February 2012 Archives

Coming back from grabbing a late-lunch salad, open the backstage door, and this force, this disorienting beauty: Karita Mattila singing with the St. Louis Symphony.

I treated two Symphony fans to lunch at Blueberry Hill recently, and you get a slice of St. Louis and of Symphony devotion in this most recent blog from Carnegie Hall. Click.

Weijing Wang, viola, and Will James, percussion, were setting up to rehearse Luciano Berio's Naturale in the Green Room, Monday morning, 9am. They'll play the work as part of the next Symphony concert at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts on March 7. Will was moving the marimba around; Weijing was locating the best position for the music stands. No time to bask in the glow of Brahms 4. "We've got to do this so we don't suck," said Will, which is a very succinct explanation as to why musicians need to practice.

Trombonist Gerry Pagano has called the Brahms 4 performances the finest he's ever played with the St. Louis Symphony. Principal Second Violin Alison Harney has said that Martin Helmchen's Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 makes her weep. "Where is he so I can worship him?" she said to me at intermission. "He notices things. The seconds play the bass line and he hears us. He hears us shaping the phrases. Not every soloist does this."

The other day when I was working on the script for the live broadcast of the Symphony (every Saturday subscription concert, St. Louis Public Radio, 90.7, KWMU) I got a message from co-host Robert Peterson, asking fellow co-host Adam Crane and myself about pronunciation of next week's artists, composers and works (Karita Mattila, Kaija Saariaho and Quatre Instants, specifically) so we can promote them on the Saturday, February 25, broadcast that features music of Wagenaar, Mozart and Brahms.Which are all easy to pronounce.

Phil Ross was backstage blowing through a reed, making a high-pitched blat like a soprano sheep. He was waiting for his time on stage to play Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor. He took that reed from his mouth and tucked it in his reed case, which seemed to hold at least a dozen of those thin, delicate--and for the double-reed artist--maddening pieces of cane. He pulled another one out.

In today's blog from Carnegie, Maggie Bailey talks about the preparation that goes into taking the orchestra on tour, and shows off her Cardinal bobblehead collection. Click. 

The St. Louis Symphony plays Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 10, 2012. Leading up to that concert, our friends at Carnegie have been working with us on creating a web narrative, telling the story of an American orchestra traveling to and performing at that hallowed performance mecca. The web series has begun. Watch for more in the coming days and weeks.

Saturday night the view from the palatial St. Louis Public Radio broadcast booth was obscure. With the stage lighting set low for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, our monitors--which are functional at best--were displaying layers of darkness. Is the orchestra out there? Is David Robertson out there? Are the dancers dancing?

Although the Friday morning Coffee Concerts have long been advertised and known as just that, the "Coffee Concerts" for a long time, double bassist Don Martin informed me that the musicians refer to them as the "doughnut concerts."

Overheard from a Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dressing room: "A symphony gig doesn't seem so bad."

David Robertson's on-stage welcome to the dancers for the first rehearsal on Wednesday afternoon: "I apologize in advance for getting all the tempos wrong."

I've been talking about the stage extension and raised stage for orchestra that help make the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago/St. Louis Symphony concerts ideal for a variety of sensations. Here are some pics:


The stage that stretches out into the seating area.

Not only is the stage extension completed, but the stage-upon-a-stage component, in which the orchestra is set on a platform upstage and above the Powell Hall stage floor, appeared in place on Tuesday afternoon. I looked at it somewhat amazed. A stage hand said, "Magic."

Stage Manager Bruce Mourning and his Morning, Noon, and Night crew (MN&N--see how that works for you as a moniker, stage crew) were busy adding the stage extension on a snowy Monday, so Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dancers have room to dance and St. Louis Symphony musician have room to make music. It makes for a wonderful combination. Stretch that proscenium.

"I'm going to be very honest," Jenifer Lewis begins the phone interview, as if anyone would expect her to be anything but, "I am so excited to be singing at Powell Hall with the In Unison Chorus."

