A day in the (symphonic) life

Last Sunday was another National Capital Orchestra concert, this time at TheQ, that lovely and clever little theatre at Queanbeyan. Sixty-or-so players performing a Sibelius tone poem, The Wood Nymph, Glière Horn concerto and Dvorak Symphony no.5. The tone poem was an odd thing, telling the story of Björn, a handsome young chap who catches the eye of the spirits who then lure his to a Skogsrå (wood nymph) who seduces him, leaving him in lifelong despair. So says the program. In practice, it was long, unchanging passages of accompaniment and occasional flourishes, but I liked it. Then our guest, Rob Gladstones, a product of Canberra but now a principal horn player for the WA Symph Orch. This was a romantic piece with some very odd and tricky lines which (I liked but which were very slippery) and plenty of accidentals, not least otherwise infrequent double sharps. We'd prepared without Rob and hadn't heard his feature solo prior to the performance, so it remained fresh on the night. Some seriously impressive horn playing - someone said over 4 octaves. Then the symphony, Dvorak no.4. It's well known for the lively third movement. A nice, interesting work with some fast and even furious lines but not the trickiness of the Gliere. One other feature of the performance was the bass section, now counting 4 players: Matt, Roger, Geoff and Eric. But what of the day? Set up from 11am (lugging risers and chairs), warm up from 12.30pm, then lunch and return by 2.30pm for performance at 3pm. We hung out in the local pub and not alone in that. What a good day! Here are a few pics of a day in the life.

National Capital Orchestra performed Dvorak, Gliere and Sibelius at TheQ under Leonard Weiss (conductor) with soloist Rob Gladstones (horn). The bass section comprised Matthew Gambrill, Roger Grime, Geoff Prime and Eric Pozza (basses).

Basses loaded

Excuse the baseball analogy, but this is the first time I've played with a full bass section of four bases (some sections are bigger, but 4 is a standard). This was Maruki in rehearsal for its concert on 5 June playing Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Dvorak. The sound was great, not least from Matt's contribution with chops and new bass and bow for big volume. Sadly, we will only be in three for the concert proper. From left, bassists are Matthew Gambrill, Eric Pozza, Jennifer Groom and Geoff Prime.

The oft-neglected maturity of youth

This was the first concert of the Canberra Youth Orchestra's Icons series for 2016. The first icon was Tchaikovsky with his Symphony no.6 Pathetique. Maruki will be performing this in a few months so I was particularly interested. This is a youth orchestra, not professionals, aged up to 30 but mostly in their late teens or early 20s. The performance was stunning. Not without its weaknesses, but this is no walk in the park. At least to me, it appears a seriously difficult work, both for reasons of technique and interpretation. I laughed through the work, as they dealt with one difficult line after another. And being there, being in an audience, is so different from listening to recordings or playing within the ensemble. You hear different things with each interpretation, with each balance of instruments, with the time available while you're playing versus sitting listening. This was a mammoth task and a great result. I expected to notice the basses most, because that's the chart I know. Rather, I heard other parts, free from the task of reading and watching the conductor and getting the dots and keeping the count. This was exhilarating. Huge success. The program before the interval was vastly different. I trust that conductor and musical director Leonard Weiss will find somewhat different materials. First up was Ferdinand Herold Overture from Zampa. Nice starter and one needed to settle the ensemble. Then a series of arias with much loved local soprano Louise Page singing. Mozart, Puccini, Time to say goodbye and Sound of Music, no less. I sometimes strained to hear Louise in her quieter passages, but she would sing to fill Llewellyn for the crescendos. As for individual performers, I'll just highlight concertmaster Helena Popovic for the abandon and commitment applied to her obvious chops and Matthew Gambrill, a fellow Maruki bassist, for his easy skills as bass principal. In all, a great start to the year and the series. The CYO is a mighty orchestra in skills but also in size, now numbering 60 or so. And Leonard is a much respected and very energetic leader, pretty much as young as many of his performers. We enjoyed and admired this outing and can only look forward to the rest of the series.

