Inside Perspective

Honeck's here, and guess who else is back!

Although it has only been four weeks since the musicians started digging into the season's repertoire, it feels like we're in the middle of a big season already.  Maestro Honeck has strode through Pittsburgh and left us with a wonderful gala opening concert and a legacy of his interpretation of Mahler's 1st Symphony (to be released soon on a CD comprised of the live performances of the weekend).  It seemed to me like it had been years since we had worked as hard as we have in these first weeks of the '08-'09 season.  I think that the PSO thrives on leadership that challenges us, and we have that now in Honeck.  I'm looking forward to the next time we see him.  This week we're meeting a conductor for the first time, and that can be a risky thing.  Part of Bob Moir's (artistic director of the PSO) job is to find new talented conductors to lead us in music making.  I have to say, this week he kicked some artistic director booty!  The only problem with finding talent, is that it doesn't stay secret for long and gets snapped up quickly by some lucky organization.   

Andris Nelsons brings an aura to Heinz Hall that hasn't been there since Mariss Jansons left us a few years ago.  I admit that when I saw him for the first time, I hadn't read any of the publicity materials that are available......but it took about 10 seconds to see that there was a very real connection between this young talent and Jansons.  By the time about 15 minutes had passed I was thinking that there's no way that a student could pick up that much detail from another person's life, and concluded that since he was from the same home town as Jansons that there certainly must be a genetic connection (I won't continue on this path......but really.....it's uncanny). 

I can only assume that Nelsons is his own man, and that he is experiencing all this from his own unique perspective and it's great, and very real and true to himself....he seems like the genuine article, that's obvious.  It's just slightly creepy to see such a perfect similarity in style and substance.  I loved having Jansons here, I have many proud memories of performances that he led, he is one of the most consistently inspiring musicians from the podium that I have ever seen.  When I saw Jansons last he was 60 years old.....basically the prime of a conductor's career.  Nelsons is 29 years old and he already has so much of the skill and heart that Jansons showed us.  Perhaps with even more joy from within!  There was a moment in the rehearsal after everybody in the orchestra was giddy with the similarity between Jansons and this guy, and it happened.......Nelsons uttered the single most eagerly anticipated phrase that Jansons used frequently...."like small drum".  The orchestra erupted in laughter and applause, and at first the look on Nelsons' face was "what the...".  Then the good nature of the orchestra seemed to infect him and he smiled and laughed with us.  The week was filled with moments of fun between the musicians and Nelsons.   I think that the result was a great concert that had tons of spark.  I hope that we see Nelsons again and hopefully with regularity (hint, hint). 

At it again!!! - Bob Lauver

Hello again after a long summer!!  Today we got back on stage at Heinz Hall and rehearsed our Classical Preview concert that we will play tomorrow night.  It feels great to be back together with my friends and colleagues......practicing at home just to stay in shape gets difficult to do over a long period of time.  Today's afternoon "service" was a photo shoot, the official portrait of the orchestra with our Music Director Designate was taken (which gives you a tid-bit of information that is pretty exciting......Honeck's in town!).  There was a point in the shoot where we were called on to create a "fun" shot.  I'll be interested to see how that one comes out......musicians can be pretty sneaky....(let's hope the resolution of the photo is excellent).

Jean Laurendeau and the Ondes Martenot - Bob Lauver

With Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie comes the weird and wonderful instrument, the Ondes Martenot.  Video footage from Bob Lauver:

and a photograph of the instrument on stage ahead of rehearsal: (more available in the PSO Pictures photo album to the right

"A Rare Beast" - featuring Murray Crewe, Bass Trombonist - Bob Lauver

Behind the Scenes of our live recordings III - Bob Lauver Video Blog

I hope this video gives you a little taste of what the Brahms weeks were like, I know that the horn section had some fun........you can tell by the hearty laughing that we have a good time.  There are a few scenes that it pained me to cut, but that's life when you want to make a video that people will watch all the way through.  Maybe some day we'll have a gag reel.......boy do I have some material.  Enjoy. --Bob Lauver

I'd like to thank Larry Loh for his contribution to the recording process in the playback room as well as running the camera for my 1st cameo!

Inspiration included.... Bob Lauver

I'm a delinquent blogger!  Yesterday evening after the concert there was a live blog-event in the Overlook Room at Heinz Hall.  I missed the last one as well as this one.  I would've liked to meet those folks, especially my fellow bloggers on the PSO blog who generously share their thoughts and experiences with us.  We hosted a family for dinner and I was needed at home to help.  Something about the concept of going to a social event and plunking away at a keyboard seems counter-intuitive to me.....I'd just as soon look at the people I'm talking to!!

