The Fishermen are having a tad of a hiatus at the moment, owing to me galavanting across the country for a week and a half...
However, I have a spare minute or two at the "remains" of my parents house, and have decided there was something I had to get out. So I have suirreled myself away in the converted attic room (which is rather splendid, with a clear view of a tree covered hill in one direction and Blackpool Tower in the other) to impart to you this vital information...
The first trombonist was playing an Edwards T350.
The second trombonist was playing a Shires custom-built tenor traombone with an F valve.
The bass trombonist was playing an Edwards B454.
(When I can work out how to blog pictures and have more time, I shall illustrate this post accordingly).
It's interesting to see how the Americans have steered clear from the European standard choice, which is generally a mixture of Conn 8H and Conn 88H (or rarely a Rath custom-build) for first and second. The bass trombone is rarely standard however - people generally find one that they love and stick with it. Quite a few people seem to be going for the Edwards instruments now with their new Thayer valves, but then there are still people who swear by vintage Conn basses (like me...) or Yamahas.
Next post may be some time, but I will almost certainly be waffling about the performance of Mozart's Requiem I saw on BBC 4 (from the Proms) last night.
Tata for now.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Welsh Pianists and American Orchestras
Mr Nicholas and I attended the next in our Mahler series last night (for the uninitiated: we made a pact a few years ago to see all the Mahler symphonies performed live, in chronological order). The programme was:
Samuel Barber - First Essay for Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3 (soloist: Llyr Williams)
Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 (By this, you'll be able to tell that we're nearly half-way through our odyssey)
The orchestra was the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska.
The whole evening was superb, starting as we did with crepes and French cider at the South Kensington creperie (I had a bizarre cheesy-fishy concoction which was most pleasant. Nicholas had a sweet banana and chocolate one which looked gorgeous). Every item on the concert programme was exceptionally played, though never to the point where all the "danger" went out of the performance.
To digress, I think the "danger" is a key element of all live performance now, but particularly in the Classical sphere: a good concert should, as well as providing all the usual musical tension and release, should heighten this feeling through the knowledge that it could fall apart at any moment. All it would take is for the first trumpet or the timpanist to have spent too long in the pub and it could all go wrong. Obviously, common sense tells you these are professionals and even if there was the odd slip, it wouldn't be fatal. But on the rare occasions I have seen an orchestra playing something they have had in their repertoire for the past few months, and are obviously supremely competent at playing, the pervading feeling is one of blandness, and you can almost feel the (relative) disinterestedness from the orchestra.
Anyway, back on topic. Two things struck me most of all last night. The first was during the Beethoven. Llyr WIlliams gave an exceptional performance, especially given that he was a last-minute replacement for Dawn Upshaw singing the UK Premiere of new songs by Golijov, (It was nice to see the pleasantly rowdy group of "prommers" welcome him to the Albert Hall in Welsh). However, Williams did do quite a lot of "emoting" over the piano. I remember the last concert I was at, we saw Lang Lang play Mozart's Piano Concerto no.21 (I think...), and he too did an awful lot of "emoting". What I mean by this is a lot of swoops, swaying, leering and gurning over the piano while throwing yourself passionately into the music. I guess it would be called showmanship.
I don't have a problem with this, except that at times it can prove rather distracting and, particularly in Lang Lang's case, seems rather inappropriate for the relative restraint of the Mozart. On the subject of Wolfgang, I believe he was said to have strongly disapproved of performers who "emoted" during a performance, on one occasion commenting that it lookked like the performer was in the throes of a fit. I think in modern times, no-one could really expect a performer to sit rigidly upright at the piano, but I think in terms of "showmanship", less is definitely better.
I have waffled quite a bit, but I just wanted to touch on the orchestra. One thing you do tend to notice is that American orcehstras play with a very lush tone. I appreciate that virtually everything on the programme last night demanded this, but there was a real feeling of broadness, of richness in the orchestra. Of course, it was the Americans who pioneered the larger bore brass instruments we have now and which are standard in most (non-period) orchestras (sometimes to the detriment of the performance - there was very little difference in timbre between the French Horns and the Trombones last night, which was a little confusing at times). But I don't mean to gripe (I wouldn't give up my large-bore Conn 88H for anything). The thing that struck me was the supreme confidence that excuded from all the players.
