The Gilmore 2006, Day 13: I Can Throw Darts Underhand. I Am a Ninja.
Yeeeeaaah... so I was definitely the only person at the master class this morning. Aviram Reichert was teaching, a pianist who I'm not really familiar with. I heard the Chopin Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1 and the Scriabin Sonata in G Major, Op. 31, No. 1 and thought that he had some interesting things to impart to his students. He was very sure of how he wanted passages to sound and nit-picked a lot of little details, having students replay lines again and again until they sounded satisfactory to him. In that respect it was a little tedious, but I never really found myself bored with his style. I had to cut out to meet Ann around a quarter of eleven, so I missed the Liszt "Dante" Sonata, which I really would have liked to have heard but will get a chance to listen to elsewhere, I'm sure.
After a quick lunch, we sped to the Museum to watch the film entitled Leon Fleisher: Lessons of a Master. This was a French-produced film, so all of it was subtitled in French (except for the interviews that were conducted in the language itself--I actually managed to catch a fair amount of what was being said with my rusty ear. Quelle suprise!). I actually thought that the film was very, very interesting. Leon Fleisher is definitely a master, and his story was really inspirational personally. In his interviews, he seemed so wise and passionate, and I drew a lot of strength out of hearing his tale of wrestling with the paralysis of his right hand. That somebody could find such joy in music to draw himself out of a marriage-shattering depression, that he could resolve to use his crippled hand to become an even stronger musician and more capable teacher... that is really something for me to grab onto and think about for awhile.
We unfortunately left about ten minutes before the film ended so we could get rush tickets to hear the Avalon String Quartet play at the Wellspring. They were breath-takingly good, and their music even included a harmonium, a piano/hurdy-gurdy (for me!!!) instrument that you don't really hear anymore. They started the program with Dvorak's Bagatelles for two violins, cello, & harmonium, Op. 47, which is always a good start to a program in my opinion. ^_^ Yaaay Dvorak! The harmonium then played some solo Janacek Po Zarostiem Chodnicku I (On an Overgrown Path I), which was also pretty nifty--I'm not that familiar with Janacek, but he writes some good music that sounds somewhat nationalistic, but which is also very intimate. The Debussy String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10 was next, and it was a treat to hear. Ann and I were quite taken by the cellist--she's a machine!!! And her hands are really small, so we could only marvel at how she found her way around her instrument and managed to alternately bring her singing melodies out and blend her ostinato passages and harmonies so seamlessly with the rest of the quartet. Finally, the group ended with Johann Strauss, Jr.'s Roses from the South Waltz, Op. 388, a lighthearted... well... waltz. Pure fluff, but good fluff for sure! =)
We had a little bit of time to kill this afternoon, so Ann and I got some ice cream (they had chocolate AND royal raspberry soft-serve! BONUS!). After dinner, we decided to check out the pre-concert lecture on Janacek's Diary of One Who Vanished. This was probably the most interesting lecture I've attended at the Gilmore--it ran really long, but it was fascinating to hear a little analysis of the poetry that Janacek set his music to and some of the musical techniques he used to impart the change that the main speaker undergoes in this "diary". I left the lecture hall pretty interested in hearing the evening concert, and I wasn't disappointed at all. The first half was devoted to some of Janacek's Rikadla (Nursery Rhymes), Four Moravian Songs, and his V Mlhach (In the Mist). The whole concert was given in its original language (Czeckoslovakian, I think), and the nursery rhymes and Moravian songs were sung by students who I think attend Western. I was impressed! It doesn't sound like an easy language to familiarize oneself with. In the Mist was more of an impressionistic piece for solo piano. The first movement was especially gorgeous, and it seemed like the intermission came all too quickly. We finally herded the audience back into Dalton to hear The Diary of One Who Vanished, and I have to say I was really impressed by whoever put the media and lighting geniuses for this performance. The English translations of the poem... er... opera?... were projected onto screens on either side of the stage. The text was actually overlaid on some beautiful photographs of Moravian landscapes and subtle lighting changes really accented its mood. The singers (Jay Hunter Morris, tenor, and Erin Neff, mezzo-soprano) were amazing and the poetry was so beautiful. The story is incredibly romantic on an extremely subtle level and Janacek conveyed a lot of powerful emotions with his music; I really, really enjoyed it.
