Published on
February 29, 2008 in
Music.
I’m stoked in the Basement this evening, kids. Why? Well, because this is the week I’m thumping along on Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, with the SLSO. I’m playing all bass drum and triangle this time.
This piece is asked on all percussion auditions because it’s got a great snare drum part, which I look forward to admiring from close proximity. I haven’t played this since music school, and that is way, way too long!
I was talking to my pal Randy Max about that long ago concert with the Juilliard Orchestra. I was on timpani and he was on snare drum, which our teacher Roland Kohloff called the “hot seat.”
One of the cool things about this symphony is that Shostakovich spells out his initials over and over again in musical code. In a sense, he puts himself into the piece, along with several other musical characters. D is for Dmitri, Ess (Eb in German) is for S, C (OK, this only makes sense if it’s spelled Schostakovich) and H, German for B natural. He really hammers away at in what I take to be a celebration of individuality in the face crushing Soviet era conformity. When I say hammer, it’s just about literal. The timpani (again with yours truly admiringly nodding nearby) bangs out D, Eb, C, B over and over again in the coda. It’s super satisfying.
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Published on
February 22, 2008 in
Music.
I saw this in Eddie Silva’s SLSO blog. He saw it in Alex Ross’ The Rest is Noise blog where it originated. It warms the old cockles on this cold and drizzly day.
I received a lovely note from a friend of a friend, a well-regarded writer in another field. He read my book and has subsequently developed what he calls a “full-blown obsessionâ€? with Messiaen, whom he’d never listened to before. This obsession developed to the point where he did something unprecedented and extreme: he bought tickets to an orchestra concert. Namely, the St. Louis Symphony’s TurangalĂ®la evening, which I praised…. He writes: “I’m not even going to try to describe the effect it had on me, other than to say there are a few cultural encounters that have marked me forever — understanding CĂ©zanne for the first time, my Merce Cunningham epiphany, my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth viewings of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Flowers of Shanghai — and the TurangalĂ®la now joins their company.”
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Published on
February 16, 2008 in
Music.
Well the big show went off without a hitch. My trusty wood block served me well. The crowd went wild. For the orchestra, not for me, exactly. Here’s a pic.
But wait, there’s more. Brian Kushmaul was in the house laboring on the Turangalila with the rest of the drummers. He and I share a certain lineage as former timpanists of the Evansville Philmarmonic. He is currently in Louisville, KY and is playing timpani in Columbus, OH this season. That makes him a busy lad. 
As astute readers might know, I link to Eddie Silva’s SLSO blog. He is an excellent blogger and I recommend it highly. What’s more, he gave this space a shout out, like so:
I walked to the Hall this morning with percussionist Ted Rubright, whose father is the author of a fine walking guide of St. Louis, among other things. I promised Ted I’d give a shout out to his blog, and here it is: www.rubright.com.
Thanks Eddie!
Lastly, I offer up a photo of my friend and fellow extra drummer, Henry Claude. Note his serious mien and stern countenance. Also mark the colorful maracas that he employs to great musical effect.
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