Who doesn't love the intro to the Rite of Spring? Everyone enjoys the second movement of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, right? And The Sorcerer's Apprentice--another great work that features the wonderful bassoon. Yes, I love the bassoon a great deal, for works like those I just mentioned, and for things like this:
I couldn't stop laughing at this. Yes, I recognize I have the maturity of a 12 year old. (oh well)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Mahler Monday
Forgive me for being a crappy blogger. I mean crappy as it not writing too often---hopefully my blog in general isn't crappy......anyway...
Due to technical difficulties and whatnot, I was unable to really blog last week, so that's my lame excuse. I'll try to do better, I swears.
So, my dear Mahler fans, surely you all know about the Colorado Mahlerfest, right? This past January they had concerts and many symposiums, and in May 2009 they are putting on a performance of Mahler's 8th symphony. What's amazing to me about this festival is that all the musicians are VOLUNTEER. Yep, they provide all their own lodging and transportation and don't get paid to play---they do it out of sheer love for Mahler. Those are my kind of people!
I am a little bummed this is during the Mahler activities in New York City. I was hoping this would be after those concerts, and then I'd do my best to head out to Colorado. (I was even going to see how I could get in to the bass section). Alas. Maybe one of you will get to go, and if so, I certainly hope you will report back!
Until next week.....
Due to technical difficulties and whatnot, I was unable to really blog last week, so that's my lame excuse. I'll try to do better, I swears.
So, my dear Mahler fans, surely you all know about the Colorado Mahlerfest, right? This past January they had concerts and many symposiums, and in May 2009 they are putting on a performance of Mahler's 8th symphony. What's amazing to me about this festival is that all the musicians are VOLUNTEER. Yep, they provide all their own lodging and transportation and don't get paid to play---they do it out of sheer love for Mahler. Those are my kind of people!
I am a little bummed this is during the Mahler activities in New York City. I was hoping this would be after those concerts, and then I'd do my best to head out to Colorado. (I was even going to see how I could get in to the bass section). Alas. Maybe one of you will get to go, and if so, I certainly hope you will report back!
Until next week.....
Saturday, July 19, 2008
It's my birthday!
On this day, 29 years ago, I was born. Hooray!!
I must say, this birthday has been SPECTACULAR. Some highlights so far include:
Being taken out for a great Indian dinner last night (Thanks Peter!)
A morning at the spa today
My friend Franco singing "Happy Birthday" to me, and then playing the timpani part of the 3rd movement of Mahler 1 on his bass, and singing the bass solo over it.
My brother saying over the phone, "Happy birthday. I would have slipped your gift under your door, but I couldn't find my checkbook."
My parent's generosity -- a very nice sized Amazon gift card, which I have spent a part of on a few Mahler CDs, scores, a book on music criticism, and Bartok's piano concertos.
My sister's awesomeness at giving gifts, in this particular case, a great book: Gustav Mahler Letters to his Wife. (it should properly be titled Gustav Mahler Letters to his skanky nasty hoebag wife).
In addition to the above, I got lots of sweet birthday greetings on Facebook (are YOU on Facebook? That site is great!).
Simply put, my birthday has been terrific. And it's not just because of the gifts---I've also enjoyed many terrific conversations today, and been treated extra super duper wonderfully by my friends and family. And in addition to that, I got (and am getting) lots of Mahler stuff as birthday gifts. How awesome is that??? Things don't get much better! (in my humble opinion)
I must say, this birthday has been SPECTACULAR. Some highlights so far include:
Being taken out for a great Indian dinner last night (Thanks Peter!)
A morning at the spa today
My friend Franco singing "Happy Birthday" to me, and then playing the timpani part of the 3rd movement of Mahler 1 on his bass, and singing the bass solo over it.
My brother saying over the phone, "Happy birthday. I would have slipped your gift under your door, but I couldn't find my checkbook."
My parent's generosity -- a very nice sized Amazon gift card, which I have spent a part of on a few Mahler CDs, scores, a book on music criticism, and Bartok's piano concertos.
My sister's awesomeness at giving gifts, in this particular case, a great book: Gustav Mahler Letters to his Wife. (it should properly be titled Gustav Mahler Letters to his skanky nasty hoebag wife).
In addition to the above, I got lots of sweet birthday greetings on Facebook (are YOU on Facebook? That site is great!).
