What's A Good Read or Listen? Steven Smith's Recommendations on Books and Recordings

The Greater Richmond Barnes and Noble store locations will be hosting a bookfair to support the Richmond Symphony this weekend - so if there's that book you've been meaning to buy but haven't had the chance to yet, here's your chance to get it and help your favorite symphony in the process!  (To obtain a bookfair voucher or online code, visit the Richmond Symphony's event page: http://www.richmondsymphony.com/events_details.asp?id=164.)

However, if you don't know what to read or listen to next, Music Director Steven Smith gives you a list of his favorite books and recordings to consider:

For music-related books: 

• The Letters of Mozart
• The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz
• Life of Beethoven by Alexander Thayer
• The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
• Big Bangs: Five Musical Revolutions by Howard Goodall

For other favorite books:

• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Recordings:

• Brahms Symphonies, Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony
• Haydn, Symphonies Nos. 92, 94, 96: George Szell/Cleveland Orchestra
• Berlioz, Les Troyens; Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony
• Dvorak, Symphony No. 7 & 8; Cristoph von Dohnanyi, Cleveland Orchestra
• Money Jungle; Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach
• Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley; Nancy Wislon, Cannonball Adderley
• Nonesuch Explorer Series; Bali - Gamelan and Kecak
• Graceland; Paul Simon

Don't miss your chance to meet Music Director Steven Smith and Richmond Symphony musicians at the Brandermill Barnes & Noble location!  Try out an instrument for yourself at our instrument petting zoo as well!

Behind the Sound: Creating Music Made For You

Friday, February 25 - 7 PM
Barnes & Noble - Brandermill Store
Richmond Symphony Music Director Steven Smith will speak on his position as Music Director and his vision for the Richmond Symphony. He will be available after the talk to meet and interact with the audience.

Richmond Symphony Comes to Barnes & Noble
Saturday, February 26 - 10:00 AM - 3 PM
Barnes & Noble - Brandermill Store

The Richmond Symphony Woodwind Quintet will perform at Barnes & Noble, starting at 10 AM and 11 AM. The Richmond Symphony Instrument Petting Zoo will also be set up in the children's area of Barnes & Noble from 12-3 PM. Children of all ages will be able to see and handle a variety of musical instruments! Don't miss this opportunity to see the Richmond Symphony out in your community!

Erin's Love of Francis Poulenc: A Preview of This Weekend's Metro Collection Reflections

Francis Poulenc – French Composer, 1899-1963

Okay – I’ll say it. I love Francis Poulenc. Sure, he’s been criticized. Some have found his music to be too campy. After all, his uncle was involved in the Parisian theatre and apparently exposed him to “less prim manifestations” of that life. (Can you say “Can-Can”?) *** Others have compared him to his immediate predecessors Debussy and Ravel. (How can you not pale in comparison to such stalwarts of turn-of-the-century French music?) Still more have considered his music simply too simple. Poulenc was not known for complex harmonic transitions or subtlety of orchestral color – qualities you might find in the music of Richard Strauss or Gustav Mahler. When he wanted to change the mood, well…he just changed it.

I however, find Poulenc’s music energetic (not campy), uniquely colorful (not impressionistic, per say, but certainly inspired by the myriad of colors that Ravel and Debussy cultivated), and refreshingly straight forward.

I’m also quite inspired by its variety.

This composer – who hung with a band of French composers known as Les Six (including Honneger and Milhaud) – started as a “mom-taught” pianist. Much of his music reflects this first exposure to music. Here is his Mouvements Perpétuels, the first by Poulenc I ever played - or heard, come to think of it. Listen to the quick change of mood around 1:43; the rhythmic, pianistic accompaniment throughout; the uncomplicated bits of melody; and at 3:12 the joyous conclusion with startling but unpretentious juxtapositions of character. Is this humor or naiveté?



Poulenc also had a great love for woodwind instruments, and is responsible for torturing, er…I mean inspiring, countless oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, and flute players. Here’s the Clarinet sonata. Again – several fast changes of character, dynamics, key, and range.



Early on in his career, he experienced a spiritual awakening and began to find inspiration in the music of the church, specifically the a cappella music of the middle ages and the Renaissance. This is one of my all time favorite choral works – Poulenc’s O Magnum Mysterium. No campiness, no pianistic accompaniment, no fast melismas (runs). Still, even in the beautiful, chant-inspired lines, you will hear quick changes of phrase and mood. Here, these changes of mood aren’t merely composed on whim - they help highlight and clarify the text.



