Concentrate on the performance

Daniel Saidenberg ws the first cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.  He recalled:

Stoki’s ability to exert disciplines was occasionally matched by a sense of humor.  After a concert at which I had played the Saint-Saëns A-minor Concerto, one of my buddies said, “Watch your step, Danny.  All through the second movement, Stoki was looking at you with fire in his eyes.”  I hadn’t noticed anything, but sure enough, the manager came over, saying that Maestro wanted to see me.  Now came the confrontation.  “Saidenburg, why didn’t you look at me during the concerto?” Stoki asked.  “Where were your eyes?” I was nonplussed but decided it would be better to tell the truth than some story.  “Well, Maestro,” I said, I was looking at my new girlfriend, who was sitting in the second row.”  With that Stoki patted me on the rear, and said, “I can well understand that, but don’t let it happen again.”

Chasins, Abram (1979) Leopold Stokowski: A Profile.  London: Robert Hale, p.108.

Posted

in

by

Greg

Tags:

, ,

Featured Content

Intermezzo, op. 118, no. 2 (Brahms)
Title: Intermezzo, op. 118, no. 2Composer: Johannes BrahmsArranger: Greg SmithInstrumentation: Cello and pianoProduct medium: PDF score and part  
Loneliness versus solitude
“Language has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone, and the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.” – Paul Johannes Tillich, German American theologian and philosopher
The land knows of its own beauty
What is pertinent is the calmness of that beauty, its sense of restraint. It is as though the land knows of its own beauty, of its own greatness, and feels no need to shout it.” – Kazuo Ishiguro
LA no longer the center for film scoring
“…a panel of experts warn that film, TV and videogame scoring continues to leave L.A. because producers are unwilling to meet union demands. “If work continues to dry up at the current rate, they speculated, one or more of the three remaining large scoring stages (Fox, Sony, Warner Bros.) could close “within the next two […]
Cello and piano
The effect of Tchaikovsky’s music on his patroness
Nadyezhda Filaretovna von Meck was Tchaikovsky’s patroness.  In March 1877 she wrote of the effect of Tchaikovsky’s music on her.  The work being described is a Marche Funèbre on a theme from Oprichnik (this work is now lost).    It is so superb that, as I had hoped, it elevates and transports me into a […]
Composing in the bath
Gustav Mahler recalled: After an illness, Bruckner was ordered by his doctor to take a daily hip-bath.  Loath to waste time, he would take music paper and compose while in the tub.  While absorbed in his work one day, the mother of Rudolf Kryzanowski, one of his pupils, knocked at the door.  “Come in!” called […]
I Will Walk in the Presence of the Lord – Psalm 115 (116b), Psalm 114 (116a)
Title: I will walk in the presence of the Lord Text:     – Psalm 115 (116b):10, 15-19 (R. Psalm 114 (116a):9)     – Psalm 114 (116a):1-6, 8-9. R. v.9. Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF Score and part Sample:
Imagination
“Imagination decides everything: it creates beauty, justice and happiness, which is the world’s supreme good.” – Pascal Blaise, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. C. Prendergast, A history of modern French literature: from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2017, p. 237.
A Child is Born in Bethlehem
Title: A Child is Born in Bethlehem. Five Christmastide arrangements for piano by Greg Smith Arranger: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score Contents: A child is born in Bethlehem (Danish melody) High from the tree's green top (E. Horneman) In a basement black as coal (C. M. Bellman) Lovely is the blue sky […]