Opening Night
September 26, 2011
–Geoffrey Robson 
As I sit down to write this blog entry just a few days after my 30th birthday, there are plenty of topics to reflect upon, but certainly the start of my 4th season with the Arkansas Symphony is something exciting on the agenda- It has been a busy summer of mostly performing chamber music, so it is going to be great to get back onto the stage of Robinson and perform some great orchestra works! The ASO has already performed two concerts in northern Arkansas this month, so everybody is primed and ready to go for the first Masterworks and Pops series of the season.
When I start preparing and practicing for an orchestra week, for which I will be in the violin section, past performances of the pieces on the program usually start to come to mind. It is always exciting when there are pieces on the program that I have never performed before, which is the case with one of the short works we’ll be playing this week, Puccini’s Chrysanthemums. It is a gorgeous short piece for strings- kind of like Italy’s version of Barber’s Adagio for Strings. In fact, they were both originally written for string quartet only, but are often played by a whole string orchestra.
But the big pieces on the program this week are great standard works, familiar to many and thrilling whether it is the first or hundredth time one has heard them. The Pines of Rome, by Respighi, is a piece of music that can turn someone into a fan of the symphony for life. It is powerful, loud, soft, fast, fun, somber, eerie, beautiful, bombastic, and triumphant. It takes the listener on a half-hour long journey through sound worlds that you may have never heard. It is the kind of piece that composers imitate in writing dramatic film music. It calls for a rather huge orchestra, including six extra brass players who perform from off-stage. I remember vividly the first time I performed this piece- I was 15, and a member of the World Youth Symphony at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. It was probably the first time anybody in that orchestra had performed that piece, and it was truly a formative experience. It is interesting to think about how many of the people involved in that performance are now playing in professional orchestras around the world. Quite a few, I would venture to say.
The other highlight of this concert is Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony. This is an electrifying, virtuosic romp of a symphony that definitely has the members of the string section glued to their practice stands and metronomes this week. Mendelssohn’s music always bursts with youthful energy (he was in his teens and 20’s when he wrote many of his famous pieces!), and this one might be the most exciting of them all. I do happen to recall a couple rather harrowing performances in the past, including one at the lovely Good Shepherd-Faith Church on 66th St. in Manhattan, where I was asked to play viola, and there was only one rehearsal…terrifying. I’m very happy NOT to replicate that experience this week, where we will have time to put together a brilliant concert and season opener.
Also on the program is the ever fun Overture to An Italian in Algiers, by Rossini. Nowadays, when I play or conduct a Rossini overture, I get to think about the very first subscription concert I conducted with the ASO in 2008, which opened with Rossini’s Overture to La Gazza Ladra. That definitely makes me smile, as does the fact that Rossini’s Barber of Seville was the first opera I ever saw performed live, and it was also a Rossini overture that I conducted to open the inaugural concert of the Chelsea Symphony in New York in 2006, which was another fun moment.
This is such an exciting program, and it looks ahead to a great ’11-’12 season. I’m also delighted to be performing on the opening concert of the River Rhapsodies chamber music series as well, which is next Tuesday, October 4th (at the Clinton Library). Also underway already is my first full year as director of the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra, which will have its first performances in November, during Beethoven and Blue Jeans weekend (Stay tuned for more details!!! That will be a great weekend too!!).
Don’t forget to check out my concert previews on KLRE Classical 90.5 as well! At the Symphony airs during all Masterworks weeks, and you’ll get to hear highlights of the program, and learn a bit about the music- it’s a great way to get acquainted with what you’ll hear at the concert hall. Go to KLRE.org for more information and the complete schedule.
Looking forward to seeing you all downtown at the Robinson Center Music Hall this weekend!!
From the Maestro
July 18, 2011
-by Philip Mann
When the Arkansas Symphony asked me to contribute to a blog, we had just finished a storybook first year together. The idea was to give people a chance to keep tabs on my whereabouts and work as a conductor, especially when traveling this summer. It seems appropriate then, that as I write this first entry, I’m sitting on the Eurostar from Rome to Florence- watching the Italian countryside whisk by at Presto tempo.