Wednesday evening, as part of the On Stage at Powell event, the XAff department hosted a pre-show dinner with Mayor Francis Slay and members of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis. After everyone was fed and St. Louis Symphony President/CEO Fred Bronstein spoke on the state of the Symphony, we made our way to the Powell Hall stage for the concert "Celebrating Black History Month: An Evening of African and African-American Music." Also in attendance this evening were many new immigrants to our city, from countries far away and cultures different from our own. It was a wonder to see such a diverse group on stage and in the auditorium. Mayor Slay gave our new neighbors a warm welcome to their new home. Also in the house were new St. Louisans from the organization St. Louis Transplants, a group who might best be known for not having gone to high school here (I proudly qualify for this designation).

Monday morning the St. Louis Symphony welcomed a few hundred preschoolers to Powell Hall to listen and interact with Vivaldi and The Snowy Day. Like most good things, it took a long arc to get to that morning's event. The Symphony has been going to preschool Grace Hill Head Start classrooms, thanks to the sponsorship of PNC Bank's Grow Up Great program, for the last couple years. PNC's support has been vital in the Symphony's efforts to reach children and families in our community who too often go underserved or neglected.

Thanks to everyone for coming and filling up the stage for the announcement of the 2012-2013 season at our Town Hall Meeting Tuesday night. A wonderful, lively audience shared interesting questions and warm regards for the Symphony they love. One woman spoke of four decades of St. Louis Symphony going, and how in the David Robertson years she's noticed how much physical movement there is in the orchestra--you watch and feel how they play as you listen--and with Robertson as the graceful equivalent of 15 rounds of Muhammed Ali dancing in the conductor's box... as I've always said, one reason you've got to be here for the live experience is for the visuals.

When I arrived on the seventh floor early this morning, there was a deep, powerful voice singing. The voice was coming from behind the door to the conference room. I just stood there listening in happy awe. Then the door opened. "Hello, I'm Patrick Blackwell," he said, offering his hand. He had the stately, calm dignity that one expects of a bass. "I hope I didn't disturb anyone," he added.

If you are looking for a way to avert the February blahs, here's the (free) ticket. Tuesday evening, St. Louis Symphony Music Director David Robertson and President/CEO Fred Bronstein announce the 2012-2013 St. Louis Symphony season at our Town Hall Meeting. There's a seat waiting for you on the Powell Hall stage. There's live music by vocalist Brian Owens, violinist Asako Kuboki, and pianist Adam Maness. The whole shindig will be broadcast live on HEC-TV, but the most fun is being there. There will be wine in the foyer after the one-hour show. Tuesday, February 7 at 6:30pm. Come early to get a good seat.

A guest artist doesn't have to stick around and listen to the orchestra. A soloist's job is a trying, even exhausting, task. But at Powell Hall, guest soloists often stick around after their concerto work is done to experience what happens next with the St. Louis Symphony, at least for one concert during their engagement. Sometimes it's the allure of repertoire that is not often performed that attracts them. For many it is just the marvelous sound of the orchestra itself, as fine an ensemble as may be heard anywhere in the world.

Maybe it's because the beauty of Schubert has been in the air, but I thought of how nearly every week, St. Louisans have the opportunity to enjoy the talents of one of the finest ensembles of artists to be found anywhere. Imagine.

Days without blogging are not quite like days without sunshine. But so much seen and done and heard. Bassist Dave DeRiso and violinist Jessica Cheng wearing lion and mouse ears, respectively, as they told and played the story of the lion and the mouse to pre-schoolers at Carondelet Grace Hill Head Start on a bright morning. Those pre-schoolers will be at a special Monday morning on stage concert--a first for the Symphony--on February 6. A Symphony chamber ensemble will perform for three groups of pre-K children throughout the morning. PNC's Grow Up Great program funds this musical bridge to the community. The tireless Laura Reinert of the XAff staff has been working with teachers, musicians and children all along the way to help make the lion roar and the mouse negotiate.