well matt, the i’m certainly eager to hear you in next week’s suite on english folk tunes ~ what do you think of uncle benny’s composition?

As I’m typing, I am hearing this music for the first time!  Britten has placed these traditional English folk songs into a more dense sonic landscape, and the result is quite effective.  He is so consistently extreme in his compositional style – there are moments of intense percussive power, contrasted by moments where he essentially creates a wide sea of sound.  That contrast is part of what makes Britten so initially appealing to audiences, and the folk aspect of this piece will make it more accessible to those new to classical music.

amen, brother!  so, what’s the one work this season you’re really, really, really stoked about playing?

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring has always been a favorite of mine and I’m already getting excited to work with Carlos on it.  It’s totally barbaric, and a thrill to be on stage while the music is taking place.  I can’t wait!

me neither!  okay, last query: considering the recent success of the carnegie concert and the album release, i’m guessing it’s a particularly good time to be a member of the band ~ how did this figure into your decision to move to beantown?

The Oregon Symphony is one of the best orchestras in the country, and like you said, this is such an exciting time to be a part of it.  With more recording on the horizon, and another trip to New York next year, things are only getting better around here.  That makes it all the more difficult to leave in the summer. But with my family on the east coast, and Boston being somewhat of a home for me and my fiancée, it is the right decision for us to head back.  I’m already looking forward to coming back to Portland to visit!

well, on behalf of everyone here at the home office, you’re always welcome to crash at our dam.  thanks matt!

2) yesterday, the oregon symphony’s board of directors announced a new 3-year contract deal with the band’s 76 musicians.  the agreement is effective through the 2013/14 season.  nice!

3) also yesterday, the seattle symphony announced their line-up for next season.  the orchestra from (canada’s) vancouver will make an appearance in the emerald city, as well as our very own oregon symphony.  carlos and the band will (finally) head north on I-5 in may of 2013… less than a week before their (second) carnegie hall concert!  whoa nellie!!!

[full disclosure: well, yesterday late morning came the announcement that chris brandes, the soprano originally scheduled to sing the creation this weekend, is unable to make the gig.  another stellar singer will be flying in to take her place.  the beavs is gonna post this anyways...]

benjamin butterfield sings tenor.  christine brandes sings soprano.  ben wager sings bass-baritone.  all three artists are [were] flying into pdx this week to do nothing less than sing into being the entire friggin’ universe!  huddled together on the muddy shores of the willamette, the angelic trio patiently answered all the beaver’s questions about their upcoming performance this weekend:

alright, what 3 words best describe papa haydn’s creation?

Benjamin: Elegant.  Perfect.  Witty.

Christine: Clear.  Expansive.  Ecstatic.

Ben: Seminal.  Epic.  Sincere.

y’all do anything special to warm up before performing?

Benjamin: Motor boat sounds, pacing, and a bit of dancing… I like to walk around breathing in what I am about to perform.  I do like to have a good sleep-in on the morning of a concert.

Christine: I don’t think I do anything unusual… I eat 3-4 hours before singing, warm-up, and generally do a little yoga before going to the hall.

Ben: I usually try to get as much sleep as I can and just rest up for two days before a performance.  Also, anything to get the blood flowing is helpful.  I go on long walks and about an hour before down beat I do several reps of push-ups.

motor boat sounds, downward dogs, and push-ups… these are a few of my favorite things!  hey, let me ask you: what’s so great about live classical music?

Benjamin: The sheer excitement of seeing all of those people on stage making organized mayhem.  The variations are limitless and the idea that it is all happening without electricity to amplify it is a trip.

Christine: Nothing can surpass the experience of being in a hall with other music lovers and sharing that experience, that music, that moment with them and the musicians on stage.  It is not unlike going to a live sporting event.  Staying at home, one might be more comfortable and see the instant replays but that doesn’t hold a candle to being there, in the energy of the moment. While I’m a great baseball fan, the emotional and soulful buttons pushed by great music are far more complex and satisfying than those triggered during a game!  Beauty is more than doubled when shared, even with a complete yet sympathetic stranger sitting next to you.

Ben: Sharing an experience with a single group is what’s unique.  Plus, being that it’s live, you’re never precisely sure what’s going to happen next.  To feel and hear the vibrations as they’re naturally produced is appealing as well: there’s nothing electronic between you and the music at all and there is no pitch correction!

wow ~ thanks for all 3 brilliant responses!  so, um.. any memorable performances from 2011 you’d care to share?

Benjamin: Filling in with 5 hours notice for an indisposed Rodolfo with Pacific Opera in Victoria – performing the role for the first time from the pit while the director acted the show on stage.

Christine: Singing the role of Pamina in Mozart’s Magic Flute with the Seattle Opera… and the Oregon Bach Festival’s Joan of Arc at the Stake by Honeggar, with Marin Alsop as conductor.

