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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000014.txt from 2008/05
From: "HAROLD" <harold@-----.br>
Subj: [DR-L] On-stage warmups
Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 12:18:10 -0400
so that's where it started!When I played/worked in Germany and played in
Spain, and toured Euorpe with Israel Phil we didn't have this
policy!Progress???
I'm staging my own boycott--if they want to take me out with an armed guard
so be it!
Many thanks
Harold
----- Original Message -----
From: "mzeztee" <mzeztee@-----.edu>
To: <doublereed@-----.org>
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 1:01 PM
Subject: Re: [DR-L] On-stage warmups
> Hey Harold,
>
> A collegue of mine toured Europe with an American chamber orchestra.
> They started out coming on the stage as they usually did at home. About
> half way through the tour, they were told by management that they had to
> proceed the "European" way i.e. warm up back stage, come on to the stage
> as a group and no warm-up then until the "official" tuning.
>
> It makes NO sense and I think detrimental to the quality of the
> performance.
>
> I didn't have this experience when I played for a year in orchestras in
> Salzburg.
>
> more than 2 cents. . .
>
> B
>
> On 4/28/2008 1:00 PM, HAROLD wrote:
>> Hi David
>> Thanks for that...courage is needed.Spoke yesterday to the
>> Maestrina(woman conductor ) about this problem and she has now allowed
>> the oboes and bassoons and maybe even clars to come onstage prior to the
>> others entering.
>> Maybe we should stage an around the world protest onstage by double reed
>> players who will only be removed from warming up by helmeted police armed
>> with machine guns?
>> If I could only buy all these idiots who think musicians are actors an
>> airticket to watch and hear the NYPhil, they would all change their minds
>> quickly. There are actually audience goers--like myself--who arrive early
>> at their seat to watch and enjoy watching musicians warming up!
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Harold Emert
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Lurie" <> Hi Harold
>>>
>>> This is a subject I am quite familiar with. When I got my current job in
>>> NJ with the Bergen Philharmonic Orch, they used that same practice: the
>>> players would warm up in one room, then on command would all march
>>> single file through a cold corridor in a military manner on to the stage
>>> then take their places in silence, and not play until the concertmaster
>>> arrived and gave the signal to tune. Naturally, at that point the
>>> intonation was horribly screwed up.
>>>
>>> The first time I observed this happening was at a concert of the Moscow
>>> Philharmonic in Rochester, NY, where the musicians marched on stage in
>>> single file, and in a military manner. At the time, I thought, oh well,
>>> what can you expect from an authoritarian and dictatorial society? So I
>>> just forgot about it, until I got into the Bergen orchestra.
>>>
>>> At first, I objected strenuously to that whole procedure, but was told
>>> that it was "the professional way" for an orchestra to enter the stage
>>> and then tune. There was a businessman president of the board of
>>> directors who had instituted the policy, but obviously he knew nothing
>>> about what tuning was all about. This guy insisted that every
>>> professional orchestra does it that way, and therefore he was right
>>> about it, and wouldn't change the policy. When I told him that I had
>>> just attended a NY Philharmonic concert and they didn't do it that way,
>>> he merely grumbled something inaudible, then turned away and ended the
>>> conversation. That was that.
>>>
>>> Luckily, this guy's term of office was up that year, after which I was
>>> able to persuade them to let every one warm up on the stage.
>>>
>>> David
>>>
>>
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>
>
>
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