Poulenc Sextet

The Columbus Symphony Woodwind Quintet recently performed the Poulenc Sextour with pianist Ahlin Min.  The quintet has not been very active lately, so at first we may have felt a bit like fish out of water.  But the Poulenc Sextour is like a romp through a field of wildflowers- fun and perhaps, dare I say, a bit frivolous.

Frances Poulenc lived from 1899 until 1963 in Paris.  No wonder he felt so at ease with the woodwinds!  France (especially Paris) was considered the epicenter of woodwind playing during his lifetime.  In fact, there were some U.S.conductors during the first half of the 20th century who insisted upon hiring their entire woodwind sections from France, which, of course, meant that le basson français was used instead of the German bassoon which is used in today's American orchestras.

Poulenc described his Sextour as "chamber music of the most straightforward kind: an homage to the wind instruments I have loved from the moment I began composing."  The piece is fundamentally light-hearted, but with many sudden mood shifts which were so characteristic of Poulenc's writing- a playful, jaunty phrase is sure to be followed with melancholy.  (The music critic Claude Rostard described Poulenc as "part monk, part guttersnipe.")

Poulence used the bassoon in this piece for the jovial as well as the mournful effects.  In fact, twice he sends the bassoon out on a solo mission to promote seriousness.  The unaccompanied solo in the first movement:

often sounds unwieldy to me.  While thinking about how I wanted to approach it, I tried to bear in mind that it was written for the French bassoon- the light, nimble and lyrical French bassoon.  I have heard American bassoonists phrase this solo in a manner I don't care for.  Specifically, the phrase seems to stop and start, with vibrato being applied to certain quarter notes (which to me sounds affected).  I prefer a more smooth approach, striving for the long line.  Because of the solo's built-in awkwardness, though, this is easier said than done!

Toward the end of the piece, the same unaccompanied solo morphs a bit and descends into the lower range, with similar phrasing challenges:

 Poulenc was a great pianist, and he played the premier of this work himself.  The piano definitely takes a leading role in this piece, rather than one of accompaniment, and we were fortunate to work with a pianist of Ms. Min's caliber.

If you'd like to hear our performance, here it is:
  

 

Symphonic significance

There is much speculation these days regarding the viability of symphony orchestras.  Let's face it; they're expensive to run and U.S. orchestras must rely heavily upon donations to survive. Orchestras now face competition from many other forms of live entertainment and from the internet's endless supply of recordings and videos.  Understandably, orchestras throughout the country are suffering financially.  Not all orchestras are struggling, though.  For example, there was good news about the Minnesota Orchestra on the internet today.  The Minnesota Orchestra surpassed its 40 million dollar goal for renovation of its hall!

Within any large city there exists a segment of the population  which truly appreciates the opportunity to attend live symphonic concerts performed by musicians who live in the community.  The civic pride associated with sports teams can apply to symphony orchestras as well.  Loyal symphony fans often speak of the incredible visceral energy of a live performance which keeps them coming back.

Benjamin Zander, the outspoken and charismatic conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, does not agree that only a small percentage of people "get" classical music.  He insists that classical music is for everybody- it's just that they haven't found out yet!  He proves his theory in this video.




Arts managers estimate that approximately 3% of the population appreciates classical music, but Zander's experiences, as you can see in the video, suggest otherwise.

That visceral energy of a live performance is difficult to describe.  I have vivid memories of certain classical music performances which I will never forget.  In some cases I was a member of the orchestra or chamber group performing the music, and in others I was an audience member .  These memories include precise auditory detail along with the sensation of being in the midst of ineffable greatness, and in some cases I can even picture the conductor's expression during a heart-stopping moment.  Although I am sometimes deeply affected by listening to recordings, my most memorable musical memories are of live performances.  One example is Mahler Symphony No. 6 which I performed with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra in Boulder.  Musicians from orchestras all over the world participated in that once-in-a-lifetime blockbuster performance.  There is no video of that performance  (you had to be there!) but here is a sample of Mahler 6 featuring Valery Gergiev conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.



What an unspeakably powerful piece!

The ancient Greeks took it upon themselves to explain how music works.  They proclaimed that music was about relationships among invisible, internal, hidden parts of human hearts and souls.  Music moved those parts around until the positions were "right."  The 7th grader in Zander's video demonstrates this theory, as the music seemingly found and re-positioned the movable parts of his inner being, enabling him to finally release his grief and to cry over the loss of his brother.  The residents of Manhattan also proved the ancient Greek's theory in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.  Their first organized efforts following the tragedy involved music, including performances of the Mozart and Brahms Requiems, which they intuitively knew would contribute to the healing process.  Other cities throughout the U.S., including Columbus, followed suit.

