On tour with the NYP I
Greetings from Luzern! The Philharmonic is now on tour—we’ve been on the road for about a week. In fact, it is 7 days today that we’ve been away from New York.
Today we had a rehearsal for the upcoming couple of concerts. On the program tonight is Berg’s Seven Early Songs on the first half, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony on the second half. So, I have the second half off, which gives me the opportunity to practice. On the docket for tomorrow is all Strauss: Don Quixote on the first half (on which I play Euphonium), and Don Juan and Der Rosenkavelier Suite on the second half. A good deal of great music.
For those that aren’t familiar, Don Quixote’s euphonium (Tenor Tuba) part is very exposed at times, and very soloistic much of the time. For this piece, rather than sit between the Bass Trombone and Tuba, as is the case with most other works, I sit over next to the Bass Clarinet. The two instruments act much like a team, doubling the part of Sancho Panza (which has its own soloistic part played by the Viola), and helping tell Cervante’s great story of a Knight-Errant. Musically, Strauss uses lots of leaps, exploring all the registers of the instrument (at that time), going from a low ‘E’ up to a high ‘B’.
I get very excited when Don Quixote comes up. It’s one of the chances that I have to do something very soloistic within the orchestra. Though there are many times that I’m doubling with others, I still have the opportunity to do different things with phrases—working as a team player, while at the same time bringing my own individuality to the part. And while it’s something we strive to do every day, it’s particularly enjoyable for this piece.
All in all, the tour is going quite well. The audiences in Frankfurt and Baden-Baden were very receptive, and the houses were packed. It’s nice to see that on a tour. :-)
So, during the day today I’m typing this post, will have some lunch, and follow all that up with the concert this evening. During the Mahler I’ll have my first chance on this tour to really dig in and get some solid work done. I’ve got a couple of things on the fire—getting ready to plan a recital in NY, plus getting ready to begin my teaching; I’m returning to the Juilliard Pre-College this year after a year-long leave, plus beginning my teaching at Montclair State University, where I’ll have six students, plus a trombone ensemble. All in all, it should be a pretty busy year, but I’m looking forward getting back into the teaching. I really did miss it.
OK, enough for now, and until next time…auf Wiedersehen.
Today we had a rehearsal for the upcoming couple of concerts. On the program tonight is Berg’s Seven Early Songs on the first half, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony on the second half. So, I have the second half off, which gives me the opportunity to practice. On the docket for tomorrow is all Strauss: Don Quixote on the first half (on which I play Euphonium), and Don Juan and Der Rosenkavelier Suite on the second half. A good deal of great music.
For those that aren’t familiar, Don Quixote’s euphonium (Tenor Tuba) part is very exposed at times, and very soloistic much of the time. For this piece, rather than sit between the Bass Trombone and Tuba, as is the case with most other works, I sit over next to the Bass Clarinet. The two instruments act much like a team, doubling the part of Sancho Panza (which has its own soloistic part played by the Viola), and helping tell Cervante’s great story of a Knight-Errant. Musically, Strauss uses lots of leaps, exploring all the registers of the instrument (at that time), going from a low ‘E’ up to a high ‘B’.
I get very excited when Don Quixote comes up. It’s one of the chances that I have to do something very soloistic within the orchestra. Though there are many times that I’m doubling with others, I still have the opportunity to do different things with phrases—working as a team player, while at the same time bringing my own individuality to the part. And while it’s something we strive to do every day, it’s particularly enjoyable for this piece.
All in all, the tour is going quite well. The audiences in Frankfurt and Baden-Baden were very receptive, and the houses were packed. It’s nice to see that on a tour. :-)
So, during the day today I’m typing this post, will have some lunch, and follow all that up with the concert this evening. During the Mahler I’ll have my first chance on this tour to really dig in and get some solid work done. I’ve got a couple of things on the fire—getting ready to plan a recital in NY, plus getting ready to begin my teaching; I’m returning to the Juilliard Pre-College this year after a year-long leave, plus beginning my teaching at Montclair State University, where I’ll have six students, plus a trombone ensemble. All in all, it should be a pretty busy year, but I’m looking forward getting back into the teaching. I really did miss it.
OK, enough for now, and until next time…auf Wiedersehen.
posted by Jim Markey at 7:06 AM
