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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000091.txt from 2007/10

From: herb fawcett <herbgosia@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Play loud ...and louder! Bruno Labate?
Date: Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:19:56 -0400

An apocryphal tale of the guest conductor asking Labate for another A. His
response supposedly - "I gave you the A that I am paid for; do you want to
buy another?"
I don't know...
Herb

On 10/4/07 10:52 AM, "Dan Duncan" <danjduncan@-----.com> wrote:

> I must have missed something. I couldn't find ANYTHING in the
> attached posts about Bruno.
>
> Dan
>
> On Oct 4, 2007, at 1:34 PM, herb fawcett wrote:
>
>> Wonderful story about Bruno Labate and the NY Phil A.
>> Herb
>>
>>
>> On 10/4/07 10:10 AM, "Miriam Williams" <mwquacker@-----.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Why not just use an electronic sound generator of some kind at
>>> rehearsals?
>>> This could easily be turned up loudly enough so everyone could
>>> hear it.
>>>
>>> Also, don't violinists use electronic tuners as a matter of
>>> course. It seems
>>> to me to be a sort of outdated practice to rely on the oboe,
>>> although to
>>> keep the tradition of making sure everyone is tuned properly just
>>> prior to
>>> the downbeat would be reasonable.
>>>
>>> I agree, it can be tiring to hold out 3 A's - how long *should* it
>>> be held?
>>> A gripe I have is that others (especially choristers) who are not
>>> silent
>>> when the A is called for. Apologies if this has been addressed
>>> already. I
>>> have not read the previous posts & decided to just jump in here.
>>>
>>> My $0.02,
>>> Miriam
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Philip McKenzie" <philclimb1@-----.com>
>>> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 11:56 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [DR-L] Play loud ...and louder!
>>>
>>>
>>> When we start the concert, the concertmaster asks for 3 A's; winds,
>>> violas/cello/bass, violins. After intermission, 2 A's: winds,
>>> strings. If
>>> we tune in the middle of a longer piece, it's one A. Rehearsals and
>>> concerts are done the same way.
>>>
>>> I'm playing those three As for a very long time each time. Too
>>> long. And
>>> the tuning needs to be fairly loud. It's a self-perpetuating
>>> issue. If one
>>> person plays loud to hear himself, the next person has to play
>>> louder also.
>>> And on and on.
>>>
>>> In the land of amaters in which I happily reside, what would be
>>> ideal? 2
>>> A's briefly played?
>>>
>>> And how to ratchet it back? Do I e-mail the conductor and
>>> concertmaster to
>>> get their takes on whether it's actually a problem and what to do
>>> about it?
>>> If there is an agreed upon problem, do we say something at the next
>>> rehearsal. Should I do the whining? Should the concertmaster
>>> suggest?
>>> Should the conductor require?
>>>
>>> Recently it's been mentioned on this list that an A called the
>>> Philadelphia
>>> Orchestra back after breaks back in the day. Would a backstage A
>>> be a
>>> reasonable addition to our protocol? Or a strikable A bar so any
>>> individual
>>> could tune in advance of coming on the stage so the orchestra
>>> tuning is a
>>> confirmation rather than an adjustment exercise?
>>>
>>> Phil
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>> From: herb fawcett <herbgosia@-----.net>
>>> To: "doublereed@-----.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, October 4, 2007 11:26:10 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [DR-L] Play loud ...and louder!
>>>
>>>
>>> One very important aspect of tuning is to play only the A. The varied
>>> harmonics of other notes interfere with hearing any beat, which
>>> after all
>>> the ultimate criterion of being "in tune" with the reference pitch.
>>> The moving intonation as notes change function in the harmony etc.
>>> is best
>>> attended to by the attitude among players of "be here NOW" so the
>>> needed
>>> small adjustments are always in their awareness. Democracy is
>>> important even
>>> in orchestral pitch. Leave the dictator on the podium where he
>>> cannot mess
>>> up the pitch too much.
>>> Herb
>>>
>>>
>>> On 10/4/07 8:52 AM, "David Lurie" <klingsor@-----.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> At 11:02 AM 10/4/2007, you wrote:
>>>>> Read about the loudest tuning note in oboe history on my blog:
>>>>> http://oneflute1oboe.livejournal.com/
>>>>>
>>>>> ~Angela
>>>>
>>>> I read what you wrote there, which I will quote as follows:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> For the Orange County Symphony, I refuse to give A while people are
>>>> practicing/warming up/talking/wandering around/etc. The
>>>> concertmaster
>>>> stands up, things settle down, and *then* I play.
>>>>
>>>> At tonight's random gig, however, I was expected to give A while
>>>> people were practicing. I waited... and waited... and the
>>>> concertmaster grew impatient. With ME. So I proceeded to give the
>>>> loudest freaking A that you have ever heard.
>>>>
>>>> That seems to me to be silly as well as amateurish in the extreme.
>>>> This concertmaster obviously does not know how to perform the tuning
>>>> job. In a professional orchestra, the concertmaster stands up if
>>>> everyone does not quiet down immediately, taps his bow on the stand
>>>> until everyone stops playing. then you play the tuning A. Also you
>>>> should play the A softly, not loud, so that everyone will have to
>>>> exert themselves just a little to hear it, and then not play too
>>>> loud.
>>>>
>>>> Yes, I realize that tuning is pointless. Everyone is just going to
>>>> play sharp no matter what. But if we're going to pretend to do it,
>>>> then we should pretend to have a go at doing it right, with everyone
>>>> pretending to listen to the reference pitch.
>>>>
>>>> I can perhaps be called a snob, like you, but tuning is not
>>>> pointless
>>>> if the group is serious. Obviously, the group you play in is NOT
>>>> serious about it, so I can understand your attitude. But a serious
>>>> group, will take tuning seriously. That the pitch rises is
>>>> inevitable, no matter what group it is. But then there is no problem
>>>> as long as it is held under control and the orchestra re-tunes often
>>>> enough. That is a job for the conductor and/or the concertmaster. If
>>>> they goof folks don't; know enough about how to do it, then perhaps
>>>> you should start to educate them by initiating discussions
>>>> concerning
>>>> these matters.
>>>>
>>>> David
>>>> /oboe snob
>>>> <http://oneflute1oboe.livejournal.com/187465.html>Link
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>
> Dan Duncan
> 9012 S Normandy Ln
> Dayton, OH 45458
> 937-350-7133
> 937-672-3662, cell
> danjduncan@-----.com
>
>
>
>
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