Classical in Commercials: Evil Weeds meets Prince Igor

In 1868, Orlando McLean Scott founded the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in Marysville, Ohio. That same year, half way around the world in Russia, Alexander Borodin began composing his opera, Prince Igor. Little did either of these men know that 148 years later, Mr. Scott's company would be using the music of Borodin, specifically his Polovtsian Dances (from the opera), in a commercial for Scotts Turf Builder Weed & Feed. Take a look:

Borodin was a well respected chemist as well as a composer. He was quoted as saying "Science is my work, and music is my fun." He worked on Prince Igor for 18 years but died (1887) before he completed it. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov completed the opera for him, and it was first performed in 1890.
I love hearing classical music used in contemporary media. It's fun to learn that the composer and the company founder both shared the earth at the same time.

Great Chords: Bruckner Ninth

I think I have mentioned before that Bruckner was my Dad's favorite composer. (Mahler was a very close second). I heard Bruckner's music as a very young child and he became one of my favorites as well. Bruckner composed nine symphonies, but he died before he was able to complete the ninth...it has only three movements instead of the usual four. He was working on the fourth movement at the time of his death in 1896 and had completed a significant amount of work on it, but not enough for it to be finished. There have been several attempts to create a Finale from what Bruckner did leave behind, but that's not the point of this discussion here. I want to talk about one particular chord that stands out from the three completed movements of the ninth symphony. As Tom Service puts it in a wonderful article called "Sex, death, and dissonance:the strange, obsessive world of Anton Bruckner", (The Guardian, April 1, 2014) "For me, this (the 9th Symphony) is Bruckner's boldest compositional achievement. The symphony is the only one of his that's explicitly dedicated to God.In a sense, all of Bruckner's music is a tribute to his devout faith, but the 9th dares something darker, more doubting, more apocalyptic, and more ear-shatteringly aggressive and even deliberately ugly than he had attempted before. The massively loud and dissonant orchestral pile-up of a chord near the end of the third movement is a vision of a despairing abyss that the quiet music that comes after it can't possibly console."
My previous "Great Chords" entry featured the Beethoven Sixth Symphony. As I pointed out in that entry, in any song or piece of music, there occasionally is a chord that stands out...that grabs you....that turns your head. Are you familiar with Jimi Hendrix's great song Purple Haze? It kicks off with a monstrously awesome, kick-ass E7#9..sometimes called the Hendrix Chord. I don't think anyone had every used this chord in a rock n' roll song prior to the release of Are You Experienced in 1967.
Back to Bruckner. 1896. Third movement of his ninth symphony. 38 bars from the end of the movement. Here's what Martyn Becker wrote about it his article "Musings on the ninth symphony and its finale" (2014):
"The vast peak of the climax looms and hope builds: but then there is an unexpected tonal wrench sideways and the orchestral build-up rushes headlong not into a bright major resolution, but into utter catastrophe at its peak. The orchestra blares not salvation but a gigantic, fearsome negating chord that exposes seven dissonant notes from the chromatic scale, including a ‘missed octave’ of C sharp to C natural. It is violent, implacable, terrifying; and the music thunders shakenly and fearfully to a standstill." 

That's the chord I am talking about...an F-sharp, fully diminished 7th chord. Have a listen. This excerpt starts about a minute before the chord sounds, with.a beautiful, urgent build up...but you can't miss the chord when it blares. Bruckner did not have a Fender Stratocaster with over-driving Marshall amplifier and a distortion box like Jimi Hendrix.....but then again, he didn't need it.

https://youtu.be/jsdGkV1epHU?t=4191

So Bruckner died before the symphony was published. Two of his pupils, Ferdinand Lowe and Franz Schalk created the first edition for publishing but they took the liberty of "sanitizing" the harshness of the chord...it seemed too disturbing for the time....so they changed it to a less horrifying minor 7th chord. The world did not hear the true chord until 1932, when Alfred Orel edited the original score and published what Bruckner actually wrote.

Jascha Heifetz' First Appearance in Kansas City

"We might as well take our fiddles and break them across our knees." - Fritz Kreisler after hearing Heifetz.

Jascha Heifetz was one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Poland in 1901, he quickly gained fame as a prodigy and played throughout Europe. In 1914, he performed with the Berlin Philharmonic. He came to the United States in 1917 and gave his first performance at Carnegie Hall on October 27, 1917. A few months later, on February 12, 1918, he was here in Kansas City performing at the Shubert Theater (now named the Folly Theater.)
Here is the review from the Kansas City Times,  February 13, 1918.

