A little belated report on the Shostakovich 4 concert.
The weather was not good. Snow came down late Friday afternoon leading to the usual chaos (snow? in Winter? Who would have thought it!). So it was a reduced orchestra that met that evening at the Town Hall. We had a good rehearsal though, worked through some of the tricky bits and it was great to hear the added harp, percussion and celeste.
On Saturday afternoon there was a better turn out and we had pretty much everybody there for a full run through of the piece. It felt more secure than the previous Sunday and it was great having all the parts present.
The concert itself was on Saturday evening. Sadly due to the weather the audience was much smaller than was expected but we still had about 150 people there so not too disastrous. I sat with Oboe 4 in the balcony for the first half and watched the UK premier of a Russian piece. It had some interesting percussion sounds and included whistling by the strings, key slaps from woodwind and blowing through the instrument (without sounding a note) by the brass. Not really sure it is something that I would choose to listen to but it was very evocative and atmospheric. The first half also included Britten's Sea Interludes which were much more my cup of tea and absolutely wonderful.
The Shostakovich was in the second half. I slightly messed up one of my more exposed entries which was very frustrating, but I also managed to get one of them absolutely spot on - which I'd never managed in rehearsal. Overall I think it was the best that I'd played my part and the most confident I'd been in counting the bars I wasn't playing and knowing exactly where to come in. The run through in the afternoon had definitely helped. It is quite a mammoth piece and there was some stunning playing from the orchestra as a whole - especially the principal wind players who had some fiendish solos. The percussion really lifted the whole piece and there were sections which were really quite sublime and spell binding. I loved the percussive, almost jazzy, end to movement 2. The brass chords with timps at the climax of movement 3 were also quite spine tingly!
I think this was the most challenging orchestral piece I've ever had to play, but I enjoy challenges and I feel privelegd to have the opportunity to tackle this one.
Showing posts with label Shostakovich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shostakovich. Show all posts
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Monday, 14 January 2013
What a difference a day makes....
I spent a good proportion of yesterday in rehearsal for Shostokovich Symphony 4 in preparation for a concert next Saturday. This local orchestra seem to be gaining a reputation for crazy programming and tend to go for pieces that most amateur orchestras shy away from, for example, The Rite of Spring and Mahler 3 which I played in last year.
I went to my first rehearsal on this before Christmas and came out a bit shell shocked. It was the first time I'd seen the music, the normal conductor wasn't there and they seemed to focus on all the most difficult bits. I was struggling with both counting the bars rests and playing the notes. It all sounded like noise rather than music. Fortunately over the holidays I had chance to listen to the piece and could do some practice on the notes.
Yesterday's rehearsal was significantly better. The sectional rehearsal in the morning helped me see how my part fitted with the other oboes and reassured me that there were large parts of it that I can play - fortunately. The main conductor took the wind sectional and we were lead by a recent post graduate who looked about 12 but is probably in his late twenties. He was very knowledgable, very clear, very detailed and most importantly very encouraging. His enthusiasm for the music was very contagious and it was helpful to hear what different parts of the music represented - the alarm calls, the Russian factories, the references to film music and fair ground pastiche. It was an incredibly useful and helpful rehearsal.
The afternoon was the whole orchestra together and after a look at some corners we made our first attempt at playing the whole thing through without stopping. We managed it - which is encouraging - and some of it even sounded quite good. I found it really useful to see my parts in context and to develop an overview of what I need to work on.
From my perspective:
Most of the time I am playing at the same time as the other oboists which is a nice safe place to be.
There are 2 or 3 bars when I am on my own and need to hold the note when the other oboes have finished. It is good to have identified those parts and be prepared for them. None of them are difficult but I need to hold my nerve and not panic when the others drop out!
There is a lot of counting to do - whole pages of rests with one or two short entries in the middle. But I've marked in some sign posts now so I don't need to count them all. So I am fairly confident about not coming in at the wrong time.
There are some sections that I am really struggling to play but most of those are in very loud tutti sections so will be lost within the noise. I will look at those but I am not overly concerned about them.
There are some more exposed woodwind bits which I need to make sure I can play well. My practice this week will make sure they are absolutely right.
Before the rehearsal I was quite worried that I wouldn't be able to do this at all, but it now feels manageable. It's amazing what can be achieved in just one day of focussed work. But I'm still not sure whether I like it or not though!
We have another rehearsal on Friday with a final run through on Saturday afternoon before the concert on Saturday night.
I went to my first rehearsal on this before Christmas and came out a bit shell shocked. It was the first time I'd seen the music, the normal conductor wasn't there and they seemed to focus on all the most difficult bits. I was struggling with both counting the bars rests and playing the notes. It all sounded like noise rather than music. Fortunately over the holidays I had chance to listen to the piece and could do some practice on the notes.
Yesterday's rehearsal was significantly better. The sectional rehearsal in the morning helped me see how my part fitted with the other oboes and reassured me that there were large parts of it that I can play - fortunately. The main conductor took the wind sectional and we were lead by a recent post graduate who looked about 12 but is probably in his late twenties. He was very knowledgable, very clear, very detailed and most importantly very encouraging. His enthusiasm for the music was very contagious and it was helpful to hear what different parts of the music represented - the alarm calls, the Russian factories, the references to film music and fair ground pastiche. It was an incredibly useful and helpful rehearsal.
