24. April 2007 · Comments Off on Whew … I’m Home · Categories: imported, Ramble

It’s 11:40 PM. I’m home from opera. Everyone here is asleep. And I’m wired. Go figure.

The opera went quite well. I played a new reed, which can be risky sometimes, but this one behaved, for the most part, and may very well work itself into something quite nice. Then again, you know how reeds are; I might pull it out tomorrow and find it’s decided it isn’t a reed after all. But this is the first performance I’ve played where I’ve stuck to one reed. For the others I’ve played three or four reeds … one for each act and an “extra” inserted here and there. Yeah, it can be crazy making, but Butterfly is a reed eater.

Hmmm. What would someone who hasn’t a clue what I’m talking about thing if the read, “Butterfly is a reed eater”? Hah!

Since I’ve decided to unpack both oboes and have the extra one waiting in case I get water in the octave I’ve only had to use the reserve oboe once. Wouldn’t you know? It’s kind of like taking an umbrella along just to make sure it doesn’t rain. Works nearly all the time!

I think weekday performances should begin at 7:00 or 7:30. I wish they all would listen to my thoughts. And obey them.
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24. April 2007 · Comments Off on Ahhh · Categories: imported, Ramble

I am sad, sad, sad, sad, sad … um … tired, tired, tired, tired, tired.

Sometimes I’m so tired I think I’m sad until I ponder for a moment.

Yep. It’s tired.

Drove over the hill to UCSC to teach early this morning. Home at nearly 1:00. Now I pick up Jameson and teach two more students.

Then?

OPERA. Three hours of “You’d better concentrate,” opera.

And yes, I know I have colleagues who work longer hours and work harder than I.

But this blog is not about them. So there.

Now I’m going to take a 10 minute nap. Really. (Yes, I can manage a 10 minute nap. Quite well, in fact.)
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24. April 2007 · Comments Off on He Still Won’t Say … · Categories: imported, Ramble

Charles Noble’s audition story continues. But doesn’t finish.

Sigh.

I guess I should do the same … take my time with all I post. Make readers wait. Have you keep coming back for more. Instead I just blab on and on and on and … oh … yeah … that.
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24. April 2007 · Comments Off on MQOD · Categories: imported, Quotes

Listening is an ability that gets developed by doing it. You have to both listen to the same thing often enough to get beneath the surface and to constantly listen to new things. And by new things, I mean things you’ve never heard before, things you don’t like on first hearing, even things you hate. The constant consumption of the same old, same old kills off the ability. If you want to see where the exclusive snobs are, it’s in the people who will brush off the work of great pioneers like Coleman, or Betty Carter or Arnold Schoenberg or Milton Babbitt as they go back to not listen to the same, sappy three minute tune for the thousandth time. To deride music as carefully and daringly produced as theirs because it failed to entertain on the first hearing, to think that such a superficial brush off was worth the breath wasted to express it, now that’s snobbery.

-Echidne of the Snakes

RTWT
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