| Rimshot,
I was playing Dave's XLT Prana C trumpet. It's a horn I've been playing for about a month at Osmo's request. He contends that my sound continues to expand without showing any breaking point, so, it feels unnatural to him. Now, I've never had a conductor say that to me but he's the boss and if the boss ain't happy, don't nobody be happy. It's got fewer lows than I'm accustomed to but it still retains all the other good qualities of Dave's horns.
As to the triplets...well, let's be delicate about this. We're playing Mahler with a very good conductor who's not known for conducting Mahler. We have to get used to what he does and depending on where you sit in the orchestra you'll have a little different perspective on how to play those triplets. If you play them by yourself or if you play them with other people you adjust slightly. It's a heck of a lot easier to maintain a consistency when the tempo is faster but clearly his tempi are slower for the bulk of the first movement. Now, throw in the idea of a triplet that is somewhat subject to interpretation and you have one hundred plus people all trying to find their way. Also, remember: you were listening to a live, unedited performance with all of the ingredients mentioned above. You get one shot and if it doesn't happen on one night, well, you try and get the ensemble to do what you want the next show. It's a process of absorbing an interpretation and getting it under your belt so it sounds natural eventually. That's our job; to act as advocates for the conductor du jour. His job is to act as advocate for the composer.
Thanks for listening!
ML[/b] |