Ben: I was a part of the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night which was launched by Minnesota Opera earlier this fall.  I got to create a roll (a first for me) and be a part of something brand new.  It was a huge hit and it’s continuing onward toPhiladelphia next season.

before i let you go, what are you expecting from coach kalmar and our band?

Benjamin: The same as last time I sang with them - a sublime musical experience with like-minded enthusiasts performing amazing music. 

Christine: A fantastic week of music-making.

Ben: Nothing shy of an overwhelmingly enthusiastic run of the masterpiece from one of the greatest composers of all time.  We’re going to have a good time up there making great music!

oh man, the beavs is getting so pumped for this performance ~ thank you all so much… double-b, chris-b, and b-dub in da’ house!  [and by house, of course i mean the arlene schnitzer concert hall... tonight and sunday!]

old people are hot right now.

okay, before the beavs begins to hyperventilate, let me hand the laptop over to coach kalmar who will answer one of my burning questions: maestro, can you even imagine what folks in 1798 thought of papa haydn’s intro to this composition?!  it’s so unbelievably bold!  what is it like to conduct these fifty-some bars?

The start of The Creation, meaning the description of Chaos, is one of the most adventurous works of music I know.  I have no real sense of how people must have felt at the time they heard this music for the first time, but it still astonishes how a composer can even attempt to write something as that with the “classical” architectural form.  Those 59 bars are astounding!  And the rest of the piece is great too!!!

alright folks, maestro carlos just used 3 exclamation points.  if you don’t have tickets already for tomorrow or sunday’s show, that’s okay, mommy’s not mad… just call (503) 228-1353 or *click here to rectify the situation.  like right now.

oh, and y’all be sure to come back tomorrow when the classical beaver chats with not one, not two, but three (three!) outrageously wonderful archangels.  viva la papa!

alright, so haydn’s “creation” is gonna be sung in german this weekend.  does this mean we gotta sit in a lit schnitz and hear program pages rustled throughout the concert?  i’m pleased as punch to report that’s a big phat negatory, good buddy!  the upcoming p-town performances will feature the futuristic miracle of classical technology known as supertitles.  i asked elaine calder, the band’s president, for her 2 cents on the matter (which is approximately 0.0203138 canadian):

Supertitles.  Or as they were originally known: Surtitles.  Where do I stand?  Proudly behind them.  Although I had nothing to do with their creation, my former employer, the Canadian Opera Company, introduced them – for the very first time, anywhere in the world – in January 1983 for their production of Richard Strauss’ Elektra.  So they wave the maple leaf of Canada.  Are they expensive? Yes, and of course they need an additional technician to run them at every performance as well.  There is some debate, as some audience members find them distracting and they can destroy the impact of a punch line in the original language.  The Met came up with the back of seat option, which is discreet and can be turned on or off, but is even more expensive.  But having supertitles available sure beats going to hear a Russian opera company perform in Athens, as I once did, and having to sit through a 20 minute explanation in Greek of what was to follow in Russian.

πολύ καλή ~ σας ευχαριστώ πολύ για τις πληροφορίες! τα μέρη της αγάπης, της κλασικής κάστορας …

so, you think joshua bell was the main attraction this month?  think again.  this weekend, the oregon symphony teams up with the portland symphonic choir for nothing less than the mind-blowing creation of the entire friggin’ universe.  the good lord spent six solid days making the world, so it seems the least this rodent could do is spend the next six days posting on one of the most amazing pieces of classical music it has ever chanced upon: “the creation” by joseph haydn.  composed in the 1790’s, the work holds the distinction of being the first music to be published in two languages (german and english).  the upcoming p-town performances will be sung in german, and i asked the choir’s director *steven zopfi to shed some licht on this choice:

The decision to perform Haydn’s Creation in German was Carlos’ call as he is the conductor for the concert.  When I look at what language to perform a piece in, I not only look at the audience who will be listening but how the language fits the music.  Different languages have different stress and accent patterns, and sometimes when pieces get translated, the accents and stresses don’t match up with the music.  Or high notes sit on easy to sing vowels in one language where they might be problematic in another.  I also look at how good a translation is; often the craft of one language is better than another – internal rhymes, flow, periodicity, and so on.  Another is meaning.  Sometimes, when someone translates a piece into a singable prose, the meaning goes out the window… you lose the entire feel of the piece if you decide to perform it.  Finally, I look at the piece in terms of articulation. Different languages have a different feel and affect the delivery of a musical line – German has these terrific consonants that really give some rhythmic bite where Italian and French are much more liquidy and legato.  It’s a different listening experience as well… just as sometimes we want a good hamburger rather than a good steak, sometimes it is just fun to perform or hear a piece in one language or another.

fun?  did the good doctor just use the word “fun” in a discussion about performing classical music?!  ah, just when the beavs thinks it couldn’t love this guy any more ~ thank you, thank you, thank you steven for all the great info and for properly prepping the band’s premium pips!