(no subject)
It was evening on Hosmer hall stage, the Crane Symphony dressed in its concert black finery. We were approaching the recapitulation of the Liszt Preludes. While there is no grand pause notated anywhere in the music, we had taken a lot of time there almost every time we rehearsed it with Chris Lanz, and even more so when we had rehearsed it with Leon Fleischer. At our dress rehearsal, so many people had decided to go on without watching to see what he would do, that he simply stopped before the downbeat resolution and looked around to see who was looking sheepish and who was waiting patiently to play the next note. We hadn't actually played it correctly before, so as it approached I feared that a number of people would ruin it yet again. However, the whole orchestra froze, awaiting his next move, and the complete and sudden silence was deafening and built such tension that its release on the downbeat caused Leon Fleischer to break into a wide smile and for a number of the musicians before him to do the same, and a few (myself included!) to do a little dance in their seat as they went on. It was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced, playing in an orchestra, and suddenly all the troubles I've had with my section mates were forgotten.
After we had finished, Emeline came up behind me (clearly she had crossed the stage in order to exit on the lower string side, though she was playing violin.) She was excited to track down the maestro and get a picture. As I had hidden my camera backstage, I snatched it and we took off looking for him. It was moments later that he came down the backstage hallway from the opposite direction. Katherine then came by as well, and we all expressed our enjoyment of having worked with him. Thinking that was all, or else trying to escape, he began heading off through the nearby door into his dressing room. His wife, who was with him, stopped him, saying, "hon, I think they want a picture..." Emeline responded, "yes, would you like to be gorgeous with us?" They brought us into the little hallway outside the dressing room and we took a couple pictures with us all scrunched in and arms around one another in order to fit in the scope of the camera's viewfinder. Then I decided I wanted one with his wife IN it, instead of taking the picture (she had been the second piano soloist that evening, and her playing had been divine!) since there was no one else there that I DIDN'T want in the picture, we just took one of the two of them.
We discovered later that most people weren't able to find him to greet him or take pictures, and we had been very fortunate.
Emeline and Katherine and I spent the rest of the evening chatting and watching Finding Nemo, since the adrenaline was still rampant and sleep was out of the question.
The joys of this concert have counterbalanced the anger and frustration of the last. I still harbor great dislike for a number of the other cellists, but I have enough to be happy about right now that it doesn't quite matter.
After we had finished, Emeline came up behind me (clearly she had crossed the stage in order to exit on the lower string side, though she was playing violin.) She was excited to track down the maestro and get a picture. As I had hidden my camera backstage, I snatched it and we took off looking for him. It was moments later that he came down the backstage hallway from the opposite direction. Katherine then came by as well, and we all expressed our enjoyment of having worked with him. Thinking that was all, or else trying to escape, he began heading off through the nearby door into his dressing room. His wife, who was with him, stopped him, saying, "hon, I think they want a picture..." Emeline responded, "yes, would you like to be gorgeous with us?" They brought us into the little hallway outside the dressing room and we took a couple pictures with us all scrunched in and arms around one another in order to fit in the scope of the camera's viewfinder. Then I decided I wanted one with his wife IN it, instead of taking the picture (she had been the second piano soloist that evening, and her playing had been divine!) since there was no one else there that I DIDN'T want in the picture, we just took one of the two of them.
We discovered later that most people weren't able to find him to greet him or take pictures, and we had been very fortunate.
Emeline and Katherine and I spent the rest of the evening chatting and watching Finding Nemo, since the adrenaline was still rampant and sleep was out of the question.
The joys of this concert have counterbalanced the anger and frustration of the last. I still harbor great dislike for a number of the other cellists, but I have enough to be happy about right now that it doesn't quite matter.