One last thing about wine glasses. SLSO artistic vp Jeremy Geffen told me backstage at Carnegie Hall this afternoon that he went out and auditioned the wine glasses at Crate and Barrel for Cassandre. It was an arduous process, but one that proved worthy of the task. And C & B wine glasses had a Zankel Hall debut.
I have been privileged with a stage-eye view of Carnegie Hall. A six-tiered wedding cake, which tonight will house Principal Trumpet Susan Slaughter at the very tip top for Transmigration.
She is greeted backstage by David Robertson with, "I hope you're not afraid of heights." We looked up, up, and finally spot the music stand placed near the roof where she will be positioned. Susan doesn't flinch.
When I enter through the stage door, I see Principal Trombone Tim Myers sequestered in a corner warming up between two double-bass trunks. His trombone mate Stephen Lange appears with two instruments in his hands. I ask if he is playing both for tonight's program. "American horn for the Adams, German horn for the German Requiem. You couldn't do it any other way."
Backstage is an especially busy place today. Percussionist Henry Claude asks Mike Lynch, "Any wa wa back here?"
"I think we've got some wa wa."
Bassist Sarah Hogan leaves the stage area to tune. The stage with full orchestra becomes a very noise place, and string players especially take their leave to get a better listen.
Bassist Chris Carson asks Mike about the logistics of post-Adams positioning. Chorus and children's chorus need to leave the stage, and then somehow the basses need to cross to be in position for the Brahms after intermission. Mike arrives at a plan, and Chris thinks it's a pretty good one.
Keyboardist Barbara Liberman arrives with a bouquet of Easter lilies for the crew. The children's choir arrives in bright red polo shirts.
I take a last look before the closed rehearsal, and see Susan at the top of the house, a lonely horn sentinel.
My next post will be from St. Louis. A bit of a recap or whatever I have the energy for. Good night from New York.