And, he had an affinity for theatre music. (One writer I read called his theatre music “absurd.” Okay…I won’t disagree, but there’s really nothing wrong with absurd, right?) Here’s a film of La voix humaine: a “40-minute solo scena, one side of the telephone conversation between a young woman and the lover who is abandoning her.” Here, his ability to change mood in an instant helps him portray the despair and emotional imbalance of the main character.



Of course, one thing that makes his music so brilliant is his ability to combine all of these styles. The Gloria, for example, is a sacred piece with elements of the Moulin Rouge, tied together with a pianistic-style chordal accompaniment and inspired woodwind writing. Here’s the Laudamus Te:



All of this styling can be found in his Sinfonietta, which we’re performing this Friday at Bon Air Baptist, Saturday in Staunton, and Sunday at Randolph Macon.



No YouTubes for the Sinfonietta – you’ll just have to come hear it.



*** my quotations come from the amazingly useful New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, a 20 volume set of academic articles on music. Consider buying it for the music lover in your life!

...and a word from one of our sponsors, The Cordial Cricket!

What a pleasure it is to write a guest blog post for the Richmond Symphony blog. My name is Elizabeth Howard and I am the owner of retail boutique, The Cordial Cricket, located in Chester, Virginia. Our boutique specializes in custom invitations, stationery and unique gifts for children and adults. We are proud to partner with the Richmond Symphony to sponsor their upcoming LolliPops Concert Green Eggs & Ham on Saturday, February 19th.

In addition to operating a retail store, I also work as a trained etiquette consultant with people and groups of all ages. It works very much in tandem with what we offer at the store since etiquette plays an important role in the proper use of invitations and stationery. We are delighted to share an important etiquette skill with the children and families who attend the upcoming Green Eggs & Ham concert during the pre-concert festival activities. Making sure that children know the idea and concepts behind writing a proper thank you note is something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Please be sure to stop by our booth during the pre-concert festival for a fun thank you note primer for your kids, a thank you note activity they can complete and of course a treat! Kids and adults alike can even write a short thank you to the Richmond Symphony musicians to share their appreciation of the concert and festival fun!

As a local independent business owner, it is very important to us to partner with other local organizations that have a positive impact on our community. We are pleased to be a part of this great event for families, and look forward to partnering with the Richmond Symphony during future events. If you would like to know more about our store or etiquette consulting for your organization, school or group please visit our pre-concert festival booth for more information. See you at Green Eggs & Ham!

Elizabeth Howard
The Cordial Cricket
http://www.thecordialcricket.com/

Musician Profile: Ann Choomack, Piccolo

Ann Choomack, Piccolo Soloist for this weekend's Metro Collection concert

Describe yourself in five words.
Silly, shy, competitive, animal lover

What’s the first song you ever remember hearing?
Take Me Home Country Roads written by John Denver, sung by my Dad

If you could only play one composition for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh how awful! There is so much great music out there to pick just one! But I suppose if I had to pick one it would the Partita in A minor by J.S. Bach.

What do you enjoy most when not performing music?
I enjoy eating (and occasionally cooking) good food with good friends.

Which composer (dead or alive) would you like to have dinner with?
I would like to have dinner with my old friend and wonderful composer Matt Fuerst. It’s so inspiring to be around people actively creating new music.

Currently, what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a musician?
At the moment, I seem to be most drawn to music that has lush harmonies.

Which composer (dead or alive) do you believe deserves more recognition for their achievements?
I think that the music of Erwin Schulhoff deserves more recognition. He wrote such interesting collections of instruments, including the piccolo, which do not get nearly enough attention!

As a faculty member at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro and maintain a private teaching studio, what inspires you to help foster music talents?
What inspires me about teaching is that moment of realization when a student “gets it”. After a period of really hard work, everything comes together and they can really feel the difference. That feeling of accomplishment is so exciting and I feel lucky to be a part of that experience. 

Musician Profile: Mary Bowden, Trumpet

Mary Bowden, Trumpet

Describe yourself in four words.
Motivated, goofy, quirky, tall

When did you first become interested in music?
My two older brothers played horn and trombone, so when I was 10, I decided to join band and picked the cornet so we could have a brass trio. We had a wonderful first teacher, Tim Jones. He would spend hours at our house every Saturday and took us to many Chicago Symphony concerts, brass concerts, and master classes. We were very lucky. I left school in the middle of 8th grade to attend community college and I had a lot of time to practice since I made my own schedule. During this time, I studied with Kari Lee-it was very inspirational to study with a driven talented woman trumpeter. She encouraged me to work on pieces that I at first thought were too challenging and really pushed me to improve. I played in Chicago Youth Symphony before attending the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Describe your favorite concert with the RSO:
During my first season when I was acting second, we performed one of my favorite pieces of all time, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. It was a very exciting performance, and also special because Sarah Hatsuko Hicks conducted (I’ve know her since 2000 when she was conducting the Curtis Orchestra!)

