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From a musician’s perspective, is it different to play a ballet score from an orchestral work? Does the conductor make certain the dancers and musicians are in sync or is that up to the dancers?
The difference is really only important to the conductor, who must coordinate the music with the dance. It is technically the dancers’ responsibility to stay with the music, but it’s the conductor’s job to insure that the music is in exactly the tempo the dancers are expecting, and that there are no surprises that could disturb the dance. From the musicians’ perspective, the only real trick to playing ballet scores is keeping your eyes on your part while all those amazingly athletic bodies are leaping around in front of or behind you. - Sam
When will Peter McGuire begin practicing to prepare the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto? Does it take a couple of months of heavy preparation? Weeks?
I’m guessing, knowing Peter, that he began practicing the concerto in earnest roughly ten minutes after we asked him to consider playing it on this series, and that he hasn’t stopped since. Playing a major solo work is always a special challenge, especially for a musician who is accustomed to doing most of his/her work within a larger ensemble. It’s simply a different style of playing – more individualistic, more direct, and much more exposed. Most of us will spend months preparing for a solo performance, even if it’s a piece that we know well. - Sam
Why are there so many violin concertos in the repertoire compared to other instruments?
As a violist, this is difficult for me to admit, but the simple fact is that the violin is probably the best-suited string instrument for concerto performances. Its high register and brilliant tone make it easy to hear, even above a full orchestra, and because it’s small enough to be navigated without too much awkwardness (compared with a viola or a bass, for instance,) good violinists tend to be able to pull off astonishing feats of musical dexterity that would be all but unthinkable on other instruments. Besides that, the violin has long been considered the natural leader of the orchestra, so it’s probably natural for composers to consider it for solo roles. - Sam
How exactly does seating work in the string section? It seems that aside from the principals, players move around a lot in the section. Do you “challenge” each other for seating upgrades like in my high school orchestra?
The first three or four players in each of the five string sections are known as “titled” players, which means they carry titles such as Concertmaster, Principal, or Associate Principal, and they have won special auditions for these leadership positions. They generally stay in the same seat at all times unless someone sitting ahead of them is absent. In most American orchestras, Minnesota included, the non-titled members of the string sections participate in a system of revolving seating, which allows everyone to change seats periodically so as to avoid sticking one unfortunate soul in the back for his/her entire career. Because revolving seating is a relatively new development for most orchestras, the system is usually brought into place gradually, meaning that some veteran musicians are allowed to choose to remain “fixed” in the single seat for which they auditioned, if they prefer. It can be a complicated arrangement (especially for the stage crew,) but most musicians prefer the variety of being able to move around within the section, and trade stand partners every few weeks. - Sam
Do you all own your own instruments or does the Orchestra provide them?
Almost without exception, musicians buy their own instruments, which can be prohibitively expensive. In the string section, in particular, a single instrument (bow and case not included) can cost as much as a luxury home. Prices have skyrocketed over the last several decades, due mainly to the influence of collectors, who buy up valuable older instruments at auction, paying exorbitant amounts simply to possess a violin they will never play. As you might imagine, this practice is a sore point with musicians.
There are situations in which the orchestra may purchase an instrument or set of instruments for the use of its musicians. Minnesota Orchestra concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis plays an Italian violin dating from the 1780s, which was purchased for her use by the orchestra. And several members of our bass section play on a collection of old Italian basses which were purchased as a set several years ago. While the musicians are free to use these instruments as they see fit, they belong to the orchestra, and musicians must return them if and when they leave the orchestra’s employ. Because of this, even musicians playing on orchestra-owned instruments own at least one of their own as well. - Sam
How do the percussionists decide who plays which instrument? And does someone really specialize in the triangle?
The principal percussionist spends many hours preparing the parts for each concert in consultation with his colleagues in the section. In considering who will play what instrument, he must take into account what instruments must be played simultaneously, how much space there is to set up the full percussion set on the stage, and how much time each percussionist will need to move between instruments. In some percussion-heavy works, two or more percussionists may even play a single instrument at different times.
There is no such thing as a triangle specialist, although that would certainly be a plum job. Percussionists are trained on every percussion instrument you can imagine, and some you probably can’t. The only specialist in the section is the timpanist, and even in that case, every member of the percussion section is trained on timpani just in case they are needed. - Sam
When you are all such good musicians, do you really need a conductor? Why?
The simple answer is that we need a conductor because there are nearly a hundred of us on the stage, and while you in the audience may be getting a nice blended sound, most of us can only hear clearly what’s going on in the area immediately around us. We don’t use monitors, like a rock band does, and they wouldn’t be much help in any case, since so many intricate things are going on in an orchestra that would be lost through amplification.
The other thing that makes a conductor crucial to a large ensemble is the simple value of having someone in charge. If you have 98 musicians on stage, you are very likely to have 98 opinions as to how a given piece should be played, and to allow everyone an equal say would be simply chaotic. The conductor serves as the primary authority on the interpretation of the music, with principal players offering their thoughts periodically. - Sam