HE'S A MASTER VIOLINIST

Jascha Heifetz Makes His First Appearance In Kansas City

A Genius in Tone, He Also Excels in Chaste, Intelligent Interpretation-A Rather Personal Attitude Toward Audience.

_______________________________________________

An audience of high expectations filled the Shubert Theater yesterday afternoon, even to stage and standing space for Jascha Heifetz's first concert west of the Mississippi. News of the violinist began coming to America before he left Petrograd. Leopold Auer was said to have rated him highest of all the students who had come to him in almost fifty years of teaching-even to have seen in him such genius as is born into the world only once in a couple of centuries.

If stories of his playing created expectation of the phenomenal, some must have been disappointed, for Heifetz has nothing of the youthful prodigy about him. It would be impossible to discover anything sensational in his performance, apart from its dignified perfection and those qualities that appeal to musicians rather than to that portion of the public interested in freaks.

AN IMPERSONAL ATTITUDE

The violinist did not warm to his audience. So far as he was concerned, the concert was an affair of the musical verities, as they might be expected to exist between artist and composer. The audience might enjoy if it was able. As to that, Mr. Heifetz refused to assume responsibility. That is what his manner seemed to say.

But while he plays, manner is forgotten. There are long passages when his audience convinced that the difference between this violinist and others is one of tone. Surely no one in this generation has drawn a tone so luminous, so full of silver resonance. But presently tone is forgotten in the breadth and power of his playing or the deluding ease with which he accomplishes feats of bravura.

A COMMANDING INTELLIGENCE

Whatsoever the exactions of a composition, they are met with taste and feeling and a commanding intelligence. There was gentle singing in the Haendel sonata and the Wieniawski concerto was full of character, its errant rhythms given a new definiteness; the finale of Paganini's embroidering flashed splendid jewels instead of its wonted glitter. When it came to the Chopin nocturne in F minor, which Auer has arranged for violin, there was the hoped-for, but hardly expected, poetry. Keat's "Ode to a Nightingale" has no deeper shadows than Heifetz has found in the nocturne. The sheer beauty and repose of his style were disclosed in this manner as in nothing else. It conveyed reasonable conviction that Mr. Heifetz will not join the already too long line of youthful violinists who have been more increasingly content, as the years have passed, to make dazzling display of technique. There is the slim and agile left hand performing feats of speed and accuracy, but not even in the technical feats is the listener permitted to forget the directing mind.

THE AUDIENCE WAS CORDIAL

The audience may have felt a little thrown back upon itself by the artist's imperturbable manner. It was enthusiastic and gave him many recalls, but not so many as it has given other artists in the same theater. There was a certain lack of sympathy between artist and audience, but what else might be expected as between the mature women of his audience and a rollicking youth, who early yesterday jabbed a finger at each and every pushbutton on the street car as he fled laughing to the rear door?

Here is a recording of Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat performed by Jascha Heifetz:

Hy-Vee goes Classical for Valentine's Day

I spend a lot of my time grocery shopping, at least it seems that way. The store I most often shop at is Hy-Vee, a company based in West Des Moines. Iowa. They have supermarkets all throughout the Midwest, and one about 2 miles from my house. I was very impressed by two recent commercials they aired this month, both of which used classical music in them, Antonio Vivaldi specifically. Very nice to see...and hear!

Check them out:

This commercial uses Vivaldi's Concerto for Guitar in C major.

This commercial uses music from Vivaldi's most famous work, the Four Seasons. This commercial features the "Allegro non molto: from Winter.

Well done Hy-Vee, and your advertising agency too.

Kansas City Symphony- My Reflections of the February 6th Concert

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it takes for a human being to be a virtuoso performer. I had seen two, Midori, violinist, and pianist Jeremy Denk, at the first two concerts of 2016 with the Kansas City Symphony. Both were amazing. They played all of the notes of very difficult pieces. Their technique was obvious. And both meshed perfectly with the orchestra to create a very satisfying musical experience...they used their virtuosity to make music WITH a large ensemble rather than on top of it. Mr. Denk played Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto, the "Emperor Concerto". On April 25, 1841, it was performed at the Paris Conservatoire with Franz Liszt as the soloist and Hector Berlioz conducting. Did Liszt create music WITH the orchestra that day? Or did he go crazy and dominate the performance as the mega-virtuoso he was and leave the orchestra in the dust?....I wonder.
The third program of 2016 for the Kansas City Symphony featured violinist Vadim Gluzman. I will get to him in a moment.