What artists influence your work?
To me, sound quality is the most important aspect of a trumpeter. My teacher, David Bilger, at the Curtis Institute of Music and principal trumpeter of Philadelphia Orchestra, has a very beautiful refined tone. Not only does he sound amazing in orchestra, but his solo work is inspiring too. I also played for Swedish trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger, one of my favorite trumpeters this past summer. I’ve grown up listening to his recordings, and playing for him was very stressful because of this, but I learned so much from him. Other favorite trumpeters are Allan Dean (my teacher at Yale University), Chet Baker, and Giuliano Sommerhalder. Ok, enough about trumpet! I don’t JUST listen to trumpeters-I’m also a huge opera fan. I feel that I am always trying to imitate the voice through the trumpet (strange to try to do this through a piece of metal!) I love Birgit Nilsson, Maria Callas, and Karita Mattila. Regina Spektor, Radiohead, Wilhelm Kempff, and David Bowie are also favorites on my ipod.

Playing for Hakan Hardenberger in a masterclass at Chosen Vale Trumpet Seminar, Summer 2010

What piece of music do you find most inspiring?

I love Mahler Symphony No. 9 - really any Mahler Symphony. While performing in Switzerland with the Lucerne Festival Academy this past summer, I was fortunate to hear a live performance of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado. It is amazing when 100% of the orchestra are giving their all for a concert. At the end, Abbado was silent, and the audience was silent for a good 15 seconds. Such a beautiful moment.

Describe something interesting that happened to you recently.

I recently won a position with the “Youtube Symphony” and will be going to Sydney, Australia in March for performances with Michael Tilson Thomas. The audition process what much different than a real audition-most auditions are done blind-our auditions were posted on the internet for the whole world to see! Then the public was given a chance to vote on their favorites, and the conductor picked the final winners. Here you can see my introduction video:



This is a wonderful tool to promote classical music. The members of the orchestra will be making films along the way before our trip to Sydney, so please feel free to visit my youtube site.

What do you enjoy doing besides playing music?

I am officially a travel addict. Since June, I’ve been all along the east coast, Santa Fe, Banff, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Chicago, Florida, and this coming spring I have big trips planned to Belgium, Amsterdam, and Australia. Of course, the trumpet brings me to those places! I’ve started Bikram yoga, which has really helped with my focus. I also enjoy running, reading, spending time with my family in Chicago, writing, hiking, and spending time with my cat and boyfriend in Naples, Florida.

What inspires you to keep yourself motivated?
I have a lot of goals as a musician, and there are still many pieces I want to perform. I like having projects so I never get bored with music. Since I am third trumpet here in Richmond, I have the flexibility to pursue and solo and chamber career as well. I like that I will never reach a point of satisfaction with the trumpet. There will always be aspects to improve, new music to learn, new ideas…

Performing chamber music at the Marlboro Music Festival

What do you have coming up in the future?
At the end of this month I am traveling to Belgium for a trumpet competition in Antwerp. When I return, I am performing the Haydn Concerto with Richmond Youth Symphony w/Erin Freeman on February 19th at the Carpenter Theater! Please come!

Also visit my website at http://www.marybowden.com/ for more upcoming events!



Mary Bowden with Pierre Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland, performing principal trumpet on Mahler 6 and Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy



Erin Freeman's Preview of "An Evening at the Opera"

Voice and the Orchestra

Sneak preview of "An Evening at the Opera"

By Erin R. Freeman



It's me again, Erin Freeman!  I am Associate Conductor and Director of the Richmond Symphony Chorus!


What a unique treat we have with this weekend’s masterworks program – all music inspired by the original instrument – the human voice (again, I’m biased). On the first half, we have Benjamin Britten’s, “Four Sea Interludes” (orchestra only) from the opera Peter Grimes and Maurice Ravel’s Sheherazade* for soprano and orchestra; and after intermission, we’ll perform selections from great operas by Bizet, Beethoven, Verdi, and more!

You will probably recognize much of the second half, with music such as the Triumphal March from Aida (sorry…no elephants), the languid Cigarette Girls Chorus from Carmen, and “Va Pensiero” from Nabucco. Plus, you’ll get to hear one of my favorite all time opera choruses – the Prisoner’s Chorus from Fidelio. Those of you who think Beethoven’s vocal writing is all about shouting as loudly as possible will come away from this stunningly internal portrayal of freedom thinking that maybe Beethoven did know how to write for singers after all! Check out this YouTube of a Metropolitan Opera production from 2000.



