Great Artists: A Conversation with Maestro Michael Stern

I've written about and shared many experiences I have had over the years attending concerts of the Kansas City Symphony...my home town orchestra...my favorite orchestra. Yes, I've seen Berlin, Vienna, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles....and others...but my favorite of all is Kansas City. So you can imagine how excited I was when Michael Stern, Conductor and Music Director, agreed to have a conversation with me for this blog. He has been here in KC since 2005, and under his leadership, we now have a world class orchestra. 

https://www.kcsymphony.org/musician/michael-stern/

Great Conversations: Pastor Jim Preisig

I have been a member of The Summit Church here in Lee's Summit for more than twelve years now. Pastor Jim Preisig is the reason my family and I selected this church in the first place when we were looking for a church to call "home." Pastor Jim is a brilliant speaker. His enthusiasm and passion are boundless and inspiring. Our church is blessed to have strong musical traditions and exceptionally gifted musicians and singers who serve. I know how important music is to Pastor Jim from many of his messages over the years, and I was so very happy he agreed to have a Zoom conversation with me to talk about his personal relationship with music, the role music plays in worship, and many other topics.

I hope you enjoy it! And below are two wonderful quotes Jim shared during our conversation.

“God has given us music so that above all it can lead us upwards. Music unites all qualities: it can exalt us, divert us, cheer us up, or break the hardest of hearts with the softest of its melancholy tones. But its principal task is to lead our thoughts to higher things, to elevate, even to make us tremble…

 

The musical art often speaks in sounds more penetrating than the words of poetry, and takes hold of the most hidden crevices of the heart… Song elevates our being and leads us to the good and the true.

 

If, however, music serves only as a diversion or as a kind of vain ostentation it is sinful and harmful.” Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the idols or how to philosophize with a hammer

 

If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED

FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

WAS MUSIC

Kurt Vonnegut, a man without a country.

 

Great Artists: A Zoom Conversation with Maestro Jim Murray

I've known Jim Murray since 2005 when he became the Conductor and Music Director of the Heritage Philharmonic. I have played the violin in this orchestra for more than 20 years now...man, it's hard to believe it has already been that long! Jim took over for another great conductor, Jack Ergo, who occupied the podium for 25 years prior to his arrival. There are so many wonderful things about Jim, but what stands out to me is how much he truly loves music. It's not just his job. Maestro Murray is also the Conductor and Music Director for the Northland Symphony Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Kansas City. And if that isn't enough, he also teaches music at the Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods. I have linked his bio below.

Maestro Murray and I have talked for years about doing an interview for my blog. Well, we finally got it done. Here is the first of what I hope are many conversations.

http://www.heritagephilharmonic.org/music-director--conductor.html

Saying Good-bye to AnnaLou

 

We said good-bye to a very special person last month...my great aunt, AnnaLou Parker. She was my grandmother's sister. AnnaLou was born in 1929, meaning she was 13 years younger than Mary Quinn. They were very close, and had many things in common, including a love for music. Her daughter Jan, whom I am closest too of her 4 children, shared this list of songs that AnnaLou loved. During her lifetime, she played the piano and sang. She was THAT person who lit up a room when she walked in...a light of laugher and love. My Dad was very fond of her, and they had a special bond. She and Jan came to his funeral in 2006. I know he saw her there from above and smiled.

So to pay tribute to her, I will be listening to these wonderful hymns and thinking of her in Heaven. I love you AnnaLou. 

Great Artists: A Zoom Visit with John Svoboda

John Svoboda is a guitarist, composer, arranger, teacher, performer, philosopher, coffee aficionado, runner, baseball fan.....he is also my friend. He and his wife, Myra, are a duo known as No Bow Tie, and they are spreading the blasphemy of classical music played on steel string guitars, banjos, electric bass....and God knows what else. John can meld Dvorak with Rush or Mozart with Albeniz. He's like a mad scientist creating musical Frankensteins in his laboratory. But, Mr. Svoboda also plays "legit" classical guitar, loves opera, and can play the violin (yes John, I remember!) He is quite a tornado of creativity.

I am opening this blog up to incorporate the "spoken word." I have a YouTube page where I post music I have recorded. I have done many interviews for this blog in the last 6 years, but the one thing I don't like is the process of transcribing the interview...it takes me forever. So I recorded my Zoom conversation with John and am going to share it here. It is not produced nor edited...I don't know how to do that yet. At one point, I realized my computer was not plugged in, so I had to dive under the desk to find the power chord and plug it back in. But what the hell. It is honest and authentic. I hope you enjoy it.

Classics in Commercials, Finding Joy in Music at Every Level, It's For You

I like to share examples of classical music being used in popular media. The problem lately for me has been that except for sports, I don't watch much TV, so I am probably missing quite a bit. But I did catch this one the other day...a commercial for Squarespace. The music here is from the first movement of Mendelssohn's Fourth Symphony, known as the Italian Symphony (1833).

