Shameless self-promotion
Monte Perkins didn’t have to ask twice.
Of course I’d be happy to be guest narrator, in Benjamin Britten’s A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, with his Festival City Symphony! What better opportunity for a duffer musician? I get to be in the spotlight in front of an orchestra for a little while without worrying about screwing up the notes.
Still, just to be on the safe side, I drove out to Monte’s and picked up a score. I haven’t heard the piece in ages, but a glance at the first few bars brought that noble theme back to mind. Narration aside, this is a nice piece of music, variations and a fugue on a hornpipe dance by Henry Purcell.
Benjamin Britten
Britten finished Guide on New Year’s Eve 1945, to fulfill a commission for a music education film for English school children. The whole orchestra plays the theme, the various sections are featured in the variations, and the whole orchestra joins in the fugue finale.
Eric Crozier, an opera director and the librettist for Britten’s Albert Herring, wrote the text. The idea is to inform the kids of the instruments they’re hearing at just about the time they hear it. With all due respect to the late Mr. C (1914-1994), it’s a little clunky: “The woodwind are blown by the breath. The brass are blown, too.” A little rewriting might be in order.
I’m pleased to be doing it. Long ago in another life, I expected to become an actor. It’s too late for that, but a little performing here and there might be in the cards. Writing is great, but I like being out there in front of people, too. It’s fun.
Me
So do come to the Pabst Theater on the 31st. The program also includes Handel’s Water Music and Haydn’s Symphony No. 99. Music director Monte Perkins and the Festival City Symphony are officially celebrating the 350th anniversary of Purcell’s birth, the 250th anniversary of the death of Handel, and the 200th anniversary of the death of Haydn. I’m unofficially celebrating the six-month anniversary of my re-birth at ThirdCoast after decades of newspapering.
This program will take place at the Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St., at 3 p.m. January 31, a Sunday. A Children’s Program Notes session starts at 2:45 p.m. Tickets are $14, $8 for children, students and seniors. They are on sale at the Pabst box office, 414-286-3663 and at the theater’s website.
Dang, I’d like to go to this, but Prometheus will be performing in Madison that afternoon–have a great time, you 6-month old, you!
Self promotion is fine. At least they had good taste in selecting you to read.
Handel comes in first place tied with Vivaldi, but as a close second or third I love Berlioz, especially the “Symphonie Fantastique.” I have played it a lot for my children when they were babies and toddlers during play time and it is really inspirational. I remember getting a “Classical Music for your Baby” CD at the OB/GYn when I was pregnant. I literally wore out the disc playing it during pregnancy and late at night nursing. Classical music has always been an important part of my life; my dad is a musician and I was lucky to be exposed to music (including lots of Jazz) from an early age. Now my children love music too! Thanks for doing this.
This sounds like a great show and I’d love to check it out. My favorite composer at the moment (or rather, who I’ve been listening to the most) is Grieg.
The Bach Brandenburg Concertos were what I played for my children and probably my favorites of all time; Handel’s Messiah, because I am an Alto and I loved to sing it; Berlioz; Beethoven’s 3rd,6th, and 9th; Aaron Copeland…
Perhaps one of the most under appreciated composers happens to be my favorite. He was one of the Big Five from Russia and his main job was actually a chemist and he only wrote in his spare time. My favorite composer is Alexander Borodin. In particular his haunting melodic String Quartet No.2 Nocturne.
I also enjoy Brahms and Bach as well. Funny, I just noticed all three have last names that begin with ‘B’.
I have listened to a ton of classical music though out my life, but I always come back to Mozart. The Clarinet Concerto and the Serenade in B Flat are two all time favorites. The Requiem still gives me chills every time that I hear it. My 6 year old daughter seems to have a taste for Tchaikovsky. It always makes her dance.
Always hard to choose one favorite but since this is a children’s program, I gotta go with Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. It’s fun to listen to (and even seems fun to play) and, dammit, it’s by an American. Of course, so is stuff by Gershwin and Ellington.
Here’s the New York Philharmonic prforming Copland’s Fanfare: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzf0rvQa4Mc (though ELP’s version ain’t too shabby either).
Stravinsky – Petrushka. Good beat, you can dance to it.
Well, you asked…favorite piece and/or composer. Webern’s Passacaglia, Op. 1. It was a graduation piece of his, and it is obvious he had not quite found his sound yet—but there are inklings of what is to come, and there are great tributes to Mahler and Wagner as well. Never played enough for my taste.
It is too easy claim Mozart as an all-time favorite composer or even Copland, for a 20th century twist and taste of Americana. As a wind performer thoughout my life and former Milwaukee Civic Band member, I have always been a fan – both performing and listening to – Gustav Holst. His influences on modern day and prolific film composers like John Williams is very apparent. It is fun to perform as well!
Thanks so much, everyone, for commenting. I hope I’ll see you at the concert.
My favorite composer is Rachmaninoff, who in the recent past seems to be played best by Asian pianists, first a man and now a woman!