Simply put, my birthday has been terrific. And it's not just because of the gifts---I've also enjoyed many terrific conversations today, and been treated extra super duper wonderfully by my friends and family. And in addition to that, I got (and am getting) lots of Mahler stuff as birthday gifts. How awesome is that??? Things don't get much better! (in my humble opinion)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Mahler madness continues....
Recently there's been a lot of noise about classical critics losing their jobs at newspapers and whatnot, and one of the possible causes is because of bloggers. Then everyone's talking about bloggers, and who is legitimately a critic, who's opinions are respected, who has the best blog, who has the best insight, who is thoughtful, who knows how to write a real review, blah blah blah.
I write reviews for a local paper, called NUVO. I don't get much space---I get a few hundred words. I am generally pleased with my writing, and my editor likes my stuff. And, as far as I know, musicians in Indianapolis respect what I say. THAT is where I put my "professional" writing. That's where I put objective reviews. That's where I am a critic.
Here, on this site, I am simply.....Chantal, the sometimes immature yet passionate girl who loves to go to concerts and drool over music and then write about it as if she were a junior in high school in love with the senior quarterback. This blog is more like a diary than anything else. I'm not here to make prophetic statements, I'm not here to get on lists, I'm not here to get attention. I'm here to blab about what is on my mind, and heart.
And right now I just want to say that I looking through YouTube, finding Mahler 6 goodies. It has been a while since I listened to that symphony, because I know in a few months I'll be getting large doses of it. I don't EVER want to grow tired of this work. I don't want it to become routine, or ever just go through the motions of listening to it. When I listen to this work, I want to feel passionate about it each time.
Here I am, listening to it, and enjoying the most wonderful of sensations---butterflies in my stomach. The only other feeling that comes close to this feeling (that I almost always get when listening to Mahler, especially if it's been a while) is the feeling of really really really liking a dude. (I'd hate to say "being in love", as I've only been in love once). But in listening to this, I'm all giddy and feel all hyper. I see the two timpani play their unison parts, and I squeal for joy. I get goosebumps when I see the woodwinds with bells up. I feel like yelling "Rock on!" when I see the horns with their bells up as well. I see the basses jammin' to their part, and waves of excitement flow over me.
THIS is what this blog about. If you want to read my "professional" reviews, go to NUVO's website, search for my name, and read those. (you can also access them here on my blog). But here on this blog is where we talk about our legs turning to jello when we are at a new hall, about to hear Mahler 6 for the millionth time. This is where I talk about every little detail that happens on the day I'm to hear a Mahler symphony.
And can I say how simply thrilled I am to embark on my second Mahler tour? I knew it would be fun last year---but it totally exceeded my expectations. To think that I get to do it again! I am lucky and blessed to be in a position that I am able to travel around the country and see concerts and stay with friends and attend these concerts and experience things that I know will never leave my mind, and never leave my heart. WHAT AN AWESOME LIFE I LIVE!!
What are YOU passionate about? Is it Mahler? Is it Bach? Or golf? Football (soccer)? Or the writings of Beckett, or Kafka? How about sewing, or knitting? Scrapbooking? Stamp collecting, cooking, travelling, bike riding, silent films, gardening, bird watching, bug collecting---WHO CARES WHAT IT IS. Please, just tell me you have a passion, and tell me that you can relate to this giddy feeling, this simple yet profound joy that happens when you dive in to what it is you are passionate about.
Isn't it incredible???? I LOVE IT!!!!!!!
I write reviews for a local paper, called NUVO. I don't get much space---I get a few hundred words. I am generally pleased with my writing, and my editor likes my stuff. And, as far as I know, musicians in Indianapolis respect what I say. THAT is where I put my "professional" writing. That's where I put objective reviews. That's where I am a critic.
Here, on this site, I am simply.....Chantal, the sometimes immature yet passionate girl who loves to go to concerts and drool over music and then write about it as if she were a junior in high school in love with the senior quarterback. This blog is more like a diary than anything else. I'm not here to make prophetic statements, I'm not here to get on lists, I'm not here to get attention. I'm here to blab about what is on my mind, and heart.
And right now I just want to say that I looking through YouTube, finding Mahler 6 goodies. It has been a while since I listened to that symphony, because I know in a few months I'll be getting large doses of it. I don't EVER want to grow tired of this work. I don't want it to become routine, or ever just go through the motions of listening to it. When I listen to this work, I want to feel passionate about it each time.
