The Violin Part II

I may have already said this but it bears repeating: One indication that someone is truly skilled in anything -- be it sports, art, music, acting, technology -- is when they make that activity appear to be completely effortless. Once again I find myself in awe of the talented musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra and other organizations in the area.

Tonight the weather was nice enough that I walked from my place to my instructor's home -- about 20 minutes -- and I have to admit that I felt a little goofy with a violin case hanging on my back as I made my way thorough Coventry and Overlook.

The lesson was surprisingly productive, and we attempted to actually play something resembling "music" for the first time. I have a long, long, way to go. The good news is that I understand up bow, down bow, and can generally find my way to a string. Making the combination of bow and string sound even remotely as beautiful as I know is possible is still a long way off. It is, actually, quite possible to make that beautiful instrument sound remarkably awful without much effort. Thank the Deity of your choice for my teacher's patience.

Posture and leading with my wrist are probably going to be the next two things that do me in. The positioning of the left hand will take some work (and apparently stretches a muscle that hasn't received much attention lately) but wasn't as bad as I had prepared myself for.

CIM Faculty Recital: Sergei Babayan

This afternoon I made my way back to CIM for the piano faculty recital of Sergei Babayan. As I waited for the recital to begin I was struck by something: Everyone around me was speaking a language other than English. Being slightly undercafinated and sleep deprived it took me much longer than I would have liked to realize that Russian was the language du jour. What fascinating diversity does Cleveland have in all walks -- "Arts and Culture" to plain old regular culture?

The first part of the program consisted of 20 pieces attributed to Alexander Scriabin, whose name I recognize but whose works I am completely unfamiliar with. The first 19 blended together so fluidly that I had given up on trying to figure out where on the program we were but none particularly caught my ear. At some point during the last piece ("Poem: 'Vers la flamme'", Op. 72) my eyes involuntarily closed and I had the most vivid images flowing through my head.

The 2nd half was dedicated to the works of Sergei Rachmaninoff and none of the pieces elicited the reaction that I had to Vers la flamme but I was captivated by the transcription from the Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 'Andante'.

On the pop-music front, I came across Owl City's Fireflies this evening, and it's just kind of a fun song with an interesting synth-orchestra sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4JLa0hbUw

Cleveland Orchestra: Brahms's German Requiem & Widmann's Chor (for orchestra)

It's an interesting coincidence that my iPod chose London Music Works' version of Requiem for a Tower Dream (aka Lux Aeterna) for the drive back from Severance tonight. [What are the chances of the Orchestra ever doing that piece? But for the chance to see, hear, and feel it live...]

Ok, to get the bad out of the way first: While I found Widemann's Chor (For Orchestra) technically interesting and once again highlighted the fantastic acoustics of Severance Hall -- I also found myself longing for the end if the piece. I perpetually felt like it was building to something that never came; the high points of the piece reminded me of a city traffic jam.

Following that, I was initially concerned about Brahms's German Requiem but those concerns were quickly put to rest. It took me a few minutes to warm up to the first movement, and seeing both violin sections sitting idle for such an extended period was just kind of odd; the second and third movements were my clear favorites, followed closely by the 5th movement.

It's a feeling words can't give justice to, but there were several moments where the combined graceful power of the choir and orchestra not only captured my imagination but a fantastic feeling that resonated in my chest. I know that sounds completely crazy, I guess you'd have to feel it yourself.

As an easily overlooked jewel, the Orchestra offers a pre-concert lecture for many (most?) concerts during the season; I know I've had a propensity to forget about them. A few weeks ago, I caught the last part of the lecture for Shostakovitch's 5th and I felt like it added yet another dimension to my understanding and enjoyment of the piece. This evening I made a point of leaving early and intended to catch the entire lecture; for reasons that need not be discussed here I still managed to miss the first part of the lecture, but again the portion I caught was interesting and informative.

Minneapolis... and Ballroom Dance

You know you haven't had any caffeine when... you try using a Hudson News receipt to board a flight. That's right, I am not a morning person, and me in public without caffiene at 7:00 in the morning is either not pretty or hysterically funny depending on your point of view.

In any event, I got to Minneapolis not long after 8:00 (local) this morning and don't actually meet the client until 9:00 tomorrow. I've changed planes in Minneapolis a few times, and actually left the airport once but didn't have any spare time. Today I saw the city.

Started at the Mall of America. 10:00ish on a Tuesday morning is not when it's in its element. My inital reaction was "Eh, it's a mall. It's not even really that big. Ok."

Then I made my way over to the Northwest Airlines History Centre, which is run by retiree volunteers -- it's pretty small, but for an aviation/technology geek they had some cool stuff; I just wish I could have gotten my hands on some of the documents in the cases to page through them and see how much different things are. Also saw my first two teletype machines in living life. I thought it was cool.

From there I found my way to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts which was almost overwhelming in scale and had no clear path that would take you to each gallery; at the Cleveland Museum of Art I get lost in my thoughts... here I just kind of got lost. I'm still not a huge fan of African or Asian art, but the MIA has a respective collection of Asian art, and their iAffrica experiemntal gallery is the first African art exhibit where I've actually felt some connection and understanding of the art and its background.

As I progressed through the galleries, I hit some "period rooms" which were interesting for their context; and, predictably, the pieces I most enjoyed were in the modern/contemporary/impressionist galleries. Here, like at SFMoMA, it was interesting to see companion works to works in the CMA collection -- and it was fun to play the "Oh, that looks like ______.... oh, it IS ______!" game -- especially with the Leger piece.

