Purely for fun (thanks BZ, for alerting me to this!):
… and if you recognize the tune, it’s from “Waters of March” or “Águas de Março”:
Q: Is there a next opera in the works?
A: At the moment, no. I have a really interesting idea, which I’m not ready to talk about: a dramatic work, but with only voices and no orchestra.
The above is from a short interview with composer John Adams.
I may have mentioned this before, but in case I forgot, the composer also has his very own blog. Check it out. (Warning: I have great difficulty reading it, as it’s white lettering on dark background. It just KILLS my eyes. Sigh.)
(Did I already post this at some point? My poor, poor brain! Sorry if this is a repeat!)
Besides helping hear speech in noise, musical training correlates with higher reading scores. And Kraus and her team have found musicians are better able to catch the emotional content of sound. These aren’t just skills you pick up like you’re learning to knit – Kraus says musical training seems to actually restructure the brain.
The above and so much more can be read here.
But my fave? It’s this:
Musicians spend so much time manipulating to the sound from their instruments, listening to the output from their teacher and mimicking it, communicating musically with other perfumers. And that can translate into how we process speech.
Because … well … everyone wants to communicate with perfumers! Right? 😉
Man, why do i tourture myself with oboe concerts?
Tonight was another rehearsal of Cenerentola. I have decided that Rossini and I are not the best of buds. At least not right now. There’s one lick* I can’t seem to manage. I can play it at home. I can play it in the pit before we begin and during breaks. But I can’t seem to play it when it’s time to actually do the darn thing. Sigh. There’s always something.
And reeds? They are just not happy. Or I’m not happy with them. Or something.
Then, by the end of the rehearsal, I started thinking, “Am I getting a bug?” And I still wonder. Now that would simply be unacceptable! I haven’t the time or energy to be sick. So that’s not gonna happen. Period.
*If you want to hear the lick, go back to this blog entry and listen to 5:23 … it’s not as noticeable as it feels in the pit, but it is somewhat important and it’s just awkward for yours truly.
