Owner: G.P. URL:http://blog.sashamakila.com/ Join Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:26:57 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Life in music. An aspiring orchestra conductor writes about his travels to concerts, competitions and master classes. Site statistics:Click here
St Petersburg - pics and a review 2007-06-27 09:08:00 I received today two photos of my concert in St Petersburg
last month, as
well as a link to a review
(in Russian). I did not have time yet to read the
review, but in case it says any nice things about the concert I might translate
a couple of lines into English!
Me conducting the Olympie overture by Josef Martin Kraus.
This is me and soloist Kari Kriikku after a very good performance of
Jukka Tiensuu's "Puro".
And here is the review!
Music festival has ended 2007-06-17 16:37:00 Last night we had the final concert of the Hot Springs Music
Festival. The
orchestra played Ma Vlast (Moldau) by Bedrich Smetana, An die schönen blauen
Donau by Johann Strauss, and the 8th symphony of Antonin Dvorak. The orchestra,
consisting of music students and their mentors, did a great job! Especially the
brass was shining that night, much to thanks to inspiring coaching by the
trumpet mentor Scott Moore.
Besides the concert, I had to witness one remarkable trait of American
character. The festival runs mostly on the donations made by private citizens,
and before the concert it was announced that there is a "grant challenge" of
5000 USD made by one donor, and for the festival to get it, the audience should
be able to match it by their collective donations during the 2 festival weeks.
The challenge was short of only something like 500 bucks from the goal, but
during that one intermission the audience came up with 4000 USD in donations!
Four thousand!!! That means that ev
Hot Weather in Hot Springs 2007-06-14 08:39:00 Conducting the
Hot Springs
Music Festival orchestra
I have spent already two weeks in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They have a nice
little music festival here, and I am assisting the music director (Richard
Rosenberg) with two other young conductors, Case Scaglione and Dana Sadava.
There is a lot going on, orchestral and chamber music concerts going on every
day, and the players have all the time rehearsals or master classes. Just the
need for assistant conductors seems to be overestimated. The job would be
perfect for one assistant, but for three it is too little to do, especially
since the town itself does not offer much entertainment...
Yesterday we had a nice orchestra concert, which I opened with Rossini's
overture to "La Cenerentola". After that we accompanied 8 (!) students taking
turns playing the Vivaldi's Four Seasons, after which maestro Rosenberg
conducted the original version of Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite. The locals really
seem to appreciate their festival, the ve
Leaving Luxembourg 2007-05-26 14:32:00 Deborah in the
Finals
The final day of the competition is past. I did not make it to the finals,
but my friend Roberto was awarded Third Prize. Congratulations! There was no
First Prize unfortunately. The jury seemed not to know exactly what they
wanted, since so many experienced conductors were voted out in the previous
rounds. I am convinced there were conductors professional and worthy enough for
the First Prize! But this is how it went this time...
How Ivan felt after the
semi-final results...
The Orchestra Philharmonique de Luxembourg
did a heroic job playing many big
works in the finals without rehearsal. There was Firebird, Brahms 1st and 2nd
symphonies, Brahms Haydn variations and last but not least Rahmaninov 2nd and
3rd symphonies! I want to congratulate and thank the orchestra and its
wonderful players. Hope to see you in the future!
The Valley (photo by
Ivan)
Now all that is left is to pack and leave Luxembourg behind! It is a beauty
among cities I must say. I don't kno Read more:Leaving
Semi-finals starting... 2007-05-24 03:17:00 Yesterday was a happy day for me, since I passed to the second round of the
competition here in Luxembourg. And not only me, but also my classmates Rober
and Yuki and my friend Ivan! It is so nice to have so many friends in the
competition - it somehow keeps the atmosphere nice and relaxed and it does not
become a bloody battle... Of course it was a sad day to the eight young
conductors who did not make it this time - including a few friends of mine as
well. I feel sad for them, but this is how competitions are! C'est la
vie!!!
Going to see the Grand
Duke
The funny thing yesterday was, that we were granted an audience with the
head of state, the Grand Duke Henry of Luxembourg! Today he will meet Vladimir
Putin of Russia, so we were in good company! Unfortunately I have no photos
from inside the palace, but you might guess the interior was royal!!! Grand
Duke Henry was really nice to us and asked about our lives, the choice of
profession etc. He is apparently really well educated in c Read more:finals
Svetlanov competition begins 2007-05-21 12:43:00 Greetings from Luxemburg! A lot has happened during the past few days: I had
a success on Friday in concert with Kari Kriikku and the State Hermitage
Orchestra, on Saturday I conducted the first movement of La Mer for the
Besancon pre-selection audition, and yesterday I traveled the whole day to
Luxemburg.
