelius, etc.) after spending an entire week floating around. It’s not that my ideas about the pieces have changed, more like the way they transmit to me physically. Smoother, but more powerful and deep. Hmm. Can I make this happen?
Conducting at the Music Academy of the West this week. It’s concerto week, and I must say this is a rather unusual program.
The five soloists who won the competition play piano, clarinet, BASSOON, TUBA, and DOUBLE BASS. As a bass player myself, I’m very pleased to be hearing all of these low notes. They’re all amazing players — so if you want to hear some subterranean sounds this week, come to this concert!
Another great thing about this week — how often can you travel to a concert with a surfboard strapped to the top of your car. That’s the way to travel.
On a recent trip to and from KW, I realized that my inflight entertainment (laptop, music, books) were all rants.
Reading: By Night in Chile, by Roberto Bolaño
Listening: Trout Mask Replica, by Captiain Beefheart and his Magic Band
Watching: Waking Life, dir. Richard Linklater
I guess I was in a ranty mood, or I needed some intense egocentric artistic energy or something, but it was good stuff.
The Captain Beefheart record was really awesome. I’d never heard it before — only his voice on Willie the Pimp, on Zappa’s Hot Rats. I think Beefheart is the Carl Ruggles of Rock and Roll. I’d like to buy some of his art, since I can’t afford Ruggles.
Roberto Bolaño is the Thomas Bernhard of Latin America, it’s a 130-page rant of a priest/coservative literary critic on his deathbed. He has some regrets, and they seem to involve his taste in literature and Pinochet. It’s all one paragraph. These sort of books are best to read on planes, since you can’t walk around, and the ranting helps you tune out the other passengers.
Waking Life isn’t as profound and philosophical as either work above, but it is a rather endearing glorification of “philosophical” stoner rants from college days. And like these rants themselves, they contain a few moments of genuine beauty and insight that are memorable and touching. I liked it.
Now on the non-rant side of things, I’m pretty excited about this …
Headed back north after a week at the Hollywood Bowl. It’s one of those rare “iconic” stages like Carnegie, Musikverein, Concertgebouw, etc. Always a pleasure. There’s some adjusting to do when I’m there, since there are four cameras pointed at you all the time. It means I really have to conduct for the audience as well as the orchestra, which is an interesting situation. The other important factor is that there is a larger audience. Instead of the usual 1800, it’s more like 18,000. It’s a vast sea of people. My response is, surprisingly, to be more intimate, and to make contact with as many people in the audience as I can. It keeps me anchored to them. I wonder how the Rolling Stones do it?
I’m down at the University of Maryland, conducting at the National Orchestral Institute, a very focused festival with very strong faculty and students. It’s all about orchestral playing, not one of those festivals that tries to do everything (solo, chamber music, master classes, etc). The program is one of the most ambitious I’ve ever attempted. It’s really too much music, don’t you think? Dutilleux - Métaboles, Bartók - Miraculous Mandarin Suite, Brahms - Symphony No. 4. I mean, come on! But that’s the way they do it here.
On the other hand, I keep remembering my senior year in high school when I played in the American Youth Symphony. The conductor, Mehli Mehta (Zubin’s dad), was celebrating his 80th birthday season by conducting the complete Strauss tone poems. The performances weren’t perfect, but they were memorable, and they pushed my bass technique way beyond where I was at the beginning of the season. It was a completely memorable and life-changing musical experience.
So this week at NOI is a reminder that music isn’t only about perfection, though we all try our very best. Freed of that burden and worry, I bet the music this weekend will sound very good indeed.
Posted in Uncategorized | Wednesday, June 20th, 2007
Last night Cedric and Omar from THE MARS VOLTA flew up to record string tracks for a song on their forthcoming album. I met the bass player, Juan, at one of their concerts a few years ago and got talking … and that’s how this session happened.
The string tracks were written by the amazing Nathaniel Stookey, and conducted by yours truly. It was a cool rock/classical intersection. The guys from the band were clearly amused by our liberal use of Italian during the session (fermata, diminuendo, etc.), but seemed to really appreciate our work. What really seemed to seal the deal is that we were all able to improvise, which is not something rockers expect classical folks to do. Omar, the music director of the band, has eclectic musical tastes. On the classical side, he’s really into Varése, and is digging a CD of Xenakis lent to him by John Frusciante, lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
I wish this kind of stuff would happen more often — who knows, maybe it will.
And now a fun game … two of the people in the picture below are rock stars. Can you guess who they are?
NATHANIEL STOOKEY is spending the day recording JUNKESTRA, an amazing 3 movment piece for the San Francisco Dump. His next project will be to write some string parts for a dark and brooding rock and roll outfit you may recognize.
ANTOINE WILSON is beginning his book tour for his newly published novel, The Interloper. It’s really great — buy it, order it, read it!
In Los Angeles, HOON LEE is having a career making moment as the lead in the new David Henry Hwang play, YELLOW FACE. Well deserved I say! He is one talented dude. He even designed my website!
Working with New World Symphony is always such a blast. They know how to rock out during (and after) a concert.
Spent Saturday with my friend Sebastian Spreng, who is an amazing painter. Click the link to check out his work. I own two of his paintings and so should you! He showed me around the Miami arts district, where I saw some amazing Latin American art. Then we went to lunch at the famous dive sandwich shop Enriqueta’s, which is apparently where the elite meet to eat. I say this because at the next table was Gloria Estefan and her whole family. Sebastian knew her, so I got to meet the creator of …