The Canberra Youth Orchestra performed Tchaikovsky, Herold, Mozart, Puccini, Sartori and Oscar and Hammerstein. Leonard Weiss (conductor, musical director) led, Louise Page (soprano) sang and Helena Popovic (concertmaster) sat in an appropriate violin chair and Matthew Gambrill (bass) led the basses.

3gt5

The Fifth had its difficulties but it was nothing like the Third. Maruki played its final concert for the year and the main work was Beethoven Symphony no.3 Eroica, the one dedicated to Napoleon then renounced. It's a mammoth work, revolutionary in its time and full of plenty of fast and tricky passages all round, not least for the basses. Little rest here. And some neat diminisheds runs. It's great to be able to claim a performance but I would need to work on it for some time to satisfy myself that it was mastered. All part of the thrill and spills. We were three basses for this performance, Jennifer and me joined by eminently capable CYO player Matthew a few weeks before the performance. Maruki grows for a performance, presumably from CYO or other ringins, perhaps to provide an instrument we don't have (eg, harp) or to fill out a section. Maruki was 59 players for this performance. And what a program to join into; not for the feint hearted. Beethoven 3 plus an unrelenting Bach Orchestral suite no.3, a lively and humourous Brahms Academic Festival overture (interestingly also on the recent program for Brindabella) and the race-horse tempo Glinka Ruslan and Ludmilla overture. A hefty workout on the day and a demanding learning schedule over recent months. Maruki played better than in any practice - it's the way with the commitment of performance, of course - although can still improve. We are not professionals, after all, despite the program, but it's an exhilarating and music-educational experience. Much enjoyed and thanks to John and all.

Maruki Community Orchestra performed Beethoven 3, Bach, Glinka and Brahms at the Albert Hall under John Gould (conductor). The bass section comprised Jennifer Groom, Matthew Gambrill and Eric Pozza.

Elation

How do you come down off this? Tired but elated. I've just performed my fifth symphony concert, my second with Maruki Community Orchestra. Program? Dvorak Symphony no.9 From the new world; Beethoven violin concerto; Strauss Emperor concerto. I recorded and it's quite decently presentable. I found new mistakes to play, but fixed some others from rehearsals. I left the mute on for the second half of the Dvorak. Neither were mistakes that others didn't complain of. I wonder how the profs do it. To what degree do they hide mistakes? I guess quite frequently; covering is a professional skill that musos don't acknowledge too readily. Maybe those recordings don't get published, but then the recording I was using for reference had coughs and frequent clarinet squeaks and more. That was not pristine, either, but neither was it the Berlin Phil. John Gould, our normal conductor, played the violin concerto and it was a stunning achievement. But then John has history with the London Symph and more, so not unexpected. Leonard Weiss covered as conductor for that piece and did a wonderful job. There's something about performance that demands and draws the best of your playing. Nothing unexpected there, but the playingn was the best to date in rehearsal yesterday and peaked today with an audience. It's adrenaline, commitment and more. The bass section was Matthew and me, and Matthew did a great job despite his recent entry to the orchestra. But then, he's got serious background. I remain somewhat in shock, but elated and exhausted. Not an easy job, this, playing hours of dots, not least with the intensity of Dvorak. But how cool and how exciting it this!

The Maruki Community Orchestra performed Dvorak Symph no.9 From the new world, Beethoven Violin concerto and Strauss Emperor waltz at Albert Hall. Led by John Gould (conductor for Strauss and Dvorak, violin soloist for Beethoven), Leonard Weiss (conductor for Beethoven). Basses were Eric Pozza and Matthew Gambrill.

PS. A few days later. I've listened to the recordings. I'm more relaxed about it all. Maruki takes on the real thing; these charts are just what Berlin or Vienna or London Phil play. This time it was Beethoven and Dvorak with Strauss to warm up. We're a community orchestra, so we can't expect Heaven, but this gig was good. Better than the previous Beethoven 5. It helps to have some experts like John and Lennie amongst us. And this was a significant event in other ways, too. John's 75th birthday (his next Beethoven Violin concerto is at 80) and Maruki's 10th anniversary. All exciting, but nothing like the thrill of doing it and getting those hard bits right when they are got right. For the errors, well, there's another day. Thanks to Maruki and John and Lennie. Great stuff and much enjoyed.