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My Dad, whom I have spoken of many times here, had the gift of being able to hear music...let me unpack this a bit. There's a difference between playing music and making music. Musicians who play notes are not necessarily "making music." They may just be playing notes. That's the easy part. Turning those notes on the page into an emotional connection...or reaction...is a different thing, and can be elusive. My dad appreciated anyone or any ensemble who could make music, at any level of proficiency. He would come to my school orchestra concerts with open ears and an open heart, ready to have the music speak to him. Clunky notes, shaky entrances, or wobbly tempos did not stand in the way of him recognizing a sincere attempt to say something musical. He was patient and thoughtful, and when I came out to meet him after a performance, knowing that we had sucked on a technical level, he would be smiling ear to ear, happy to share that we had "made music" despite any of the aforementioned imperfections. On another occasion, we went to see the world famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1988 at Orchestra Hall. The best musicians in the world....the greatest repertoire. And on this night...believe it or not...nothing magical happened, The notes were perfectly played. The sound was perfect. But for some unexplainable reason, we were not moved. Something was missing. So I learned to be open to hearing music anywhere and everywhere. A dingy blues bar...a honkytonk country bar, or a middle school gymnasium, are all places you may hear something special. Be open and ready. And for the record, we did go back to Orchestra Hall to hear the CSO the next night, and they blew the roof off the joint...which they usually do. Even the CSO can have a bad night.

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If I had to tell you what piece of music I have probably listened to the most over the past 40 years, it would likely be "It's for You" by Pat Metheny. It was featured in the 1984 film Fandango, a great "off the beaten path" movie that I still love that was Kevin Costner's first starring role.  The tune is from the 1981 album called "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls," a collaboration between Pat Metheny and keyboardist Lyle Mays. This music has penetrated my DNA. The entire album is a true masterpiece.

 

Happy 2021, On the Musical Hot Seat, Eddie's Smile

Happy 2021 to you, and thank you for reading my blog. I have been doing this since February of 2014, so almost my 7 year anniversary. I still love listening to and playing music more than ever. And I still feel passionate about sharing it with others. This year I plan to introduce more videos via my YouTube channel where I am able to talk about, share, and play music. Stay tuned. 2020 was a very challenging and difficult year for many people. I hope that we all have good health and joyful times ahead in 2021. And a lot of great music too.

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I finished 2020 listening to Bruckner's 9 symphonies in order. I know them all very well, but I never get tired of them. This go round yielded an even deeper appreciation for his music. Number 6 has taken the top spot currently as my favorite of his symphonies. But Nos 1-3, so often overlooked, also emerged as very enjoyable works that I was not as familiar with. If you are looking for a place to start with Bruckner, I still recommend his 4th symphony. 

I also finished 2020 with a deep dive into Schubert. I listened to all of his string quartets in order 1-15. No particular favorite, but his later quartets rival Beethoven's in my opinion. Take that dive....you won't regret it.

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I was reading a biography about Prokofiev recently, and one excerpt really hit home. Prokofiev, and his wife Lina, came to the United States in 1930 and met Arturo Toscanini in New York. They attended a rehearsal and this happened: 

""They watched, entranced, as the temperamental maestro would "break his batons and shout vergogna! (shame). At one point, Lina recalled, he stopped and made each violinist play a phrase from the Mozart symphony they were rehearsing. Finally he lost his temper, "grabbed is head and started pointing his finger at one of the violinists (apparently the first violinist) shouted at him and called him a 'shoemaker,' making him repeat the passage several times. Then, the violinists, who submitted without a murmur, played it together, and he calmed down."

I played violin in the Terre Haute Symphony while I was in college at Indiana State University from 1983-87. The conductor was Ramon E. Meyer. He was a fiery man who had very high standards and demanded perfection. It was never a question of when, but rather who he would make cry or humiliate during  rehearsals with the same approach used by Toscanini. I remember being on the spot several times having to play a passage all alone in front of the entire orchestra. You never knew when he would blow up...and then you were were grilled. It was terrifying, but it made me a better player because it made me want to practice so I could play the music well enough to endure such an inquisition. Reading this section about Prokofiev brought back vivid memories.

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We said good-bye to Eddie Van Halen in 2020. He was such a wonderful musician, and a true game-changer. He redefined what the electric guitar was all about and influenced everyone who has picked up a guitar since he burst on the scene in 1977. But what I remember most about him is his smile. This man who was blessed with such vast talent had a smile that illuminated the world. You could see how much fun he was having...and why not?!?? God bless his soul. Thank you Eddie for the joy and love you shared through your music.

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Here's a great video for you to check out. About five years before Prokofiev watched Toscanini undress the first violins in New York, in 1925, Sweet Georgia Brown was composed by Ben Bernie. This tune is a standard in the world of jazz...I am sure you have heard it. Here is a great performance by an All Star band that includes, Wynton Marsalis, Marc O'Connor and Frank Vignola. I saw O'Connor and Vignola in Kansas City a few years ago and they tore the house down with their Hot Swing jazz concert.