The first time I ever became consciously aware of the effect of live classical music was when I was 8 years old playing in my school's marching tonette band.  (A tonette is a plastic recorder-like instrument for children.)  I recall the thrill of the experience- it was almost as if an electrical spine-tingling charge surged through my body- as we marched through the center aisle of my school's auditorium during an assembly.  A few years later when I was a teenager I heard a live performance of the aria Voi che sapete from Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro.  It was probably the first time I had heard Mozart live, and the young woman singing the aria was immensely talented.  I was completely overtaken.  Have you ever had goosebumps from listening to music?  If so, chances are it was live classical music that you were listening to!  The following video of Maria Ewing singing Voi che sapete provides a reminder of that stunning live performance I remember from so many years ago.



Three hundred years ago the English dramatist William Congreve wrote the following:

Music has charms to soothe the savage breast,

To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.

Surely such charms, along with the symphony orchestras which offer them, are timeless.                 

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Dances and Dreams

On June 18, a few musicians of the Columbus Symphony with guest pianist Ahlin Min are presenting a chamber music concert entitled  Dances and Dreams to benefit the Columbus Symphony.  The music of Debussy, Stravinsky and Poulenc will be performed by the Columbus Symphony Woodwind Quintet, Columbus Symphony violinist Tatiana Hanna, and pianist Ahlin Min. Although admission is free, donations are welcome and will be fully donated to the Columbus Symphony.

Columbus Symphony's Principal Clarinetist David Thomas organized this event, and part of his plan was to hold a June 5 "preview performance" in his beautiful house:



David's house is located in Clintonville, an older (early 1900s) neighborhood within the city of Columbus.  I was so impressed that Martin Inglis and his wife Sue Inglis showed up early, laden with cases of fine wine and huge platters of catered food to offer the guests, and then they stayed late to clean up!   Our orchestra is incredibly lucky to be so strongly supported.  Martin Inglis also happens to be the Chair of the Columbus Symphony Board of Directors, and Sue Inglis is a very active member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra League and Music Director Search Committee.

The evening was delightful in every way. The atmosphere was perfectly festive, with appreciative guests, memorable refreshments, exciting live classical music, and of course, David's lovely house and gardens.  David was so pleased with the evening that he wrote about it on his blog.

Here's a brief comment from a grateful concert attendee who visited David's blog:

It was a fantastic evening! I know it takes time and energy, but this is so good for Columbus--to have some of its best musicians giving chamber recitals like this. Good for the musicians too.Thank you to Susan and Martin Inglis for the wonderful wine and food . It made for a perfect evening.

Even though this performance was a preview of the main event occurring on June 18, donations were eagerly accepted, and were doubled by our anonymous donor.  Thank you to David Thomas and his Columbus Symphony colleagues, to Sue and Martin Inglis, to our anonymous donor and to all of  the people who showed up on June 5 and who will show up on June 18 to support the Symphony!

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Mozart, Brahms and Bartók

This past weekend the Columbus Symphony presented the Mozart Overture to Le Nozze di Figaro , K. 492, the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 and the Bartók Concerto for Orchestra with guests Peter Serkin, pianist and Stefan Sanderling, conductor.  The Columbus Dispatch published a concert review which included a bassoon mention.  The entire concert is streaming on InstantEncore.

Each piece on this program presents numerous bassoon-related challenges. I hardly know where to begin, which is how I felt when faced with the preparation for this program.  But there's no doubt about it, Mozart's Overture to Le Nozze di Figaro is the most commonly asked bassoon audition excerpt!  Why?  It requires perfection, agility, style, double-tonguing, blending, soloistic skill, ability to follow the conductor when playing with strings only, and extreme dynamic control, for starters.  

Most bassoonists have practiced this piece endlessly, and the best advice I have for performing it with orchestra is to forget about watching the part- just keep your eyes on the conductor!  It is critical for the bassoons to stay with the conductor's beat.  I can imagine that if I were a conductor, I'd really want to maintain eye contact with the principal bassoonist throughout this piece.

Smooth, even 8th notes are best achieved with slow, relaxed practice.  Certain reeds play this piece more smoothly than others, although I have no explanation for the reason why that is true!  (I noticed the same reed phenomenon regarding the fast 16th notes of the 3rd movement of the Ravel Piano Concerto.) Strong breath support helps maintain an even tone quality throughout.  Any fingering glitches which present themselves can be ironed out by isolating the problematic notes into short, repeated exercises.

