Word: instrument
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...rehearsal, his relationship with his orchestra seems more that of a primus inter pares than a Prussian autocrat from the old school. He talks frequently, calling up vivid images to illustrate his interpretative intention. "This is an old fiddler who can hardly pick up his instrument," he says during the rehearsal of a plaintive string passage in Mahler. "And then he gets stronger and stronger, and suddenly it all comes back!" When he's happy with the ways things are going, he lets the band know. "You make the music," he shouts. "I listen to it and adjust...
...Internet as a potentially inspiring instrument, a way to get everyone involved in the political process--but not with speech restrictions. I think the press could serve its function best as an analytical tool and shed light on the issues that fly by, to provide depth and context to the events occuring. But, as of now, Americans are not up for that kind of examination. In our anti-intellectual climate, thoroughness is not what gives ratings a boost, and so the press is forced into narrow-minded showmanship...
...concerto to be found in Sanders Theater. Instead, the orchestra gamely offered up a trancelike Wagner overture, a defiantly modernist Stravinsky ballet and--strangest of all--a bassoon concerto. While Wagner and Stravinsky are hardly obscure, it's not every day that you get to hear the bassoon--an instrument that ranks with the tuba and bass in ungainliness--dominate the stage...
Soloist Shoshana "Shasa" Dobrow '97 won HRO's Concerto Competition with the piece and it must be a godsend for a bassoonist--there's not much opportunity to shine with the instrument. Probably the best-known bassoon writing is Stravinsky's, such as the solo that begins "The Rite of Spring;" but Stravinsky produces a plaintive, wailing tone which is far from Weber's classical vocabulary...
Certainly, Dobrow handled the piece expertly and her tone improved as it went on--or, perhaps, the ear became accustomed to what the bassoon should sound like. But she was hampered by a fairly uninteresting piece and her technique was probably better appreciated by those more familiar with the instrument and its limitations. Again, however, the audience was wildly appreciative, as the fluorescent "SHASA" sign that dangled from the balcony proved...