Yukihiro and the
Jury
The competition
started today and I watched a couple of participants. It is
very nicely organized and the orchestra is good. I have some friends here, too,
my classmates Rober and Yuki, and Ivan whom I met in a couple of competitions,
and Ben whom I met in New York last summer.
Roberto, Ivan and
Ben
My turn to conduct will be tomorrow morning, so now I just relax and
concentrate to that. I took some photos today, and I will add them to this page
as soon as I am home!
Rehearsing 2007-05-15 12:03:00 Second day of rehearsals with the State Hermitage
orchestra. Tomorrow comes the soloist, and let's see what happens to the
modern concert piece, Jukka Tiensuu's "Puro" clarinet concerto. It has been
quite a challenge to rehearse it without the soloist!
I did not remember how tired St Petersburg can make you. After both
rehearsals I just had to nap for a couple of hours! Maybe the warm and humid
weather has something to do with it as well... But I remember the same feeling
from my student days here - always feeling somehow tired and out of tune. Read more:Rehearsing
In St Petersburg 2007-05-12 05:53:00 I arrived yesterday to St Petersburg
by train, and last night I already took
a conducting lesson from my old conducting teacher Leonid Korchmar
in the St Petersburg Conservatory. I have to prepare Rachmaninov's 2nd symphony
for the Evgeny
Svetlanov Conducting Competition in Luxemburg, and I really have had no
time to study the score, so I really need "professional help" to make the most
of my time. I had a great lesson on the first movement, and this morning I had
another one on the second movement. Tonight I will try a little bit of the
third as well, if there is time after the official conservatory students have
had their lessons.
I should have taken a camera with me, by the way. On the way back to my
place (thanks Serjozha for accommodating me for this week!!!) i saw a huge
poster of my concert in the metro. There was a big picture of my soloist,
Kari Kriikku, and his name
on dog-size letters and after that a text "the most famous clarinetist of
Finland". My nam
Welcome! 2007-05-10 04:42:00 Welcome to my blog! I named it G.P., because sometimes one needs a
"Generalpause" in the middle of the busy conductor's life. At those moments I
will dedicate a couple of minutes for writing on this page.
At the moment I am in the middle of packing, since tomorrow I will leave to
St Petersburg, Russia, for rehearsals and a concert on the 4th Nordic Music
Festival. Young conductor's life is sometimes really a strain: usually there is
no activities whatsoever for several months, and then suddenly you are asked
everywhere at the same time! It happens to me all the time...
This time after the concert on the May 18th I will travel to Luxemburg for a
competition which starts on the 20th, and from there to US to assist on the Hot
Springs Music Festival in Arkansas. I will be back home only in the end of
June!
But as I travel, I will try to stop at some Internet cafes to write about my
impressions about the places, the people, the music... I hope you will enjoy
traveling with me! Read more:Welcome
First posting 2007-05-09 12:40:00 First try to update this blog on Netscape. Safari did not seem to
work... Read more:First
On a Master Class with Yuri Simonov 2007-07-07 14:45:00 It is already the 5th day of the master class, but it took me this long to
find an internet cafe where I can type with a normal speed and do not have to
yield some Hungarian special keys on the keyboard... So, I am in Budapest and
having a great time, working evenings with pianists and mornings with the
Wagner-Liszt orchestra. I have taken some photos, but have to wait until I get
to Finland to add them here. But you know, it is the usual stuff - someone
conducting an orchestra or two pianos, the professor from back, the professor
from side etc. etc. Someone eating or drinking, or a view from a lake... Yes,
tomorrow we are actually going to have a free evening at some lake! But now to
the actual masterclass stuff which for sure will interest some conducting
students.
Day 1: We saw maestro Simonov run through the whole master class repertoire
with the Wagner-Liszt orchestra. That alone was a sight to see! He was
following a pre-planned schedule to the minute! So he must have calculated Read more:Master
Working hard 2007-07-11 13:43:00 Today it became obvious how hard work conducting is: I woke up early to
study Stravinsky Apollon Musagete for the orchestra session - which went very
well actually - and after that I had to gather myself to study Ravel La Valse
and conduct it with the pianists.
At the break in our piano session maestro Simonov showed me his notes from
our first meeting 3 years ago in St Petersburg. It is incredible how organized
he is - I remember him writing on his laptop during that master class, but I
never would have believed that he has saved all he wrote and was able to dig it
out to show it to me today. Apparently he makes a file about every person he is
teaching!
Anyway, the comments he made back then were really harsh - his impression of
me after the first lesson must have been very bad. On the second day he wrote
something positive too: "made progress", "feels the music"... Now, after this
master class I will get a couple of pages of notes from these 10 days. That
should b
Another master class day & invitation to Poland 2007-07-10 16:28:00 Today we had another fine day at the master class
. It is so great to see how
everyone here is making progress, no matter what their skill level is. I cannot
but to recommend this master class to everyone who wants a week of technical
discipline in his conducting as well as very good insights to the practical
side of working with orchestras.