Here I am, listening to it, and enjoying the most wonderful of sensations---butterflies in my stomach. The only other feeling that comes close to this feeling (that I almost always get when listening to Mahler, especially if it's been a while) is the feeling of really really really liking a dude. (I'd hate to say "being in love", as I've only been in love once). But in listening to this, I'm all giddy and feel all hyper. I see the two timpani play their unison parts, and I squeal for joy. I get goosebumps when I see the woodwinds with bells up. I feel like yelling "Rock on!" when I see the horns with their bells up as well. I see the basses jammin' to their part, and waves of excitement flow over me.
THIS is what this blog about. If you want to read my "professional" reviews, go to NUVO's website, search for my name, and read those. (you can also access them here on my blog). But here on this blog is where we talk about our legs turning to jello when we are at a new hall, about to hear Mahler 6 for the millionth time. This is where I talk about every little detail that happens on the day I'm to hear a Mahler symphony.
And can I say how simply thrilled I am to embark on my second Mahler tour? I knew it would be fun last year---but it totally exceeded my expectations. To think that I get to do it again! I am lucky and blessed to be in a position that I am able to travel around the country and see concerts and stay with friends and attend these concerts and experience things that I know will never leave my mind, and never leave my heart. WHAT AN AWESOME LIFE I LIVE!!
What are YOU passionate about? Is it Mahler? Is it Bach? Or golf? Football (soccer)? Or the writings of Beckett, or Kafka? How about sewing, or knitting? Scrapbooking? Stamp collecting, cooking, travelling, bike riding, silent films, gardening, bird watching, bug collecting---WHO CARES WHAT IT IS. Please, just tell me you have a passion, and tell me that you can relate to this giddy feeling, this simple yet profound joy that happens when you dive in to what it is you are passionate about.
Isn't it incredible???? I LOVE IT!!!!!!!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Mahler Monday goes European part Zwei. Part Deux. Part Due. (you get the picture)
It just occured to me: Why have I never plugged the International Gustav Mahler Society before?
I am baffled, and have no good answer.
Check out this part of the website for concert information, around the globe.
(But please still come back here to find concert dates and other Mahler stuff. Please. Pretty please!)
I am baffled, and have no good answer.
Check out this part of the website for concert information, around the globe.
(But please still come back here to find concert dates and other Mahler stuff. Please. Pretty please!)
Mahler Monday goes European
Let's cross the atlantic, my fellow readers, and see who in Europe has some Mahler goodies for us!
The venerable Berlin Philharmonic has some Mahler this season: Symphony no. 3, December 19-22nd. Zubin Mehta conducting.
Then January 15-17th Bernard Haitink is conducting Mahler 7. What I would give to be there for that....sigh....
May 22-24th: 3 Songs from Das Knaben Wunderhorn. Claudio Abbado conducting.
The Vienna Philharmonic is playing the 7th symphony January 16th, with Lorin Maazel at the helm....but the concert is in Spain.
Heading over to my homeland, the London Symphony Orchestra is playing the Adagio from Mahler's 10th on January 25th, along with....get this...R. Strauss's Death and Transfiguration, AND Four Last Songs. Oh geesh. That concert is near perfect. Hmmm. I do have family just outside London. Hmmm.....
Then we've got the first symphony April 21st. Tan Dun is conducting, and there's a premiere of his Piano Concerto as well, with Lang Lang soloing.
Another orchestra in London, the Philharmonic, is playing the Adagio from the 10th on Dec. 13th. February 4th is a concert of Kindertotenlieder, and check this out---Beethoven's 9th symphony, ARRANGED by Mahler. I never knew he did that! Crazy! And what an interesting program, if I do say so myself.
April 25: Mahler 1. So you could hear two London orchestras play the same work, in the same week. Kind of a neat idea, actually...and then on the 29th, you could hear the 4th symphony!
May 31st: Totenfeier.
Over to France, oui oui!! L'Orchestre de Paris is playing Das Knaben Wunderhorn October 22-23, with superpimp Christph Eschenbach leading the pack.
In March, we have more of the superpimp, with even a BIGGER pimp: THOMAS HAMPSON! A program of Mahler 5 and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen---does it get much better than that?
Early April, the superpimp leads the orchestra in more Mahler: Kindertotenlieder.
