In the Flow

Music helps me stay "in the flow". Recently I had a disagreeable task - - sorting through three file drawers of piano music, which was in no particular order at all! Luckily I had my new headphones with a very long cord. I listened to music as I worked and it kept me going forward, until - - VOILA! -- it was done!

The Woman and the Young Man (A true story)

The woman sat in the great hall of music in Geneva, as she did every year, watching the international piano competition. The next contestant approached the piano. He was young, about twenty, and rather "dumpy" looking. The woman had no expectations about this unknown young pianist from South America. He certainly didn't look very exciting. Suddenly, he began to play a Rachmaninov Piano Concerto. As soon as his fingers touched the keyboard, the magic happened! The woman felt tingly all over. She was captivated by this young man's playing! Indeed, he won the competition that year. The woman went back stage to greet the young man. Perhaps he was pleased to meet this woman, who eventually became his number one fan.

The young South American went on to begin his concert career, performing all over Europe. The woman often traveled to one of the cities where he was playing to watch his performance. They became personal friends despite the difference in their ages and nationalities. She stands by his side, supporting him with her admiration and affection. Now the young man has become almost middle-aged, with a lovely wife and children. The woman is passing through her 70's, while mourning the death of her beloved husband, seeking solace in the beauty of music and taking pleasure in this remarkable musical friendship.

My First Piano Lesson

Night after night, as I lay in my bed waiting for sleep, I would hear my mother playing the piano. Oh, it was so beautiful! I wanted to learn how to play! I begged her, from the age of 4 or 5, "Please, Mom, please teach me the piano!" "No," she answered. "We must wait until you are 8 years old and you can read very well." I was very sad that I had to wait.

Finally, the day came for my first lesson! I was so excited. Soon I could play like Mom!

Here is a picture of my first piano book, the one Mom put on the piano for me that day.


"Oh, wow", I thought. "This is going to be great", as I saw the proficient mouse playing deftly with two hands!

I opened the book to the first picture. Papa Bear says, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"


And now, for the first page of music. "At last, I will learn to play like Mom!", I thought. I was very excited about this. But, what? Oh no! As my mother showed me how to play the first page, I complained, "NO, MOM! This is not what I want to play! I want to play like you!" She calmly explained that this was the way to start out. Later on, I would learn to play with two hands. What a disappointment! What a little dummy I was!! Hahahaha!

How I Met Some Famous Musicians

One day, I spoke to the famous conductor, Sir Georg Solti, who conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for many years. I had attended an "Open Rehearsal". Arriving early, I was able to sit in a box seat and I had an amazing view of the orchestra. After the rehearsal, I left. As I was leaving, I realized I had left my knit hat in the auditorium. So I scrambled back in there and got it. This time as I left Orchestra Hall I saw Georg Solti, about to get in a limousine, right in front of the Hall. There was no one around at all. I ran over to him and asked him for his autograph. He gave me a very stern look of annoyance, but he scribbled his name on the paper I gave him and flung it back to me without a word.



My next experience was much more pleasant. I met the great cellist and conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich. It was after a concert in which he conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I had been back stage (down in the lower level, where the musicians gather and where the dressing rooms are) for a memorial get-together for our former conductor who had died the previous year. This concert was played in his memory (Perry Crafton, conductor of the Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest and a first violinist with the CSO). I left the gathering with my husband and daughter and we walked down the hall. Suddenly, I saw him: Rostropovich was walking down the narrow hallway, too, accompanied by a young assistant. I ran after him, calling, "Maestro"! He turned around and welcomed me. He signed my program. I looked into his face. He was the very same height as I am! So, short for a man, hahaha! I looked into his very blue eyes and I couldn't believe it! I suddenly thought, "Here I am in front of one of the greatest musicians in the world." And then, and then, and then . . . . . . he kissed me on both cheeks! I'm not making this up! My husband and daughter saw it.

Later, I attended another concert which he conducted, another concert of the CSO. Rostropovich was apparently very pleased with the performance. He went around the entire orchestra, kissing all of them on the cheeks, as he had done to me! What a guy! Very warm!! But, when I saw that, the kisses he gave to me were less remarkable, actually! Hahahaha!

Joza Karas Has Died

Joza Karas, Czech musician who lived in the U.S. since 1958, has died. He was a wonderful violinist and conductor, who lived in Bloomfield, Connecticut, a suburb of Hartford. It was my pleasure to meet Mr. Karas, at his home, because my parents knew him and adored him. Later, I bought his book, "The Music of Terezin", which describes the music-making at a Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovaki during World War II. Mr. Karas researched music written by composers who were held in concentration camps. He discovered over 50 such compositions. He formed a string quartet whose main purpose was to perform works which were composed in the concentration camps.

From the New York Times newspaper of December 6, 2008:

"Joza Karas, a musician and teacher who became a sleuth in his quarter-century search for the music and stories of composers who managed to do masterly work in a Nazi concentration camp, died on Friday in Bloomfield, Conn. He was 82. . . ."

To read more, go here: Article About Joza Karas

Here is another obituary from The Washington Post

One of the works he conducted at the American premiere in 1975 is called "Brundibar", a children's opera in two acts. Later, Mr. Karas conducted a version in Czechoslovakia, which is published as a CD. Originall, in the camp, "Brundibar" was used as a show piece for visiting dignitaries of the Red Cross to show them how wonderful everything was at the camp. However, there was a subversive message in the story: The starving children decided to imitate Brundibar, the organ grinder, in order to get money. But, Brundibar stole the money back. He representated Hitler. In the end, the children were victorious and Brundibar was vanquished.

This is a picture of the children who performed Brundibar at the Nazi camp.

Here is an excerpt from the Brundibar (Act 1 Scene 1)

Merry Christmas!