I got also some good news last night - I am invited to Poland
, to the
8th
Grzegorz Fitelberg competition in Katowice. I had to ask confirmation by
email, since the web page still shows me as a reserve competitor. It will be
great fun to go to another competition next autumn: First I will go to Croatia
to the Matacic competition, where I will meet my new buddy Filip from this
master class, and then I will compete with another new friend, Maja in Poland!
And don't get me wrong, it will not be a bloody fight - I have noticed that
competitions are a great way to meet nice people and have good time with your
colleagues... ...if you are well enough prepa
A rehearsal visit 2007-07-09 13:51:00 Unlike the rest of our class, I woke up really early this morning, to make
it on time for the Budapest Festival Orchestra rehearsal in the Palace of
Music. I had contacted the orchestra administration beforehand and they got
permission from the conductor, Andras Schiff, that I can attend the
rehearsal.
The hall at the Palace of Music was something! It is new, modern and
beautiful and sounded marvelous too. I will add a picture later where you can
see it in all its glory.
The orchestra was really fantastic also. The program was Haydn, Schubert and
Mozart, and with the modern strings and woodwinds they used natural horns and
natural trumpets. They sounded really good in this music. Maestro Schiff told
me he is a bit afraid for the horns, who clam a high note easily, but in my
humble opinion that is the price you have to pay to have a great brass sound
for music of the classical era!
When I came back to our own rehearsal hall for our master class, it seemed
everyone was in need of a break Read more:visit
Almost a holiday in Budapest! 2007-07-08 16:05:00 Today we had a little bit more relaxed day than usual - and boy we needed
that! The master class has been so intensive that there practically has been no
free time. Professor Simonov is so demanding that after hearing the works to be
conducted at the next session, everyone disappears to their rooms to nicely
make sure they do a decent job next day on the podium...
The repertoire for today was the same as yesterday: Schone Melusine by
Mendelssohn, Der Schauspieldirektor overture of Mozart, Coriolan by Beethoven,
Il Matrimonio Segreta by Cimarosa, and some Rossini and Schubert overtures too.
I noticed an interesting thing which happens when you have to listen to the
same repertoire performed over and over again: The Coriolan overture just
becomes more and more interesting by each and every listening! It is such a
marvellously constructed piece that every time you hear new things and
appreciate the old things more. Cimarosa also stays really charming even after
sixth hearing. I cannot say Read more:Almost
, Budapest
Final impressions of the Yuri Simonov master class 2007-07-15 12:20:00 Friday the 13th, the final day of the master class
! Well, despite the
ominous date everything went fine! I enjoyed some beautiful performances in the
final orchestra rehearsal - especially Oleg Soldatov's interpretation of Don
Juan by Richard Strauss! He is already an experienced conductor who gets what
he wants from the orchestra. Still he is ambitious and curious enough to come
to master classes to learn more! I have high respect for him!
Oleg Soldatov conducting Don Juan
After the rehearsal we gave roses to the orchestra players to thank them for
the good work. They were a fantastic master class orchestra with a friendly but
professional attitude. I am sure every participant got an honest evaluation of
their skills just by listening how the orchestra played under their
direction.
Maestro Simonov rehearsing
After that we took a bus ride to Gödöllö, to a beautiful palace where the
final concert was to take place. The orchestra played in open air, in less than
ideal circumstances Read more:Final
Finally relaxing with friends... 2007-07-12 17:31:00 Today was my last "working day" on this master class - I conducted Ravel's
"La Valse" and then was just listening to our piano session. No more working!
Of course maestro Simonov throws his teachings around so that you cannot avoid
learning from him! Today, for example, he gave a lecture on the importance of
knowing the score and how to study it fast and efficiently. Then we went over
and over again through some problematic passages of Strauss' "Don Juan", and in
the end everyone in the class learned those places by heart! On the next master
class, he said, everyone should know the pieces by heart before the first day!
Quite a challenge!
Me conducting La Valse
After the piano class I could finally go and relax with my colleagues. We
went to eat in a Japanese restaurant, and then to a cafe with live piano music.
Needless to say we had great time (except maybe not the one person who had
still some studying to do for tomorrow - she seemed a bit stressed
ne Read more:Finally
, relaxing
Conducting Basics by Yuri Simonov 2007-07-20 04:39:00 Amongs many other good things, we received on the Yuri Simonov master class
a memo of some very basic things you should/should not do while conducting. He
wrote it originally in Russian, so this new translation hopefully is a little
bit more accurate on some points than the one we got on the master class.
