October 25, 2015

Last Monday was open classroom day, which was stressful. All these strangers walking around and watching classes. We had seven people sit in on our literature class, which is more than the number of students. Also we had to set up the orchestra in the most awkward way ever, with extra chairs scattered throughout the orchestra so that donors could sit amongst us if  they wished to. They did not seem to wish to and most of the chairs went unused (there was one tenacious old lady who stuck next to the cello section for the entire rehearsal). Sigh...

Partial map of the orchestra setup - the green chairs are extra donor chairs

I went to opening night of the Magic Flute. It was in English, which was a shock, and the sets and costumes were very modern and abstract-looking (the sets consisted of floating circles or coloured stripes or squares projected onto film). Lots of bright colours, primary colours. It looked like Alice in Wonderland; a fantastical crayon world. I liked it. Very imaginative.

On Saturday I was presented with two highly interesting but just as highly suspect tales from the music world. One was that Shostakovich was shot in the head while serving in WWII and had a piece of metal lodged in his brain for the rest of his life. According to the yarn, Shosty didn't want the shrapnel removed because it enabled him to hear melodies when he tilted his head, which he then used in composition. However there is zero evidence to support this story.

The other fascinating article I read was about how A-440 is Nazi tuning and A-432 promotes world peace. Lots of evidence for this one, but much of it seemed somewhat circumstantial. I have my doubts, but it would be cool if it were true.

This morning I played in a handbell piece in a Presbyterian service. So cool, and the organist has mad skillz (he's the director of ABS).

Foggy morning

Handbells

And of course, keeping you current with SFCM life...

I feel like student council is trying really hard to turn us into a "normal" college...

What is "applied violin"?

- Antisocial Violinist

October 19, 2015

A week of intensive rehearsals culminated in an "open rehearsal" on Sunday. Our conducting student was on the podium and Scott was coaching all of us. It wasn't a concert, just an opportunity for the public to see what a rehearsal is like. I've been keeping busy with research and rehearsals but need more practice time. On Saturday night I made some Bach and Rameau aria recordings with a singer (she needs them for auditions). I am pleased to be doing more Baroque projects and making more connections.

Here are some random photos from school and around.

We must be at a music school

Yet another way to spell Tchaikovsky

These people are in a MASTERCLASS. Someone is PLAYING. Why are you on your LAPTOP!!!

Prokofiev's account of premiering his Second Suite from R+J...

!!!!!!

I'm  trying to teach A to play the gamba, but that foot positioning can't be right....

- Antisocial Violinist

October 11, 2015

I'm really sorry (sarcasm), I only have a couple pictures this week. Some satisfying musical work that I'll tell about shamelessly, whether it's interesting or not. Ian says that I'm musical but need more sheer ability and confidence on the violin. To this end, I am supposed to bring in a "violinistic" piece every week (think Wieniawski, Saint-Saens, Kreisler, Sarasate etc.) So I played Scherzo-Tarantella for him this week and I think I've made a real stride. This will help me a lot - just walking through the pieces, getting around them, working out tight passages that I can't nail. I enjoy it. I am quite pleased, and so is Ian.

I'm learning bass gamba this year and I have private lessons because all the other "advanced" gamba students graduated. It's fun, and great cross-training for violin. I try to practice dutifully at least twice a week. Gamba lessons are not things most people get.

My lovely mother came down to visit me for our fall break/Thanksgiving. We spent a few days walking around downtown and Golden Gate Park, finding caches, sitting on the beach and going to concerts. Here are the two photos I have, of a fairy door in a tree...

- Antisocial Violinist

October 5, 2015

I spent most of my free time this week working on the three papers I had due Friday: a paper for literature class, the draft of my Stravinsky essay and the draft of my program notes for the next orchestra set (Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet suites). This was not very exciting. In fact the most exciting thing that happened this school week was that during somebody's presentation in Stravinsky class M did a 3D doodle and I said she should make a new career as a Symbolist painter.

Those pencil scribbles on the left are my contribution...

