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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000020.txt from 2006/10
From: philfrei@-----.com
Subj: [DR-L] Re: What R U playing?
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 21:03:56 -0400
Hi -
The SF Composers Chamber Orchestra has a concert coming up, Oct. 14 at
the Old First Church in San Francisco. I'll be playing all new music by
various local composers: David Graves, Martha Stoddard, Mark Alburger
and Beeri Moalem. The "headline" piece (in my mind) will be a Cello
concerto by Allan Crossman, called "Flyer." It is a remarkable piece,
originally composed to commemorate the centennial of the Kitty Hawk
flight. Unfortunately, it's for strings only. (Maybe that's fortunate,
as I get to sit and listen.)
I'm also taking the opportunity to play some compositions of my own,
this time. I'm not sure how it will come off. It's a sort of "test of
concept" performance. I've long been intrigued with the possibility of
the oboe as a solo instrument along the lines of a bansurai (classical
Indian flute). There are lots of obstacles to overcome in order to pull
it off, both technical and aesthetic. I'm going to try two short
improvisations, using differing sythesized backgrounds. One will be
somewhat dark, spacey and slow, using an octatonic scale and
experimenting with pushing the tone color around a bit (hopefully
fitting with the theme of the concert, a "memorial" for ex-planet
Pluto). The other a brighter rhythm based in the Dorian mode, or a
six-note subset. Will try and get into a little hemiola-type rhythms
with the latter, more playful stuff like that.
It's a bit nerve-wracking, thinking about how to structure these
pieces. "Just play," might be the best approach. I'm thinking about
things like how perhaps an improv is like taking people with you on a
journey. Or, it can kind of become a game of crack-the-whip, where I'd
like to find a middle ground, avoiding what will lose people by being
too much or too little. Things won't get TOO fast, as I have to stay
within my technical means.
To be on the safe side, the pieces will be kept short (3-4 minutes
max?). No 20-minute "ragas" will be attempted. Wish me luck!
Phil Freihofner
Albany, CA
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