Dad's Symphony
Nov. 12th, 2006 11:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zalenaBrother came up last night and we went to Dad's Symphony. On the program was:
Copland's Fanfare for a Common Man
Beethoven's Sixth
Vivaldi Oboe Concerto
Elgar's Enigma Variations
Pretty safe concert. Brother and I both love Beethoven's Sixth, the Pastorale, (which doesn't really sound very Beethoveny) probably because it was used on my "Child's Introduction to the Orchestra" record that we loved because there was a blue toy monkey on the jacket.
I hate concertoes and I hate Vivaldi, (whose work was recovered from obscurity by the WPA in the 30s, yet another thing to blame on Roosevelt,) but it was blessedly short. The oboe player was fabulous, even if she wore an unfortunately low cut gown. Her chest go redder the longer she played. The oboe has a similar tone to the kinds of vocal performances people usually give for Baroque music, a sort of counter tenor sound, which was an insight for me. When I'm singing I always determine what instrument I'm supposed to be in the part structure. It works really well for me to get the right tone. I'd never considered the oboe, but I could see how it would work well for certain types of music. I'm usually too busy being a little trumpet, a little flute, or my favorite thing to sing: a plaintive viola. (But I don't get very many viola parts. Usually I'm a trumpet or a flute just because the way the parts are written.)
Fanfare was also blessedly short. I hate to admit this, but it really works better in commercials than in the concert hall, especially when there's a sharp trumpet, a french horn that keeps cracking notes, and people still moving around trying to seat themselves and talking. It also doesn't really go anywhere, the intervals are stirring, and the drums pound deep inside a person, but then it's just over, and what was the point? (Perhaps an apt metaphor for the life of a common man.)
Liner notes say that Fanfare for a Common Man premiered on tax day, which Copland thought was appropriate. (Communist!) Now I'm tempted to play it every year when I finish my taxes. It's one of my dad's favorite pieces. He blew out the speakers on our stereo playing it when I was a little kid.
The conductor had put together a slide show of Elgar's friends for which the Enigma variations had been written. Brother loved this part because they all had funny mustaches, pipes, or lap dogs. The slides were projected off to the side so you could look at them or ignore them as you pleased. A short lecture preceded the piece, which was performed without interruption.
Brother really liked the Elgar, I could tell by the way he clapped. When I asked him why, he said he liked the way the variations had such different personalities, but formed a cohesive whole. "It was so sincere and earnest," he added, which cracked me up. I had a sudden vision of my brother as a Victorian, and it fit. He looks great in suspenders, or a Norfolk jacket, or a boater. He would look good smoking a pipe, rowing a boat, or riding an old-timey bicycle. Now it only remains to be seen if he can grow a funny mustache. I intend to tell dad that Brother liked the Elgar and suggest it as a Xmas gift.
Copland's Fanfare for a Common Man
Beethoven's Sixth
Vivaldi Oboe Concerto
Elgar's Enigma Variations
Pretty safe concert. Brother and I both love Beethoven's Sixth, the Pastorale, (which doesn't really sound very Beethoveny) probably because it was used on my "Child's Introduction to the Orchestra" record that we loved because there was a blue toy monkey on the jacket.
I hate concertoes and I hate Vivaldi, (whose work was recovered from obscurity by the WPA in the 30s, yet another thing to blame on Roosevelt,) but it was blessedly short. The oboe player was fabulous, even if she wore an unfortunately low cut gown. Her chest go redder the longer she played. The oboe has a similar tone to the kinds of vocal performances people usually give for Baroque music, a sort of counter tenor sound, which was an insight for me. When I'm singing I always determine what instrument I'm supposed to be in the part structure. It works really well for me to get the right tone. I'd never considered the oboe, but I could see how it would work well for certain types of music. I'm usually too busy being a little trumpet, a little flute, or my favorite thing to sing: a plaintive viola. (But I don't get very many viola parts. Usually I'm a trumpet or a flute just because the way the parts are written.)
Fanfare was also blessedly short. I hate to admit this, but it really works better in commercials than in the concert hall, especially when there's a sharp trumpet, a french horn that keeps cracking notes, and people still moving around trying to seat themselves and talking. It also doesn't really go anywhere, the intervals are stirring, and the drums pound deep inside a person, but then it's just over, and what was the point? (Perhaps an apt metaphor for the life of a common man.)
Liner notes say that Fanfare for a Common Man premiered on tax day, which Copland thought was appropriate. (Communist!) Now I'm tempted to play it every year when I finish my taxes. It's one of my dad's favorite pieces. He blew out the speakers on our stereo playing it when I was a little kid.
The conductor had put together a slide show of Elgar's friends for which the Enigma variations had been written. Brother loved this part because they all had funny mustaches, pipes, or lap dogs. The slides were projected off to the side so you could look at them or ignore them as you pleased. A short lecture preceded the piece, which was performed without interruption.
Brother really liked the Elgar, I could tell by the way he clapped. When I asked him why, he said he liked the way the variations had such different personalities, but formed a cohesive whole. "It was so sincere and earnest," he added, which cracked me up. I had a sudden vision of my brother as a Victorian, and it fit. He looks great in suspenders, or a Norfolk jacket, or a boater. He would look good smoking a pipe, rowing a boat, or riding an old-timey bicycle. Now it only remains to be seen if he can grow a funny mustache. I intend to tell dad that Brother liked the Elgar and suggest it as a Xmas gift.
