What's a Cadenza?!

In the summer, between CSO and Pops seasons, Music Hall is home to the Cincinnati Opera. Suddenly our hallways are filling up with costumes for Pagliacci. 

Sometimes, in the middle of a meeting, the Pops conductor just shows up to snag a piece of chocolate and ask about sales figures.

(via mozartismyhomeboy)

Goodbye, Maurice Sendak. 

“When Mozart is playing in my room, I am in conjunction with something I can’t explain. […] I don’t need to. I know that if there’s a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.” —Sendak

Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Ravel) - Wikipedia

Okay, this is fascinating!

Taj, one of our marketing interns— who is studying at CCM— just pointed me toward this piece by Ravel, written for an Austrian pianist who lost his right arm during World War I. 

INTERN: What are you listening to? 
ME: Guh. I’m not sure.
INTERN: It sounds so familiar!
ME: I’m just streaming random pieces that we’re performing next season.
INTERN: I just can’t place it…
ME: I’m not sure what this is, let me check. Uh… looks like it’s… Britten? 
INTERN: Oh, of course. The Britten. 

We’ve been knitbombed sort of!

Watching a few minutes of the last rehearsal of the CSO season.

Listening to Lang Lang rehearse!

Took a quick tour of the CSO Library this afternoon. A few things I learned: 

• Outside of our endowment, the library is the CSO’s most valuable asset. 
   
• The library is insured at $6.2 million. 
   
• While the librarians are working on gathering their data in a relational database, much of the information about the history of the pieces is still found in a hand-written card catalogue. 
   
• The librarians are in the musicians’ union and are considered orchestra staff.