Marlene’s Musings February 16, 2020 Stravinsky is my favorite composer. We will be performing the music from Petrushka, one of three ballets he wrote for Serge Diaghilev and the Russian Ballet between 1910 and 1913. Petrushka is the iconic character of puppet theater in many countries – Punch in England; Pulcinella in Italy; Polichinelle in […]
Marlene’s Musings October 7, 2019 What do all these pieces have in common? Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue Kurt Weill/Bertold Brecht: Threepenny Opera Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein: Showboat Copland: Symphony No. 1 1. All were written during a 10-year period of great cultural shift in America – between 1919 and 1929 2. All the composers were in […]
Marlene’s Musings February 22, 2019 I have known about Tony Ross for years. When I played clarinet in the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, he substituted in the cello section a few times. Soon after, he auditioned for the Principal Cello spot in the Minnesota Orchestra and won. None of us were surprised. When I became Music […]
Marlene’s Musings January 31, 2019 On Feb. 24 (at Wayzata Community Church) and March 3 (at Orchestra Hall) we will be performing Ralph (pronounced “Rafe”) Vaughan Williams masterpiece, Dona Nobis Pacem. Employing text from Walt Whitman, John Bight and passages from the Bible, it is a work that was written between the two world wars. […]
Marlene’s Musings September 12, 2018 I am studying like a fiend, preparing for the first concert of our 10th Anniversary Season. When I thought about repertoire to celebrate 10 years, I had to include Beethoven Symphony #5. I know it is familiar to everyone and most musicians have played it many times, including me as […]
Marlene’s Musings April 3, 2018 Shostakovich 1906-1975 Shostakovich was recognized from an early age as one of Russia’s great composers. He completed his first symphony at 19 and by 26, his film scores, Cello Sonata and first string quartet were admired. His opera, Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk, played for nearly two years to rave reviews […]
Marlene’s Musings January 1, 2018 I adore our audience! Late last year, Simon Sperl (our fabulous new executive director) and I met a few members of our loyal audience at Caribou Coffee on Lake Street in Wayzata. What a treat! As conductor, I see the audience as an entity but rarely get a chance to […]
Marlene’s Musings November 1, 2017 Years ago when I was conducting family concerts for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, I had the idea to ask Arctic Explorer, Ann Bancroft, to narrate Wolf Tracks by Beintus, a piece similar to Peter and the Wolf except in this one, the wolf protected. I had a 50/50 chance […]
Marlene’s Musings August 20, 2017 The Wayzata Symphony Orchestra is a unique orchestra. None of its members get paid to play. Their dedication to the orchestra, their disciplined personal preparation, their commitment to allowing risk in this ever-changing global orchestral landscape, their desire to continually improve: All of these attributes make me proud to be […]
Marlene’s Musings April 11, 2017 Holst, The Planets – astrological and astronomical I have been wishing for the opportunity to conduct The Planets by Gustav Holst ever since a friend suggested I listen to it. We had just seen Star Wars (1977) and I was raving about the music saying that no one had ever […]