Here's a new version by the a capella group, "Straight No Chaser":

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Music

It used to be that I just had to hear certain pieces of music every Christmas. These songs were connections to my long ago past, to my childhood, to my teenage years. Some of these pieces included: Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, and so on. This Christmas, however, I haven't sought out any of those things . . . am I getting old? Am I getting "beyond Christmas"?

Watching People's Faces As They Listen to Music

Occasionally, during a musical performance of any kind, I sneak a peek at the faces of the audience. There is a certain look of intense concentration and absorption in the music that can be seen on these faces. It's impossible to tell much by their expressions, but it's easy to see that they have been transported in some way . . .

In Woody Allen's most recent movie, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a man and a woman go out together in the evening. They end up listening to a guitar player. There are extended sequences of shots of their faces as they listen to the music. The music expresses their growing attraction for each other and you can see the emotion on their faces as they listen to the music. For me, it was a memorable scene, unlike any other I have seen in a film.

Listening to the Beatles

This morning, I lay awake in my bed at 6:00 a.m. - - too early to get up, I thought. I turned on my iPod and listened to Magical Mystery Tour. Suddenly, I flashed back to the late 60's, early 70's! It was a world without personal computers, without CDs or iPods. It was a vinyl LP world! It was a world where you sat in your living room with friends who were getting high and you floated downstream on a sonic river filled with glowing images and alternative universes composed of flowers, colors, feelings.

Needless to say, the Beatles introduced us to an "Absurdist Universe" with such songs as I Am the Walrus in which the words and images made no sense at all!

12 Days of Christmas, Screwed Up

Last night, at St. Michael's Church in Chicago's Old Town, we played in a small orchestra for Handel's Messiah (again!). The Chicago Children's Choir performed during the second half of the program. I was brought to tears by the beauty of their singing, of course! And I was brought to laughter by their rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas (a "screwed-up version"^^).

This evening, I went on YouTube and found many videos of this same "screwed-up" song! I couldn't get enough of it, can you? I ended up with "Straight No Chaser" and I found America's answer to the Wise Guys! (And I found out that they had a concert in Chicago 2 days ago, but 2 days ago I didn't know they existed! Such is the irony of life!)

Straight No Chaser's video was removed. However, go to my blog entry "Merry Christmas" to hear their version.


SEE MANY VERSIONS OF "TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS - screwed up" HERE - Each one is a little different!

TIP: These may load slowly, so push "Play", then push "Pause". Watch the red bar fill up somewhat before you push "Play" again, so you can hear it continuously. A little patience pays off here.

Tibet Chant

This evening we watched Kundun, a film about the Dalai Lama's life, directed by Martin Scorsese in 1997. I heard the Tibetan chant in this movie and remembered how fascinated I have always been by this kind of chant.

As I listened to the sound track, I remembered seeing the Tibetan monks make a sand painting at the Field Museum in Chicago, which was later scraped up and placed into a jar (the colors ran together and produced brown sand) which were tossed in the waters of Lake Michigan -- the impermanence of all things.

Listen to this:

Creativity (and hard work)

It's all well and good to be creative, but it takes a lot of hard work to complete a project, such as composing a song and then recording it. The first few takes might be rough so it takes determination and patience to continue working on it to make the best possible version.

In this vein, see my friend's YouTube series of 6 songs, all of which he wrote and recorded: http://www.youtube.com/joakimbertil

Soaring on the Waves of Music

Playing in today's orchestra concert - - soaring melodies of the first vioins - - feeling like part of an ocean wave - - gliding, soaring higher and higher . . .




as we play, plunging down the crest of the wave - - thinking about how we have to feel the music together, how we use all our visual cues and aural cues to soar in unison, as we play in one shining unit to create a beautiful melody.

Christmas Carolers At Our Door

Imagine our surprise when the door bell rang at about 8:30 p.m. this evening - - there was our neighbor, Laura, with her children and some others, singing carols to us in the frosty, snowy evening!

How rewarding to know that an old tradition still lives!

The Sound of the Organ

"He reached the church just before 7 p.m. It was already quite full, but he found a space by one of the side aisles, and watched the people still streaming into the church. . . . .

The sound of the organ shocked him. It was as if the whole church was about to be shattered by the sheer power of the music. Wallander remembered an occasion when, as a child, his father had taken him to a church. The organ music had frightened him so much that he’d burst into tears. Now, recognized something soothing in the music. Bach has no homeland, he thought. His music belongs everywhere. Wallander let the music seep into his consciousness."

From The Dogs of Riga
by Henning Mankell
A Kurt Wallander detective novel

Swedish version: Hundarna i Riga, 1999
English translation 2001

The Gift

It's my pleasure to know a young composer, a singer/pianist/songwriter. Recently, he wondered what to give to his lady for Christmas. It came to him -- a song! This lucky young woman gets a song, composed just for her!

The Voice

A person's singing voice is a very intimate thing. It takes a great deal of confidence for most people to sing in public because it's like exposing something very personal to public view.

In addition, there are cultural differences regarding singing . . in Japan, for example, group singing is very common, whereas in the U.S. it is rare, although group singing was more common in the past, before mp3 players and CDs. And, people from other countries may be less shy about singing in public.

One of the most fundamental things to know about music is that all music can be seen as generated from singing. In other words, instruments are merely extensions of the voice. In fact, in order to play an instrument well, it's necessary to use vocal-like phrases and "breathe" the music.

So, singing in public takes courage, but singing itself is absolutely the most wonderful way to express musical feeling and personal emotions. There is nothing standing in the way . . . the music pours from your heart and mind right out of your throat!