The first piece of the evening was John Adams' The Chairman Dances-Foxtrot for Orchestra (1985). This comes from his opera Nixon in China. Wow. A breathtaking, 12-minute trot it was. Some observations: red, blue and yellow mallets, xylophone, wood block, kick drum, brushes on snare drum, high-hat, piano, soaring violins, low strings playing rhythm guitar. syncopation, glamour, pulse, hemiola, harmonics, glissando, lush life, staccato in the brass, pizzicato, fade out. Awesome.

Next up was Beethoven's Symphony no. 4. (1806). Maestro Stern did not use a score. Applause between movements (keep it coming KC). Stern looked back and smiled at the audience in a good-humored way...no attempt to discourage or chastise us. The musical lines and phrases were so clear...you could actually see them move from one section of the orchestra to the other. Inter-connectedness. Energy. CLARINET!

Vadim Gluzman was here tonight to play the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major (1878). This concerto, like Tchaikovsky's, did not meet with initial critical acclaim. It was very hard to play. It was unconventional for the time. Brahms' close friend, Joseph Joachim, played it first at the premiere in Leipzig. Joachim did not play it by memory...he used sheet music. Interesting to note that the first piece played at the premiere that night in 1879, before Brahms' concerto, was Beethoven's Violin Concerto, also in D major. Brahms remarked of the program "it was a lot of D major, and not much else on the program". Funny.....Perhaps this was not a good move programatically....or perhaps it was genius.......
Both concertos are certainly regarded now as masterpieces and are widely recorded and performed.
Vadim Gluzman came on stage fired up. He paced about and turned frequently to watch the orchestra as they played the opening statement. When it was time for his entrance, he unleashed a tone so sweet and warm that my mom and I looked at each other to see if what we were hearing was actually real. It was.
Gluzman, Stern and the orchestra made music. Entrances. Phrases. Space. Dynamics. Intonation. Gluzman moving about,  facing the audience...Gluzman turned towards the orchestra with his back to the audience... Gluzman facing the first violins. Gluzman standing inches from Stern, like Joe Perry and Steven Tyler sharing the mic. (yes, that's an Aerosmith reference). Huge applause after the first movement. And why not? The first movement is like a concerto unto itself. And that OBOE! The one that violinist Pablo de Sarasate made the famous remark about "not wanting to stand on the rostrum, violin in hand, listening to the oboe playing to only tune in the adagio." Third movement. Famous melody. Double stops galore. Timpani. Big finish. Thunderous applause. Standing ovation. Encore: Gluck: Dance of the Blessed Spirits. More ovation. Stern-Gluzman hug. WOW.

Kansas City Symphony- My reflections of the January 30th Concert

The first three Kansas City Symphony concerts of 2016 feature amazing solo artists and an impressive breadth of orchestral repertoire. I wrote about the first concert of the year a few weeks ago in this blog... Midori was the guest violinist.

From Jan 29-31, the great pianist, Jeremy Denk, was the guest artist. I went with my wife to the Saturday evening performance. We dropped the car with the valet and ran across the street to Los Tules for a margarita and chips/guacamole. As my wife said, "there's nothing like a little tequila in your system to make the world OK." She's correct on that point, but the same can be said of a KC Symphony concert. The program this night featured Mr. Denk performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 5, known as the Emperor Concerto.  I loved that the program started with this work. One of the challenges of programming a concert is getting the order of the music right.  Beethoven, Sibelius and Scriabin were on the program, and I suppose you could make a case for any order....but starting with Beethoven was perfect. Jeremy Denk is an pianist who plays with exceptional range. I watched some of his videos on YouTube before the concert and quickly saw why he is so highly regarded as a pianist. More on that in a moment. The "Emperor" (1809) is a work that most of us have heard in some part or another. It is majestic and beautiful, and the orchestral accompaniment is itself an impressive work which makes collaboration and balance between soloist and orchestra all the more important. Maestro Stern made sure the balance was perfect. Gidon Kremer, violinist and conductor, wrote "A concerto should be a conversation and in no way a competition between a soloist and an orchestra that is controlled by the conductor-a genuine demonstration of concertare." Denk and Stern were in constant communication, exchanging looks and glances. The interplay between them was fun to watch and it was clear they were both enjoying the performance. A standing ovation was well deserved, and we were then treated to an encore; Bach's Goldberg Variation #14. Back to what I said above about Denk's range as a performer. The care, love, and passion with which he played this encore was magical. Bach wrote incredible notes on the page, and Denk brought it to life...these few minutes of the encore were perhaps the best of an evening full of wonderful minutes.

