Marilyn Rowland's Page

I saw the Beatlemania Classical Mystery Tour last night with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra. The audience loved it. The singers looked somewhat like the Beatles, and the various costumes (changing over the years) were fun.

I was not enchanted though, wanting the Beatlemania people to be more like Beatles: sound more like them, move like them, be quirkier, and call each other John, Paul, George, and Ringo, not their real names, to heighten the fantasy. I also wanted the sound to be more balanced, as in this video. Live, the amplified guitars seemed too amplified for me (a common complaint of mine), and the orchestra's contributions were sometimes obscured. Jung-Ho Pak looked great in his Sgt. Pepper jacket, though.

A fun night (the crowd went wild, responding with three enthusiastic standing ovations), but not exhilarating, at least for me.

Dissatisfied with my intonation, tone, expression, musicality, you-name-it, I decided to go back to the beginning, cello-wise. More than two steps back, really. I wanted to play simple scales and exercises really well and be more confident about shifting, positions, bowing, etc.

My teacher suggested we start with Piatti, book one. After initial distress (why not book two, at least?), I calmed down and have been serene about cello playing and cello progress ever since.

Still, finding time to practice is not always easy. I have two very demanding, deadline-based, but otherwise unstructured jobs, family, friends, rehearsals, and "occasional" Internet time.

I was thinking of Marisa today when I went in for my lesson, trying to think of an excuse for not practicing that sounded different from previous excuses. My last-minute practice session late last night must have helped though, because all went well. I had a great lesson, and more important than that, I had a great time playing and loved playing those simple, now very musical duets with my teacher.

Isn't the cello lovely! (Maybe I will manage a little more practice time this week.)

The concert started in an unusual way, with applause for the banks who sponsor the concerts, not so much for sponsoring the concerts, as for simply not going belly up yet. We're grateful for small things. Well, I guess that is a big thing.

Cellist Denise Djokic was the soloist with the Cape Cod Symphony this weekend, playing Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rocco Theme for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 33. An outstanding cellist (said to be one of the best classical musicians in Canada, or in the world, depending on whom you listen to) and an incredible piece of music, lots of variety for sure, and very demanding on the cellist. Yet, she was graceful and fluid, from grumbling low sounds to delicate high notes that you not think a cello capable of making.

I was glad to be able to see her. She was here, playing with the Simon Sinfonietta in February 2007, but I was unable to attend. It was nice of her to return. :-)

Here's a link to her playing Handel Halvorsen Passacaglia with Jasper Wood.

And another, part of a documentary done on her, called "Seven Days and Seven Nights."

Yesterday morning, I drove, slowly, through the heavy rain, to Sandwich to play a couple of easy pieces with two pianists, both adult beginners, at their piano recital. All went well and the pianists all sounded great. I agreed to come back again for the next recital, and bring some other musicians. Pianists, at least at the early level, don't get to play with others that often, and they appreciated the opportunity to play with me. Makes me feel good too. :-)

Then, last night, I attended a cello/piano concert featuring Savely Schuster on cello and Sharon Mann on piano. They are both virtuoso musicians and played brilliantly, and I hate to even mention them in the same post as our little recital in the morning, but there were many similarities.

Both concerts were affected by the rain (turnout was light in the morning concert, and though the evening concert was sold out, many did not attend, for fear of torrential rains, which did not materialize). I did benefit from this by getting a great seat with an unobstructed view of the cellist, but was sorry so many people missed the big event. Both concerts very satisfying in their own way: great music, warm and friendly people, exceptional refreshments afterwards, and, both concerts included the same piece, Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major. Of course the piece from the morning concert was from a book called "Simply Chopin" and left out quite a few notes that were included in the evening version, but I enjoyed them both.

A great day, all in all.