Concerto recital

The big day came and went and boy was it a big day.  Recital day is always a balancing scale of remaining calm, resting, and remembering to do everything that needs to be done.  For example yesterday I cut Jbird's hair, re-hemmed his trousers, ironed his shirt and trousers, polished his shoes, made sure he ate, hid my emotions about a few trifling matters that felt important to me, and dashed home to get his forgotten bowtie ten minutes before curtain call.  I also had a normal day with church, a baby shower (details to follow), and I went for a swim. Sometimes I wonder if I'm mothering him by being so completely in charge of his grooming matters, but I think it helped him to feel as relaxed as possible so that all he had to think about was the task at hand.  Or maybe it would have helped him to have that housekeeping to do, therefore taking his mind off the task at hand.  It's hard to tell. 

I might be biased but I thought he played beautifully.  There may have been a few minor mistakes but he exuded confidence and the audience was in his power.  It was exciting to have the orchestra accompany him but I was more focussed on him than what they were doing.
 

The Saint-Saëns piano concerto number 2 is an exciting concerto to listen to, full of wild virtuosic moments.  The last movement in particular leaves you on the edge of your seat.  There are so many notes and it seems as though there's a race to the end.  If you don't know this concerto well, you can listen to the Maestro Rubinstein playing part 1 here and part 2 here.  I'll post Jbird's recording when it's ready.

I was lucky enough to sit next to a wee budding five year old violin student.  She sat stock still during the overture (pre-concerto) which was exciting and full of swarming violin propositions.  The concerto proved to be too much for her and she became a wriggling little worm.  Didn't say a peep though. 

The real deal

At their recital Jbird and Soph played this lovely Sonata for Violin and Piano by Mozart.  Have a listen and enjoy.  Jbird loved having the opportunity to perform it on a Walter replica fortepiano, just like the instrument Mozart owned.  He's enjoying his early music studies at the school of music here.

And he's a winner!

Jbird played in the school's Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto (No.2) Competition on Friday night.  He played his heart out and managed to win the competition.  We are very excited and can't wait for his prize - to play with the concerto with the school's University Orchestra on April 11.  It's a beautiful concerto, well worth a listen if you have a moment to peruse youtube.  We'll also post a recording of the final concert after the date.

I wish I had a photo to share of the competition scenario but I'll have to describe it in words.  He played with his accompanist on a stage to a nearly empty hall.  His judges were upstairs in the balcony.  The contestants were given cuts in the concerto the night before so they'd all learned the whole thing but were only playing about half of it.  His arms flung around, he looked to both heaven and earth for inspiration.  I mean this literally, he got so hunched over the piano at one stage that he knocked his glasses on the wood.  All of his energy went into playing  every note, unaware of his left leg which tends to fly around to aid in weight distribution for those fortissimos.  Jbird is a true lightweight for such a hefty instrument. 

Beethoven and Bell

We recently attended a concert with the local talent Joshua Bell accompanied by the Cincinnati orchestra.  It was a gorgeous concert, performed to a packed audience in the big hall.  He played Beethoven's violin concerto.  You can listen to him playing it at another concert here if you feel like hearing the pure genius of both Beethoven and Mr. Bell.  After the concert I received a little lecture from the one dearest and nearest to me.  He tells me Beethoven was so clever, he would incorporate the musical forms of the past and current while innovating far beyond his time.  So much so that people attending debuts of his work couldn't understand what he was trying to do and would give him poor reviews.  This concerto, for example, is far longer than the standard concerto of the time.  The second movement is another from my dad's mixed tape that I've mentioned before - the one we used to listen to on long car journeys.  It was funny that it was so very familiar to me while I didn't really know the first movement at all.  

Mr. Bell is considered local talent here.  He's on the violin teaching faculty, and we know a local who used to babysit him when he was a boy.  Jbird and I recently saw a documentary about an earlier owner of Mr. Bell's violin, Bronislaw Humberman.  The documentary mentions it's disappearing act and subsequent 50 year loss from the green room at Carnegie Hall.  Read here for the full story. 

Another successful recital

Although I will probably also post when the video is available, I thought you might like to have a listen to Jbird's recent recital.  If I were a critic, I would announce that it was a stunning success.  However, as his wife this might be the biased response.  I know that he played beautifully, everyone thought so, not just me.  You can hear the recording if you click over to his blog here.

The upcoming concerto recital

Woops - this was supposed to post yesterday.  Sorry, it stayed a draft over night...

I have been cycling around campus putting up posters for Jbird's upcoming concert.  It's on Sunday at 1pm at the Recital hall, if you happen to be in town.  As I left the campus, I was cycling passed Jbird's studio and I heard his concerto wafting through the window as he practised with the conductor.  He's playing the Delius piano concerto. Jbird's sounding great and it's a fun piece to listen to.  I'm excited to hear it with the orchestra on Sunday.  Before that, I have to make enough sandwiches and brownie for 36 people for one of their rehearsals.  The logistics of freshness and transportation on the back of a bike currently fail me but I'm sure I'll work it out.