After intermission, the piece I was looking forward to the most was up...the Sibelius Symphony no. 7.(1924).  Last year during my interview with composer John Luther Adams, he told me that he was currently listening to the 7th....and we both agreed that there was something so moving about it, but it was hard to express in words what that was. I have a great box set (at least I think it's great) of all seven Sibelius' Symphonies conducted by Sir Collin Davis-Boston Symphony. I have listened to it 2-3 times this year, and while I love them all, the 6th and 7th keep me coming back the most. Tonight, Stern and Co. delivered a fine performance, and the experience of seeing it live reinforced that this may be my favorite Sibelius symphony. One movement....twisting and turning tonality...chromatic cliff diving...intentional ambiguity....22 minutes that leave your heart racing. Forgive me if I don't delve into all of the great musicianship of the orchestra during this concert...as usual it is top notch....but I will say that the flutes and brass were particularly outstanding and these parts seem like the catalysts for this Sibelius symphony. Whereas the second and fifth symphonies deliver a huge climactic "happy ending", not so with the 7th (or the 6th). The happy ending is there, but it takes a more subtle and diffuse route.

Lastly, Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy (1908) finished us off for the evening. It looked like all hands were on deck for this large work....there was barely any room left on the stage. We went from Beethoven and a modest-sized orchestra, to Sibelius, which had even more musicians involved, to Scriabin and a monster ensemble. I was already pretty much exhausted when the finale arrived and a percussionist climbed a ladder at the back of the stage to clang a giant, hanging chime. (If you attend a concert and see a ladder on the stage, you can probably safely assume something cool is going to rock your world). Scriabin, Stern, and the musicians rocked everyone's world tonight and it was great. I don't think Scriabin is all that well known or appreciated amongst casual, classical fans...I may be wrong....but this is a powerful work and when heard live is truly breathtaking.

John Svoboda Takes Off His Bow Tie

John Svoboda was the very first person I interviewed when I created this blog 2 years ago. He's been a friend for a long time and I love talking to him about music. Not only is he a great guitarist, musician, teacher and arranger....he's just a great guy to hang out with. His latest project is a bold and groundbreaking fusion of classical music and bluegrass. John sent me a couple of tracks early on for me to sample, and I loved them. He is really on to something great here. Here's what he shared with me about the "No Bow Tie" project.

I have followed your career as a classical guitarist and you suddenly throw out this “No Bow Tie” title on your latest album.

What is the intent with a “No Bow Tie” concept? 

I have a desire to kinda mess with either the classical music or the classical instruments to cop an attitude of what I call “Cool”. Breaking rules has always been a motivation that turns out my best ideas; or at least the ideas that make me laugh out loud. The title and the concept align on this one. (Smiles) I plan on taking the bow tie out of some classical music to give it an angle it deserves.

You have shown some extreme enthusiasm about the concept NBT as well as the recordings. The expression on your face changes when you talk about it.

It should change. I’m so excited about this idea! I laugh during practice and can hardly walk and think about the arrangements at the same time! To hear the genius of Mozart come together with a groove of say, Bill Withers, is exhilarating.   

Then do you consider yourself a classical musician?

No. Yes. Well, no, but I have lived that life. I think of it this way. I love to play arrangements of creatively decided, thick music in solo form. Doing it on a guitar is satisfying for me. The classical repertoire has a well-spring of beautiful examples of music that deserves respect. So, classical musician? No. Classical player- Yes.

It’s just great art, that’s all.

What is the purpose, or drive, to put classical pieces with a bluegrass setting?

Bluegrass is fun, man! The licks are incredible. The thinking that creates those sounds is like the lifestyle that invented it; Simple but expressive. I pay attention to anything that makes my soul tickle. Bluegrass makes me laugh outside and cry inside. It’s SO honest.

Did you know the musicians you chose before setting out to collect the pieces?

No. Actually I knew Sky Smeed but hadn’t discussed his involvement in the project until it was in motion. It was truly a blessing to have him on the project.

How did you choose the musicians that would complete help complete your vision? 

I was going to go to Nashville with this; hire the best studio cats I could find and do this in a weekend. And in Nashville that IS possible; amazing talent in that town.

But Sky, who is a friend, told me about Mike and Katie West. They had just finished his recording “Drive All Night” with very impressive results.