As for me, I have always loved to sing, but my feelings about my own voice have changed throughout the years. As a youngster, I loved to sing. We sang all the time - - at church, at home, at camp, at school, in the car. Eventually, I sang in choral groups at school and at church. My junior high school chorus (under Mrs. Gilmore) and my high school chorus (under Mrs. Kilpatrick) were exceptionally fine groups and I enjoyed them very much. My high school choral teacher even let me conduct the chorus in a concert. I also accompanied the chorus at times on the piano. I didn't have formal training, but I was instructed on how to breathe and to never force the voice. I loved singing! It was more immediate and easier than playing the piano or the violin.

In college, I had many wonderful choral experiences. I sang in the large chorus which performed major works, such as Brahms' Requiem and Handel's Messiah. I was also selected for the small choir that toured throughout the midwest and Eastern U.S., ending up at Carnegie Hall in New York. We sang the Liebeslieder Walzer by Brahms and I developed a fondness for the German language.

The two hardest choral pieces I ever sang were: Bach's B minor Mass and Schoenberg's De Profundis. The latter piece used a 12 tone row, which we had to be able to sing backwards and upside down, etc. It also used "sprechstimme" and it was in Hebrew!

And so, during high school and college, my voice was in great shape for singing lots of choral music, never solos. Finally, I took "Class Voice" and received vocal instruction from an actual voice teacher.

I was never really happy with the way my voice sounded by itself, even though I sang reasonably in tune and clearly. But, as a music teacher in elementary school, I was pleased that I could sing in a very simple, clear way for the children and I felt it was the best example for them. At that point, I was fairly happy with my voice in a classroom setting.

As time went on, as it always does, my voice began to deteriorate, alas. I lost my upper range, which had never been that high anyway. In retirement, I noticed that I was having a few vocal problems. My doctor sent me to a specialist. He stuck a tube down my throat to take pictures of my vocal chords. Ugh! He said there was some evidence of "acid reflux" and "post-nasal" drip and I received medications for those things. Also, he recommended "vocal therapy". I loved my vocal therapy sessions. The therapist helped me develop my breath control and learn how to support my voice and pitch my voice at the proper level. This helped a lot. She advised me not to sing, oh so sorry. Now when I work with students, occasionally, it's all ok except I really can't sing the higher notes at all.

Rhythm

How is a rhythmic sense created?

Musicians know that a sense of rhythm is essential to participation in music. One must feel the beat at all times. To lose the beat is to lose one's place in the music and it all falls apart.

How do people develop a sense of rhythm, a sense of pulse?

In my case, I was lucky enough to have a mother who was an accomplished musician. She felt that "rocking the baby" was essential for developing a a sense of pulse. When my own daughter was born, she immediately purchased a rocking chair for us to use with the baby.

Also, my favorite childhood activity was dancing in the living room while listening to classical music. Of course, repeating poems while nodding, bouncing, clapping, etc. is another important activity.

The most important test of whether a person has a sense of pulse is to play in a group with others.

It simply isn't possible to play music with other people without a sense of pulse. The group must agree on the pulse and feel it together. If it's a rock band, of course the drummer provides the pulse. In an orchestra, the conductor sets the pulse, but it's still up to each musician to feel the pulse, as well. There's no "going back", there's no "wait until I'm ready to play this note" - - you must keep up, even skipping notes or measures and going forward to where the pulse has gone.

The Meaning of Music, part 2

To what extent does a composer's music reflect his or her personality?

First of all, a composer is a product of his times and will compose music in the style of the period. Also, he composes music in the styles with which he is familiar, whether folk-inspired, classical, popular, etc. Beyond that, however, is it possible that an individual composer reveals his basic outlook on life in his music? For example, we hear Mozart's wonderful music as a product of the period, but we also see and understand that he pushed the classical style to its limits and introduced new expressiveness and great artistic inventiveness in his music. In addition, we have external evidence that Mozart was a playful person, for example, and we can find many examples of "playfulness" in his music.

Examining Mahler's music and thinking about the joys and tragedies of his life, we see that, not only did he explore new kinds of expressiveness in his music, but he represented his own personal story in the music. Great joy was juxtaposed with great sorrow, as happened in his own life.

A personal quirk of Mahler's was his use of cowbells to indicate peaceful happiness because, in his own life, he remembered his moments of peace and happiness while in the Alps, listening to the cowbells. (When I heard the cowbells in the Alps, I cried, remembering how many times I had heard the cowbells in Mahler's music, and now I was actually in the Alps!)

My composer/songwriter friend has sent me a draft of a new song. The music starts out slowly, tenderly. Then a warm and lovely melody is presented. After that, the music becomes more intense. Does this represent the composer's thoughts or personality? Does this music tell a story? I think all of this is possible.

The Meaning of Music

On my birthday, my friend took me to see a noon-time performance of the Lar Lubovitch dance company. Their dances were energetic and flowing.

The notes of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto "came to life". Every gesture in the music was represented by a physical gesture. After awhile, I began to think it might be a little too "Disney-esque", but, loving music as I do, I couldn't help but be thrilled by this magnificent interpretation of the meanings and feelings of Mozart's music.

The next piece they danced was Dvorak's Serenade for Strings. This one was so amazing and wonderful. I imagined my granddaughter dancing to this music. Indeed, yesterday, we played that music for her here at home and she danced beautifully to it.

Click the player to hear one of the movements from Dvorak's Serenade for Strings.

The next day, I traveled with two other members of my quartet. We went by car for three hours to the Sinsinawa Mound, where we filled in the orchestra for Handel's Messiah. We arrived in the chapel just in time for the rehearsal. The afternoon sun's rays glowed softly in the beautiful stained glass windows.