As for the first half, you may not be familiar with this music. These are two underplayed but strikingly beautiful and powerful representatives of the orchestral repertoire. In these pieces, there is a lot to which you, your soul, and your intellect can connect. For example….

You will love the Britten “Four Sea Interludes” if you like…

Lush harmonies: Like those in Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams.
Clean lines: Like those found in Britten’s other operas (my favorites are the chamber operas: Albert Herring and Rape of Lucretia)
Big, romantic, fiery, full orchestral sound: As in Strauss’ Don Juan or Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet (boy…the last movement of the Britten will knock your orchestral socks off!)
Storm Scenes: Beethoven Symphony 6 “Pastoral”, Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony, Debussy La Mer
Peaceful moments of inner beauty: The third movement (“Moonlight”) is truly one of the more beautiful pieces for orchestra I’ve heard. It reminds me of the most serene moments of a Mahler symphony – perhaps the choral entrance in his “Resurrection” symphony (no. 2) or moments of simplicity in Kindertotenlieder.
Creative Orchestration: If you love the gratifying orchestral colors in works by Ravel (Daphnis et Chloe, perhaps), you will be enchanted by Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes”.

Guest Artist Kelley Nassief, Soprano

Speaking of Ravel, you may love Scheherazade, if you love:

French Flute Solos: The second movement is basically a duet for Flute and Soprano. Think Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faune with a bit more action.
Pieces for Soprano and Orchestra: Although from different countries, pieces such as Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs and the final movement of Mahler’s 4th symphony have a kinship to this work by Ravel. The soprano is more than just a soloist - she becomes a part of the orchestra.
Impressionist music: Like the Ravel orchestration of the Debussy Sarabande (performed earlier this year on Masterworks 2).
Exotic orchestral colors: During Ravel’s time, there was a fascination with “The East,” a fairly unknown region of the world. This fascination was often misguided and filled with stereotypes, but it led to the inclusion of some harmonies and orchestral colors that were new to “Western” ears at the time. Another example of what is called “Orientalism” is Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, written 5 years before the Ravel. You’ll definitely hear some similarities. (Want to know more about “Orientalism”? Check out the scholar Edward Said.)
Stories related to Sheherazade: Okay – so Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade is an entirely different musical bird, as is Nielsen’s Aladdin, but if you are a folk tale buff and have an affinity for anything related to the stories that kept the King Shahryar from killing his new bride Scheherazade night after night for, well, 1001 Nights, then this piece may be for you! Poetry is by Tristan Klingsor, who lived around the same time as Ravel.
* By the way, Ravel spelled it Sheherazade, while we usually spell the Rimsky-Korsakov version with a C: Scheherazade.

The Nutcracker Suite From The Pit

The Richmond Ballet's Nutcracker is opening this Friday and the Richmond Symphony provides live orchestral music for the production.  For any symphony musician, it seems playing the Nutcracker Suite is par for the course.  Here is one perspective about playing the Nutcracker Suite every year during the holiday season from clarinetist Jared Davis:

Playing The Nutcracker every year is bittersweet because it is very rewarding, yet challenging to play at the same time.  Tchaikovsky was a master orchestrator, meaning he knew how to use the instruments of the orchestra in various combinations to achieve a sound that is rich, colorful, and unmistakable.  Another way to explain it, is that it just feels good to play.  Also, he could write a melody that sticks in one's mind forever.  Everyone I know can whistle or sing a tune from The Nutcracker!  It is rewarding, yet challenging in the sense that there are moments in the music that are very demanding of the musicians.  No matter how times I've played it, I always have to practice certain parts leading up to the performances.

As rewarding as it is to play, the phrase "too much of a good thing" applies here just a bit, as we perform the piece at least 12 times every December.  During my tenure in the RSO, I've performed it about 72-80 times!  Every year after about the 5th show, I find myself looking for ways to make the next seven shows more exciting.  I suppose it would help if I could actually see what happens on stage.  My position in the orchestra pit is underneath the lip of the stage where seeing any part of the production is impossible.  I've yet to see the actual production in all my time here in Richmond!  But, I hear it is fabulous!

All in all, it is a wonderful experience.  The music is satisfying, the dancers and ballet staff are very easy to work with, and there is great support from the Richmond community.  Large audiences fill the Carpenter Theater year after year.  This collaboration with the Ballet is great exposure for the Symphony, and I'm happy to be a part of it.