marino Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 I had a rather intense musical week! I'd like to share some of my experiences. TUESDAY: My first close encounter with the Arturia Modular V. Verrrrry interesting! But I think it needs a separate thread. THURSDAY: Out-of-town duo jazz concert (piano/sax). The saxophonist called a few days earlier, saying "no reharsals". So I figured out it was one of those restaurant gigs... But it turned out to be in a real jazz place, with an attentive audience who followed the music closely. It was kind of hard, because the sax player just called tunes one at a time during the night, just title and key, then counted off. A couple of times he caught me off guard, and I had to stop him because I wasn't familiar enough with a few of the tunes to risk making a fool out of myself... I had to do a lot of adjusting to his style, but after a while we found some common ground, he let me pick up some of the pieces, and we had real fun. I find unreharsed jazz duo playing one of the hardest situation to front. Not an experience which I would like to repeat every day, but exhilarating in a way. Also, good food, good wine, nice people. FRIDAY: Ialsax Quartet is an group of sax virtuosi who about three years ago commissioned me a piece to play at the World Saxophone Congress in Montreal, Canada. I wrote a somewhat intricate thing to be played with electronic music recorded on CD - They had played it a few times already, and also recorded it, but I never had the chance to hear it played live. Now, they finally included it in a concert in Rome, at the beautiful Palazzo Barberini. Well, to be honest, not *everything* was perfect; they only had a few minutes to try the piece in the hall, so the electronic part was too loud. But everything else went smoothly: The playing was exceptional, and although my piece was by far the most 'far out' of the long program, it was very well received and applauded. Besides me, a few other composers of pieces in the program were there , including Ennio Morricone - you may know him for his film music, but his 'serious' music is much different, much more 'experimental' and risky. Anyway - a well-presented concert in a gorgeous Reinassance building with perfect acoustics, with tremendous players, famous composers and enthusiasm from the audience for a 'contemporary' piece... I asked myself if maybe I was dreaming. Life should always be like that. SUNDAY: I will remember Sunday, February 29th 2004 for a long time. I went to hear one of my music idols: Hungarian pianist Gyorgy Sandor. Besides having written the book which changed my approach to the piano ("On Piano Playing"), Sandor was a student of Bela Bartok, and his favorite pianist. Bartok himself was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, so his judgement has some value... Now really old and with some physical problems, I had never heard him playing solo. He played Beethoven's op.111 (the last sonata), Schumann's "Fantasia" in C, Chopin's "Fantasia" in F min. and a few Mazurkas. Well, if someone is not familiar with the last Beethoven sonata, calling it a 'piano sonata' would really be a disservice... it's a work of trascendence, abstraction, desperation, and renewal - and it's very, VERY difficult to play well. And I had *never* heard it like this old man played it. He dug into this deep abyss with the simplicity of someone singing a song. It was an incredible music lesson, and much more - every gesture made sense, pianistically and otherwise. He has a colossal technique, but there's no sign of 'virtuoso' gestures. He spoke to the audience, with a refreshing matter-of-fact attitude. He even *stopped* a long applause, anxious to go ahead with the music! The other works, Schumann's and Chopin's, were equally breathtaking - deep and 'simple' at the same time. In today's crazy world, seeing such a high artistic figure was more than a pleasant experience; rather, a reminder that things like dignity and integrity still exist. Almost forgot: Gyorgy Sandor is 93 (ninety-three) years old. What a week!! Carlo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Thanks for sharing, Marino. The stuff I've heard you play on the Keyboard Compilations always stuns me, and the fact that you live in Italy, amidst all that history, great food, wineries and culture, well, damn guy I'm really envious of you! I've only played one sax/keyboard duo in my life, the sax player promised me advance charts and at least one rehearsal, neither of which I received; hardest $50 I ever earned! Glad yours went better (and I wish I had been there!) Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmplifierExperts Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Your description of Sandor's performance was itself a literary masterpiece! Very well-communicated and colorfully-described. I enjoyed reading it. Best Regards, Mark A. Weiss, P.E. www.ampexperts.com - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle ggurl Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 "He dug into this deep abyss with the simplicity of someone singing a song." To witness this in and of itself is an amazing opportunity. Thank you for recognizing it and sharing! Original Latin Jazz CD Baby "I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 cool thread http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted March 4, 2004 Author Share Posted March 4, 2004 Originally posted by Botch.: Thanks for sharing, Marino. The stuff I've heard you play on the Keyboard Compilations always stuns me, and the fact that you live in Italy, amidst all that history, great food, wineries and culture, well, damn guy I'm really envious of you! Well, while living in a place like Italy has its pros and cons, living here *and* being a pro musician is not the easiest thing, especially in recent times. More than once I found myself willing to say "enough", pack my stuff and leave - in fact, I spent rather long stints abroad... About the Gyorgy Sandor concert, while I dwelt a bit on the poetic side, you can blame that on mr. Sandor himself, because that's exactly how his playing made me feel. I'm just starting to realize how lucky I was to attend that concert, and how 'important' it has been - one of the most enriching events I've witnessed in my music life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humannoyed Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Carlo, I enjoyed you sharing your experiences with us too. I'll have to check out Mr. Sandor's book. I suppose he has recorded. Any recommendations? Your experience with the sax player reminds me of a nightmare I had about a year ago. I dreamed I was a last minute hire to fill in as pianist for a well known female jazz singer for a gig in Mobile, Alabama. There was no preparation and she just called out standards in the strangest keys. I was already nervous about the gig and for some reason the odd keys just threw me. I totally ruined her gig in this bad dream. When I woke up I felt genuinely awful. The dream was just too real! So much so that I vowed to never take a gig in Mobile with any jazz singer. Day It's good to know your limitations "It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule." "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod76 Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 There was a World Sax Congress in Montréal Kebek, Kanada and I wasnt aware.... Man, I really need to lift this big rock over my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted March 5, 2004 Author Share Posted March 5, 2004 Originally posted by humannoyed: Carlo, I enjoyed you sharing your experiences with us too. I'll have to check out Mr. Sandor's book. Do it - you won't regret it. I suppose he has recorded. Any recommendations? Sandor gave the first performance of many of Bartok's works under the composer's guidance, and he's quite the Bartok specialist. He has recorded the whole Bartok catalog - you can't go wrong with any of the many titles in this long list. My personal favorites are the Third Piano Concert, which I've watched him perform, or Sandor's own pianistic version of Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra", a work of stunning virtuosity. To be sure, I find him equally great in Beethoven and Listz; maybe just a tad less in Debussy or Schumann. He's one of the last exponents of a kind of pianism which is coming from the last years of the 19th century: Big and 'monumental', but in his case, totally devoid of any affectation. Most of his recordings are on Sony Classical. Your experience with the sax player reminds me of a nightmare I had about a year ago. I dreamed I was a last minute hire to fill in as pianist for a well known female jazz singer for a gig in Mobile, Alabama. There was no preparation and she just called out standards in the strangest keys. I was already nervous about the gig and for some reason the odd keys just threw me. I totally ruined her gig in this bad dream. When I woke up I felt genuinely awful. The dream was just too real! You must be joking... I've *lived* this nightmare, or at least, something very similar, many years ago. I gave an account of it a couple of times already in the forum, and you will pardon me if I don't feel like recalling it right now... It will suffice to say that I was about to quit playing music forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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