(no subject)
I'm going to have to pull my calendar out to do an update because I can't remember the past month off hand. I guess I was sort of all over the place - Portland and Seattle mostly, with a week spent teaching in Wallowa Lake, OR. Now I'm back in Portland and I just started work. See you on June 2nd. No, seriously, this season shouldn't be as insanely busy as last season. Or perhaps it will be. I don't know. A friend of mine that I haven't seen in almost a year visited Seattle, so I hopped up there for a few days. She's teaching abroad and seems to be having a good time. I also used the trip as a chance to rehearse with a band that I'm playing a show with later this month. Should be a ton of fun. My folks are about the same as ever I guess. The city looks good. Missed my train back to PDX due to rain/traffic/etc. That sucked. Etc. Now we're vaguely up to date.
I need to vent: there was a piece in the NY Times recently by classical music critic Allan Kozinn in which one of my favorite musicians, NY Phil principal hornist Phil Myers, was attacked. I've seen Mr. Myers perform dozens of times over the past several years and I have never been anything short of amazed by his artistry. Kozinn's primary gripe appears to be accuracy, which is terribly confusing to me because I only remember Mr. Myers missing one note out of literally thousands. Quite frankly, that is something I would remember, and furthermore - the one note that he missed didn't bother my musical experience in any way.
It is also worth mentioning that every other facet of Phil Myers' playing is equally exceptional - and consistently so at that. Personally, I'll take a sloppy but emotionally affecting performance anyday over a pristine but emotionally dead performance. Luckily for us all, there are a few musicians out there such as Phil Myers, who play with tremendous precision and a broad range of feeling at the same time. But since we're on the subject of precision; it's funny to me because Kozinn has reviewed performances that I have been a part of in which there were hundreds of missed notes, horrible intonation, major balance problems, and more than a few in which the ensemble fell apart completely! Mysteriously, the reviews have been quite complimentary, and not just by comparison either.
I've talked to many colleagues about the story and nobody can make sense of it. I think that within the story Kozinn makes it quite obvious that in his extreme defensiveness he is lashing out blindly. Predictably, a small handful of musicians also used this opportunity to post digs at other musicians on internet message boards. Almost always anonymously, of course. Do I even need to point out how childish that is? Will these musicians ever reveal their identities, qualifications and then stand by their criticisms? Of course, this kind of behavior is hardly limited to musical criticism - forums all over the internet allow for this kind of crap. In a way, the internet has allowed people to angrily spout this kind of vitriolic crap all over the place because of the anonymity it offers. But unless a person is willing to stand behind their beliefs, how much are their opinions really worth? At least Allan Kozinn signs his name to what he writes, whether or not I agree with it.
In related news, it is entirely possible that I am in the process of losing my mind. I have my good days certainly, but the overall trend is quite evident. I definitely have not been sleeping enough. My apartment is a complete mess and I'm drowning in errands. Generally, I'm pretty confused about everything. Sometimes I'm also inexplicably sad, or feel empty, or maybe drained would be a better word for it. I hate my to-do list, because every time I cross one item off, I also notice that there are at least 3 new ones. Also, I am keeping this list entirely in my mind, which is apparently not working very well. So perhaps I can deal with some of this stuff and see whether or not the deterioration continues in spite of it. Time will tell, I hope.
There's probably more news, but I bet that a nap would be the best thing I could do for myself right now.
I need to vent: there was a piece in the NY Times recently by classical music critic Allan Kozinn in which one of my favorite musicians, NY Phil principal hornist Phil Myers, was attacked. I've seen Mr. Myers perform dozens of times over the past several years and I have never been anything short of amazed by his artistry. Kozinn's primary gripe appears to be accuracy, which is terribly confusing to me because I only remember Mr. Myers missing one note out of literally thousands. Quite frankly, that is something I would remember, and furthermore - the one note that he missed didn't bother my musical experience in any way.
It is also worth mentioning that every other facet of Phil Myers' playing is equally exceptional - and consistently so at that. Personally, I'll take a sloppy but emotionally affecting performance anyday over a pristine but emotionally dead performance. Luckily for us all, there are a few musicians out there such as Phil Myers, who play with tremendous precision and a broad range of feeling at the same time. But since we're on the subject of precision; it's funny to me because Kozinn has reviewed performances that I have been a part of in which there were hundreds of missed notes, horrible intonation, major balance problems, and more than a few in which the ensemble fell apart completely! Mysteriously, the reviews have been quite complimentary, and not just by comparison either.
I've talked to many colleagues about the story and nobody can make sense of it. I think that within the story Kozinn makes it quite obvious that in his extreme defensiveness he is lashing out blindly. Predictably, a small handful of musicians also used this opportunity to post digs at other musicians on internet message boards. Almost always anonymously, of course. Do I even need to point out how childish that is? Will these musicians ever reveal their identities, qualifications and then stand by their criticisms? Of course, this kind of behavior is hardly limited to musical criticism - forums all over the internet allow for this kind of crap. In a way, the internet has allowed people to angrily spout this kind of vitriolic crap all over the place because of the anonymity it offers. But unless a person is willing to stand behind their beliefs, how much are their opinions really worth? At least Allan Kozinn signs his name to what he writes, whether or not I agree with it.
In related news, it is entirely possible that I am in the process of losing my mind. I have my good days certainly, but the overall trend is quite evident. I definitely have not been sleeping enough. My apartment is a complete mess and I'm drowning in errands. Generally, I'm pretty confused about everything. Sometimes I'm also inexplicably sad, or feel empty, or maybe drained would be a better word for it. I hate my to-do list, because every time I cross one item off, I also notice that there are at least 3 new ones. Also, I am keeping this list entirely in my mind, which is apparently not working very well. So perhaps I can deal with some of this stuff and see whether or not the deterioration continues in spite of it. Time will tell, I hope.
There's probably more news, but I bet that a nap would be the best thing I could do for myself right now.