I recall once hearing a bassoonist remark that his bassoon had "a really great Figaro."  I knew exactly what he meant, because the ease (or lack thereof!) of playing this piece does vary greatly from bassoon to bassoon, just as it varies from reed to reed.  It may not be a bad idea to oil the keys before performing this piece, thereby minimizing the possibility of being distracted by key noise.  My bassoon, being new, has very quiet and smoothly operating keys, which I appreciate greatly.

During the week before we rehearsed and performed this program, I thought about how I might prepare my embouchure for the notoriously taxing Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1.  The slow movement presents an endurance challenge for both bassoons, especially the 1st bassoon:

In order to build up my embouchure to be extra strong for this piece, I carried a rejected reed around with me constantly, and I kept it in my mouth with a normal bassoon embouchure probably for several hours each day.  Of course I was also practicing, rehearsing and performing on those days, so the reed-only routine was done in addition to normal playing.  The result was a very, very strong embouchure which never showed signs of tiring, and I intend to use this technique extensively from now on.

While practicing onstage before the concert, I wanted to check the intonation of the lengthy exposed passages in this movement.   I decided to try a trick often used by our principal clarinetist, David Thomas: practicing with earplugs inserted in both ears.  It really worked!  Even with all the chaos going on around me, I was able to hear the pitch of each note with crystal clarity.  Thanks, David!

The Bartók Concerto for Orchestra is chock full of challenges.  The 2 bassoons were asked to play the well-known duo in a rather subdued fashion:

At 165 where the 3rd bassoon joins the 1st and 2nd bassoons, Maestro Sanderling requested that the 3rd bassoon dominate like an angry mother-in-law, while the 1st and 2nd bassoon were to represent calm, docile newlyweds.

For me, one of the trickiest passages in the piece appears in the bassoon solo at the end of the 4th movement:

There are so many possible fingering combinations for these notes!  I ended up settling on standard fingerings on each note except for F#, for which I eliminated the upper auxiliary (aka Eflat) key, so that my fingering was 2nd finger left hand + 1,2 and 4 in the right hand.  The reason for that departure from normal fingering (I normally use the Eflat key) is because it increased the likelihood that the F# would speak.  Again, each bassoon is different.  I nearly used the "French" fingering (2nd finger right hand + 1, 2 and Bflat key in the right hand) but decided against it because the tone color did not match the surrounding notes.  This is one of those passages which I practiced with a drone (B) on the electronic keyboard.

The 5th movement contains another awkward solo passage at measure 171 Un poco piu mosso:

On my bassoon, several different fingerings for Eflat 2 are possible, and it took a lot of experimenting to find the best.  I used a short fingering for the  Eflat in measure 172 (left hand 1, 3 and upper auxiliary) but for the Eflats in 174, I used a full fingering (left hand 1 and 3, right hand 1 and Bflat key).  Smoothness is the goal for this passage, despite the very awkward fingerings.  Slow, relaxed practice is undoubtedly the best way to achieve smoothness.

The reed I used for this program had one noticeable flaw: it tended to sag on C# 2 in loud dynamics.  That characteristic would have ruined the following passage in bar 369:

I discovered a new fingering which I've never used before to solve that problem: I added the right thumb F# key to the standard C#2 fingering.  It took a while to get used to the strange fingering, but it worked.  The first bassoon should be very strong in the above passages, and it's important to be able to trust the pitch of each note.

All week I rehearsed on the reed I was intending to use for the performances.  But on the day of the first concert, a cold front changed my reeds, ruining my concert reed, so I spent the pre-concert hours making new reeds.  I played the concert on a reed which was 2 hours old.

As a rule, I prefer new reeds due to their flexibility and sparkling sound, but still, I do prefer to have the opportunity to test a concert reed in rehearsal.  (Some bassoonists prefer old reeds in general because they are more stable.)  Fortunately, the reed I used turned out to be a good choice, but I was on pins and needles during the concert.  I thought of the words of the late great bassoon teacher Norman Herzberg, who taught me to make reeds.  He said that a good new reed is one which "holds its trimmings," in other words, the reed is stable, even during its infancy, changing only in response to its maker's adjustments.  He would have approved of the reed I used, I'm sure, since it did hold its trimming throughout the concerts.  Whew!!!

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New England Tryptich

Bassoonists may recognize the above excerpt.  This notorious bassoon part is from William Schuman's New England Tryptich, movement III- Chester.  We're playing it on tomorrow's Young People's Concert (YPC), for which students from the Columbus City Schools are bussed to the downtown Ohio Theatre.

For some reason, musicians often expect to be less challenged for concerts such as Pops and YPCs.  That expectation obviously is unwarranted.  There are few (if any) works in the orchestral repertoire more difficult for bassoon, technically speaking, than New England Tryptich.  While it may seem impossible to perfectly execute this particular bassoon part, there's no doubt that we can take steps to improve our odds of coming out of it relatively unscathed.