The past couple of weeks have been really intense at Heinz Hall.  The repertoire is huge and coming at a nice clip.  With Mahler 1 in the rear view mirror, we are staring down the barrel of a John Williams/Erich Kunzel brass-fest.  I'm excited to play all the greatest hits, I love the writing......great horn parts.....BUT, the following week we are recording two Brahms works live for a PSO/Janowski/Brahms project.  I hope the bruising and swelling will have subsided by then.  The two works that we're recording are the Haydn Variations, and the 2nd Symphony.  It's going to be a heavy couple of weeks.  Lots of aspirin.....and lots of fun.

Peter's week - Bob Lauver

We're in the middle of a heavy stretch of work at Heinz Hall.  Last week we played Mozart 25, Strauss' "Death and Transfiguration" (made even more poignant by the passing of Peter Guroff, beloved member of the viola section), and Brahms Piano Concerto #2 with Emanuel Ax. 

With the heaviness of the week centering around Peter's death on Tuesday, the orchestra's string section organized some music for his memorial service.  The string section played "Air on the G string" so beautifully, Cindy played a movement from the Mozart "Oboe" quartet (an adagio that wept with pure grace), and the viola section played two pieces....Amazing Grace (arranged by Stephanie Tretick), and a piece (with Almonds in the title) that Peter had once played in an assisted living center, thus becoming many residents' favorite grandson.  Perhaps the most generous contribution to the service was Manny Ax playing a Brahms piece near the end.  With all the words that need to be expressed on such an occasion, it's the music that ends up giving the most comfort and solace.  It was a beautiful service.  Again I'm reminded of what a special family the PSO is.

The Announcement

You're about to witness a very exciting event in the history of the PSO!  Unfortunately I didn't prepare a separate microphone and since the Maestro speaks very softly, the sound isn't optimal.  Hopefully with a little manipulation of the volume on your computers, you will hear it all.  Hope you like it.  Bob

The stars have aligned! - Bob Lauver

Every once in a while the stars align and things are truly amazing to behold.  The Simmons family gave us cause to feel positive about the future of the PSO, generously giving and creating a framework for others to do their part….and today we received news that we’ll have a new music director in 2008….we got Manfred Honeck!  I’ve written a couple of things about his weeks here with the PSO and I’m looking forward to many more posts about the effect this guy is going to have on us (I have joyfully high expectations).  But that doesn’t come close to conveying the extent of the happiness that I’m feeling.  About the only thing that comes close is the Snoopy dance (I confess I did my own little rendition of it when I was out of public view).  Another thing that I’ll admit is I have a hard time focusing on good things because I fear they will disappear before I’m ready to let go, but for this news I will celebrate….openly and repeatedly.

After Maestro Honeck’s last visit here I went up to Bob Moir (Vice President of Artistic Planning) and said, “In my opinion we ought to be doing anything that we can to get him here.”   I don’t think my perspective is any more valuable than anybody else’s, but if I saw him get a Music Directorship with another orchestra instead of us I would’ve wondered if my complacency had some role in it.  I know that Honeck wouldn’t come here if he didn’t want to, but I give a huge amount of credit to Bob Moir and the great work he does for us day in and day out.  That’s a guy who obviously loves his job…..and he’s great at it.

Thankful (again) - Bob Lauver

What better topic to address than gratitude in a time like this for the PSO?  With the astounding generosity and the incredible thoughtfulness of the Simmons family I get excited once again for the future of this fantastic orchestra.  The gift is so multi-faceted that it challenges the entire organization to become involved in its own future.  Every part of the PSO will be determined to make the most of this opportunity.  Personally I believe words fail to express the feelings we all have as a result of this event........genuine thanks is just the start.

Another thing that we can all be grateful for is that a conductor like Manfred Honeck will come to lead us in performance on relatively short notice.  "Lead" is putting it mildly.  Reading today's Post-Gazette article on this week's Honeck appearance gives some insight into what makes this conductor so great.  I've written about him before, and once again his astounding memory for the score (right down to rehearsal numbers and measure numbers) is abundantly evident in his rehearsal.  Also very apparent is his penchant for attaining the detailed sound that he has in his head.  He has the ability to be insistent on a result without being negative in any way.  His leadership is also apparent in the quietness on stage during a rehearsal.  He speaks softly (on purpose, I believe) and requires the orchestra to be quiet and attentive to hear what he's saying.  Being quite far from the podium I know that chatter can be abundant, and it's minimized quite naturally by this conductor.  There was a point in the rehearsal that another conductor might have made some attempt at "shush-ing" the voices on stage, but Honeck just stood in a state of preparation and focus and brought the entire orchestra into it.  It takes a leader to pull that off with such grace.  This guy's the real deal.

I would blather on about this week's concert knowing as I do that it's going to be great, but the little red button just popped up on the turkey, and it's time to whip up my vein-clogging mashed potatoes!  Happy Thanksgiving.