The window is a blur of wildflowers, vineyards, olive trees, cypress trees, and helplessly charming hilltop towns. For anybody who has spent time in Italy, a high-speed train-view of the country is quite a contrast to the real tempo of life here. People here take the time to enjoy food, friends, music, wine, and other fine things. However, all is not leisurely. We know their cars are made for a different tempo. In the nation that brought us Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati, I find it incredible how you can pass 20 or more speed cameras on a short drive. I’ll spare all the rant, but contradictions do make life interesting.
It has already been a whirlwind summer and this is my second trip to Italy in less than a month. Since May, I’ve been in California three times, Cyprus, Italy, and, of course, Arkansas. I guess that means we have some catching up to do!
As I sit here thinking of how this will take shape, I’m struck by how much this may read like a travel blog. That is one of the great things about being a musician, the travel and all the new friends it can bring.
July 14, 2011: What am I doing today? Where haven’t I been today? I started off in Little Rock, then to Houston, then to Washington D.C., then to Rome FCO airport, then a train to Rome, and, after multiple flight cancellations due to weather, hydraulic problems on my plane, and lots of adventure, now I am headed to Florence, where mercifully Tatiana and I will spend two days before heading to Milan and the Casalmaggiore International Festival. Florence is one of my favorite cities, and I can’t wait to find some time to go out and explore some of my favorite spots, piazze, and walks on the river. We’ll probably have to eat at some point too…… pistachio gelato is always my favorite.
For the Casalmaggiore festival, I’m doing a program with Beethoven’s 8th Symphony, his 5th Piano Concerto “Emperor,” and Rossini’s Overture to Barber of Seville. Italian pianist Giacomo Battarino will be the soloist and the Adrian Ensemble and festival symphony orchestra are collaborating to form the forces. I’ve heard great things about Giacomo as a musician, and I’m looking forward to our first experience sharing a stage. It is always exciting to work with an artist for the first time, especially when it comes on an important gala like this one, which is in memory of the festival founder, Mario delli Ponti. The program is on July 25 at 9:15pm at the Chiesa di San Francesco in Casalmaggiore.
At the end of May (16-28), I spent an unbelievable two weeks in Cyprus working with their National Symphony Orchestra. We had performances in Nicosia, Larnaca, and Limassol, and all three were quite successful. The first performance in Nicosia took place in a beautiful new concert hall to a full and extremely enthusiastic house. Pianist Elisso Bolkvadse was outstanding in a Mozart’s C Major Concerto, K. 467—the 2nd movement was sublime. The orchestra and I got along famously, helped along by a beautiful program which was an elegant sojourn back to our roots with Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 ‘The Clock,” and Beethoven’s Overture to Prometheus, Op. 43. It was an incredibly refreshing time spent in the classical style, and something I hope to do regularly. It was a healthy thing for the soul.
The country was full of colorful food, warm people, beautiful mountains, emerald Mediterranean waters, and heat. I was greeted on the island with a little gift from Kaddafi, a sandstorm from the Sahara blowing all the way across from Libya that darkened the sky and turned every surface red. Beautiful excursions around the coast, some hikes in the north, and many new friends capped off a lovely time there.
Early June- Italy: Following my concerts in Cyprus, I spent some time with good friends and musicians Cristian Cimei (Italian opera conductor) and Emma-Jane Murphy (Irish/Australian Cello Soloist) at Cristian’s family home in Casperia, Italy. Casperia is in the Sabina region outside of Rome and it is one of the most spectacular places on earth. The highlight was a meal prepared by Cristian’s family with wine from their own vineyard, olive oil from their own olive trees, fruits and vegetables from their estate, and sublimely prepared wild boar, which was caught by the host and prepared using an old family recipe. For me, this is quintessentially Italy and it was a beautiful respite between gigs.
San Diego, California: California International Young Artists Competition: June 23-27
A brief trip to California to serve on the Jury of the California International Young Artists Competition was an uplifting and invigorating experience. A great joy of being a conductor is being able to see young talent develop, and on occasion, helping to nurture and cultivate a promising young artist’s career. It is incredible to think of the number of gifted pianists out there right now. A conversation with upcoming ASO soloist Dmitri Alexeev, who is on the juries of the Van Cliburn and Tchaikovsky competitions, reveals the same thing. There are over 10 million piano students just in China at the moment. While classical music may be affected by economics like everything else, it is thriving now in ways it never has.