 On Saturday I went with a group to Fort Funston to look for caches, and this WAS exciting. The day was gorgeous and it was very, very windy at the beach - we were all blinded by stinging sand. We attempted to capture a webcam photo and spent quite a while standing around in different places trying to find where the camera was. Somebody suggested we try to make letters with our bodies and spell out a word - the best we could come up with was "YMCA" twice. Then people started complaining and asking if we had to hold our letter for the ten minutes it would take for the webcam to update. I thought the whole thing was hysterically funny. We ended up getting only a couple blurry photos because no one wanted to stand in the eyeball-tearing sandy wind for much longer. We slithered down a dune to the beach, where the ocean was being whipped into foam. I've never seen this before. The foam was coming in to the beach, pushed by the wind, and it was pure white at first. The foam that had been sitting on the beach for awhile was full of sand and browner.

That's all foam!!

White foam drifting in

Geo-buddy on a soft sand bed

Saw on the way home

Went to the library on Sunday and found a double tower of books and Ghirardelli. Sounds like a good plan.

Also noticed in the train station that the buskers are getting more creative. I guess competition is stiff these days.

- Antisocial Violinist

September 28, 2015

Cat Mackintosh was here this week to do a baroque residency. The most important thing I learned was what joy can be had from the upper half of a baroque bow, and secondarily to that, how important it is to experiment and use different parts of the bow.

Spent a lot of my free time this week doing work for my class on Stravinsky. I'm writing a paper on Russian folk tunes and how Stravinsky treats them differently than other people. This may seem like a huge topic, but so much research has already been done that I just have to read the books and sift the information. I have been studying an enormous book by Taruskin entitled "Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions", and am enjoying reading the book so much I am sorry I cannot read the whole thing before the draft of my paper is due on Friday. The first chapter is entitled "Russia and How it Got That Way".

Also this week in that class was our first listening quiz on Firebird, Petrushka and a few other early works. The night before the quiz I spent a couple hours studying with M in the new dorm.

Those are grapes on a conducting baton

There were a couple memorable faculty concerts this week, one featuring the abovementioned Cat Mackintosh with other members of the Baroque faculty, and another featuring two of my own teachers.

Probably the best EVER name for a concert....

On Friday I spent some time lying on the terrace with studio mates. They had been playing kickball and one of them had kicked the ball onto the roof (you could see the shadow of it) and so they couldn't play anymore. C said she wanted to climb up and get it but was afraid of being expelled from school. I suggested she come at 7am on a Sunday because no one would be around to see her.

Today I went to the "Grape Festival" at Slovenian Hall, and in the Club Slovenia library I found a Gustav Dore-illustrated Bible (in Slovenian of course). Spent some time leafing through the Dore engravings as they are awesome. Here are my favourites.

I really love the way he does the angel in this one

The photos don't really do them justice, but you get an idea. Oh yeah, the actual Grape Festival was pretty fun too, with great food and socializing.

- Antisocial Violinist

September 21, 2015

Yet again, no trips and no pictures. I would apologize if I didn't know there's a disclaimer in the title of this blog.

This week I rehearsed and played a concert with MUSA, a historical performance group made up of mostly SFCM alumni. The concert was Brandenburgs 3, 5 and 6 (I was the extra 3rd violin in Bran. 3) as well as a Telemann concerto. We rehearsed in the garage of the harpsichordist's house, clustered around the keyboard like ants around a stray Advil tablet. It's a fun bunch of people, all great players, and it's a pleasure to perform with them. After the concert there was even a little reception.

Had a good laugh with M in Stravinsky class when she wrote down the title of the song "La Jambe en Bois" as "Le Jambon Boire".

- Antisocial Violinist

September 13, 2015

Gruelling classes and a weekend of concerts - "Classical Kick-Off". Who came up with that title I wonder....

I haven't been going on many trips, nor has anything much notable happened. Today after the orchestra concert I went to Land's End with a friend to see the newly-constructed Labyrinth (vandals keep removing all the rocks and it was rebuilt by volunteers today). The day was foggy and the ocean could not be seen, so I do not have any pictures, not even of the Labyrinth (which I would have photographed except people kept coming and walking in it).

Sorry for the short post. Enjoy your week.

- Antisocial Violinist