A case in point: Mahler is quite clear in his instructions about when he wants the bells of brass and woodwind instruments to be raised, and the orchestra followed it to the letter, with the Clarinets at one point looking like they were trying to launch things into the audience. In one of the solo trombone passages, I thought the trombonist was actually going to play vertically upwards. But actually, he played at the perfect angle to project into the hall, as did the Clarinets, the Horns, and the other instruments following this particular instruction.
The sheer confidence, the swagger of these players was fantastic to see - you got the feeling this was a happy orchestra, supremely capable and enjoying themselves while playing (which is actually a surprisingly rare sight). Possibly this comes from the greater investment in and affluence of American orchestras in comparison to their European couterparts. Whatever the contributing factors however, it works.
It's interesting isn't it? I crticised the soloist for his excessive showmanship, yet am praising the orchestra for theirs. It's not quite inconsistent however - the orchestral showmanship does originate from instructions on the page, whereas the soloist was bringing his own personality to bear on the performance.
But anyway, these are just a few small things that occured to me during a rather excellent concert, and evening as a whole.
Samuel Barber - First Essay for Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3 (soloist: Llyr Williams)
Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 (By this, you'll be able to tell that we're nearly half-way through our odyssey)
The orchestra was the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska.
The whole evening was superb, starting as we did with crepes and French cider at the South Kensington creperie (I had a bizarre cheesy-fishy concoction which was most pleasant. Nicholas had a sweet banana and chocolate one which looked gorgeous). Every item on the concert programme was exceptionally played, though never to the point where all the "danger" went out of the performance.
To digress, I think the "danger" is a key element of all live performance now, but particularly in the Classical sphere: a good concert should, as well as providing all the usual musical tension and release, should heighten this feeling through the knowledge that it could fall apart at any moment. All it would take is for the first trumpet or the timpanist to have spent too long in the pub and it could all go wrong. Obviously, common sense tells you these are professionals and even if there was the odd slip, it wouldn't be fatal. But on the rare occasions I have seen an orchestra playing something they have had in their repertoire for the past few months, and are obviously supremely competent at playing, the pervading feeling is one of blandness, and you can almost feel the (relative) disinterestedness from the orchestra.
Anyway, back on topic. Two things struck me most of all last night. The first was during the Beethoven. Llyr WIlliams gave an exceptional performance, especially given that he was a last-minute replacement for Dawn Upshaw singing the UK Premiere of new songs by Golijov, (It was nice to see the pleasantly rowdy group of "prommers" welcome him to the Albert Hall in Welsh). However, Williams did do quite a lot of "emoting" over the piano. I remember the last concert I was at, we saw Lang Lang play Mozart's Piano Concerto no.21 (I think...), and he too did an awful lot of "emoting". What I mean by this is a lot of swoops, swaying, leering and gurning over the piano while throwing yourself passionately into the music. I guess it would be called showmanship.
I don't have a problem with this, except that at times it can prove rather distracting and, particularly in Lang Lang's case, seems rather inappropriate for the relative restraint of the Mozart. On the subject of Wolfgang, I believe he was said to have strongly disapproved of performers who "emoted" during a performance, on one occasion commenting that it lookked like the performer was in the throes of a fit. I think in modern times, no-one could really expect a performer to sit rigidly upright at the piano, but I think in terms of "showmanship", less is definitely better.
I have waffled quite a bit, but I just wanted to touch on the orchestra. One thing you do tend to notice is that American orcehstras play with a very lush tone. I appreciate that virtually everything on the programme last night demanded this, but there was a real feeling of broadness, of richness in the orchestra. Of course, it was the Americans who pioneered the larger bore brass instruments we have now and which are standard in most (non-period) orchestras (sometimes to the detriment of the performance - there was very little difference in timbre between the French Horns and the Trombones last night, which was a little confusing at times). But I don't mean to gripe (I wouldn't give up my large-bore Conn 88H for anything). The thing that struck me was the supreme confidence that excuded from all the players.
