Ho tommo, I remember playing 'Crazy for you' a couple of years ago.. super fun show, all enjoyed it. We had 2 of each strings but there were a lot of wind players too... great fun... enjoy!!

If ever you need another player...... please...? 

A

For those who were there last week, here is a blogger review of the notes inegales gig at the ICA. <sunglasses, slightly askew>

http://www.ica.org.uk/CMM%3A%20Notes%20Inegales+16924.twl

Hm, well, very encouragingly really.

You can see some photos here:

http://www.taschenoper.at/neu/t05_stockhausen.php



The Klaus Rudolph ones are of the soloist rehearsals in Köln, the Reinhard Werner ones of the dress rehearsal (I think - there was another rehearsal that was in costume for photo purposes). The Werner ones have the full set including Marco's crane and give a bit of an idea of the setup with projections.

Suzanne Stephens was there for quite a few rehearsals and very helpful and supportive. We swallows didn't get that much in the way of stage rehearsal but at least Fie had done it already in Amsterdam and we had some help from Lesley Schatzberger who had played the piece with Stockhausen many times (including the ECM recording of the chamber version).

I could get used to this moving around on stage business. Not so fond of the swallow costume on the other hand. Down to the waist it was OK but below that a bit 'sacky' - ended up ruling out a few of the rehearsed movements and was very dangerous indeed for one moment where we needed to climb a tiny set of stairs while playing. We also had a little passage where the swallows parody the love scene that the main soloists have just had - that was in silhouette against a screen and the way the costumes hung meant (again) changing a lot of movements from what we'd rehearsed. We were also on a very small platform a couple of metres up without anything to stop us or our clarinets falling off. Took getting used to.

Both the music and the storyline are pretty crass but somehow it didn't matter, at least to me - being a bit over the top doesn't for me stop the music being quite breathtaking. One of the cellists said it made her think of Barbarella, certainly once Eva came in. (Something one of the reviews also mentioned...) But that's still quite a film.

Playing it again in Köln in August, then if everything works out in at least some of Venice, Dresden, Warsaw and Paris. Quite a few of the festival presenters were there and enthusiastic but the thing is a logistical nightmare especially with the cranes so if one or two of those don't come off we won't be too surprised.

Not as yet, martle. Suzanne and Kathinka were very excited by it all though so who knows if having the family on side might lead to a few extra gigs? It would be lovely to do it at the Proms for example but somehow I find it a bit hard to imagine...

There's a reasonably good possibility of a TV recording though. Fingers crossed, wood touched and all that.

The crane is mostly silent. It does make a few creaks from time to time but they're not scripted. Having the crane completely silent would involve rather a lot of oil and having to run through little splashes of it on the floor was deemed imprudent.

The crane itself comes from the coproducers La Fura dels Baus of whom you may have heard. Apparently they used four of them previously for a production of Die Walküre. (I wouldn't want to have had to sing Wagner from one of those myself.) There are no engines involved apart from the elbow (and knee) grease of a number of stage assistants whose movements are scrupulously choreographed. The crane moves on two axes but is also wheeled across the floor, sometimes circling another trolley (the one with the little platform and the projection screen on it). Since the trolley with the projection screen on it needs power, the movements of the cable also need to be carefully scripted. The mecs really worked much harder than probably any of us but Marco did.

Here are the results from the Lithuanian Jury.....

Crazy for You was great!  Here is a review.  My favourite bit was the dancing girls.....

The composers workshop was great!  I liked all the pieces, all different, but all very good in their own way.  There were eventually two winners - Hultmark and May.  Hultmark's trumpet concerto was really well written, sunny, a little stretching for the orchestra, and the sort of work I want to hear again.  May's piece was much more like a birthday celebration piece, and more like film music - very catchy and good fun to play.  I should also note that I thought Nicholas Gotch's work was incredibly beautiful, but just too sombre for a celbration event.  i hope it gets another airing!

Please come to hear the winners - details here.

The Schoenberg / Wagner is going great!  Please come along on Friday!  This Schoenberg Chamber Symphony is just such a good work!

Thanks

Tommo

And the dancing girls....

oops, wrong piece.  (but wouldn't that be cooooool!)

Tommo

Now come on, George. You got the booby prize at the pub quiz in the White Hart, didn't you.