As I played the familiar themes of the music, many memories flooded back to me in vivid fashion, memories of singing the Messiah choruses in high school (as I actually visualized the face of my director and my fellow students), memories of learning music under my mother's direction, memories of my high school boy friend and how we used to play piano duets together, memories of college music experiences, memories of being in church and believing in the whole Christian thing. I even thought about my friend in Europe who had a great choral experience when he sang with hundreds of people in a huge auditorium. I realized again how music can be such an intimate, living memory and all it takes is an experience such as playing in an orchestra for Messiah to bring all those memories and feelings to life.

Here is a very lively rendition of "And He Shall Purify". Isn't it fun to watch the notes fly by?

The Bells of Europe

During my recent trip to Europe, I was pleased and moved by hearing bells in every country that I visited. The sound of the bells is one I shall never tire of. It's a sound that evokes the history and mystery of Europe.

There Was No Music In It

During a brief visit to London this past week, I thought it would be fun to attend a live show. As we walked through the theater district, we passed the Queen's Theater where Les Miserables was playing (and had played for decades). We bought tickets for the next evening.

I was ready to enjoy myself and hear some wonderful things, but, alas, there was very little music to be heard at all! I heard a kind of shouting which lacked any musicality. There were a few brief moments, as when the child sang "Cosette's Song" or one number when the Jean Valjean character sang an extended tune in falsetto.

How could there be a musical with no music in it? Perhaps it's the fault of the composers? Perhaps it's because the singers have done it so many times that it's become mechanical? What a disappointment!

The Saddest Piece of Music, Revisited

Our orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, the "Pathétique" Symphony this fall. As noted earlier in this blog, the last movement is one of extreme sadness and tragedy. There were events in Tchaikovsky's life that precipitated this emotional dimension in his composition.

I decided to practice the first violin part. To my amazement, that famous descending melody wasn't even there at the beginning of the movement! "Where is it?", I wondered. "Maybe it's really the second violins playing that melody?"

I went online to see if I could find a score and clear up this mystery. I simply typed in "Tchaikovsky+symphony no. 6+score" and, immediately, I received the pdf file of the complete orchestral score. Looking at the last movement, I found the answer to my question.



The first note of the melody, F#, is played by the second violins. The second note of the melody, E, is played by the first violins.
The third note of the melody, D, is played by the second violins.
The fourth note of the melody, C#, is played by the first violins.
The fifth note of the melody, B, is played by the second violins.
The final note of the melody, C# is played by the first violins.

In this way Tchaikovsky created an aural effect. Reading further on the Internet, I discovered that, in Tchaikovsky's time, the first violins were seated on the left, in front, as they are today and the second violins were seated on the right, in front. So the notes of the melody are passed back and forth between the violin sections.

Here are some further notes about this symphony: http://www.musicweb-international.com/programme_notes/tchaik_sym6.htm

The author of this article states:
Placing the Slow Movement (adagio lamentoso) last was revolutionary, but entirely logical if you're after a really depressing ending. From the flaming heights of triumph or (more logically) hysteria, it is a long, long drop to the depths of despondency. The stifling descent of strings is a dramatic masterstroke. Yet, alarmingly, this famous theme is only a figment of the modern practice of placing first and second violins together. In Tchaikovsky's day, the left/right opposition of first and second violins would have revealed, antiphonally, the intended intertwining of two different strands.

Well, I guess a lot of musicians know about this, but it was new for me and extremely interesting to study!

"She's going to play THAT??"

My friend, Melody, was asked to play the organ at the end of a Mass. Our string quartet also performed at this Mass. The Mass was for two women who became nuns that day. The organ is situated in a beautiful chapel of modern design at a convent for nuns near Dubuque, Iowa. It's a Casavant-Freres organ -- a magnificent instrument.

Melody practiced her music before the mass began. She had chosen a piece by Olivier Messiaen, a composer whose music is often quite loud and dissonant. This music is quite different from what the sisters usually hear in their chapel! One of the sisters of the convent heard Melody practicing and said, "Is she going to play THAT?" So, someone approached Melody and said, "Can you play that a little softer?" Melody answered, "I really wouldn't know how to do that."

So, she played the piece at the end of the Mass, as a Postlude. The remaining audience applauded wildly at the conclusion of the music. I was the page turner for Melody. I simply could not believe the complexity of the written music. It was a mass of tone clusters, sharps, sixteenth notes!! How could Melody play such a difficult piece? Well, she had been playing it since college, so she knew it well, she said.

The name of this music is:

L'ascension: III. Transports De Joie D'une Ame Devant La Gloire Du Christ Qui Set La Sienne

(The Transports of Joy of a Soul Who Faces the Glory of God.)

Here is a YouTube video of this same piece, performed by Olivier Latry at Royal Albert Hall during the BBC Proms 2008 season.



Here is the same piece, as played by the composer, Olivier Messiaen:

Haunted By a Song

This morning I was awakened by a very wonderful experience. It was about 4:30 a.m. As I awoke, I heard a song in my head. I wondered what the song was. Later, around 6:15 a.m., when I finally arose for the day, I thought about that song and I finally realized what it was: Tide of Trepidation by the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, sent to me by my friend in Sweden on the day that Esbjörn Svensson died because of a tragic accident while scuba diving in Stockholm's water ways. Svensson was a wonderful jazz pianist and composer. I remembered that, not only did I hear this tune, I imagined that I saw magnificent pink and purple colors in my half-slumber. I had not heard this tune for several weeks. This was one of life's unexpected delights and extreme pleasures!

Feeling the Music

Last night, my string quartet got together. We started playing at 7:45 p.m. A little later, I glanced at my watch. It was 10:00. We had completely lost track of time, having been so absobed in our playing.

There were powerful, magical moments last evening, as we practiced a Mozart quartet and read through a quartet by Brahms. There were intense moments when we played together and felt the music together. We were wafted into another world on the wings of music. These were only moments, not extended time periods, but they were precious and wonderful!

