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Chabrier – España
WCFSO with NE Iowa high school musicians – March 2011
‘One day Chabrier came; and he played his España for me. It sounded as if a hurricane had been let loose. He pounded and pounded the keyboard. The street was full of people, and they were listening, fascinated. When Chabrier reached the last crashing chords, I swore to myself I would never touch the piano again … Besides, Chabrier had broken several strings and put the piano out of action.’
I think we had almost as much fun – minus the broken instruments – last month at the WCFSO performing Chabrier’s irrepressible tonal travelogue with our area’s finest high school musicians.
[Quote from Aline Renoir, the painter’s wife]
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Debussy – Printemps, Modéré
WCFSO – March 2011
‘The slow, laborious birth of beings and things in nature, and then their blossoming outward and upward, and finally a burst of joy at being reborn to new life.’
Music for the arrival of spring, as described by its youthful composer in 1877.
Duke Ellington – Three Black Kings, MLK
WCFSO – February 2010
A visual-orchestral tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King on the
eighty-second anniversary of his birth, from one of the most memorable performances I’ve ever been a part of.
[Many thanks to the Duke Ellington estate for permitting the use of his music in this project and to artist Gary Kelley for his inspiration and partnership in this and other commissions.]
Best of 2011?
Rather than reflecting on last year I thought it might be refreshing to look ahead to this one. Here is what’s on tap for me at the WCFSO over the next few months:
Collaborating with Chris Thile on his new mandolin concerto, Ad astra per alas porci →
Lighting up Debussy and Britten, literally [with theatrical light sets] →
Playing and conducting the Dvořák wind serenade in the Iowa town where the composer spent the summer of 1893 →
Turning the concert format – and Beethoven 5 – inside out →
Regrettably, my previously planned activites with the Louisville Orchestra are on hold right now due to the orchestra’s financial struggles. If I wind up with extra free time this spring I’ll offer some of it to you. Also pondering the possibility of hosting a Tumblr meetup at one of the above events in Cedar Falls but I have no idea how many of you are in the area – holler if you’d be interested in attending something like that.