July 5: One of the highlights of the summer, by far, was the Arkansas Symphony’s Pops on the River performance on the 4th of July. It was an extraordinary evening where it seemed even Mother Nature herself wanted to enjoy the concert. At around 80 degrees, with a blazing sunset in the background, I took the stage to find an orchestra excited to play and an audience that was waiting in anticipation of a great time. The “4 Reps” opened the program with the national anthem as winners of the “Oh Say Can You Sing?” Competition. In the business we might say “they killed.” The audience loved it, and we had a nice time chatting about things both back stage and for all to hear. I was more than pleased when the timing of the first firework explosion came in perfect timing with the rhythm of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. I’m already excited to plan next year’s program.
While I was at home in Arkansas, I had the opportunity to spend a wonderful evening at the home of Melissa and Martin Thoma, who hosted an incredible dinner with Tatiana and me, along with Cliff Baker and Leslie Golden from Wildwood Park for the Arts. It was a fantastic night of friends and food with great conversation on the possibilities that lie ahead for us. With the ASO and Wildwood considering lots of collaborations and ideas, I can hardly wait to see what is in store for Arkansas.
With collaboration in the air, I should also mention that one of the most welcoming and generous people I have met in Little Rock has been Bob Hupp from the Rep. His work has been so important to the cultural life of the state and I’m so happy to call him a friend. These new friendships around the state will be what continue to break down barriers and create memorable and defining arts projects in the future.
I also had my first Arkansas lake experience with a day on the boat of Susan and Nick Brown at DeGray Lake. I now see what everyone is talking about. It was a great day and I look forward to many more afternoons on the water around Arkansas. Actually, to people that didn’t know, I grew up in Durango, Colorado. My home was right above the Animas River and 15 minutes north of the San Juan. These are great trout-fishing rivers, and I can’t wait to try my hand on some of the storied rivers of Arkansas.
What is next? On July 30th, I’ll be headed to Australia for four weeks where I’ll be doing a number of things. First off, I’ll be conducting a special set of
performances for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with their symphony orchestra. The programs will be broadcast nationally on ABC (that’s the Australian equivalent of the BBC) radio. I think people in Arkansas can also listen with the streaming audio broadcast online, details on that to follow. The concerts will be my second major collaboration with the Sydney Conservatorium but my fifth program I have performed at their famed Verbrugghen Hall.
The first collaboration two years ago was a very memorable project with American composer and icon, John Corigliano. Always great company, Mark Adamo was there as well and it was smashing good fun. We worked on a world premiere of John’s which we eventually gave and broadcast from Verbrugghen Hall. It is a smaller hall when compared to our cavernous Robinson Auditorium and its acoustics make artists feel as comfy as singing in the shower. It is an incredible thing when a hall has the ability to allow musicians and guest soloists feel so good about the way they sound that they start to take risks and give everything without playing it safe. Halls are instruments, vibrating in sympathy like a drum. Just like a great violinist deserves a Strad or Guarneri del Gesù, I look forward to one day helping our Arkansas Symphony Orchestra to have a great instrument of its own.
Getting back to the upcoming program, it will have a decidedly American flavor. We open with John Adams’ Chairman Dances from his opera Nixon in China. This is followed by another great living American composer, Jennifer Higdon’s Blue Cathedral, and we finish with a bang in Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Of course, audiences around the world are familiar with West Side Story, but I can’t wait to hear the Australian audience’s reaction to Adams and Higdon!
If I get some free time, I’ll probably sojourn around Australia a bit, revisit the Sydney aquarium, and find some of my favorite Asian restaurants. There is an unbelievable Singaporean place that I always hit when in Sydney, and I’ll probably go with my usual Dim Sum options in China Town—they are the best outside of Hong Kong.
I should mention that by a stroke of fortuitist timing, Tatiana is also appearing as a soloist with Sydney’s Marrickville Symphony Orchestra in August and we’ll be able to travel together! Her concert is on August 7th, and she’s playing the piano solo for Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. More to come from Sydney and Little Rock!………
Piano Men ‘a trip down memory lane’
–by Dawn Scott
Everything I ever thought I knew about a symphony orchestra was turned upside down last Sunday. And that’s a good thing.
