ecarroll

TMers,

I’m pondering repertoire for my students this afternoon but I’m really thinking about Venetian foot-bridges (yes. . . I’m obsessed).

Do you see a bridge as an obstacle—as just another set of steps to climb to get from one side of a canal to the other—or do you see them, as a true musician does, as transitions?

Repertoire can be viewed as a series of foot-bridges. We go over each piece that we choose to play slowly. It is part of our personal rhythm—a link between two parts of our own musical theater, like changes in scenery, or like the progression between Act One and Act Two. Our role changes as we pass through each new piece. We cross from the reality of one language to the next, from one technique to another. Each becomes a necessary portal to the next level of our musicianship.

Choose your repertoire carefully, my friends. Don’t cross the same bridge endlessly.

Thus endeth the afternoon lesson.

Peace,
EC
(comments are appreciated)

rowuk

In Venice, I would stand on the bridge watching those boots with loving couples or whatever go by.
The middle of the bridge is also where both sides meet - kind of like the orchestra on one side and the audience on the other and me in the middle as a conduit.
Italian culture can make you very romantic..................

mahaberio

The repertoire I pick always moves me in some way. I also purposefully pick music that will challenge both technically and artistically. The music I play keeps me motivated to practice my fundamentals every day and to continually grow as a musician. I think your foot-bridge analogy is fantastic for how I feel about repertoire. Great topic!

Jimi Michiel

I always believed that the best works are those that CAN be crossed endlessly without really repeating oneself. I think there are few pieces like that in the trumpet repertoire.

The Hindemith Sonata and Hummel Concerto come to mind as pieces that one can continue to study and perform with an endless degree of variety. The symphonies of Mahler, Shostakovich, and Beethoven, works by Stravinsky and Bach... I think there is a lot of repertoire out there that bears repetition. Does Rostropovich ever get tired of playing Dvorak and Shostakovich? Maybe, but I'm sure the audience never gets tired of hearing him play it.

Some my favorite concerts were last year when I was fortunate to hear the Minnesota Orchestra play the Brahms cycle over two series of concerts. I ended up attending all six concerts, and it was an amazing experience watching a top rate orchestra perform the same repertoire three times in a row for two consecutive weeks. Neither the orchestra, or the conductor (Marek Janowski) ever let the music get stale.

I think maybe the key is not to cross the same bridge unless you can find a new or different way to do it.

-Jimi

ecarroll

Jimi,

Simply stated, "ask yourself if you have ten years of musical experience or have you had the same musical experience for ten years?" (quoting some cranky old trumpeter). Can one find fresh ideas in endless repetition of the same piece? Yes, I suppose we can. . . but at what cost? I believe that our greatest growth comes in unexpected ways and expanding our musical turf is the best way forward.

Sorry to disagree. I'm not commenting on particular repertoire, I'm commenting on mindfulness and new horizons.

Best,
EC

dedalus78

The Arutunian's connected to the...Bozza
the Bozza's connected to the....Tomasi
the Tomasi's connected to the.... Jolivet
the Jolivet's connected to the....Zimmermann
the Zimmermann's connected to the.... Berio
The Berio's connected to the..... Henze
the Henze's connected to the.... Davies
The Davies' connected to the...... Birtwistle
The Birtwistle's connected to the...



or something like that!

Tristram

noonan

Ed,

Ok, I'll admit that I'm one of those people who have been too conventional and predictable in what I work on and play. I remember an early thread where you recommended practicing 'extreme musics' as a necessary element in your regimen. For someone who has neglected this area and works on the same excerpts and etudes ad nauseum, could you recommend a logical progression of a good place to start and how to proceed? I'm not saying that there must be only one order in which to learn modern music, but starting with the Gruber doesn't seem altogether the smartest idea either. Tristram's post touches on the flow from one piece to another that I'm trying to better understand. Thanks!

Carl

ecarroll

Carl,

Good morning.

Tristram's post really should be set to music: "the knee-bone's connected to the...thigh-bone"

Let me think about this before responding. It's a huge topic and one that isn't entirely settled in my mind yet.

Best,
EC

dedalus78

Ed,

Thats what I had in mind!

TW

ecarroll

Carl,

"Extreme music", to me, is any music which empowers the player to make a personal statement. Jazz and free improv certainly qualify, as do some early baroque musics (far more about style and improv than substance), all romantic music (about the performer and how far (s)he can take it), and difficult to sort out contemporary musics. The Gruber pieces would certainly fall within the latter (!)

A well known example of the above are the 36 Transcendental Etudes of Charlier. There isn't a "right" way to play these terrific little compositions. John Wallace used to describe them as "little crossword puzzles" and the beauty of romantic music is that they can, and in my opinion should, be solved differently each time. They test your ability to take extreme musical chances. Voila!

When you're willing to cross that particular bridge it empowers you to take more chances with the rest, including, perhaps, pieces that take a bit more thought and preparation.

Do any of you have these titles in your repertoire?

Eino Tamberg: Trumpet Concerto
Antoine Tisné: Emotion
Alfred Desenclos: Incantation, Thrène, et Danse
Giacinto Scelsi: Quattro Pezzi
Toru Takemitsu: Paths
Bernd-Alois Zimmerman: Nobody Knows the Trouble I See
Georg Enescu: Legende


Each is hard (but far from impossible) and asks you to make choices and take risks. There are many, many more to recommend as well.

Fun stuff,
EC