What's a Cadenza?!

nprmusic: Watch the young violinist Nicola Benedretti spin out...

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:23:26 -0400

Watch the young violinist Nicola Benedretti spin out music by John Williams and Bach in sweet and soulful tendrils of sound at the Tiny Desk.

Yeah that’s not her last name.

Tonight I had the coolest job: Principal Trumpet Robert Sullivan...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:50:57 -0400

Tonight I had the coolest job: Principal Trumpet Robert Sullivan had to play an off-stage trumpet call and needed someone to open the door for him (first half-way, while he faced away to make it sound distant; then fully, to sound as though “the cavalry is coming”).

Love this job.

"I was surprised when I first got here about what a prominent role the arts play. […] To..."

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:39:03 -0400

“I was surprised when I first got here about what a prominent role the arts play. […] To actually see a city that is focusing on the arts and making it a major role in the development of their children, it’s amazing.”

- A conversation with Branford Marsalis | Arts in Focus

Jazz legend Branford Marsalis… talking about Cincinnati!

Photo

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:54:36 -0400

Always something different around Music Hall.

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:53:35 -0400

Always something different around Music Hall.

Did you know...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:31:44 -0500

…that slot machines at a casino are tuned to the key of C? This is apparently the happiest key, and all together can sound “like a choir of angels.”

The things one learns in the hallways around here…

When a bass player stops by your office and says you should pop...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:16:02 -0500

When a bass player stops by your office and says you should pop by the Shostakovich rehearsal— well, you GO.

And you sit on the bass side of the hall.

"The E-string is like sunshine, and the G-string at the bottom has velvety warmth."

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:01:00 -0500

“The E-string is like sunshine, and the G-string at the bottom has velvety warmth.”

- CSO concertmaster Lees enjoys short time with rare violin | Cincinnati.com

Tim Lees has a two-week loan of a rare Stradivarius. Watch the video, it’s great.

It’s Subscriber Appreciation Time! Each subscriber gets a...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:22:52 -0500

It’s Subscriber Appreciation Time! Each subscriber gets a card on their seat with a note from one of our musicians.

And these cards don’t just magically appear on the seats, of course! The marketing team (and other staff members) have placed over 4,000 cards by hand this season. (That little blob of pink at the far left is Katie!)

Because we appreciate our subscribers. Duh.

Did you know...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:49:06 -0500

…that female cellists used to play “side-saddle” because they weren’t allowed to put the cello between their legs?

Here’s a much better photo of Ruth Rosevear, whom I...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:13:51 -0500

Here’s a much better photo of Ruth Rosevear, whom I mentioned this morning. She’s holding a commemorative miniature cello, signed by the CSO.

Not the best picture in the world, but this morning the...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:11:45 -0500

Not the best picture in the world, but this morning the CSO’s President, Trey Devey, introduced Ruth Rosevear to the orchestra. Ruth has been subscribing for 75 years and has recently endowed Alan Rafferty’s chair.

Ruth, a cellist, still practices several times a week— at age 98.

Trombone Alpine Skiing (by Explosean) Something lovely for your...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:35:57 -0500

Trombone Alpine Skiing (by Explosean)

Something lovely for your Monday morning… and only 20 seconds long.

Thanks to my colleague Jared!

"Chance," not improvisation

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:01:43 -0500

Also on this weekend’s program: Lutosławski’s Piano Concerto.

There are plenty of things you can say about this piece, but there’s the coolest thing I learned: there are sections of this and other work by Lutosławski that he refers to as “chance”— they are not conducted, and each musician “performs his part as if playing alone and not coordinated with the other performers.”

According to the composer, “This gives quite specific results, ‘flexible’ textures of rich, wayward rhythms, impossible to achieve in any other way.”

Cool.

"Leading without a score, the conductor captured [Brahms’ Second Symphony’s] radiant..."

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:59:00 -0500

“Leading without a score, the conductor captured [Brahms’ Second Symphony’s] radiant pastoral atmosphere, with lightness in the strings and warmly sounding horns.”

- Review: Järvi is back, CSO’s Brahms is inspired | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com

Something I learned this week: Brahms would have hated you referring to this piece— or any of his works— as pastoral.

From our program notes:

“Brahms, who did not believe in program music, would never have called a symphony Pastoral and he would no doubt be annoyed with commentators who find the D Major Symphony reflections on the peaceful countryside in which it was conceived. But there is no denying that, if any of Brahms’ symphonies deserve to be through of as pastoral, this is the one.”

Tonight, after the Brahms Symphony No. 2 concert, I got to...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:11:31 -0500

Tonight, after the Brahms Symphony No. 2 concert, I got to introduce conductor Paavo Järvi to two fellow Estonians.

It was a very cool experience. They started babbling in Estonian and Paavo seemed genuinely surprised. The Järvi fellas are *legends* in Estonia, so Raido and Ullar were thrilled to meet him in person.

I love my job!

My mom is very, very excited about Paavo Järvi’s...

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:53:49 -0500

My mom is very, very excited about Paavo Järvi’s appearance this weekend.

laughingsquid: Trombone Playing As Seen From GoPro Camera...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:05:43 -0500

laughingsquid:

Trombone Playing As Seen From GoPro Camera Mounted on the Slide

Ha.

This is fascinating to watch.

artswave: We were thrilled to attend the surprise Pop Up...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:01:54 -0500

artswave:

We were thrilled to attend the surprise Pop Up Performance with Branford Marsalis today in the Westin Atrium. Along with Julie Spangler, the sax performance thrilled passersby.

Dubbed “An American Mosaic,” the concerts are geared towards

students in grades 5-8 and explore the impact of jazz, popular song, folk tunes and hymns on orchestra music in the United States.

The concerts are part of a week-long residency that Marsalis will spend with the CSO as this season’s creative director of the Ascent Series.

Last night, Branford Marsalis spoke with CSO Encore, our YP...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 10:01:17 -0500

Last night, Branford Marsalis spoke with CSO Encore, our YP group. A fantastic evening— that guy is so authentic (and rather bawdy).

And I hosted it at my home! Bonus!