Yes, I know that's not ALL the orchestras in Europe. That's like a very small percentage of the amazing orchestras in Europe. Yet, that's a good beginning. And maybe it'll entice you to look around for more concerts across the pond.
Happy Mahler Monday, everyone!
The venerable Berlin Philharmonic has some Mahler this season: Symphony no. 3, December 19-22nd. Zubin Mehta conducting.
Then January 15-17th Bernard Haitink is conducting Mahler 7. What I would give to be there for that....sigh....
May 22-24th: 3 Songs from Das Knaben Wunderhorn. Claudio Abbado conducting.
The Vienna Philharmonic is playing the 7th symphony January 16th, with Lorin Maazel at the helm....but the concert is in Spain.
Heading over to my homeland, the London Symphony Orchestra is playing the Adagio from Mahler's 10th on January 25th, along with....get this...R. Strauss's Death and Transfiguration, AND Four Last Songs. Oh geesh. That concert is near perfect. Hmmm. I do have family just outside London. Hmmm.....
Then we've got the first symphony April 21st. Tan Dun is conducting, and there's a premiere of his Piano Concerto as well, with Lang Lang soloing.
Another orchestra in London, the Philharmonic, is playing the Adagio from the 10th on Dec. 13th. February 4th is a concert of Kindertotenlieder, and check this out---Beethoven's 9th symphony, ARRANGED by Mahler. I never knew he did that! Crazy! And what an interesting program, if I do say so myself.
April 25: Mahler 1. So you could hear two London orchestras play the same work, in the same week. Kind of a neat idea, actually...and then on the 29th, you could hear the 4th symphony!
May 31st: Totenfeier.
Over to France, oui oui!! L'Orchestre de Paris is playing Das Knaben Wunderhorn October 22-23, with superpimp Christph Eschenbach leading the pack.
In March, we have more of the superpimp, with even a BIGGER pimp: THOMAS HAMPSON! A program of Mahler 5 and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen---does it get much better than that?
Early April, the superpimp leads the orchestra in more Mahler: Kindertotenlieder.
Yes, I know that's not ALL the orchestras in Europe. That's like a very small percentage of the amazing orchestras in Europe. Yet, that's a good beginning. And maybe it'll entice you to look around for more concerts across the pond.
Happy Mahler Monday, everyone!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Happy Birthday Mahler! (and welcome to Mahler Mondays)
I'm sure there were many amazing things that happened on this earth on July 7th, 1860, yet NONE were as exciting as the birth of Gustav Mahler! Happy birthday, dear Mahler!! I am celebrating your birth by listening to your music all day, deciding which concerts of yours I will attend next year, and coming up with a new series for my readers, called "Mahler Mondays".
Mahler Mondays will be basically me writing some little tidbit about Mahler, every Monday. It could be a quote of his, or a concert I want to feature, or a website or whatnot. There is always much to choose from, of course, and I've been scouring around thinking about how I want to start my first Mahler Monday. I found a cool quote of Mahler's, that he said to Jean Sibelius:
"The symphony should be like the world; it should embrace everything."
Well put, my dear Gustav. And so your music does, very much so.
Speaking of Mahler and embracing everything---take a look at this. All of Mahler's symphonies, over a period of about 2 weeks or so. WOW. (although no complete 10th, that is a bummer.) I am looking to befriend someone in NYC (any borough will do) who will let me crash on their couch for that period of time. Any takers? (I'll be sure to throw some money your way. email me to discuss)
So, anyway...happy Mahler Monday everyone, and happy birthday Gustav Mahler!
Mahler Mondays will be basically me writing some little tidbit about Mahler, every Monday. It could be a quote of his, or a concert I want to feature, or a website or whatnot. There is always much to choose from, of course, and I've been scouring around thinking about how I want to start my first Mahler Monday. I found a cool quote of Mahler's, that he said to Jean Sibelius:
"The symphony should be like the world; it should embrace everything."
Well put, my dear Gustav. And so your music does, very much so.
Speaking of Mahler and embracing everything---take a look at this. All of Mahler's symphonies, over a period of about 2 weeks or so. WOW. (although no complete 10th, that is a bummer.) I am looking to befriend someone in NYC (any borough will do) who will let me crash on their couch for that period of time. Any takers? (I'll be sure to throw some money your way. email me to discuss)
So, anyway...happy Mahler Monday everyone, and happy birthday Gustav Mahler!
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