I don’t participate in fantasy sports leagues because I fear if I do my life would no longer be my own. But I’m often near people who do, such as the computer guys down the hall who’ve been talking up their draftees this morning. “I got Bulger,” and such.
The denizens of the seventh floor arrived Monday morning to discover that the air conditioning wasn’t working (worked on sixth floor, worked on eighth floor, hot on seven). Since seven is the floor where the computer gizmos are housed, all the computers were down as well.
As the chandeliers rise back to their perch over the Wightman Grand Foyer today, all newly cleansed and bright, I’ve been transcribing the interview I did with Leif Ove Andsnes a week or so ago. We’ll be getting it up on the website next week (maybe). The brilliant Norwegian pianist plays Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, K. 453 on Opening Weekend. And yes, single tickets are on sale now.
The August 21 issue of The New Yorker includes a feature by Pulitzer-Prize winning critic Justin Davidson on the art of conducting. Davidson focuses on contemporary maestro Robert Spano, Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony. Spano leads the SLSO in concerts at Powell April 27-29 on a program of Kaija Saariaho (one of those extraordinarily musical Finns) Orion, Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini played by Orli Shaham, and Sibelius (the paterfamilias of all those enormously talented musical Finns) Symphony No. 1.
The SLSO is in its cleaning and upkeep phase as the opening of the season is imminent. The hole that appeared near the stage door has been repaired, so no chance of disappearing bass players.
I ran into SLSO violinist Nicolae Bica in the Central West End this weekend. He went back home to Rumania this summer to spend time with family. His return to the U.S. included the heightened restrictions on travel through London. A violin is not something you want to transport as cargo, so after some intense negotiations, Nicolae was allowed to carry his violin aboard, but not its case. Nicolae flying across the Atlantic, violin in hand: something Chagall might have painted, without the plane.
Exclusive shots of the 2006-07 Season banner being installed on the northwest corner of Powell Symphony Hall. I know Josh Riggs (one of the Henchmen) is one of the guys up on the scaffold. That’s David Robertson on the banner.
I arrived this morning to find Mike Lynch (stage manager, leader of the Henchmen), putting yellow caution tape around a fresh divot in the asphalt at the stage entrance to Powell Hall. An impressive indentation into the ground it was.
If you’ve been paying attention to the recent science news, you know that there is an ongoing debate over what is and isn’t a planet. Does Pluto still rank? And if Pluto remains at No. 9, shouldn’t Ceres – a big asteroid way out there – get in? And what about Pluto’s moon, Charon, does it deserve a shot?
Daniel Wakin of the New York Times reports the catastrophes that have befallen touring orchestras in the wake of the recent red alert in England. Forget about shampoo, what do you do with your carry-on cello? The Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras are “scrambling to cope with the new rules,” as is the Pittsburgh Symphony, which also has to deal with the cancellation of its conductor, Andrew Davis, due to illness. Leonard Slatkin is filling in on short notice for the Pittsburgh team.
Overheard this morning on the seventh floor at approximately 8:50am: “In 10 minutes my whole life is about to come unglued.”
Did I mention recently that we have a season starting soon?
I was talking to Darwyn Apple the other day. Darwyn has been a member of the SLSO first-violin section since 1971. We revisited a conversation we had some time ago about auditioning, and how some conductors were notorious for requesting musicians to play only a few brief passages before selecting a new hire.
The American composer Steve Reich is the subject of numerous and well-deserved celebrations this season as he reaches his three score and 10. When I first heard that Reich was turning 70 this year I was surprised. In my mind, this minimalist pioneer was still a young maverick. He works with all the cool cats: Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can, Pat Matheny, the SLSO. If there’s a contemporary artist who has managed to keep his or her work fresh and alive over the long haul of life and career, my short list would include Paul Taylor, Louise Bourgeois, Philip Roth, Ingmar Bergman and Steve Reich.
When you sit in the plane for three hours waiting for the storms to dissipate over Baltimore, you read just about everything. My wife picked up a People because for three hours on the tarmac it reads like candy. Afterward, she presented me with this factoid that she came across, not quite worth the whole experience, but good enough to post.
Playbill sends a production schedule. Program notes author Paul Schiavo sends the Opening Weekend notes for editing. Leif Ove Andsnes’ publicist sets up a phone interview with the terrific Norwegian pianist, which will appear on slso.org.
Is there a season on the horizon or what?
I will be away on vacation until Tuesday, August 8. I’m following the heat wave out East because I just can’t get enough of it. Until then…