A case in point: Mahler is quite clear in his instructions about when he wants the bells of brass and woodwind instruments to be raised, and the orchestra followed it to the letter, with the Clarinets at one point looking like they were trying to launch things into the audience. In one of the solo trombone passages, I thought the trombonist was actually going to play vertically upwards. But actually, he played at the perfect angle to project into the hall, as did the Clarinets, the Horns, and the other instruments following this particular instruction.
The sheer confidence, the swagger of these players was fantastic to see - you got the feeling this was a happy orchestra, supremely capable and enjoying themselves while playing (which is actually a surprisingly rare sight). Possibly this comes from the greater investment in and affluence of American orchestras in comparison to their European couterparts. Whatever the contributing factors however, it works.
It's interesting isn't it? I crticised the soloist for his excessive showmanship, yet am praising the orchestra for theirs. It's not quite inconsistent however - the orchestral showmanship does originate from instructions on the page, whereas the soloist was bringing his own personality to bear on the performance.
But anyway, these are just a few small things that occured to me during a rather excellent concert, and evening as a whole.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Commuter Boy I
A CAVEAT: You know how I said this blog was approximately 95% less angry? Well this is the left over 5%...
Which makes it all the more irritating when it goes wrong.
Today, apparently, we were stuck outside Waterloo for 15 minutes because one of the outgoing trains had a faulty radio and it couldn't leave the platform. Not sure what was up with any of the 18 other platforms. Yes, I know we would have held someone else up, but it's amazing how selfish commuting can make you. By 10 minutes there were quite a few of us wanting to rip open the door and walk into Waterloo we were that close.
It reminded me of the bad old days with the black hole outside Waterloo. And also reminded me of the fact that when the owners of the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo decided it was to be closed in favour of the new terminus at Paddington, they didn't think:
"Hey, we've got six free platforms coming up at a horrendously overcrowded station - just think, if we open them up to normal trains we can eliminate the normal morning congestion."
No. They didn't think that. They thought:
"Hey, we've got six free platforms coming up at a horrendously overcrowded station - just think, we can turn it all into a big shopping centre and add fifty million shoppers to the gaggle of pissed off commuters. Then we can sit in our offices and laugh as the whole concourse descends into a violent, hate-fuelled mess."
You see, the second option brings more money in. So they can continue splashing cash out so that their huge pendulous man breasts can continue be massaged daily in baby oil by teams of scantily-clad nymphettes imported from Russia.
Luckily several sensible MPs have opposed this, and I understand it will be given over to trains now after all. So the fat rulers of Waterloo station will have to massage baby oil into their own breasts for the time being until they come up with another scheme to make vast piles of cash.
A victory for the little commuter I think. Now all they need to do is fix the black hole that's sprung up in Barnes...
Scheduled Departure Time: 07:53
Actual Departure Time: 07:53
Scheduled Arrival Time: 08:18
Actual Arrival Time: 08:33
Explanation / Apology: Yes. Full and frank.
Weather: Drying from the overnight downpour
So, yes, since I last did one of these, many things have changed. I have to get into work earlier for one. But surprisingly South West Trains have been rather good.Which makes it all the more irritating when it goes wrong.
Today, apparently, we were stuck outside Waterloo for 15 minutes because one of the outgoing trains had a faulty radio and it couldn't leave the platform. Not sure what was up with any of the 18 other platforms. Yes, I know we would have held someone else up, but it's amazing how selfish commuting can make you. By 10 minutes there were quite a few of us wanting to rip open the door and walk into Waterloo we were that close.
It reminded me of the bad old days with the black hole outside Waterloo. And also reminded me of the fact that when the owners of the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo decided it was to be closed in favour of the new terminus at Paddington, they didn't think:
"Hey, we've got six free platforms coming up at a horrendously overcrowded station - just think, if we open them up to normal trains we can eliminate the normal morning congestion."
No. They didn't think that. They thought:
"Hey, we've got six free platforms coming up at a horrendously overcrowded station - just think, we can turn it all into a big shopping centre and add fifty million shoppers to the gaggle of pissed off commuters. Then we can sit in our offices and laugh as the whole concourse descends into a violent, hate-fuelled mess."
You see, the second option brings more money in. So they can continue splashing cash out so that their huge pendulous man breasts can continue be massaged daily in baby oil by teams of scantily-clad nymphettes imported from Russia.
