Danse du diable
The other day I had some time to squander before swe rehearsal, so I trekked over to Evanston library. I headed to my only place of interest in the building, the recording library, and checked out a dozen cds of chamber music, mostly wind chamber music.
I'm listening to an all-Stravinsky disc right now. I'd never heard The Soldier's Tale before, but as soon as I heard it, I instantly recognized his choppy, playful style. Some rather foreboding ballets of his notwithstanding, I find Stravinsky's music to be immediately accessible. Happy even.
I feel like Stravinsky gets lumped all too often with the rest of the avant-garde composers of the 20th century. That's a shame, because when I think of those guys, I think of music that normal people will colloquially call 'crap.' Stuff with demonic tessituras and evil death pitch clusters in place of harmony. That sneers at tonal (read: pretty) music like a world class chef asked to prepare a bowl of fruit loops. If it sounds like the rhythms are being produced by nails jangling inside a washing machine, they probably are.
But Soldier's Tale is not like that. It's got dance rhythms and simple melodic motifs that make you smile. Apparantly, this piece was Stravinsky's first attempt at jazz. He hadn't yet actually heard jazz, only seen manuscripts of it. There are moments in the piece where you realize he didn't get it quite right, because the sound is so hilarious. If anything, this music sounds too simple. Like a trio played by provincials at a barnyard shindig.
.
While I'm in this positive mood, let it be shouted from the rooftops that Gypsy is over!!! This means I have a life again. I get $100 for the run, which works out to something like $2 an hour.
.
Last entry, I alluded to a person who was generally regarded by his peers as aloof. Well this guy happens to sit next to me in two of the pieces for swe. We were working on Hindemith's Symphony in Bb* during sectional on Friday when he said something that shocked me.
Grad conductor Emily cut us off to say something to the bassoons, and without taking his eyes off of his music stand, he suddenly said, "Dan, I really appreciate your attention to detail on the articulations."
This event baffled me on all levels. The fact that he was talking to me in the middle of a rehearsal for one. Also, there were almost no articulations in the movement to pay attention to--just broken slurs, so I'm still not sure what he meant. Finally, there seemed to be no hidden or backhanded meaning in his statement (that wasn't his style anyway).
It took me a whole 3 seconds to stop staring at him blankly and say something back. I almost said something like, "Sure, whatever you say, man," but that would have been foolish. "Oh, thanks." That's what I said. My face flushed.
That little stunt got his name penciled back into my Nice Guys list. I may be good at writing about human nature, but I'm nowhere close to understanding it.
*An artistic piece in its own right. However, it still goes into the 'sounds like shit' category because it took me thirty listenings for me to decide that it didn't.
I'm listening to an all-Stravinsky disc right now. I'd never heard The Soldier's Tale before, but as soon as I heard it, I instantly recognized his choppy, playful style. Some rather foreboding ballets of his notwithstanding, I find Stravinsky's music to be immediately accessible. Happy even.
I feel like Stravinsky gets lumped all too often with the rest of the avant-garde composers of the 20th century. That's a shame, because when I think of those guys, I think of music that normal people will colloquially call 'crap.' Stuff with demonic tessituras and evil death pitch clusters in place of harmony. That sneers at tonal (read: pretty) music like a world class chef asked to prepare a bowl of fruit loops. If it sounds like the rhythms are being produced by nails jangling inside a washing machine, they probably are.
But Soldier's Tale is not like that. It's got dance rhythms and simple melodic motifs that make you smile. Apparantly, this piece was Stravinsky's first attempt at jazz. He hadn't yet actually heard jazz, only seen manuscripts of it. There are moments in the piece where you realize he didn't get it quite right, because the sound is so hilarious. If anything, this music sounds too simple. Like a trio played by provincials at a barnyard shindig.
.
While I'm in this positive mood, let it be shouted from the rooftops that Gypsy is over!!! This means I have a life again. I get $100 for the run, which works out to something like $2 an hour.
.
Last entry, I alluded to a person who was generally regarded by his peers as aloof. Well this guy happens to sit next to me in two of the pieces for swe. We were working on Hindemith's Symphony in Bb* during sectional on Friday when he said something that shocked me.
Grad conductor Emily cut us off to say something to the bassoons, and without taking his eyes off of his music stand, he suddenly said, "Dan, I really appreciate your attention to detail on the articulations."
This event baffled me on all levels. The fact that he was talking to me in the middle of a rehearsal for one. Also, there were almost no articulations in the movement to pay attention to--just broken slurs, so I'm still not sure what he meant. Finally, there seemed to be no hidden or backhanded meaning in his statement (that wasn't his style anyway).
It took me a whole 3 seconds to stop staring at him blankly and say something back. I almost said something like, "Sure, whatever you say, man," but that would have been foolish. "Oh, thanks." That's what I said. My face flushed.
That little stunt got his name penciled back into my Nice Guys list. I may be good at writing about human nature, but I'm nowhere close to understanding it.
*An artistic piece in its own right. However, it still goes into the 'sounds like shit' category because it took me thirty listenings for me to decide that it didn't.