On April 4^th 2015 I needed to get out of the practice studio and at least interact with the outside world. My wife Myra and I went to hear Sky’s CD release performance which included Mike and Katie as the band; Mike on banjo and mandolin; Katie on bass (they go by Truckstop Honeymoon as a touring career).

I just thought it wise to introduce myself, talk about the project, and see what the response would be. Mike and I immediately cut through the small talk and I was so impressed with his ability to stay focused just in conversation. Sparks didn’t fly but we agreed to meet and discuss it further.

Well, we met and I’ll tell you what, that dude had more creative energy toward my ideas than I did! Sparks flew!

Mike shot the idea to Katie and she seemed intrigued and thank God. She offered a foundation that is hard to find.

It wasn’t much longer before Sky offered his fine skills. He has this amazingly smooth style. When we got together it all just went forward. Before I knew it we were scheduling rehearsals.

So, no auditions?

We did one rehearsal to answer two questions: 1) Can we work well together and be creative, and 2) Do you want to do this?

Pretty simple. The positive response on both questions took off like a wild fire.

What was the chemistry of the group having come from such diverse experiences? 

That could’ve been disastrous; the differences that is. But it was the opposite. Sky, Mike, and Katie are such professionals; they are truly the higher level where an all out effort is all that matters. We all had one thing in mind- great music. Differences in experience didn’t get in the way; differences made it grow.

So, this didn’t just fall together after handing out charts and running through the tunes?

I did write out charts just because of the complicated chord changes and to allow us to work in sections. Everything else was artistic contribution. We all had views to share and to learn from. All comments were respected; every one of them. Creative energy was very high.

Is this a statement to rebel against classical music?

No, no, no. Not at all. It’s not about, “Classical is missing the point”, or especially, “Classical is boring”. No, if it were then I’d just drive around with a “classical music sucks” bumper sticker. It is a statement to remind us that these composers did not write music to become textbook examples. They wrote from the heart. They were not wearing bow ties when they wrote it! These pieces were once for dancing and expressing. No different than rock music today; a bit richer in content than a simple rock tune but just as hot with passion.

Why did you center on classical music?

Well, that might be the rebel in me. I kind of enjoy it when I know someone is thinking, “Hey, you aren’t supposed to do that.” Especially when it’s creative and a new way to do it; Mainly in combining things. For example, I used to play classical pieces on electric guitar in my concerts and then use Rubber Ducky as the encore- in a classical concert setting!

People loved it, I think because there is a small risk but also a good energy.

Why did you decide bluegrass was the best style?

The idea tickled my soul. (Smiles) That’s all.

When I work I like to take away the labels. I didn’t care if it were bluegrass- it just was. The fast picking made many of the pieces fun and well, bluegrass has some fast picking- or “pickin’ “ if you will.

How did you choose the pieces? With so much to choose from what is involved in reducing the last 350 years of music to one album?

Whoa. Good question there. I guess hunch combined with a “seek and find” attitude. The pieces had to offer a groove; had to excite all involved; and had to be something I would want to play 40 times a day.

It’s fun and frustrating. But nothing feels so good as to know a piece is perfect for my reconstruction efforts.

Are you presently seeking repertoire for the next album to say “reconstruct”?

Always. Day and night. I can’t hear a commercial jingle without thinking I should do some kind of arrangement that makes it more attractive. 

You have six albums. Did one lead to the other resulting in this No Bow Tie statement? Is this a new view of you?

An awareness of what makes me happy increased with each album. The Classic Rock album helped me to understand my love for arrangements. So, it is a continued view of me. I can feel my truth coming forward. I urge everyone to do the same. 

Is this new then? Is any one else doing it?

It’s not new to play classical on non-classical instruments. But it is new to do it this way; to change it rather than just play it. Mike’s idea of adding junk percussion to Manuel de Falla compositions is new.

Changing the Mozart variations to a bluegrass arrangement is new- and fun!

How’s the response been? I mean from those who know you as classical?

That has been the icing on the cake. Finishing the project was accomplishment enough! Then for listeners of every kind tell me that they love it and that it makes them feel good? A dream come true.

Is there a “best moment” story you can share from the rehearsals?

The recording sessions?

Tim, everyday offered nothing but good experiences and great stories to tell. The memory that sticks with me is the heightened love of music that was a constant through the whole process. I left every rehearsal renewed. We smiled together and worked ‘til we sweat. There are no words to describe the dedication and love that was had. To answer your question “it” was the best moment.

Here is a link to John's website so you can sample and purchase this amazing music.

http://svobodaguitar.com/nobowtie/