It would be wonderful to get some comments... Read Conducting Basics
by Yuri Simonov
Blog cleaning day 2007-07-19 13:32:00 Today I had time to do some updates and maintenance to my blog diary. In the
Luxembourg section I added a newspaper clip about the competition, which I received today
(thanks Anne!). In addition I put the photos of my concert in St Petersburg to
the "right place" chronologically, as well as the poster pics which I had
time to take just... Read Blog cleaning day
Book Review: The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephine Carr 2007-07-26 11:42:00 How I ran into this book is a story in itself: I was making a web search of
Finnish conductors, when my eye caught the phrase "Finnish conductor Aleksi
Kullio". I was shocked to know that there is a Finnish professional conductor
around whose name I don't know, and especially with such a funny last name! I
of course had to follow the... Read Book Review: The Dewey Decimal System
of Love by Josephine
Carr
Hausmusikwoche in Järvenpää 30.7.-5.8. 2007-08-06 07:36:00 Past seven days I have spent in Järvenpää, a small town in southern Finland
where our most famous composer Jean Sibelius lived. I took part as a teacher to a very popular family
music camp, "Kotimusiikkiviikko" (Hausmusikwoche in original German), which has been around for
more than 50 years already. The idea of the camp came from... Read Hausmusikwoche in Järvenpää 30.7.-5.8.
10 Years of La Tempesta - Congratulations! 2007-08-11 10:14:00 Last night I attended the 10-year anniversary concert of La Tempesta chamber orchestra. I
had the good fortune to conduct them twice last year, but this time I could
just relax and enjoy the performance from the hall. This orchestra is the
brainchild of violinist Janne Tateno, with whom I studied at the same time in the Helsinki Conservatory, and... Read 10 Years
of La Tempesta - Congratulations
!
Master class of Leonid Korchmar - an introduction 2007-08-22 01:33:00 Tomorrow my old teacher from St Petersburg
Conservatory, Leonid
Korchmar will arrive to Finland to teach on a master class
organized by me.
I have been toying with this idea ever since I moved back to Finland from St
Petersburg, but only now I had enough contacts, enough free time and enough
willpover to push through with this project.
I have... Read Master
class of Leonid Korchmar - an introduction
Leonid Korchmar master class, day 4/5 2007-08-27 16:20:00 Today I had invited a singer to my master class
session, to try out the
Leonore's aria from Fidelio. The session was very helpful, and at the same time
proved me how very difficult it is to be a good accompanist! You have to be
aware of the singer's breathing all the time, never unnecessarily hurry her or
hold her back, be always relaxed yourself... Read Leonid
Korchmar master class, day 4/5
Leonid Korchmar master class, day 3/5 2007-08-26 15:21:00 Today I realized that making a master class
is work! Yes, I used to think
that the persons who are just hanging around master classes as a some kind of a
"secretary" are there really for no reason. Today I understood that, really,
there has to be some person who is ready to answer all questions, organize
schedule changes, take care of... Read Leonid
Korchmar master class, day 3/5
Leonid Korchmar master class, day 2/5 2007-08-25 13:07:00 Our faculty: Professor Korchmar in the middle, between our course pianists
Taru and Jari
Petri getting "hands-on" instruction
Professor and Heikki: "Relax your hand, keep on moving..."
"Give a cue with your eyebrows only..."
Discussing Beethoven's second symphony with Anna... Read Leonid
Korchmar master class
, day 2/5
Leonid Korchmar master class, day 1/5 2007-08-24 15:56:00 The first master class
day is over, and I am really happy and relieved that
everything went well. After all this is the first time I am organizing a master
class! Our teacher, professor Leonid
Korchmar, was in a very good teaching mood
and all the students definitely got a lot to think after their first
lessons.
This course is not with an... Read Leonid Korchmar master class, day 1/5
Leonid Korchmar master class, day 5/5 2007-08-30 15:55:00 The master class
is finally over, and everything went perfectly! I have been
resting for two days now after we finished everything, but still I am exhausted
and overwhelmed by everything that happened during the past week.
On the last day everyone was working as hard as ever, and because of my
coming competition in Zagreb I even had to... Read Leonid
Korchmar master class, day 5/5
Leif Segerstam's Sibelius cycle 2007-09-18 09:08:00 Leif Segerstam at work with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
This week the conducting class of the Sibelius Academy had the
wonderful opportunity to observe professor Leif Segerstam rehearse and perform
all seven symphonies by Jean Sibelius to honour the 50th anniversary of the
composer's death. Of course nobody else could come up with the idea... Read Leif Segerstam's Sibelius cycle
Orchestra conductors and eyesight 2007-09-08 14:11:00 Among musical professions conducting holds a special place for many reasons,
and one of them is that the conductor must be talented not only musically, but
also visually - he must be able to take in a huge amount of visual information
and transmit it to the players via body language.
There are several noted cases of musicians being able to perform... Read Orchestra
conductors and eyesight
Recommend Site To A Friend