I thought about my dreams as a young woman in college. I played with a string quartet there and I thought how wonderful it would be if, when I became an adult, I could play in a string quartet, always. My dream has come true!

So Much Music!

The other day, I spent about two hours talking with some young people (early 20's) who I met at a Japanese conversation group. I could barely understand anything because my knowledge of Japanese is quite rudimentary, but I could tell that the young American guy had begun listing his favorite groups, in response to my rudimentary question in Japanese, "What's your favorite music?". Whereas I consider myself "fairly" knowledgeable about pop music, I did not recognize one of his groups! The truth is that there has been an explosion of music in recent years. Many, many new groups have sprung up. And some of these groups are in secret little niches within certain narrow genres. "Indie" music is one such category. Some of the music I enjoy (Josh Woodward, Stereomovers, etc.) are not generally well-known. Then there are the super groups, like Coldplay, Green Day, etc. that everyone knows. As for me, I have become fascinated by lots of older groups, such as Cheap Trick, Crowded House, and Nirvana.

The Amazing Power of the Internet

Recently, I was chatting on Skype with my friend in Europe. We were discussing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. Not only were we talking about how to play the opening chords (as written, they are impossible to play), but I was able to send him a sound file (through Skype) of our orchestra playing this piece. And then he sent me a pdf file of the score! All of this took only a few minutes. I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming about all of this!! Pictures and sounds are immediately accessible over long distances!!

Japanese Podcast

For two years now, I have been listening to a podcast from Japan. The host "Pot-au-feu" (a pseudonym) has been delivering podcasts at regular intervals. His main interests are music and Macs, just like me!
ポッドキャストと音楽とMacな話題を書いたり喋ったり。

I have found out about a lot of cool rock groups from his podcasts. Most recently, it's a group called "Stereomovers" from Canada. I must admit, I can barely understand Pot-au-feu, but I really enjoy trying!
Free download here.

Here is the song, Picture of You, by the Stereomovers.


I learned about "SexRex" from Pot-au-feu's podcast, as well as an Indie guy -- Josh Woodward, who lives in Ohio! Small world, isn't it?

Here's the podcast: My Cup of Tea
Also, you can subscribe to his podcast through iTunes.

Pot-au-feu is also a photograher -- his pictures are beautiful and interesting.

Die Dreigroschenoper

The other night, my husband and I watched "Die Dreigroschenoper", a very old film (1931) based on the musical by the same name. In English, it's "The Threepenny Opera". Bertolt Brecht, the German dramatist and Kurt Weill, the composer, wrote the original "opera", which is really a musical. The style can be described as "jazzy" or "cabaret" style. The mood of the music is sarcastic, biting, cynical, sophisticated and bitter. "Mack the Knife" is the famous song from this work, but all of the songs are wonderful and fun. The characters are thieves and prostitutes and the musical can be seen as social commentary.

I have been fascinated by this music for many years. We were lucky enough to be in New York in 1976 to see The Threepenny Opera performed in New York in Central Park! It was sung in English.


The rather exotic Ute Lemper, a contemporary singer, has sung a number of Weill tunes, including "Mackie Messer" ("Mack the Knife"), heard here. She captures the authentic spirit of the times, especially with the exaggerated, trilled "r"s at the ends of some of the words!



This is the second time I have mentioned the music of Kurt Weill. See my previous blog entry here, with another musical example: Click here.

Anime Obsession

Lately, I have continued watching more and more episodes of Nodame Cantabile. The manga version came first, the live action TV series later. I am watching the anime version, based on the original manga. The story is about Chiaki, a music student who plays violin, piano and conducts. And it's about Noda Megumi, who is a strange little underclassman at the music school, who is a kind of genius at playing the piano

It's fun for me to watch this series because I can listen to the Japanese, a language I am studying, and read the English subtitles. And, of course, the topic is fascinating to me -- performing music -- on piano -- on violin and in the orchestra.




Often the visual images are expressive and illustrate the emotional aspects of the characters in the series. There are 23 episodes, each about 40 minutes long. I have watched about 16 of these so far. The relationship between the characters is interesting. Also, the series explores feelings of performers such as "competition", "performance anxiety","the will to succeed", "being in the out group or the in group" and so on.



Here is a clip featuring Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, a hauntingly beautiful piece. The clip is 10 minutes long.

Blast From the Past

Today I was listening to my favorite radio station, WXRT-FM while I fixed dinner and this song came up: How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths. I didn't really remember the name of that group, but I sure do remember the song. It seemed to come out of that period of David Bowie, Brian Eno and Talking Heads. It was all so stylish and smooth!



It's a little funny, because the original lyrics say, "son and heir", but the video seems to interpret the words as being, "sun and air"!! hahaha!

Playing With An Orchestra

Even though this is not a picture of my orchestra, it might give you the feeling of what it's like to play in an orchestra. It's an amazing experience. Hearing all of the instrumental tone colors and hearing how all our parts fit together as we perform the world's greatest symphonies simply can't be beat. We practice once a week and give 5 or 6 concerts every year between October and May.

Gustav Mahler, Composer

For our concert on Sunday, we are performing Mahler's 5th Symphony, a long and complex work with large numbers of instruments, including 8 French horns, and close to 90 players. There's lots of percussion in this piece -- very dramatic moments for bass drum alone or tympani alone. And some of the lyrical melodies are hauntingly beautiful. It's going to be a great experience (especially if we can play our best and not make too many mistakes!)

Again, not a picture of my orchestra, but try to imagine the sound of 8 French horns at once. It's a powerful sound!

