The Musician's Diet

It looks like I've started a tradition to write about music every Thursday, and rightfully so. Thursdays are the weekly college card days...and what exactly is a college card you ask? Well, anyone with a valid college ID can get one for free...you go to the box office the week of the concert, and pick up your free ticket. Seats range from being in the very back of the hall under the balcony overhang, to way up in the nosebleed section of the second balcony, to the second row from the front, which is where our seats were:                   (and check out that organ!)

Our awesome seats at Symphony Hall

The symphony was spectacular...and it was my first time hearing everything on the program! Usually I go because "OMG they're playing (insert favorite badass symphony like Rite of Spring, Mahler 5, Tchaik 5, Bartok Concerto for Orchestra...the list goes on)". And it's healthy to get a dose of new music, because how would we ever expand our artistry? It's nice to hear great music, in fact, when I got to the concert, I truthfully didn't really know what was going to be on the program besides Sibelius 6, however like my boyfriend said on our way back "Does it really matter what they're playing? It's one of the top orchestras in the country, and we get to see it for free!" As a musician, it's so, so valuable to see concerts like these, and there's always something to learn, even if you know the music like the back of your hand.
 First we got a little taste of Sibelius with the talented Dawn Upshaw. Give a listen:

The piano!

Next, we were treated to two piano pieces. Kirill Gerstein, was the talented Russian soloist who was a treat to hear and see...being this close to the piano we could see every note he played, with super solid technique. The first piece was written by Thomas Adès, called In Seven Days, who also happened to be the conductor...which you don't see very often. I read in the program notes that it can also be performed with a film, which wasn't used, but I found a short excerpt of it on youtube, along with the composer and the film maker sharing their thoughts:

The pianist was also playing off of an ipad like gizmo, which was wireless and showed the music. It's typical that solo pianists play memorized, but since it was a very new piece, it's acceptable to use the music. From what I could see from my amazing seat, was that he had the entire score in front of him, with all the other parts so he could clearly see where he came in. But how does one turn the "page" in this scenario? Well, there was a little wireless foot pedal near the three pedals at the bottom of the piano, when it was time to turn the page, he would just hover his toe over the pedal, and push the button and the page would turn. This of course takes some coordination, but it's all part of practicing!
He then played the first piano concerto by Prokofiev (memorized), which is a mere movement long, but it is one loaded movement. The clip I found of the concerto is actually similar to what Gerstein would have seen in the Ades:

Fun, right? And then we heard Sibelius Symphony No. 6:

I think it's pretty clear that Sibelius loved the French Horn...good choice.
I don't know what was most interesting...watching the sweat beads roll down the conductor's face, watching the pianist's nimble fingers roll over the keys, or being so close that I could read the first violin part. Being a conductor is a lot harder than one would think. To the non-musician, he's just a guy with a fancy coat with tails waving his arms in front of a bunch of musicians...you would be wrong. One of my earliest childhood memories was watching my dad conduct his orchestra. In my little girl mind I thought all the music was coming from the baton he was holding, and that the orchestra was just there to help...of course soon enough I found out that was untrue.
The conductor needs to have the score basically memorized, every part and every note, and uses the music in front of him as a guide, or a road map. He needs to know where he wants the phrases to go ahead of time, where he wants to take time, and how to make the orchestra follow him. He needs to emote what the music should show on his face and through his motions. With his right hand he keeps the tempo, and with his left hand he cues, shapes, and phrases. He basically forms the music with his hands like clay, and the orchestra follows him by interpreting what they see. 

So close we could almost touch their shiny shoes!

After seeing this amazing concert and hearing some really amazing music (like you just have!...if you had the opportunity to click on my links :P) I feel...healthy. It's like going to the gym...for your ears! It's all the musical nutrition I was missing for the day. I got my vitamins of new music with In Seven Days and my Prokofiev anti-oxidants, and my Sibelius protein. 

It's the same way with practicing, you need three meals a day right? So, think about that while you're practicing:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I think long tones! A great way to start an awesome practice session. 

Lunch is a smaller meal that you need to have in the middle of the day to sustain yourself, a re-fueling almost, which I like to think of as scale/arpeggio time!

Dinner is most often the largest most flavorful meal of the day, so I think of the pieces I need to practice the most...orchestral excerpts. I spend most of my time these days on excerpts, since that's what you need to audition for orchestras and bands and such.

Dessert? The fun things...repertoire! Sonatas, concertos, chamber music, playing in orchestra...all of thee above. 

So those are my musical thoughts of the evening. Hope you enjoyed the samples of music I left for you, and please feel free to comment!