Something I have not mentioned is that state law evidently requires that the hall management make an announcement before each performance of the fire exit locations, etc. After hearing this about 10 times, we have all gone a bit loopy, giving applause to the stage manager, &c. This morning Gerd Seifert comes out and makes the annoucement in German, much to the appreciation and applause of everyone present. When you put 500 horn players in close confines for a week, strange things begine to occur ..
The morning's session session starts with a talk by William VerMuelen, "How to Fix Virtually any Problem on the Horn in Three Easy Steps." He relates horn playing to driving a car, an analogy which initially seems a bit strange but works after you think about it. The three steps seem to involve:
Next up is a masterclass by the marvelous Froydis Ree Werke. Four students (who turn out to be the finalists in the Farkas competition) present a part of their work that they presented in the competition. Again, in the short time she works with each student, a marked improvement can be detected. Andrew Pelletier is, for my money, the best of the four, and indeed will be the announced winner on Friday AM.
This is the first time I have seen Ms. Werke in action. She has a wonderful knack for working with her students, several of whom have sent me e-mail in the past year, proudly informing me that they were one of her students. Now, I can see why!
After lunch, it's off to Johnny Pherigo's "Lesson #1 on Natural Horn." Here I learn that it is possible to produce the entire chromatic sequence on the natural horn (after the second or third partial, anyway) and that there are many different types of natural horns. I also score a copy of the presentation notes, and secure Johnny's approval to post some of these in the Horn FAQ.
Speaking of web sites, Johnny also confirms that the Advisory Council finally approved the creation of an *official* IHS web site. It should be ready in September, and the person creating the site will do a marvelous job. Since the name is not mentioned in the meeting the next day, I'll withhold it for now.
The afternoon recital features Shelly Showers, acting principal for the Cleveland Orchestra (for two years) and Michael Thompson, solo artist from the U.K. Showers starts us off with Mozart's "Concerto No. 4." It takes quite a bit of confidence to perform such a work in front of a bunch of horn players, and it comes off well. In a bit of departure from "normal," Ms. Showers is seated while performing her solos. Michael Thompson then performs the hn/piano/violin trio, the "Six Pieces" by Hans Ambramsen. It is one of those odd modern sparse works and not terribly to my liking, but again, it is played well. Shelly Showers closes the half with the week's second performance of Franz Strauss' "Nocturno, Opus 7."
After a short intermission, Ms. Showers enters dressed up as a very young girl (pigtails, etc.) to perform the Peter Schickele (PDQ Bach) work, "What Did You Do Today at Jeffey's House?" The accompainist portrays Showers' mom, and after a few brief questions music that is reminiscent of things that kids might do at another's house is played. It's a light work, but fun. Thompson closes the recital with another trio, "Trio #1 in C" by Devereaux [sp?]
I goof around a bit after dinner, head down to the lab to mess around with the computers, and hook up with a group of college-age players that is set up playing in the lab. Not surprisingly, I'm left gasping for air as they zoom around all over the place. Ah, youth (and talent) ;-)
The evening concert consists of the Rochester Chamber Orchestra and assorted horn solists. First, James Thatcher, renowned L.A. studio artist, performs the "Fantasia for Horn, Strings, and Kettledrums." Thatcher's playing is fine, but it appears the orchestra is having a bit of problems keeping up with him! Soren Hermansson, a Scandanavian solo artist, follows with a wonderful performance of Lars-Erik Larsson's "Concertino." I wish we had more chances to hear Mr. Hermansson during the week, but this is it. Thatcher then returns to the stage to premiere a work for string orchestra, horn, oboe, and harmonica [!] entitled "Meanders No. 1." It is written by James Newton Howard, who has composed some pretty major film scores. The combination works well and I enjoy the music.
The second half of the concerts will be all Michael Thompson, as he substitutes for the visa-less Radek Baborak. First up is Arthur Butterworth's "Romance for Horn and Strings," which to be honest, I don't remember much about. However, the Britten "Serenade, opus 31" for tenor, horn, and string orchestra is memorable, with Thompson performing from memory and quite well. Most of the hall gives Thompson (and tenor Douglas Ahlstedt) a standing ovation.
After the end of the concert, I'm determined to do some playing; after all, it's my last night, so the daily summary for the list will have to wait. ;-) I head back to the lab to find a different group [of some 20-25 players!] set up, so I get the horn out and start playing. After a short time we start to read some music that calls for tempo changes, fermatas, meter changes, and the like, so after trying to direct with one hand for a while, I put the horn down and end up directing the group for a couple of hours. This is only fair, as there have been people conducting the groups I've played with and having to neglect *their* playing to do so. Besides, I've seen a lot of the music already. So, I stand up there and wave my arms and try not to look too ridiculous. Some people actually pay attention, and it's a nice change, even if I do sweat like a pig most of the time.
At about 12:30 or so people start to leave, and eventually we end up with about 7 or 8 players. This lets me get the horn out and play some more, and we finally wrap it up about 2 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ron Boerger