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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000044.txt from 2007/05
From: jimkatz@-----.ca
Subj: [DR-L] re: What time's the next Swan?
Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 07:47:04 -0400
This should be an essay in your next book. Great writing - I really feel
like I was there. This is not necessarily a good feeling....;)
Jim Katz
Montreal
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 19:37:19 -0300
> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
> From: "HAROLD" <harold@-----.br>
> Subject: What time's the next Swan?
> Message-ID: <008401c7902f$1c65e150$3b2935c9@usuario>
>
> Dear David,Jerry and the List:
> I have just performed my second Swan in this lifetime(the first being the
> Swan Lake of Tsch) and would recommend that everyone who plays oboe/EH go
> through this experience at least once in this musical lifetime.My opinion
> of
> Sibeliuses music goes up higher and higher with every year as I get
> older.Mozart and Gershwin were my beloveds in my teens,Brahms and Schumann
> in my 20s,Mahler in my 30s ,Villa Lobos and Rachmaninoff in my 40s
> ,Stravinsky never,etc and as we go to "senior citizen :Sibelius.
> Unfortunately back at Music and Art High School--my alma mater--I was
> subjected by a tyrannical conductor to rehearsing not only Beethoven's 5th
> but one of Sibeliuses more mundane(in my opinion) works:Finlandia for one
> whole year,five times a week!
> This abundance of Sibelius(and Beethoven) gave me the wrong idea about one
> of the greatest composers of the 20th century.
> The Swan and the Symponies of this great Finnish master hit something in
> my
> gut and heart.
> But I must warn "beginners"(like myself until today) to Sibeliuses
> "Swan"that living and performing it for almost two weeks is a very
> difficult
> and trying experience because the Swan is so sad,depressive(in
> Scandinavian
> suicidial style),etc. I liken playing Sibeliuses Swan to an actor reciting
> Hamlet. My temperament tries to be on the sunny side and this great work
> has
> an effect.
> But it is so lovely for an EH to play with strings.Wonder if the work
> has
> ever been tried on the bassoon with strings(the arrangement says it can be
> played by Eb alto sax or tp)?
> For what I have learned here are my tips: (1)Get the piano reduction and
> play from it.(Better memorize the piece and play it by heart!)
> (2)Despite my own esteemed teacher's advice to "sit down,"I performed the
> work standing ,nearby(on the side) of the conductor(a blonde Brazilian who
> looks like a Viking descendant).I tried sitting in the orchestra and
> sitting
> in front of the orchestrato play my Swan but came to the
> conclusion--thank
> you Delmar for the suggestion--that for ME and my breathing and the
> sound(everyone agreed) best was playing in front of the
> orchestra,standing.
> (3)Practice
> at
> home with the recording. This might be the most important moment of your
> double reed career (and my first solo in front on the orch. on EH) but
> it's
> only a small part of the program.(Our concert included the Sibeliuses 1st
> and a Brazilian piano concerto). Nevertheless I did manage to get in five
> short rehearsals with the last one being this morning at 9:30am prior to
> our
> 10":30am concert(German tradition:Sunday morning concert before lunch).
> (4)Carry that
> drying out spray can in your pocket and spritz the G key before going out
> and bore. (We use heavy air conditioning and fortunately nothing gurgled
> but
> the F# was getting wet by the end via water in the E key). English horns
> also have other problems which are worrisome:will the reed fall off the
> bocal, if I have to take apart the EH to clean it ,where will I put
> it,will
> I lose my bocal,etc?
> (5)Have 3-5
> reeds prepared(I like both the Chudnow silver and gold eh tubes) and use
> what is most comfy on the day of the concert
> (6)The
> triplets --the Swan's wings(?)--are not to be rush but played slowly and
> calmly.(A member of the audience actually told me she saw a swan as I
> played!)The high Bs,As and Cs are written ff but really it might be better
> to hit them lightly and crescendo into them.Vibrato should be controlled
> or
> otherwise you might sound like an old goat instead of a Swan!
> (7)Courage,a
> good yoga lesson,a tranquillizer or Rescue drops or whatever you use
> from
> Beta blockers to passion fruit juice(maracuja in Brazil) and tranquility
> are
> most important in the world for this work. Accustomed to playing oboe
> concertos where technique is always the most important item, playing the
> slow Swan is really a challenge.
> Well there goes one Swan! What time 's the
> next Swan?
>
> Rgds,
>
> Harold Emert
> Rio-Brazil
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