I've had a fun time the last few days. There have been lots of auspicious moments that have been fun and have kept me busy. Here's a loosely alphabetic overview:
A is for ART
There was a little art fare in the park near our house today. A lot of the work was pretty average, but a few people really stood out. They each had a unique element in their work that made it catch my attention. You can visit their websites to get a taste of their style.
Janice Taylor- I liked her use of color, line and particularly texture.
Plillip Singer- Surreal animals painted with vivid realism.
James Polisky- I love his slightly twisted take on child-like themes.
Kazi Studio- Some of the best beadwork and wood inlay I've ever seen, and the only artist I've encountered who combines the two. The work is stunning.
Marshall Burns- His work is deceptively simplistic, very clean lines and economic use of materials. I thought his work was amazing.
D is for DYNAMICS
We were able to go see the Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall this week. They performed Smetena's Ma Vlast in its' entirety. What struck me most about the concert was the incredible dynamic range and color pallet they used. It's hard to get that many people to play a unified Forte Piano, but they did. The cohesiveness of sound and phrasing really made for an exciting performance. It got particularly exciting when Harnoncourt's score went flying off the podium. Having made that type of overly energized page turn myself, I had great empathy for him in that moment. A note to the oboists out there. The Viennese do play with a different sound concept than we do (my oboist companion Cat Cantrell astutely observed that they have a very "Baroque oboe" quality). I really enjoyed hearing a different approach. My teacher, James Caldwell, once spoke to this in a lesson. He reminded me that there are many different concepts of tone and they can all be enjoyable to hear, if the musicianship is in place.
J is for JOGGING GADGETS
I got one of those Nike+ kits for my iPod. I'm in gadget heaven. It tracks my runs; distance, speed, calories, you name it and there's a website where you can journal it all and see all your progress. It's so cool. If you're a runner and like gadgets, you have to get one.
R is for RANDOM OPERA
We were completely taken aback when we arrived at the farmer's market and heard Mozart being sung live by two excellent singers. Nothing like some fantastic live arias to enhance your life while you're buying corn and tomatoes.
V is for VISITING WITH FRIENDS
An absolute highlight of my weekend was spending time with my friends from CT. They came by for dinner after some museuming. We had a fantastic visit and I got to cook more yummy food. I like cooking yummy food.
Ive packed many activities in over the last few days and I have a busy week coming up. Through it all, I have managed to get some practicing in. I think I'm making some fresh progress with Tombeau, but that's a post for another day.
A is for ART
There was a little art fare in the park near our house today. A lot of the work was pretty average, but a few people really stood out. They each had a unique element in their work that made it catch my attention. You can visit their websites to get a taste of their style.
Janice Taylor- I liked her use of color, line and particularly texture.
Plillip Singer- Surreal animals painted with vivid realism.
James Polisky- I love his slightly twisted take on child-like themes.
Kazi Studio- Some of the best beadwork and wood inlay I've ever seen, and the only artist I've encountered who combines the two. The work is stunning.
Marshall Burns- His work is deceptively simplistic, very clean lines and economic use of materials. I thought his work was amazing.
D is for DYNAMICS
We were able to go see the Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall this week. They performed Smetena's Ma Vlast in its' entirety. What struck me most about the concert was the incredible dynamic range and color pallet they used. It's hard to get that many people to play a unified Forte Piano, but they did. The cohesiveness of sound and phrasing really made for an exciting performance. It got particularly exciting when Harnoncourt's score went flying off the podium. Having made that type of overly energized page turn myself, I had great empathy for him in that moment. A note to the oboists out there. The Viennese do play with a different sound concept than we do (my oboist companion Cat Cantrell astutely observed that they have a very "Baroque oboe" quality). I really enjoyed hearing a different approach. My teacher, James Caldwell, once spoke to this in a lesson. He reminded me that there are many different concepts of tone and they can all be enjoyable to hear, if the musicianship is in place.
J is for JOGGING GADGETS
I got one of those Nike+ kits for my iPod. I'm in gadget heaven. It tracks my runs; distance, speed, calories, you name it and there's a website where you can journal it all and see all your progress. It's so cool. If you're a runner and like gadgets, you have to get one.
R is for RANDOM OPERA
We were completely taken aback when we arrived at the farmer's market and heard Mozart being sung live by two excellent singers. Nothing like some fantastic live arias to enhance your life while you're buying corn and tomatoes.
V is for VISITING WITH FRIENDS
An absolute highlight of my weekend was spending time with my friends from CT. They came by for dinner after some museuming. We had a fantastic visit and I got to cook more yummy food. I like cooking yummy food.
Ive packed many activities in over the last few days and I have a busy week coming up. Through it all, I have managed to get some practicing in. I think I'm making some fresh progress with Tombeau, but that's a post for another day.
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