The Thrill of Performance

As to Once on This Island, originally a Broadway musical, which was performed by an elementary school in my town -- we had four performances at the end of March. Each performance was a little different, the last one was definitely the best. Everyone gave their all! I was "on fire" at the keyboard. I played with all my passion and verve! It was exceedingly fun! All of my musical training and musical experiences contributed to my being able to keep on top of all that was going on -- students singing solos, missing whole measures of the song, as I seamlessly kept on as if nothing was wrong! At the end, many parents came to me with compliments. I received a lovely bouquet of flowers. After all the hours and hours of rehearsal, it was definitely worth this final thrill! (See my picture here, NOT!!)

But, here is a photo of the older model Technics keyboard I played. I couldn't really get all the sounds I wanted, but I found a few exotic blends that were fun!

"Kelly and a Bird" by SexRex, with translation

(For more about this, see my blog of February 26)

ケリーと小鳥
Kelly and a bird

満身創痍の男たち　いつまでたっても変わらない
Depressing men -- they have never changed

そんな　逃げ道ばかり
like this -- their only escape

相談・愚痴の女たち　泪に埋もれて動けない
Women who want to get advice and complain -- They can not move the men by covering them with a lot of tears

そんな　逃げ道ばかり
like this -- their only escape


今夜のあなたときたらろくに口も聞いてくれないじゃない
You utter hardly a word on this night

それで？　どうするつもり？
So what? what are you gonna do?

遠い過去のページをはらりめくってさよならね
It is time to leaf through a past page (of memory) and say good-bye

できるわけないし
I can not do it

「逃げ道ばかり」
like this -- their only escape

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
That room with wood carving and the worthless game of playing house, adding up all that you say.

虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ
A wolf whispers to vacant eyes "I can not hear anything any more."

今だに傷跡だね　あなたはわたしを捨てるといった
It is traumatic. You said you dumped me.

それで？　いつまでこだわるの？
So what? When are you going to be concerned about that?

あさっての方角から罪だけで罪を拭おうとしてる
You try to wipe a sin away with a wrong idea, a sin

翼の折れた男
A man with a broken wing

「いづくにやゆかむ」
"Where are you going to go?" =old Japanese

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
That room with wood carving and the worthless game of playing house, adding up all that you say.

足元見ながら　階段踏み外す
I am staring at my feet and I lose my footing.

真実の道へ　陽のあたる場所へ　手の鳴るほうへ
to a real way to a sunny place to where somebody is clapping his hands

ホントの幸せ　あなたには見えるの？
Can you see real happiness?


木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
That room with wood carving and the worthless game of playing house, adding up all that you say.

虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ
A wolf whispers to vacant eyes "I can not hear anything any more."

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Thank you to my friend, M-san, for this translation!!

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I

Gypsy Jazz

Swing Gitan is a "gypsy jazz" group which is based in Chicago. (This style of music was created around 1934 with the name "Hot Club de France". Gypsy Jazz was associated with the guitarist, Django Reinhardt and the violinist Stephan Grapelli.) It was my good fortune to hear Swing Gitan at a free concert in Chicago last year. I loved their music so I bought their CD and I enjoy listening to all of the cuts on the CD.

My Tai Chi friends and I are planning to go to see Swing Gitan at a bar in Chicago in April.

This music is so "stylish", "jazzy" and "upbeat" -- it just makes you smile to hear it!

Here's a little sample.

Violin Improv

While looking through my iTunes recently, I noticed I had a couple of files of my own violin playing. I was improvising on the spot. While this example doesn't represent a very high level of playing, it will give you some kind of notion of how my violin sounds. ;-)

At the time, I was trying my little "toy", an iTalk microphone which attaches directly to my iPod.

SexRex

Here's my new favorite! Kelly's Small Bird by SexRex, a Japanese fusion group. I came across this tune while listening to a Japanese podcast I subscribe to. It's a wild and wonderful song -- "desperate" might be a good descriptive word for it. (SexRex -- don't you love the name? hahaha!)

You can see the group on YouTube

I am working on the translation, but for any who read Japanese, here it is, lol:

ケリーと小鳥

満身創痍の男たち　いつまでたっても変わらない
そんな　逃げ道ばかり
相談・愚痴の女たち　泪に埋もれて動けない
そんな　逃げ道ばかり

今夜のあなたときたらろくに口も聞いてくれないじゃない
それで？　どうするつもり？
遠い過去のページをはらりめくってさよならね
できるわけないし

「逃げ道ばかり」

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ

今だに傷跡だね　あなたはわたしを捨てるといった
それで？　いつまでこだわるの？
あさっての方角から罪だけで罪を拭おうとしてる
翼の折れた男

「いづくにやゆかむ」

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
足元見ながら　階段踏み外す

真実の道へ　陽のあたる場所へ　手の鳴るほうへ
ホントの幸せ　あなたには見えるの？

木彫りのあの部屋　くだらないママゴト　積み上げたセリフ
虚ろな目の中　囁くの狼　モウキコエナイ

Mahler's Fifth Symphony

This morning -- lying in my bed at 5 a.m. -- listening to my iPod - - amazed at the way Mahler could depict "soaring the heights of joy and happiness" and "plunging the despair and grief" - - how is such music possible, I wondered - - often so loud and wild, then tender and sweet - - thanking my lucky stars I get to study this music and play it with my orchestra - - wondering: how was it possible that Mahler could seek inside his own being to find all of this emotion and these musical ideas - - wondering: how was it possible that all of us could somehow connect with Mahler's unique vision - -

My Violin

Playing the violin has been a torturous, difficult process. I began playing at the age of 10 and I never enjoyed playing the violin as much as I loved playing the piano. On the piano, I could really express myself and it sounded good all the time. On a violin you have to find the note. Intonation is crucial and it can sound so sour if you are just a bit off. So, that was always difficult for me. Then, making a beautiful tone is very difficult on a violin. On a piano, you get what you get, but on a violin you have to create the tone quality by how you draw the bow, how much pressure you put on the bow and what kind of vibrato you will have. So, it's been one long struggle and, as much as I love playing in an orchestra, the violin itself has always been a challenge for me.