The afternoon was the whole orchestra together and after a look at some corners we made our first attempt at playing the whole thing through without stopping. We managed it - which is encouraging - and some of it even sounded quite good. I found it really useful to see my parts in context and to develop an overview of what I need to work on.
From my perspective:
Most of the time I am playing at the same time as the other oboists which is a nice safe place to be.
There are 2 or 3 bars when I am on my own and need to hold the note when the other oboes have finished. It is good to have identified those parts and be prepared for them. None of them are difficult but I need to hold my nerve and not panic when the others drop out!
There is a lot of counting to do - whole pages of rests with one or two short entries in the middle. But I've marked in some sign posts now so I don't need to count them all. So I am fairly confident about not coming in at the wrong time.
There are some sections that I am really struggling to play but most of those are in very loud tutti sections so will be lost within the noise. I will look at those but I am not overly concerned about them.
There are some more exposed woodwind bits which I need to make sure I can play well. My practice this week will make sure they are absolutely right.
Before the rehearsal I was quite worried that I wouldn't be able to do this at all, but it now feels manageable. It's amazing what can be achieved in just one day of focussed work. But I'm still not sure whether I like it or not though!
We have another rehearsal on Friday with a final run through on Saturday afternoon before the concert on Saturday night.
Monday, 10 December 2012
New Orchestra Programme, Spring 2013
We have now had 4 rehearsals in preparation for our next Orchestra concert. I had to miss one of them due to work so have only had 3 but still plenty of time to get a feel for the new programme.
So what are we playing?
1. Bizet - L'Arlesienne Suite No 1.
A piece forever associated in my mind with school assemblies. Every Thursday our school orchestra would play for assembly. They accompanied the hymns and then played an exit piece as we filed out of the hall. I am sure they must have played other music but it did feel like the only piece they ever played was the Prelude from this suite. In honesty, I don't really mind it and I quite like Carillon - there are some lovely sections shared by the oboe and flute.
2. Peter Warlock - Capriol Suite
We haven't attempted all the movements of this yet. It does seem fairly straight forward to play though there are some very discordant parts. I am undecided on whether I like this or not!
3. Schumann Symphony No 1
This wasn't our first choice for the Symphony, apparently we were meant to be doing a Max Bruch one but the parts were just too expenstive for us to either buy or hire. This one is nice enough. We haven't tried the second movement yet but the other movements are very playable and generally pleasant. I rather like the Scherzo/ trio section.
4. Rossini - The Thievish Magpie.
I think elsewhere it is translated as The Thieving Magpie but my score says "Thievish" which is a much more evocative word. This is, for the oboe, the hardest of the pieces we are playing. It is fast and requires a lot of stamina to get through. There are some awkward, quick, triplet figures that I'm struggling to get my fingers around. Fortunately mainly lost in a tutti section so not so prominent. There are some other more exposed twiddly bits that will require some dedicated practice before March too. This is good fun to play though and is one that most of the audience should know.
Our concert is not 'til March so we should have plenty of time to lick these into shape.
For a bit of interest in the meantime, I've also been asked to play 3rd oboe with another local orchestra when they do Shostakovich Symphony no 4 in January. This is the same orchestra that I did Mahler 3 and The Rite of Spring with earlier in the year. First rehearsal for this will be on Monday with a full day of rehearsal a week before the concert. I'm looking forward to doing something this challenging again. Should be fun.
So what are we playing?
1. Bizet - L'Arlesienne Suite No 1.
A piece forever associated in my mind with school assemblies. Every Thursday our school orchestra would play for assembly. They accompanied the hymns and then played an exit piece as we filed out of the hall. I am sure they must have played other music but it did feel like the only piece they ever played was the Prelude from this suite. In honesty, I don't really mind it and I quite like Carillon - there are some lovely sections shared by the oboe and flute.
2. Peter Warlock - Capriol Suite
We haven't attempted all the movements of this yet. It does seem fairly straight forward to play though there are some very discordant parts. I am undecided on whether I like this or not!
3. Schumann Symphony No 1
This wasn't our first choice for the Symphony, apparently we were meant to be doing a Max Bruch one but the parts were just too expenstive for us to either buy or hire. This one is nice enough. We haven't tried the second movement yet but the other movements are very playable and generally pleasant. I rather like the Scherzo/ trio section.
4. Rossini - The Thievish Magpie.
I think elsewhere it is translated as The Thieving Magpie but my score says "Thievish" which is a much more evocative word. This is, for the oboe, the hardest of the pieces we are playing. It is fast and requires a lot of stamina to get through. There are some awkward, quick, triplet figures that I'm struggling to get my fingers around. Fortunately mainly lost in a tutti section so not so prominent. There are some other more exposed twiddly bits that will require some dedicated practice before March too. This is good fun to play though and is one that most of the audience should know.
Our concert is not 'til March so we should have plenty of time to lick these into shape.
For a bit of interest in the meantime, I've also been asked to play 3rd oboe with another local orchestra when they do Shostakovich Symphony no 4 in January. This is the same orchestra that I did Mahler 3 and The Rite of Spring with earlier in the year. First rehearsal for this will be on Monday with a full day of rehearsal a week before the concert. I'm looking forward to doing something this challenging again. Should be fun.
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