Today I rode in to downtown Portland to pick up music for the first couple concerts of the upcoming Oregon Symphony season. Can I first of all say how pleasant it is to visit the OSO library these days? Everyone is pleasant and helpful, and the mood up there is relaxed and professional.
Anyway, with the picking up of music there is not deny it: the season is almost underway.
Herbert von Karajan
I discovered via the blog Intermezzo a great series of youtube videos about Herbert von Karajan, the great conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic from 1954 to 1989. Well worth watching.
4 replies on “almost here…”
As we await the new season, I was thinking about pieces that I would like to see programmed in future seasons. I’m not talking about warhorses but works that are just a bit of the beaten path. Carlos does a great job of programming but here are some works that I would program in an ideal world where acoustics are perfect and financial considerations are nonexistent (hey, we can dream, can’t we?): Suk’s Fantastic Scherzo (this piece is played quite often on KQAC and it never fails to lift my spirits; I think it would be great concert opener); Massenet’s music from Le Cid (another piece aired pretty frequently on KQAC but I don’t get the impression that it gets much attention in the concert hall. Too bad because it is so darn colorful); Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (I know that the Schnitz never does a singer justice but wouldn’t John Cox be great for the Horn part?); Janacek’s Sinfonietta (boy would those trumpets rock the hall?); Prokofiev’s Symphony 7 (would be great to hear a magificent symphony from this composer that is not 1 or 5);and Vaughan Williams’ 5th symphony (one of my all time favorites). Anybody else have some pieces for a fantasy program? What do you think of my selections? Surely some of these could work in Portland.
I share your taste, Curt! I adore the Britten Serenade. Years ago, I wore out a cassette of the Peter Pears/Barry Tuckwell recording.
FWIW, Carlos seems to be on a British kick these days, so it may show up sooner or later (the Britten Serenade, that is).
Curtis – I like your suggestions! If you like Prokofiev’s 7th, you may also like the 3rd – which I think is also a masterpiece and have been dying to play. And if you like Vaughan Williams’ 5th, be sure to catch the 6th, which I believe is coming up this season.