However, last Sunday, during the rehearsal for the Brahms Requiem, I began to notice how beautiful my violin was sounding! It was really the first time in my life that I felt this way! I was smiling, riding on a wave, and thinking, "Oh, how lovely my violin sounds today!" I was so happy! I hope this will continue. It has taken many years of practicing and effort to get to this point!!

Children's Creativity

Some of my faithful blog readers may not know about my little website -- The Virtual Museum of Music Inventions, http://www.musicinventions.org
I just put up a new gallery from a school in Troy, Michigan (not far from Detroit). New Gallery. I began this website in 1998 and have continued it ever since! It's a lot of fun for me and I have heard from folks around the country that it's given their students ideas for their own projects. I love this use of the Internet to share ideas!!

Liz -- Crying Again?

Ein Deutsches Requiem by Brahms -- one of the most exquisite pieces of music ever written for chorus and orchestra -- last night's rehearsal at the church -- listening to the opening movement (Selig sind, die da Lied tragen) -- since the first violins don't play at all in this movement, I took out my Japanese flash cards to review while listening to the lower strings and chorus -- I heard the familiar opening notes with the lower strings -- then the huge chorus -- almost 100 voices -- began to sing, softly and smoothly the beautiful German words -- I was suddenly overcome -- the tears rolled down my cheeks -- I put the flash cards away -- I had been transported to another shining and beautiful world.

You can hear it here: (Look under "Movements)

Amazing Orchestral Colors

I was so lucky! Wednesday evening, someone gave me a free ticket for 2 people to go to an Open Rehearsal of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A friend and I went downtown the next day to see the orchestra rehearsing with the renowned conductor/composer Pierre Boulez, now 82 years old and going strong! We had box seats so we were practically on top of the orchestra! The rehearsal began with Berio's Quatre dédicaces. The main element in this modern composition for a very large orchestra (6 trumpets and 6 horn, for example) is Tone Color! From the sharp sounding piccolos to the groaning basses, our ears were soaked in colors!! Every moment produced a new aural experience with accompanying mental images and feelings. It was extremely exciting and wonderful!

P.S.: This is what the reviewer, John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune said about the concert, which took place that very evening, the same day as the rehearsal:

Berio compresses an amazing amount of gnarly invention in only 12 minutes of music. In Boulez's hands, the spiky jolts of massed brasses and percussion, fractured rhythms, nervous shifts of meter and Ivesian clashes of sound made for an engrossing aural adventure.

Dreaming about music . . .

Last night I had a dream which was like the recurrent nightmare I used to have during the days when I taught music full-time. In last night's dream, a whole group of older students unexpectedly came into the music room. I was surprised and flustered because I didn't know how I should proceed. As I looked more closely at the students, who were all wearing dark red coats, I noticed a few that I recognized. So, these must be junior high students. I think I may have woken up to a half-sleeping state because the next thing I knew, I was creating a lesson plan for these students. But, in the dream, it was too late, because they stayed one hour and then it was time to go. I had done nothing for them. But in my half-awake state I created a plan for the next time this should happen. This is a plan which I did many times throughout my teaching career: I composed an A section of simple yet jazzy rhythms, to be played by all on congas. We have 8 to 10 conga drums in the music room. The A section was 8 beats long. The plan is to have different solos for the intervening sections. I even imagined hearing what solos people might improvise. The final form is ABACADAEAFA, etc.

Got to get it down (cold)!!

Oh, I got to get it down -- the piano accompaniment for the musical, Once on This Island. I love these tunes by Steven Flaherty. The score is very Carribean-rhythmic and it's a bit tricky. That's why I have pledged to practice every day. The show is in March but I need to know it well so I can play well during rehearsals and teach the kids all the songs. Whew! It's kind of a challenge. Slowly, day by day, I am getting it down. Can't give up now.

Exploring New Things

Just had to share this photo with you! It's my granddaughter and me. We are playing a celeste together on the stage after my orchestra concert was over.

Improvising Again!

At my Tai Chi class a few days ago, the teacher whispered in my ear, "When we do the Form, please feel free to improvise for us on the piano, as you have done before." So, I did that. Again, I used only the black keys to create a soundscape that would be appropriate to the slow, controlled movements of Tai Chi and also would have a slightly "Asian" cast to the whole. I find that I feel very free and comfortable doing this, probably after my many years of improvising wildly in the classroom, at the piano, as an encouragement to my children to move in various ways. I played a variety of styles and ranges: large crashing chords for "giant steps", flittering little melodies for lightly running, etc. I really enjoyed it! When I asked my student teachers to try that, they never did. They were much too inhibited to try.

And, yesterday, at the first general rehearsal for the elementary school musical, which I have been asked to perform as accompanist and vocal teacher, the director had the children play various "theater games" to warm up. One of them was "The Mirror Game". In groups of two, the students took turns leading slow motions, in a seated position, facing their partners. Again, I suggested that I could play on the keyboard for this activity. The director agreed and I felt my slow, controlled improvs helped to create a good atmosphere for the Mirror Game, again using only black keys. Anyone can improvise on the black keys! Just become less inhibited and try it!

Groovy and Wild!!!

A friend told me about an amazing gospel style pianist who played with Elvis Presley for awhile. It's Per-Erik Hallin!!

From "MySpace.com":
Per-Erik Hallin was born January 7 1950. He moved to the US in the 70's, and played with Elivs for about 1 year. For the last 30 years he's lived in Sweden. He's recorded 2 solo albums (Better late than never, Morgonluft), and a 3rd album was scheduled for 2007, but has been delayed due to problems with tinnitus. He's worked with many swedish artists, such as Carola, Cyndee Peters, Ulf Lundell, Ted Gärdestad, Magnus Uggla, Mikael Rickfors, Ola Magnell, Ingemar Olsson.

