Note to orchestra administrations everywhere: you wonder why there are some musicians in your ensemble who complain that they feel like indentured servants? Well, sometimes you treat them like that, and here’s a perfect example.
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Let it Roll
I hate shopping at Menards. I’m supposed to “save big money” but I usually end up having a headache.
Santa Baby…….
It’s Christmas. As usual it’s a sad Christmas. This is becoming way too common lately……
The Weather Outside is Frightful…..
There is one thing that comes in handy when you travel for a living – I have great travel Karma. Usually……
Goldilocks Come Forth…….
Gee, I kinda feel like Goldilocks wandering into the home of the Three Bears during Christmas. Looking out over the music world I thought I would take the leisurely approach and blog about… well, something. My buddy Ron has been furiously posting when I thought for sure he would be exhausted from trying to defend Mahler V, so it’s up to me to through something out into the ether. A quick scan of the blog sheets reveals all sorts of suitable topics – and some not so much.
For Whom the Bellevue Tolls
Occasionally one runs across an article about goings-on at another orchestra that just makes you scratch your head. I hadn’t even had the chance to sip my tea this morning before this article about the Bellevue Philharmonic caught my eye. I’m damn glad I don’t have a bad dandruff problem because with the amount of scratching this one is going to produce I’d need a frontloader to unearth my way to the bathroom.
Behind the Times (again…)
I had a wonderful experience today in the Art world. Unfortunately it was not in the Classical Music business. Rather it was the Theater that provided me with some insights, and I’m left wondering (again) why we are stuck doing things in classical music that make absolute no sense to our public. Again……..
Heresy
This business is built on Universal Truths That Cannot Be Gainsaid even though we know they’re not all true. You know them: “All conductors are domineering pricks”; “All orchestral musicians are sullen wannabes”; “All administrators are incompetent’; etc. etc. Then there is Musical Dogma – “despite the fact that the vast majority of people think that their music is butt ugly we must proclaim the genius of the 2nd Viennese School”; or “The 9th Symphony of Beethoven is the greatest work of music ever, even though for many people it wouldn’t … Continue Reading