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Resources
Tchaikovsky
For the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet, there are many fine performances available. Here is one excellent example.
Barber
The Barber piece we're playing is the 3rd version of the Medea music that Barber created. There was an original ballet for small ensemble (11 players), the Medea Suite for full orchestra (25 minutes) and finally the tone poem, Medea's Dance of Vengeance (c. 13 minutes). Here are some sample recordings for comparison.
Medea's Dance of Vengeance from the world premiere of this version by the NY Philharmonic with Dimitro Mitropolous conducting.
Movements from the original ballet incorporated into Medea's Dance of Vengeance (original title of ballet: "Cave of the Heart". But Barber called his music "Medea" on all of his published scores).
MEDEA production at Macalester College. A film from a live performance of a unique production combining the play by Euripedes, choreography inspired by Martha Graham and the Barber Medea Suite for full orchestra.
Dvořák
For the Dvorak Slavonic Dance, Op. 46 No. 8, there are, again, many fine performances. Here are 2 of them: in Berlin and Cleveland.
Rehearsal Notes
October 25
General comments:
Overall, we are not playing like an orchestra.
I feel like I am working with 60 separate individuals who are each in their own little worlds -- and we can't succeed like that. We need every individual -- every single member of the orchestra -- to be attuned to the entire ensemble. The run throughs were highly enlightening. While there is impressive playing by just about every member of the group, there also is a lack of cohesion that is a little frightening, to be honest. Everything from pizzicatos (cellos and basses!) that are not listening to the melody or following the conductor (!), to missed entrances, to divergent rhythms and even notes across the ensemble...
Everyone needs to GET THEIR EYES OUT OF THE MUSIC and play as an ensemble. Of course, you need to look at your music during note-y passages and at certain junctures -- but you also need to know your music well enough to come up for air and look and listen and be a part of an ensemble performance! This is nothing new. Everyone here can do this. The time is NOW!
We will run the Tchaikovsky and the Barber through at least once each this Saturday. Be prepared to play like it's a performance -- not a read-through! Learn this music like it's a concerto and this is an audition for the teacher/school/program of your dreams.
Oh, and, by the way...
EVERY STRING PLAYER NEEDS TO HAVE THEIR*mute* ON THE STAGE WITH THEM AT REHEARSAL!!
IT DOES NO ONE ANY GOOD IN YOUR CASE OR AT HOME!!
Now for more specific comments:
BARBER
#2 STRINGS pp is WAY TOO LOUD!! SOFTER!
#7 The legato music must flow -- play several bars as a phrase -- with dynamic changes exactly as printed
4 before #10 WATCH the conductor for this transition to #10
#11 Basses, trombones, horns entrance needs to be very secure and the crescendo following, It's a tricky entrance -- you need to know what it sounds like *in context* -- listen to a recording with your part!
#13 OBOE -- these notes and rhythms need to be more secure. Count carefully. It's a terrific sound, but the counting (and sometimes the notes) have been hit and miss
#16 English Horn -- be sure to check intonation in advance, especially of concert F natural
before #17 -- Horns need to enter in the correct places here -- each horn enters on a different beat/part of the measure
#18 -- pizzicatos need to be together as an ensemble. There's a difference between a group accelerando and just plain rushing, Stay with your principal and principals stay with the conductor.
#22 onward -- I'm really missing the dynamic range. pp is never soft enough and forte (pizzicato in cello and bass) is never really forte.
Piano -- no faster than what we just did. Probably a little slower
#30 -- of everything that happened on Saturday, this was probably the best part! I'm glad we invested time in it. But now we need to get everything else on this level
#33 to end -- we'll be looking at this again -- please get yourself organized and ready to play this.
TCHAIKOVSKY
In this entire opening section from the beginning to the Allegro Giusto -- it feels like everyone is operating on guess work for their entrances and note durations...COUNT! It's whole notes, half notes and quarter notes and it looks easy -- but mistakes are being made every other measure. The solution? COUNT. COUNT. COUNT!!
One...two...three...four! No one is above this. Do it!!!
Stringendo before Allegro giusto. WATCH. THE. CONDUCTOR! (period)
The Allegro giusto was a scene of mad rushing like I've rarely seen before. Stay poised. You all have got this. Don't go off the rails. And...have I said, "watch the conductor?"
Letter E -- brass? What happened here? Let's be prepared for this.
11th bar of letter I -- WTC
(which means...?)
(hint: watch the conductor)
**AND** listen to the melody.
***AND*** get your eyes off your music stand and be part of the music-making that's happening in the room. Don't just plop down on the next pizzicato like an automaton -- because you're not automatons. You're wonderful, sensitive, artistic souls -- and I know you can play like wonderful, sensitive. artistic souls. So let's do it!
after letter K, m. 281 etc -- Violin 2 -- waaaaay too loud. It's pianissimo.
after U woodwinds, horns, we should all really memorize this chorale. Let's all be there in the moment making music -- with the right notes and clean entrances and all the rest.
DVORAK
Watch
The
Conductor
It says "meno mosso"
It says "ritardando"
It says "poco ritard..."
Which are all ways of indicating... (let's say it all together, now, as one big chorus!)
