I made this promise to do it three years ago and I thought I’d be dead in three years and it’s never gonna happen so I said, ‘OK.’ Then, I didn’t die and the time came and so I started work on this opera on Tuesday.
-Woody Allen
Sure. I really believe you, Mr. Allen.
I read it here.
I’d post the comic here, but I see it has a copyright on it. So in order to see it, go here.
Made ME smile, anyway.
One thing about this particular Don G I just played (not to go on and on) … it was nice to play the entire opera for a change. Very rarely do i get to play an opera with absolutely no cuts. The group I’m in makes cuts, in order to keep the operas under three hours. I’ve been told it’s because of the orchestra’s contract. I really hope that’s not the case. Sigh.
Anyway, I’m always bothered by cuts, even while I complain about lengthy productions. (Please keep in mind that I just love to complain. Long. Short. I’m gonna complain!) Whenever I see a cut I wonder what a composer might think. Maybe, “So what? You think this particular part of my work isn’t as good or important as the rest?!”
Who knows? Maybe composers are used to this sort of thing.
I wonder if composers working now think about length. (I’m guessing many think about orchestration to keep things “cheaper” for companies. I hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it!) Do they make sure they keep things under three hours so more groups will perform them without any cuts?
Yay for Merola doing the entire Mozart opera!
When you finish and the pianist finishes after you, you have to look arty. Look up at the lights.
-John Mack
I read this here. What is especially fun about this article is reading some names that are now quite successful in the oboe world:
Although the camp imposes no specific entrance requirements, the level of performance was generally high — astonishingly so among some younger players. Scott Hostetler, 18, of Kokomo, Ind., flashed through a Barret study, leaving Mr. Mack, for once, with almost nothing to say. Katherine Needleman, 16, of Ellicott City, Md., gave gorgeous, flowing accounts of the solos from Brahms’s First Symphony. And Frank Rosenwein, 16, of Evanston, Ill., spun out a movement from the Hindemith Sonata with a knowing sentiment that belied his years.
Where are they now?
Not bad. 🙂