Let me preface this scribble by saying that in all my years, I’ve only enjoyed two, maybe three, symphony performances in my lifetime. So I’m not sure I’d trust any review by me, which is not what this is anyway.
So, there I am, dressed in a skirt, fully expecting to be lulled into a daze with maybe Mozart-ish sounds. Or Beethoven mixed with a couple of pop artists. Wrong I was! I think maybe the electric guitars first gave it away. Or it could’ve been the amplifiers. Or maybe the rock ‘n roll drum set?
May have just been the crowd by itself. I thought you were supposed to be super-quiet at the orchestra. Not today! What a bunch of chatter-boxes, I kept thinking.
“We are so excited,” beamed Dick Clement. He and his wife, Susan, drove from Hot Springs to see the show. They were sitting right behind me, and they could hardly wait for the show to start.
“We come from that ‘70s generation, and we’ve heard this is just phenomenal,” Susan added.
Then, they asked for my help.
“Promise you’ll help us, dear,” they asked. “When he calls for TV theme song suggestions, help us yell, All in the Family.”
Indeed, the excitement was palpable, anticipation swirling throughout Robinson Center for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s season finale, “The Piano Men.”
It seemed a crowd favorite before musicians even found their place on stage.
A fusion of orchestra and rock ‘n roll, the show featured the talented performer Jim Witter. Not only did he sing popular tunes from Billy Joel and Elton John, but played piano and harmonica, as well. Guitarists and a drummer added a fun band-like feel, and sing-a-long tunes like “Crocodile Rock” and “Piano Man” had the audience humming and swaying the afternoon away.
Uniquely, it was a throwback to the ‘70s with projection screen reminders of the pop culture most of us knew and loved, like waterbeds, floppy disks, old-school toys, Volkswagen buses, bellbottom pants, and platform shoes.
Witter came up with the idea for the show in 2001, he says, for “purely selfish” reasons.
“I was nostalgic about the 70s, and I wanted to put together a musical, rock-umentary almost, about the ‘70s,” says Witter. “As I was researching music, the music of Elton and Billy kept popping up, their music sort of defined the 70s.”
Television, Witter notes, also defined a large part of the decade, and he spent a portion of the show asking for audience interaction. Indeed, All in the Family was screamed out (not by me, as requested) when Witter called for TV theme songs, and the audience roared when the male guitarist impersonated the character “Edith.”
Clement reached up and whispered in my ear, “and that’s what we were waiting for!”
Witter also took a break from music for a small stand-up comedy bit about the travails and embarrassments of his high school years in the ‘70s. Then, he showed a bit of humility when he told the audience how he really felt about his talents.
“I consider myself a hack rock musician,” Witter joked. “So whenever I’m with a symphony orchestra I’m very careful.”
He paused and then went on to say “when I get to the end, I’m like ‘Hey, I fooled ‘em!’”
For Toby Hilliker and his wife Sue, the show was nothing short of spectacular. They say the 1970s hold some of their best memories. No better way to remember, they figured, than to attend the POPS performance. It did not disappoint.
“It’s fun to go back and re-live some of this music and these memories. Love it!” Sue says.
Toby adds that much of the performance “brings back so many wonderful memories. The toys and games they showed remind us of our kids. It’s like a trip down memory lane.”
Conductor Geoffrey Robson says this POPS show blends pop music with symphony and aims to attract a different audience while at the same time “giving a different type of music to our regular symphony audience.”
“It’s a good way to close the season, different from anything we’ve done this year,” adds Robson.
The Clements agree.
“Fabulous,” says Dick, whose favorite part of the show, of course, was the “Edith” impersonation.
“Very exciting,” adds Sue. “Memorable, too”
As for me, I recall the very beginning of the show when a man introducing Mr. Witt reminded us that “music is an important, enriching part of our lives.” I think this symphony-rock ‘n roll variation was exactly that. Both important and enriching. A journey all too familiar, not necessarily what I had expected, but just as fabulous, equally classic, and a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