I could go on, but suffice it to say that it was an enjoyable experience. I was also interested to learn the Marcel Bruer, who I knew as a "Brutalist" architect (in fact, the architect for a few buildings in Cleveland, including an earlier expansion at CMA) had done some furniture design as well.

After leaving MIA I drifted to the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, and it turns out that they offer reciprocity to CMA members. The collection -- or at least the portion of the collection on display in the galleries is far from huge, but it is impressive and pretty right on for my tastes.

I spent a brief time exploring the Sculpture Garden but the weather (there is actually snow on the ground here) and my clothing did not lend themselves to long periods of contemplation. It's definitely a worth-doing-in-the-Summer thing.

And finally I drove to Rochester, MN and checked into the hotel. End of day 1; I don't think that there will be anything blog-worthy for the rest of this trip so the next you will hear from me will be after Saturday evening's Orchestra performance.

But, before I go: I finally cashed in a gift certificate for ballroom dance lessons that I've been sitting on. I had the first lesson last night and it went remarkibly well. I only stepped on the instructor's foot once, and generally speaking (as long as I can keep my left and right foot straight) it was a successful endeavor, especially considering that I have never attempted anything resembling dance before.

CIM: University Circle Wind Ensemble, CWRU Symphonic Winds, and the CWRU/University Circle Symphony Orchestra

Before I begin let me say that I am not now, nor have I ever been, a particular fan of Brass. Horns, especially always sound "wrong" to my ear; that will, of course, color my impressions of the various pieces I describe this afternoon.

This afternoon's concert was very much a spur of the moment decision -- and it was an enjoyable mix of works. I don't think I've ever noticed as many wind players turning various shades of red as I did tonight -- it was certainly a show played with exuberance and passion.

For the University Circle Wind Ensemble:
I really wanted to enjoy Bonanno's Fanfare for Brass and Percussion but it sounded off... I want to say too sharp but I'm not sure that was it. Shostakovitch's Festive Overture likewise left me feeling unfulfilled; though it was an interesting counterpoint to his 5th Symphony from down the street a week ago. A Weekend in New York captured the musical essence of New York as I remember it, but I stopped short of falling in love with the piece.

For the CWRU Symphonic Winds:
I enjoyed Halverson's Entry March of the Boyars; Saucedo's Rendezvous with the Other Side definitely captured the otherworldly eeriness. As We Forgive from Ryan Nowlin was interesting but I didn't really find it compelling; Temptation was probably my favorite movement for this one. Holst's First Suite in E flat started off on the wrong note for me (see above Brass comment) but redeemed itself.

For the CWRU/University Circle Symphony Orchestra:
Definitely, for me, the highlight of the program. Larson's Overture for the End of a Century was compelling and had no trouble holding my attention, but and overall I enjoyed Deep Summer Music was a little too deep for me at places. White Peacock from Griffes was a piece that I would never listen to at home, but really highlights how live performance can capture nuances that get lost in a recording.

The final two pieces on the program were definitely my favorites from the afternoon-- I can't pinpoint the exact reason why Riegger's Dance Rhythms appeals to me as it does, but I love the rhythm and the building tension. Parts of Gould's American Salute felt very familiar... but I can't figure out where I "remember" it from.

The talent being cultivated in Cleveland is absolutely amazing...
(Edited to correct some embarrassing typos)

Dobama: Ten More Minutes from Cleveland

My initial perception was that "Ten More Minutes from Cleveland" was another of "The Cleveland Plays". I'm honestly not sure if it is -- I don't think it is.

In any event, I was lured out based on three criteria: The fact that Dobama's new home is literally just down the street from me, I had nothing better to do, and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss one of the Cleveland Plays, having seen the first two (actually, the only two Dobama plays I've seen).

I was not disappointed. It was presented a thoroughly funny romp through Cleveland and in some places struck too close to home. Being a non-native Cherise's plight particularly resonated -- and the incredulous "You moved to Cleveland from [Arizona in her case, California in mine]!?!?!" line is an all-too common one. I'm honesltly suprised at the number of Clevelanders who think that there's nothing good about this city.

It just kind of worked; I can't pinpoint one particular actor, scene, technique but it all of fit togehter.

Dobama's new home is both convenient and comfortable; I have a feeling that I will be attending most of the season's productions.

Learning the violin, Part I.V - A new teacher.

My original "teacher" bailed on me and I'm at the point in learning where I'm absolutely terrified of breaking something and/or learning bad habits.

I've discovered that in Cleveland it's actually far easier to find a violin teacher than the nearest drive-through food joint (There are 12 teachers -- that I know of -- and 5 drive-throughs joints in a 3 mile radius). I also found out that the daughter of a friend of my grandmother is not only a professional violinist that lives in Cleveland Heights but she also teaches and really likes teaching adult beginners. Score!

Wednesday evening I went over for my first lesson. I got a much better vibe from her and am excited to continue down the path; I have a much better idea of what I need to work on and how I need to do it -- plus notes to reference. The bow hold is still causing me consternation. It looks like it should be so much easier than it is, but my pinkie keeps slipping off the top and my thumb keeps wanting to lock itself straight. But at least now I'm much more confident of what it should look like so I can correct myself when I'm practicing.