All of the 16th notes pictured above are exposed.  The repeated figure at measure 40 is one that I spent a lot of time on.  As a rule, I try to use full standard fingerings, so my left thumb automatically insists upon depressing the whisper key for the G3s in that figure.  Fortunately, the whisper key is not really mandatory here, and my first challenge is trying to talk my thumb out of using that whisper key!  The passage is much more likely to be successfully executed if the left thumb remains up near the high D and C keys.  I use the high D key to play C4 (some bassoonists use the high C key), and of course I use the high C key for B4.  I have found that it is the A3 which causes the biggest problem, with the left thumb having to move to and from the A and C# keys together.  To practice this, I isolate the 4 notes, with added emphasis (length) on the A3 in the attempt to train the left thumb to navigate reliably from the high C key to the high A and C# keys required for A3.:











I practice this repeated figure all slurred, at whatever tempo I'm able to play it accurately, and once it seems to be mastered at that tempo, I increase the tempo slightly, and so on until (hopefully) I'm in the vicinity of 160.

The passage at measure 60 involving A3, B4, C#4 and D4 is so outrageously difficult at 160 to the quarter note that fake fingerings offer our only hope!  For the interval B4 to C#4 I keep the B fingering intact and raise the 1st and 2nd fingers of the left hand and the 1st and 2nd fingers of the right hand all at once.  The fake C# comes out too flat, so the embouchure has to be used to try to squeeze up the pitch.  The High C# trill works well with trilling the 1st fingers of both hands simultaneously.

In addition to careful preparation, a good dose of luck is most helpful!  I'm hoping to have a good day tomorrow......


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Beethoven, Leshnoff and Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 6

This past weekend the Columbus Symphony performed the Beethoven Overture to Leonore No. 2, the Jonathan Leshnoff Double Concerto for Violin and Viola, and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6.  The Columbus Dispatch published this review of the concert.

The Leonore Overture No. 2 differs considerably from the better known Leonore Overture No. 3 and features many exposed bassoon parts.  One to be aware of is the following, which must be double tongued due to the tempo:

The 4 measures preceding the presto are exposed, and the eighth note passages beginning on the 16th measure of the presto are tutti.

Composer Jonathan Leshnoff was in Columbus for the rehearsals and performances of his Double Concerto for Violin and Viola (2007) featuring our concertmaster, Chas Wetherbee and violist Roberto Diaz.  The two soloists were a perfect match, and the composer was clearly pleased.  Chas is a sought-after soloist who never fails to endear his audience, and Roberto Diaz won everyone over with his incredible Amati viola- what an awesome sound!

The Leshnoff featured some tricky tonguing passages for the first bassoon, such as this one in the second movement:.

While it may be possible to single tongue at this tempo of 130 to the quarter, double tonguing projects much better.  It's critical to be exactly with the conductor's baton, because there's not enough rhythmic background going on nearby in the orchestra to latch onto aurally.  It's necessary to count like mad while watching the baton.  If the bassoonist listens to the soloists and goes with them, he or she will end up being behind because of the distance.

I began preparing for Tchaikowsky Symphony no. 6 last week, even though last week was also a big bassoon solo week (Firebird).   I started searching for the reed I'd use for the opening of the symphony, and I took the reeds which seemed like viable candidates to the hall to test them there.

In the past, I've always used old reeds for the opening solo.  I expected to do the same this time, but much to my surprise, i ended up using a new reed.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I'm playing on a new 15,000 series Heckel- I suppose it's possible that new bassoons favor new reeds.

The winning reed had the quality which was my top priority: reliable response on low E.  This reed was so reliable that it shocked me each time we started the symphony in rehearsals and concerts!

To prepare the solo, I used my electronic keyboard to play a drone on the low E and B with which the string basses begin the movement.  That way, I become totally accustomed to playing that low E in tune.

One of the challenges of this solo for me is dealing with the A#2 in bar 4:

It is difficult to produce a controlled vibrato on that A#- it tends to be too wild or unstable.  I spent considerable time trying to tame the vibrato on that note, using my iPhone's voice memo app to record my progress. I actually noticed considerable improvement in the stability of the A#2's vibrato.  I think that bassoons, especially new ones, can be trained.

During the actual solo, I began the A# with no vibrato, then started the crescendo and increasingly added vibrato leading to the tonic B2.

The bore of the new Heckels is larger than that of the older bassoons.  Because of that, my bassoon requires more air in the low range and I have to breathe accordingly.  As long as the breaths are quick and efficient, I do not think they interfere with the melodic line.