Watch The Conductor
October 4
Tchaikovsky
opening -- winds, practice the opening against a drone (low F# or B) to get used to the intonation of intervals. Even tone, sustained through the phrase. Each end note held *full value* into the cutoff beat. Observe dynamic nuance carefully.
m. 21. cellos (upper and lower) practice your line against drone (low D-flat) and listen for pure intervals.
m. 40 -- winds again, practice against a drone (F-natural). This one is more "marcato" meaning the attack of each note is clearer and slightly emphasized -- but it is still sustained and singing -- and held *full value* until the cutoff beat.
letter B -- violas and bassoons and Oboes, practice these lines against a drone (low C) for intonation and pure intervals
letter E -- strings, don't overdo 16ths -- clarity and direction from the bow contact.
winds, brass percussion, strong clear tone on 8th notes.
after G -- violins, practice against a drone (D-flat) for pitch and intervals. play with softly, but with a core in the sound and smoothness through string crossings (same for viola, cello after H)
H winds and horn -- this is a *long* line! Focus on breath control and support. Keep checking the pitch (against an A-flat drone) as you progress through the long line, which really doesn't stop until letter K, 60 bars later!
K -- we had this sounding well at rehearsal Saturday! Remember the *long* quarter notes, the gradual changes of dynamic -- and the *steady tempo*. STEADY, STEADY, STEADY!
P-- 16ths after P in strings -- have a plan for this passage. You don;t have time to think about it in context. Get it in your fingers now!
after P -- oboe and clarinet -- practice against a drone (D). smooth, sustained, quiet, supported by breath
R -- violas, 2nd violins and 1sts -- this passage isn't difficult! You can't read it in rehearsal. Know how it works, and how it interacts with the cello melody.
S and environs -- long quarter. legato measures must *sing*! Chorale music must be *sustained*! Syncopated passages are marcato -- all right beside one another.
Before U -- timpani -- there is an eighth note in the cellos, basses and bassoons right before the ff entrance. You need to have that marked in your part and be aware so you can coordinate that entrance.
U everyone -- sustained, almost lugubrious legato. There are some very strange intervals in these passages -- play them slowly and listen critically to your pitch.
494 -- winds -- soft and sustained. Like beginning, but less heavy. Observe dynamic changes scrupulously.
September 27
General
It's a delight to work with such a talented group of students! You are making progress and we will get there. But now is the time for the real work to be done! Careful, thoughtful, patient work now will yield the results we want later on.
Overall, there is too much "guesswork" and not enough preparation.
Meaning, know your part -- not just the "main theme" but all of it--work on the rhythms and counting and the transitions.
You need to *know* your part, not *read* it. Which will allow you to listen to everything else that's happening at rehearsal. That's the real work in rehearsal -- putting it together, not learning individual parts.
Learn to scrutinize your playing at a deeper level, which develops your ear.
Tchaikovsky
after letter H: pay careful attention to dynamics.
letter K–N: this is one of the most problematic sections. The entire section needs to be played in ONE TEMPO, no matter what that is. Practice this with a metronome -- and keep time with the metronome. Don't speed up when getting louder, or when playing shorter note values.
Winds and strings: practice the long melody against a drone and check the intervals
R: this is a good example of *knowing your part—it isn’t difficult, yet it falls apart at every rehearsal because it has not been properly *prepared*. LEARN IT at home. Listen to the recording—of this specific spot, and figure out how your part fits in.
Barber
#12 practice this section -- how will you get from one note to another and finger harmonics accurately? Mark in with a pencil whatever you need in order to count correctly
#18 - 20 practice rhythms slowly and correctly (even hyper-correctly!). You need to *know* your part so that in rehearsal you can fit it together with everything else.
#30 once again, practice rhythms slowly and rationally. Really work out where in the beat these entrances and accents fall, start without grace notes, and then add them in
September 13
Barber
Woodwinds & strings: practice mm. 20–end. Learn each individual motive, especially the rhythms.
Dvořák
Practice with a metronome
Don’t rush the quarter notes
Tchaikovsky
Pay attention to the key signatures!
Check intonation on all notes
September 6
Barber
The Barber has many tricky rhythms -- they are all relatively simple to play, but maybe a little hard to read. So, carefully go over your part with a teacher and listen to the recording with your part in front of you and it should become clear before too long.
Dvořák
Same as above—review tricky rhythms and follow along with the recording.
Tchaikovsky
For the Tchaikovsky, everyone (and I mean that literally: everyone), needs to practice their 16th-note passages slowly, and gradually increase the speed. The goal is to practice it slowly and without mistakes -- meaning all correct notes, with correct fingerings, in correct positions, where it makes for the most facile playing. Practice it every day. And gradually, week-by-week, increase the tempo. We will expect to hear these passages played without mistakes by every individual at the following metronome marks (i.e. quarter note = x) on each of the dates below. You will be called on to play these passages in rehearsal with your section, with your stand and perhaps even individually. Practicing slowly, with a relaxed physicality, which allows your brain to learn the connections between each note and phrase -- this is what will eventually give you the most freedom and expression and ensemble in performance.
Gradually increasing tempo marks for Tchaikovsky 16th-note passages. (The number on the right is the metronome mark for the quarter note.)
9/13 = 60
9/20 = 72
9/27 = 80
10/4 = 92
10/11 = 100
10/18 = 112
10/25 = 120
11/1 = 128
11/8 = 136