First I need to brag (as all flutists do). I was featured on Muramatsu America's Facebook Page this week with my new purchase! Here's the photo they used:
Now on to the real reason you clicked on this posting:
When I'm making breakfast or generally starting my day I often like to listen to music as I cook, check my email etc and then start it all over again after either because I loved what I heard....or because I was so focused on whatever I was doing that I was unable to truly appreciate what was happening in the piece. As of late I have been really wanting to broaden my musical ear and listen/learn new works that I have either neglected or for some reason have never heard (cough Mahler cough). I also realized that there are more than likely many other musicians who want the same thing as I or listen to music actively throughout the day like I do to enhance whatever mundane task they're doing. So as follows below is my new "My Musical Week" which will be featured both in my blog and on my youtube channel (which I now feel I have enough content to go back to). After the list you will find a description of why I personally chose these themes so please feel free to change them to your own liking.
Monday - Breakfast with the Baroque
Tuesday - Twentieth Something
Wednesday - Not Western
Thursday - The Inner Chambers
Friday - Flute
Saturday - Symphonic
Sunday - Solely Opera
Why I chose what I chose:
Monday I'm calling "Breakfast with the Baroque". Throughout my undergraduate studies I shied away from anything baroque that wasn't Bach or a work written for flute that happened to be from this period. After living with my friend Josh in San Francisco (who is a wonderful traverso player) though, I realized how wonderful this music could be and how little I really know about it and its practices. I want that to change and so each week I will select something either that I know but have never heard on a period instrument or that I have never heard before to see what I do or don't like from this period.
Twentieth Something Tuesday came about because much like the music of the baroque I (and often many musicians) aren't always thrilled when we hear that we have to perform music from the 20th century to now. At SFCM I was Principal Flute of the New Music Ensemble and being a part of that group showed me that a) I can find music that I like from this period and b) Even the stuff I do not like can be interesting to learn about and hear at least for the reasoning and theory behind it.
Not Western Wednesday is inspired by my friend Chelsea. She has spent the last three years learning about cultural folk music from India in order to see how it has directly or indirectly influenced Western Classical Music. I admire very much the work she is doing and would like to hear more "world music" if you will from other cultures just to see what else is out there besides Mozart and Britney.
The Inner Chambers Thursday will feature chamber music. I am taking this a step further and defining (for the time being) chamber music as music written for one to ten players that could be performed un-conducted. Other than wind quintet repertoire (which will of course be selected from time to time) I feel there is a lot out there that I should hear like all the Beethoven string quartets or the Dvorak piano trio.
I am a flute player after all so Friday will be all about the Flute. I have so many pieces, recordings, players etc that I long to hear or do not know about and as a self-proclamed "Professional Flutist" I should have as much information as possible. With this segment I may also post what pedagogical book I might be reading at the time.
Symphonic Saturday will be limited to works that could be called or considered a Symphony. This may coincide with one of my other weekly goals to practice and prepare an entire orchestral concert each week to be performed Saturday afternoon by me in my living room along with my favorite recording.
Ongoing Opera Sunday is going to be the one category that carries over a bit from week to week. I will select (often at the beginning of each month) an opera and give a starting/stoping point for the week. I don't always have the time or energy to listen to an entire opera in one sitting and also do not often think of it when i do have free time but like many of the others this process is about introducing myself to things that I don't know about or understand.
When I post what I have decided on for the coming week I will also try to put links to scores and include what recording(s) I have selected for each work. Feel free listen to the same ones OR if you feel you have or know of a better recording I would love to hear about it!
As I said the above is just a guideline that I have decided to implement and follow. Feel free to change as you see fit and don't forget I wanna hear what you think as well!
First week:
Monday - Scarlatti Piano in d minor K. 1 (will analyze)
Score: http://sausage.whatbox.ca:15263/imglnks/usimg/5/55/IMSLP21370- PMLP11026-Scarlatti-SonatasK001-050.pdf
Album:Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas
Artist: Ivo Pogorelich
Tuesday - Petroushskates by Joan Tower
Album: The Composer-Performer
Artist: Joan Tower & Da Capo Chamber Players
Wednesday - Picking Flowers (Traditional Chinese Erhu)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSGVSJGahU4
Thursday - Piano Trio in E Flat Major K. 498 - Mozart
Album: Brahms; Beethoven; Mozart: Piano Trios
Aritst: Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Richard Stoltzman
Score: http://imslp.org/wiki/Trio_in_E-flat_major,_K.
498_(Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus)
Friday - Sonata Op. 36 - Pierne
Album: Revolution
Artist: Marianne Gedigian
Saturday - Symphony no. 1 - Ives
Recording: Detroit Symphony and Neeme Jarvi
Album: Ives: Symphony No. 1/Barber: 3 Essays for Orchestra
Sunday - The Rakes Progress - Stravinsky
Duration: Act I
Recording - Works of Igor Stravinksy (20 disc set)
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