Around this time of year at Orchestra Hall, while Sommerfest audiences are spending their intermission break sipping wine, strolling Peavey Plaza, or conversing on any number of high-minded topics, the best place to find about half our orchestra’s musicians is … Continue reading →
…for the rehearsal for the Piano-e-competition on Thursday afternoon. The kid were great – all poised and prepared, a few quite exceptional – but the kicker was when the orchestra finished with the concertos and went to work on Tchaikovsky’s … Continue reading →
As you probably know if you’re reading this blog, we’re kicking off the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest this weekend, beginning as usual with the massive, day-and-night-long Day of Music. Considering how many thousands of people this event draws every year, it’s … Continue reading →
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf5szwz6Qzc] A video of ASIMO conducting the Detroit Symphony in May (coincidentally enough, the week after I conducted the DSO). I confess that I found the fluidity in the motion rather extraordinary (he’s quite a piece of engineering!!). I’ve been … Continue reading →
As a general rule, musicians tend to be suspicious of marketers, agents, and other PR types. It’s not that we think we can do without their services, of course, but we’re taught from the first time we pick up an … Continue reading →
The Orchestra has just finished up a week of outdoor concerts all over the place, from Hudson, WI to Winona and Plymouth MN, playing the usual July 4th fare – Sousa marches, classics “lite” (think “Toreadors” from Carmen), John Williams … Continue reading →
I’m spending today and tomorrow making the long drive back to Minneapolis from the East Coast, and at the moment, I’ve stopped for coffee and a nostalgic look around at my old college town of Oberlin, Ohio. From what I’ve … Continue reading →
