Octets Behind the Scenes
Unless you are an orchestral musician, experiencing our “Octet Excitement” program is about as close as you will get to experiencing what it is like to play in an orchestra. I use the word “experiencing” intentionally because I mean the whole nine yards. Sitting as close as you do to the musicians at a Midsummer’s Music concert gives you not only the sound, but the visual cues, the exquisite coordination, the vibrational feeling in your body, the joy, even that sixth sense that exists among highly motivated pros that brings them together as one. It’s a unique and powerful experience, and, as one who has experienced it all my life, I highly recommend it.
It’s also a wonderful experience to be part of the ensemble, especially when everything comes together in the right way. But, it doesn’t happen by itself. It might seem like all the musicians have to do is practice their parts individually and then come together and do it again together. That is certainly a key element, but it is only the beginning. For one thing, there is the matter of interpretation. What is a movement’s spirit or emotional core? How fast does it go? If it slows up (ritards) somewhere, how slow should it become and even how quickly does it slow down. Is it up-bow or down-bow, accented or smooth? Who has the most important part at any one moment and should be allowed to shine through? What is the character of the work—sad, gay, exuberant? And, since many movements are made up of different parts, how do they relate to one another? These are just a few of the decisions that have to be agreed upon and shared.
Another thing the audience doesn’t realize is the difference in the musician’s mental perspective between rehearsal and performance. In rehearsal, it is necessary to play your part, but also to be reflecting on what has just been played to assess what needs improvement. You have to exist in the present, anticipate the future, and also be critical of what just happened. In performance, the only thing that really matters is what is happening now and what is about to happen. One cannot dwell on any imperfections that just happened, or they distract from the present effort. This kind of mental shift has to be learned. As musicians, we tend to be hypercritical, especially of ourselves, but that has to be put on the back burner during performance or it can be a long evening.
If everyone has played the work before, all aspects of the rehearsal can come together a little more quickly. If it is unfamiliar, more – maybe even much more – rehearsal time will be needed. Also, the number of players increases the rehearsal time. It just takes more time to get a bigger group all on the same page than a smaller one. I think there must be some kind of Murphy’s Law to that effect. If not, there should be. In fact, at some point, a conductor starts to make sense if the group is large enough, because the conductor comes with a lot of decisions about the piece and imposes them on the players. That may sound like less fun, but it is more efficient for orchestral groups. This is also the reason so many orchestral players relish playing chamber music. They are very happy to have a say from an interpretative standpoint. However, the larger the ensemble, the more voices to be heard and the more time it takes.
Then you have the P word! PERSONALITY! In order for all of this to work, you need a keen sense of cooperation—a willingness to entertain other people’s ideas and to adapt. Some musicians have egos larger than they need to be. The stories of dysfunctional groups are legion, and being in one of those is really unpleasant. You could even find yourself pining for a conductor. One of the things we work hard at with Midsummer’s Music is to find musicians who work well together, and I think it shows.
Our newest program which opens this Sunday afternoon at the Kress Pavilion is a good case in point. It is made up of three works we have never played before. Plus, it involves eight players. There is a lot of learning, cooperating, and studying going on. I have devoted a little extra rehearsal time for this program in the hope that it will allow time to get comfortable with these works. Reports from the first day of rehearsal are very positive. An interesting feature of this series of concerts is that we are bringing our regular Midsummer’s Music musicians together with the Griffon String Quartet, all led by David Perry. It is a wonderful collaboration giving audiences a chance to experience in one program a sense of the range of work that happens under Midsummer’s Music throughout the year.
It’s a dynamite program featuring two string octets led by one of the great violinists and chamber musicians, David Perry. David leads by example, first and foremost. He comes so prepared and plays so flawlessly that everyone in the group respects him and wants to match his level. The Bruch Octet that closes the program is the second work by Bruch that we have done this season. Like the Quintet we did earlier, this is a largely unknown work from the end of his life. It was only published recently because it languished on a shelf somewhere after his death, largely forgotten. It is rare to discover such a treasure after so many years, but it is still happening. Coming from the author of the Scottish Fantasy, you can expect some wonderful violin parts deliciously played by David.
We are also doing another fascinating Octet by Carl Schuberth. You probably have heard of the Franz Schubert Octet for winds and strings, which we are doing in August, but this is a different work by an unknown composer for most of us. I just recently came across this composer and this work. He was a superb cellist in the first half of the 19th century and ended up being the conductor of the court orchestra in St. Petersburg and music director of the university there. He wrote a considerable number of works for strings and many solo cello works. This octet is a wonderful find. It dates from 1848 and shows a composer very comfortable writing for strings. It is full of passion and beautiful melodies throughout. The one irony here is that this cellist/composer replaces the second cello part with a double bass. It gives an added depth and resonance that underscores the orchestral nature of this work.
The program begins with a short work by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki that he wrote upon the death of his friend, Pope John Paul II, in 2005. Even though somewhat modern sounding, it is a touching homage. Penderecki is perhaps best known for his powerful string orchestra work, To the Victims of Hiroshima. It gained him nearly instant fame and ended up being used in a number of movie scores. I had the privilege of performing in the world premiere of his opera, Paradise Lost, at Lyric Opera of Chicago. It was a work of considerable difficulty, and we ended up having a record 99 rehearsals during which the composer would come to us with changes and edits. Sometime later I was talking with the great English conductor, Sir John Pritchard, who was at Lyric to conduct a Mozart opera. Telling him about the preparation for Paradise Lost I mentioned the 99 rehearsals. In his typical English dry wit Pritchard said, “Pity it couldn’t have been 100.”
Penderecki was a primary figure in the gradual movement away from 12-tone serialism to a more atmospheric and sound-oriented approach. He was a key figure in the Polish composers’ movement, still under communism, that led this change.
But all the drama of rehearsal is hidden from the audience. Like a fine meal, the listeners only savor the results. They never see the “sausage being made.” It can be intense, even testy, usually pleasant and rewarding, but it is the result that is served at the concert that counts.
You will have a chance to partake of several gourmet courses between July 27 and August 2. You can even come back for “seconds” if you participate in our Encore Program, which allows for a free hearing of the same program a second time.
Performances are …
July 27, 4:00 pm – Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 30, 7:00 pm – Sister Bay Moravian Church, Sister Bay
August 1, 7:00 pm – MUSE, Sturgeon Bay
August 2, 7:00 pm – St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
We will be back in late August with some more sensational programs, but don’t miss these next few days. They will help tide you over our break. Please call (920) 854-7088 or visit www.midsummersmusic.com for tickets or more information.