A day in the life…
Final rehearsal this morning. A run through of the entire concert but out of order. First they played through the Dvorak. I am looking forward to the performance this evening as Gautier Capuçon is a very fine player. He has extraordinary projection but with great sensitivity.
Before the rehearsal I met Andrew [...]
Today’s rehearsal of Lightfall was quite short (less than 50 minutes) because the orchestra needed to look at the Dvorak Cello Concerto.
Richard Gill took the orchestra without soloist at a slow tempo from letter T in Part Two, then from letter R at correct tempo. Everything locked in nicely. Then they ran through the entire concerto.
Just back from the first orchestral rehearsal. Richard Gill scheduled all morning for Lightfall and another run through after lunch.
The first run through is always a mess . With knee-jerk certainty I know that there is no hope for me as a composer and consider my exit options. But I have learnt to be patient [...]
Robert Johnson appears to be living the piece, using all the possible time he can find between work and family to practise the piece. It’s remarkable dedication and a composer could not ask for more.
His day job is principal horn with the Sydney Symphony. Ben Jacks also has that position and is now taking the [...]
The park next door to my home is getting an upgrade thanks to the federal government’s economic stimulus program. On Wednesday they were banging metal poles, one at a time, with a hammer. The steady tempo was quite pronounced and only slightly slower than the music we were trying to rehearse. This was very off-putting [...]
During the composition of Lightfall Robert Johnson and I met just a few times mostly so he could start to familiarise himself with the material. But since the concerto was finished we have been meeting at my home more and more frequently until now we are rehearsing for two hours, two or three times a [...]
When Robert Johnson and I had our first run throughs I muddled along on the piano but my ears soon rebelled in horror. Rob, being the scholar that he is, said nothing about my two-pawed pianism but became quite eager when I suggested I make up a synth mock-up of the orchestra for him to [...]
