I miss All-State.
Well, I'm not sure how much I miss the late-night dance parties and all the social drama that went along with it, but I sure as hell miss the quality of the performances, and the rehearsals. Today was the final symphonic orchestra rehearsal before the concert tomorrow, and oh, my God - it was horrific. Not only are we as a group completely demolishing both Dvorak and Mussorgsky, our poor lone horn player apparently is reading a solo for the first time. I'll give him the fact that he's not a serious classical musician, and probably has never really listened intently to Dvorak's ninth, especially the fourth movement, which we're (unfortunately) attempting. But, a day before the concert is a little late to be sight-reading one of the most famous horn solos. I honestly don't understand how he managed to do that: he was, I know for a fact, at every rehearsal we've had. I don't quite get how the conductor never noticed that the solo wasn't being played, but I'm also not surprised in the slightest. As a whole, I'm not entirely sure the musicians (even those whom you would hesitate to call "musicians") regard the conductor in a very good light. I'm sure this will come up in a future post; there are too many potentially infuriating and catastrophic incidents that can occur in two years for there not to be.
Considering that the tempi for each piece vary from 80 to 120 and everywhere in between (and sometimes beyond), this concert is going to be hell. I'm not talking about tempi varying from section to section. I swear - and I know people who will back me up on this - they vary from beat to beat. It's gotten to the point where I just pretend to play at some points, and just watch the conductor to try and find where on earth we are in the music.
I rarely seem to succeed.
Thankfully, at least, I know the two pieces we're doing, so I can often just play by ear. They're arranged, though, which is a complete other source of much grief from me, but I'll leave that be, and just swallow my irritation. It's not a new thing, I've given up arguing over arrangements.
I have only one thing I have to complain about, and that's triplets. Anyone who's heard Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (the Great Gate of Kiev) knows there are triplets there. Yet, somehow... when I listen to the music that's being played around me, there are none.
Odd.
Or so it may seem, until you take into consideration that the triplets, somewhere between the page and the bow or bell, miraculously turn into two sixteenths and an eighth. Instead of the expected "trip-le-et", "1-e-&" is what reaches the audience.
My friend and I are currently dreaming up plots to attend school the day of the concert, but suddenly come down with highly contagious diseases that render us incapable of playing at the concert. I honestly have never dreaded performing from the anticipated lack of quality this much in my life.
Well, I'm not sure how much I miss the late-night dance parties and all the social drama that went along with it, but I sure as hell miss the quality of the performances, and the rehearsals. Today was the final symphonic orchestra rehearsal before the concert tomorrow, and oh, my God - it was horrific. Not only are we as a group completely demolishing both Dvorak and Mussorgsky, our poor lone horn player apparently is reading a solo for the first time. I'll give him the fact that he's not a serious classical musician, and probably has never really listened intently to Dvorak's ninth, especially the fourth movement, which we're (unfortunately) attempting. But, a day before the concert is a little late to be sight-reading one of the most famous horn solos. I honestly don't understand how he managed to do that: he was, I know for a fact, at every rehearsal we've had. I don't quite get how the conductor never noticed that the solo wasn't being played, but I'm also not surprised in the slightest. As a whole, I'm not entirely sure the musicians (even those whom you would hesitate to call "musicians") regard the conductor in a very good light. I'm sure this will come up in a future post; there are too many potentially infuriating and catastrophic incidents that can occur in two years for there not to be.
Considering that the tempi for each piece vary from 80 to 120 and everywhere in between (and sometimes beyond), this concert is going to be hell. I'm not talking about tempi varying from section to section. I swear - and I know people who will back me up on this - they vary from beat to beat. It's gotten to the point where I just pretend to play at some points, and just watch the conductor to try and find where on earth we are in the music.
I rarely seem to succeed.
Thankfully, at least, I know the two pieces we're doing, so I can often just play by ear. They're arranged, though, which is a complete other source of much grief from me, but I'll leave that be, and just swallow my irritation. It's not a new thing, I've given up arguing over arrangements.
I have only one thing I have to complain about, and that's triplets. Anyone who's heard Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (the Great Gate of Kiev) knows there are triplets there. Yet, somehow... when I listen to the music that's being played around me, there are none.
Odd.
Or so it may seem, until you take into consideration that the triplets, somewhere between the page and the bow or bell, miraculously turn into two sixteenths and an eighth. Instead of the expected "trip-le-et", "1-e-&" is what reaches the audience.
My friend and I are currently dreaming up plots to attend school the day of the concert, but suddenly come down with highly contagious diseases that render us incapable of playing at the concert. I honestly have never dreaded performing from the anticipated lack of quality this much in my life.
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