After the performance, it was party night at the Heavys. They have the most incredible game room in their basement, and the entire Alma group turned up to take full advantage of it. I got some footage of the fun (so that I actually have something to put in the trip documentary) and even sketched for awhile. I played a nail-biter of a game of euchre with Laura, Ryan and Tony, too, and when things cleared out a bit, I threw darts with Duane. Of course... considering the fact that you had Duane, you had me, and you had a whole lotta pointy projectiles, you understand that we most certainly weren't going to keep a nice, orderly, responsible game of darts going for long. It was inevitable that we would turn into ninjas before the night was out (I may have shurikened the ceiling once...), you see. Fortunately, our A.D.D. kicked in before too much havoc was wrought on non-dartboardesque objects, and we decided to golf ping-pong balls across the room at each other instead. Much safer--they ricochet, but never pierce. ;) At this point, Laura not-so-subtly kidnapped me outside and Ann whisked me away to our homestay. Yes, get her out of there and put her to bed! ^_^
After a quick lunch, we sped to the Museum to watch the film entitled Leon Fleisher: Lessons of a Master. This was a French-produced film, so all of it was subtitled in French (except for the interviews that were conducted in the language itself--I actually managed to catch a fair amount of what was being said with my rusty ear. Quelle suprise!). I actually thought that the film was very, very interesting. Leon Fleisher is definitely a master, and his story was really inspirational personally. In his interviews, he seemed so wise and passionate, and I drew a lot of strength out of hearing his tale of wrestling with the paralysis of his right hand. That somebody could find such joy in music to draw himself out of a marriage-shattering depression, that he could resolve to use his crippled hand to become an even stronger musician and more capable teacher... that is really something for me to grab onto and think about for awhile.
We unfortunately left about ten minutes before the film ended so we could get rush tickets to hear the Avalon String Quartet play at the Wellspring. They were breath-takingly good, and their music even included a harmonium, a piano/hurdy-gurdy (for me!!!) instrument that you don't really hear anymore. They started the program with Dvorak's Bagatelles for two violins, cello, & harmonium, Op. 47, which is always a good start to a program in my opinion. ^_^ Yaaay Dvorak! The harmonium then played some solo Janacek Po Zarostiem Chodnicku I (On an Overgrown Path I), which was also pretty nifty--I'm not that familiar with Janacek, but he writes some good music that sounds somewhat nationalistic, but which is also very intimate. The Debussy String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10 was next, and it was a treat to hear. Ann and I were quite taken by the cellist--she's a machine!!! And her hands are really small, so we could only marvel at how she found her way around her instrument and managed to alternately bring her singing melodies out and blend her ostinato passages and harmonies so seamlessly with the rest of the quartet. Finally, the group ended with Johann Strauss, Jr.'s Roses from the South Waltz, Op. 388, a lighthearted... well... waltz. Pure fluff, but good fluff for sure! =)
We had a little bit of time to kill this afternoon, so Ann and I got some ice cream (they had chocolate AND royal raspberry soft-serve! BONUS!). After dinner, we decided to check out the pre-concert lecture on Janacek's Diary of One Who Vanished. This was probably the most interesting lecture I've attended at the Gilmore--it ran really long, but it was fascinating to hear a little analysis of the poetry that Janacek set his music to and some of the musical techniques he used to impart the change that the main speaker undergoes in this "diary". I left the lecture hall pretty interested in hearing the evening concert, and I wasn't disappointed at all. The first half was devoted to some of Janacek's Rikadla (Nursery Rhymes), Four Moravian Songs, and his V Mlhach (In the Mist). The whole concert was given in its original language (Czeckoslovakian, I think), and the nursery rhymes and Moravian songs were sung by students who I think attend Western. I was impressed! It doesn't sound like an easy language to familiarize oneself with. In the Mist was more of an impressionistic piece for solo piano. The first movement was especially gorgeous, and it seemed like the intermission came all too quickly. We finally herded the audience back into Dalton to hear The Diary of One Who Vanished, and I have to say I was really impressed by whoever put the media and lighting geniuses for this performance. The English translations of the poem... er... opera?... were projected onto screens on either side of the stage. The text was actually overlaid on some beautiful photographs of Moravian landscapes and subtle lighting changes really accented its mood. The singers (Jay Hunter Morris, tenor, and Erin Neff, mezzo-soprano) were amazing and the poetry was so beautiful. The story is incredibly romantic on an extremely subtle level and Janacek conveyed a lot of powerful emotions with his music; I really, really enjoyed it.
After the performance, it was party night at the Heavys. They have the most incredible game room in their basement, and the entire Alma group turned up to take full advantage of it. I got some footage of the fun (so that I actually have something to put in the trip documentary) and even sketched for awhile. I played a nail-biter of a game of euchre with Laura, Ryan and Tony, too, and when things cleared out a bit, I threw darts with Duane. Of course... considering the fact that you had Duane, you had me, and you had a whole lotta pointy projectiles, you understand that we most certainly weren't going to keep a nice, orderly, responsible game of darts going for long. It was inevitable that we would turn into ninjas before the night was out (I may have shurikened the ceiling once...), you see. Fortunately, our A.D.D. kicked in before too much havoc was wrought on non-dartboardesque objects, and we decided to golf ping-pong balls across the room at each other instead. Much safer--they ricochet, but never pierce. ;) At this point, Laura not-so-subtly kidnapped me outside and Ann whisked me away to our homestay. Yes, get her out of there and put her to bed! ^_^