Luckily several sensible MPs have opposed this, and I understand it will be given over to trains now after all. So the fat rulers of Waterloo station will have to massage baby oil into their own breasts for the time being until they come up with another scheme to make vast piles of cash.
A victory for the little commuter I think. Now all they need to do is fix the black hole that's sprung up in Barnes...
Neighbours
I was going to blog about something interesting, fascinating and eye-opening today (those in the know will know that this heralds a huge outpouring ont he exact working of the second valve mechanism on a bass trombone).
But instead I thought I'd share my great news - I've kicked my "Neighbours" habit!
Ever since my last knee op last year, I began to be sucked into the Ramsay Street world for the first time since I was a kid at school. Suddenly, the antics of Toadie, Connor, Sky and Susan (still the yummiest mummy on TV) became vitally important. My lunch breaks were timed for 1:45 so I could catch the afternoon showing (not a chance I'd make the evening one), and I used to throw a strop if someone was watching Trisha or Richard and Judy or whatever other arse was being pumped out by ITV at the time (although I did make way for McGyver if ever that was on - come on! It has Brian Blessed in it!).
I became a spoiler junkie, checking www.neighboursfans.com every day, sometimes more than once, to find out what was happening (as a result, I still know what's going on in mid-September in Australia).
But the new job has gradually fixed this. For one thing, I have to take a late or early lunch, thus missing the vital 1:45 slot. Secondly, after the plane crash, it just lost interest for me. True, they had an evil twin storyline, which reminded me of the happy days of Sunset Beach, but it just wasn't the same.
Todya I realised that the Neighbours Fans website has vanished off my "most-visited" links site. And I can breathe a sigh of relief. Until I notice that URL floating terribly near the top of the list...
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers
But instead I thought I'd share my great news - I've kicked my "Neighbours" habit!
Ever since my last knee op last year, I began to be sucked into the Ramsay Street world for the first time since I was a kid at school. Suddenly, the antics of Toadie, Connor, Sky and Susan (still the yummiest mummy on TV) became vitally important. My lunch breaks were timed for 1:45 so I could catch the afternoon showing (not a chance I'd make the evening one), and I used to throw a strop if someone was watching Trisha or Richard and Judy or whatever other arse was being pumped out by ITV at the time (although I did make way for McGyver if ever that was on - come on! It has Brian Blessed in it!).
I became a spoiler junkie, checking www.neighboursfans.com every day, sometimes more than once, to find out what was happening (as a result, I still know what's going on in mid-September in Australia).
But the new job has gradually fixed this. For one thing, I have to take a late or early lunch, thus missing the vital 1:45 slot. Secondly, after the plane crash, it just lost interest for me. True, they had an evil twin storyline, which reminded me of the happy days of Sunset Beach, but it just wasn't the same.
Todya I realised that the Neighbours Fans website has vanished off my "most-visited" links site. And I can breathe a sigh of relief. Until I notice that URL floating terribly near the top of the list...
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
A Clean Slate
The blog has seen a bit of a resurgence recently amongst our little crowd, what with Nicholas, Lise and Rich all starting / restarting / reactivating their blogs.
Coupled with this, several things have changed since my last post a year ago:
1) I no longer have a horse's arse outside my window. I now have a rather fantastic view across Horse Guard's Parade towards St James' Park - I must get a photo of that there at some point...
2) Coupled with the lack of horse's arse is that I no longer work in IT having escaped upwards to become a Deputy Bernard.
3) I no longer want to maim my immediate colleagues. In fact, I rather like them all.
So I thought I would relaunch into this blogging malarkey with enthusiasm...wish me luck.
Coupled with this, several things have changed since my last post a year ago:
1) I no longer have a horse's arse outside my window. I now have a rather fantastic view across Horse Guard's Parade towards St James' Park - I must get a photo of that there at some point...
2) Coupled with the lack of horse's arse is that I no longer work in IT having escaped upwards to become a Deputy Bernard.
3) I no longer want to maim my immediate colleagues. In fact, I rather like them all.
So I thought I would relaunch into this blogging malarkey with enthusiasm...wish me luck.
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