I have never had to play these famous 4 notes in bar 160 of the 1st movement:

In most orchestras, those notes are played by a bass clarinetist who is onstage just to play those 4 notes from the bassoon past.  That way, the principal clarinetist is able to play as soto voce as he or she wishes during the solo preceding these 4 notes, and after the clarinet solo ends, the line can continue down to low D with the same dynamics and tone quality.  It is not reasonable to expect a bassoon to finish that ethereal clarinet solo!

In my opinion, the 4th movement bassoon unisons are really good audition material for any bassoon position:

In the past we've used 4 bassoons for Tchaikowsky Symphony no. 6, and the above passages are one of the reasons for that.  This time, we used 2 bassoons.  The F#3s at the beginning of the movement are in unison with the flutes.  I always listen to the flutes and defer to them.  As a rule, I defer to the instrument which is the loudest when it's unison.  The bassoons are never the loudest, so I do a lot of deferring.  (If octaves are involved instead of unisons, that's different, because the lowest octave should usually be stronger than the other octaves.)  Later in that passage the clarinets join in, and the bassoons are mere coloring at that point.  Then the clarinets drop out, leaving the bassoons and flutes to finish in pianissimo.

Beginning in bar 21, though, the bassoons are alone, in unison with each other.  Dynamics are critical to this passage, and of course, dynamics are challenging for bassoonists to exaggerate.  And intonation and ensemble must match!  The reason I consider the above passage to be great for auditions is because it is a great test of intonation, dynamic contrast, matching tone qualities from note to note, and melodic line.

Here is the audio stream of the Columbus Symphony's concert performed last Saturday.


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The Firebird

The Firebird ballet is based on Russian folk tales involving a magical glowing bird (the firebird), which is both a blessing and a curse to its captor. The Firebird, premiered 100 years ago in Paris, is historically significant not only as Stravinsky's breakthrough piece with both the public and the critics, but also as the beginning of the collaboration between Stravinsky and Diaghilev (founder of the famous Ballet Russes).  After The Firebird premiered, there were immediate talks of a sequel, leading to the composition of Petrushka and later The Rite of Spring.

For years there has been disagreement among bassoonists regarding a particular note in the famous bassoon solo of the Berceuse, or Lullaby, of the Firebird Suite.  As far as I am concerned, the debate is resolved by this video of Stravinsky conducting the Berceuse.  Although I was taught to play D natural, this time I played D flat in the famous spot:

I think it's safe to assume that the bassoonist in Stravinsky's video is playing the note choice (D flat) which was approved of by the composer himself.  Our conductor this week, Joana Carneiro, did not flinch when I played D flat, and I'm sure that she was listening closely.

Of all of the bassoon solos in the orchestral literature, I have played this one the most frequently.  We've played it on pops concerts, summer concerts, runouts, and school programs as well as classical subscriptions.  One would think that such familiarity would have rendered the solo easy by now, right?  Wrong!!

First of all, it's daunting to be given the responsibility for rendering any solo, never mind one of the most famous gems in the orchestral literature.  This particular solo happens to start on and be centered around what I consider the most unstable note on the bassoon: Bflat 3.  Any tension on the part of the bassoonist will result in a sharp Bflat.  Try too hard to compensate, and the player easily ends up with a flat Bflat!  F3, another important note in the solo, tends to sound weaker than the surrounding notes, which is the opposite of what the solo calls for.

When I prepare this solo, I always think of the words of my teacher K. David Van Hoesen.  He used to speak of moving the fingers as if molding clay for a lyrical solo.  Indeed, finger motion is integral to this smooth, calm, lugubrious lullaby.

To deal with my top priority of playing the solo in tune, I practice against a Bflat drone.  It's important to be sure that the temperature of one's practice space is close to the temperature of the stage.  That's a challenge for me because our stage is often too hot, which of course raises the pitch of the bassoon..  And because of that, I really can't make any final reed decisions at home.  Only onstage can I be sure of a reed's pitch level.

Sound is also critical.  I don't even consider reeds which lack the sound I'm looking for, so the only reeds I test for pitch are the ones which have already passed the sound test.  Yes, I go through a lot of reeds!  I reject reeds which sound harsh, thin, buzzy, bright or raucous.  I prefer reeds which produce a strong and appealing sound throughout the range.

We performed the 1945 version of the Firebird Suite.   This was my first encounter with this version, and it included some interesting bassoon parts, especially in the Pas de Deux::

If you'd like to hear the Columbus Symphony's performance from last weekend which included the 1945 Firebird, it can be accessed here on InstantEncore.


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