Monday, April 29, 2013

Take that! Triple Concert Finish!

Because vague-but-not-actually-vague nerdy jokes are a super effective way to title these monthly updates!

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HI.

So, the three biggest concerts of the term just finished up as of last weekend: solo recital, orchestra, and quintet recital. And y'know what... I'm okay with how each of them went. None of them were perfect, of course, and I can't say I truly feel that any of them were ideal, but... I can't say I'm disappointed in any of them. I'll give y'all a recap of what I actually thought. About me, I mean. Not saying anything about the other players, positive or negative, because I don't want to offend anyone, either directly, or indirectly by omitting for them what I praised someone else for.

First off, the recital. In order: Bach Cantata 51 (first movement), Arnold Quintet (first movement), Ewald Quintet no. 3 (third movement), Clarke Side Partners, and Horowitz Concerto, with Scheidt Galliard Battaglia as an encore. First thing I noticed is, I managed to draw a really nice crowd. It *might* have been the biggest crowd to a first-year grad recital this year, it was hard to tell with all the spotlights pointing at me. But I'm pretty sure I won out, in terms of attendees. Opening a show on picc is terrifying, and it took me a couple lines to get settled, but once I did (about halfway through the first A section), the rest kinda just went. It felt really natural, but part of that may have been because I was thinking more about the ensemble than what I was doing, myself. Maybe that's why I like playing in orchestras so much, if I let all my concern wash on to other people, I just play and my autopilot does a better job than I would have. The quintet stuff was a preview for our concert, and both of those went really well. The duet was also really well-received, as was the Scheidt, with the same trumpet player (it started with just us, and the quintet walked on stage before the first big tutti, making that opening super awesome).


As awesome as that recording is, I'm afraid that playing the Scheidt in the original mixolydian mode has forever ruined the major/ionian version for me. The lowered sevenths just sound so much... BETTER. Anyways, the Horovitz was the biggest piece, and I think it perfectly summed up the good (and bad) things about my playing. My articulate playing has improved significantly from where it was a year ago, but still isn't where I need it to be to be a competitive trumpet player. My sustained, lyrical playing still needs a LOT of work. And... endurance. Endurance is always a factor. The last page, before the couple bars off on the third-last line, was INCREDIBLY rough. I felt like I was throwing mostly airballs those last two lines of that section (so I guess fourth- and fifth-last of the page). But, y'know what, it's done, and the audience loved it.

Next was the orchestra concert. We opened with a Mozart mass thing that only had us in the first and last movements, and I played second. It was pretty brainless. Next, I was lead for the Bernstein Chichester Psalms, which was actually a really nice one to do. I was afraid it'd be hard, as there's a lot of high things, but Bernstein always sets you up so that you can't fail... meaning of course I missed the second concert C. Which I didn't miss in any of the rehearsals the week leading up to it. I hit the first one, but there was a scratch in it, so... I still have some work to do. The infamous last note might have been the best thing I did all show. Don't tell anyone, but the secret was... get a really soft mute, and let yourself play just a HAIR louder in the show than in the rehearsals, it'll sound gorgeous.


The second half was Pictures, and if you haven't watched that video yet, do it NOW. The first half is like a mini-documentary, and Solti's insights are really cool. The second half might be the best recording of that piece, like, period. I don't think I'll ever get over their sound in Great Gate, especially the syncopated chords leading up to the last melody.

How did I do? Well, I'm still yet to play the opening in a way I'm satisfied with. The first half of Schmuyle went really well, but the second was quite rough, and I had to drop a beat when it went up. Usually, if I absolutely need to drop a beat, it'd be the repeated C#s, but... life'll throw you curve balls sometimes, you just make do. Great Gate, with the exception of the third and fourth bars, felt really good. HOLY BACH THE FIRST BAR WAS LOUD. Like... we were totally planning on saving some so that the end would be louder than the beginning. We didn't. Communally didn't. It was kind of immature. It was very awesome. I enjoyed that.

And last, but definitely not least, and possibly the one I was more excited for than my solo recital, was the quintet concert. Ewald 3, Cousins, Largo al Factotum, West Side (arr. Gale), and Arnold. Holy Mahler, that was a long programme. I played first for Ewald, Largo, and Arnold, and the breaks were super-appreciated. And y'know what... we did a damn good job. The Ewald in particular went stellar. Cousins was (in my opinion) the best the soloists had done it. Largo was... much faster than me or the soloist wanted to go, but actually really solid, and we got a couple laughs out (he managed to sneak some of the Vaughan Williams into the cadenza, which caused the tuba prof to chuckle). West Side was hella fun, though it made me wish people clapped between movements, so many of them had really boisterous, huge endings. And... I could have played Arnold much worse. I DO have to realize that I put one of the most prolific quintet pieces ever written at the end (I REALLY didn't want to play anything after that), so considering that... which I shouldn't even be considering, because real musicians have to do that all the time. Gahh. Pieces like that make me feel so conflicted... do I feel proud for what I accomplished, because few other students here could have done the same? Or do I admit that, in a couple years, I'll be competing with people who totally could have finished it much better than I did, and I'll be expected to be able to do that as well, so I need to up my game? I don't know. The quintet as a whole did really well, though, and I think we showed the audience that we're pretty legit, for a bunch of brass students.

Oh, and I transcribed this for our encore. Actually.


L8er boiz!

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