For more info and 2 video clips, click here.

Here is his song, Nothing to Fear! It's totally wild. He even plays something that sounds like tone clusters with his right hand. The rhythm is so infectious, it just makes you want to dance down the street! See if you don't agree!!

Teaching About The Blues

Recently, I subbed in my old music room for three days. It was so much fun!! It got my juices flowing to be in the midst of all that again -- connecting with children, eliciting their interest, moving the class along from moment to moment -- it's really a rush!

The fifth graders were to study The Blues. We began by listening to Huddie Ledbetter, "Leadbelly" singing his song, "Good Morning Blues". The song is in the music text book and the accompanying CD has Leadbelly singing in a very old recording. (He died in 1949.) Then, the children tried singing the song from their music books. We discussed "blues" -- what does it mean to "feel blue", etc. First, I wanted them to understand the emotional content of the Blues.

The next day, we reviewed "Good Morning Blues" by singing it along with the CD, then I moved the balance switch on the stereo so they were the only ones singing the melody. (These CDs have that special characteristic -- very useful function for the music teacher.) Then, I asked the students to form three lines, like three sides of square, with one side missing. I stood on the missing line. Everyone was standing. I assigned each line of the song to a line of students:

Good morning, blues, blues how do you do?
Good morning, blues, blues how do you do?
I'm doin' all right, good morning, how are you?

I had to work intensely with the students, encouraging them to sing, for many were shy and unsure about singing. Finally, we got a good spirit going!

I taught them the second verse:

I lay in bed last night, turning from side to side,
Yes, I was turning from side to side,
I was not asleep, but I was dissatisfied.

They sang along with the CD, accompaniment only.

My goal in this activity was to let them see the formal structure of Blues lyrics. I asked them to tell me the form, using "A" and "B". The answer: AAB

My next goal was to help the whole class create another verse for this song. First, we got the beginning line, which we repeated, of course. All you have to do next is to find a rhyme for the last word of the first line. Each class accomplished this! It was so much fun, but scary to create something from nothing like this.

Next, I wanted to teach them about the 12 Bar Blues form. On the board I had written the numbers:
1234 2234 3234 4234
5234 6234 7234 8234
9234 10-234 11-234 12-234

We just practiced counting that out, no music, so they could get used to that pattern. Next, I played the Leadbelly recording of Good Morning Blues and we counted through the whole song! I think it's great to get really familiar with the length of a blues verse (12 bars!). After awhile, you get a feel for it.

Over the numbers on the board, I had written:
Do Do Do Do
Fa Fa Do Do
Sol Fa Do Do

We practiced singing those tones (the chord roots) alone and then along with the Leadbelly recording. Hear the song on this player. However, this is not the exact same version of the song we used.



Aha! I really felt that the students had a handle on:

• The form of the words for a Blues verse and how to create your own.
• The chord roots for the 12 Bar Blues

The teacher will probably go on to do more things. For example, she might have small groups create their own Blues verses and share them with the class. Also, she could have them use the Orff instruments to play the chord roots. They can learn and listen to many other Blues songs, too. Finally, in February, these lucky children will be able to visit The House of Blues in Chicago where they will watch a special show for students about the Blues, the history and so on.

Learning about The Blues is essential for American children -- to learn about their musical heritage and the world's musical heritage, for the Blues lead to jazz, ragtime, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and all the developments since that time!

Our Lives Are Poorer Now

It used to be that every major city had at least two classical music stations and, many times, there were more than two classical stations. In the last 10-15 years, these stations have disappeared. As you know, gentle reader, I adore rock music, but, come on! Chicago has only one classical station and if you don't happen to like what they are playing, you are out of luck. We just don't have the kinds of choices we used to have.

More about practicing

Here's another tip:
Instead of always playing from the beginning of the piece, sometimes you should work backward from the end!! Hey, it just makes sense, doesn't it?

Orff Schulwerk

During the last half of my music teaching career, I became acquainted with Orff Schulwerk. I was immediately attracted to this kind of study, which was introduced to the music teachers in my town by a dynamic and accomplished musician -- Lillian Yaross, who quickly became my idol.

Orff Schulwerk is “Music for Children”, a way to teach and learn music using poems, rhymes, games, songs, and dances as basic materials. The Schulwerk was created by composers Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman in Europe. The emphasis is on students as improvisers and performers. It is the most exciting way to teach and learn music.

I became trained in this method by taking Level I at DePaul University and Level II at the University of Illinois at Champaign, Illinois. These were each two week courses and covered everything from the "Orff method" to "Movement" and "Recorder". There is Level III, but I never took it. Also, every year there are huge Orff conventions in a U.S. city. I have been to three of those: in Chicago, in Minneappolis and in Memphis. And, the Greater Chicago Chapter has monthly workshops, featuring nationally known clinicians who work music teachers for four hours on Saturday mornings.

With the Orff method, the students learn to play a variety of small percussion instruments, such as hand drums. They learn to combine rhythms and they learn to use rhythms from speech as musical elements. The learn to improvise, as well. Each school must provide a wide ranged of "barred" instruments, especially designed by Orff for use by elementary students.


There are several kinds of Orff instruments: xylophones (made of wood -- bass, alto and soprano), metallophones (bass, alto and soprano) and glockenspiel (alto and soprano). Combining these instruments creates a magical sound. Especially effective is the use of the pentatonic scale which allows the students to improvise their own melodies! The bars are removable.



Here is an example of an actual ensemble from an elementary school.

The odd thing is that it seems very few schools in Europe use this method, whereas it is used widely throughout the U.S.