Monthly Archives: June 2009

Exit Interview, Part 4

Posted on
Jun 11 2009
 by Sam Bergman

In the final part of my talk with Jorja, we spend some time discussing the serious matter of one of the most frequently gossiped-about aspects of our concertmaster’s public persona. Also, we find out what musician in the Minnesota Orchestra … Continue reading →

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Exit Interview, Part 3

Posted on
Jun 10 2009
 by Sam Bergman

Our audiences have known for years not to expect the expected from our concertmaster, and as my conversation with Jorja continues, I ask her when and how she decided to focus her solo and chamber music opportunities on repertoire that … Continue reading →

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Exit Interview, Part 2

Posted on
Jun 9 2009
 by Sam Bergman

As my conversation with Jorja Fleezanis continues, we get into the issue of how an orchestra’s sound and personality change over time. Jorja also talks about how unhappy she was in her first orchestral job (in a very prominent American … Continue reading →

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Exit Interview: Jorja Fleezanis (Part 1 of 4)

Posted on
Jun 8 2009
 by Sam Bergman

It seems like a long time since our esteemed concertmaster announced, back in September, that she’d be leaving us at the end of this season after twenty years in the first chair. Jorja and her husband, musicologist and author Michael … Continue reading →

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The Best Medicine

Posted on
Jun 3 2009
 by Sam Bergman

When you spend your professional life immersed in some of the most complex music ever written day in and day out, the way orchestra players do, it can sometimes be hard to remember the simple power that music has to … Continue reading →

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Not too cool to care

Posted on
Jun 1 2009
 by Sarah

One of the few pleasures of travel these days is that the endless flight delays at least afford me the luxury of catching up on my reading. At the top of the stack this afternoon is the most current edition … Continue reading →

Posted in composers, orchestra culture, philosophical musings | 3 Comments

Speaking of Faith (From the Keyboard)

Posted on
Jun 1 2009
 by Sam Bergman

Pianist Stephen Hough, who’s been dazzling our audiences lately (and will be doing so again this week, as we work on a continuing project to record all of Tchaikovsky’s piano concertos live in concert for a CD set to be … Continue reading →

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