Today is the big day, one more recital and two more concertos, and then the big announcement! Bob Schieffer will speak at the closing ceremony and then off to the Worthington for the party! Today James Conlon talks about the growth of the competitors throughout the week (mentions some surprises), I compare the same excerpts from Bozhanov and Tsujii’s Rachmaninov 2 rehearsals, and then in my conversation with FWSO concertmaster Michael Shih we talk about the communication with blind Japanese Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii followed by some words about that from Nobuyuki after his concerto performance. Also what to do if you are in the orchestra and don’t want to make the 60 mile round trip each day…..(One more Cliburn post tomorrow)
Music Marketing
Cliburn Soundoff! – Conlon Pt. 2/Son/Vacatello/Compare clips/Bray/Yang
James talks about communication between soloist and conductor, a lesson still applied by a past competitor. Vacatello and Son dress their chamber concertos. Exclusive: Another comparison this time between Zhang and Son with Prokofiev 2 (tomorrow I compare Tsujii and Bozhanov in Rachmaninov 2) and I wrap up with Buddy Bray who gets specific about the jury and speculates on what Van Cliburn is thinking. Plus the final part of my chat with Joyce Yang who shares a conversation she had with Di Wu…tomorrow more Conlon and Michael Shih concertmaster of the FWSO…Listen!
Cliburn Soundoff! – Richard on Webcast/final rehearsals/BIG ANNOUNCEMENT – Audio
In the final part of my chat with Richard Rodzinski we talk about the grueling schedule and how it will benefit a pianist, plus our perspectives on the web-cast and its educational benefits. There’s also excerpts from 4 of the finalists final rehearsals and BIG ANNOUNCEMET (drum roll), starting tomorrow I will post part one of my sit down with Conductor James Conlon, it was a far reaching conversation….
Follow my tweets from the rehearsals!
Cliburn Soundoff! – Post Cliburn/Vacatello/Piano issues/Zhang/Wu – Audio!
Yesterday was the last full day of rehearsals and tonight the performances begin. My continuing chat with Richard focuses on the grueling schedule and how that helps a Pianist post Cliburn. I was able catch finalist Haochen Zhang (who is 19 today!) asking The USA chief Steinway technician Ron Coners about an issue with the keys. I then interviewed Ron who used to be the tech for Horowitz! More excerpts from rehearsals with James Conlon 1 on 1 including the practicalities of tempo and collaboration…listen below!
Cliburn Soundoff! – Vacatello/Son/Rodzinski/Tsujii/Conlon/Bozhanov – Audio
From the Cliburn, more from my chat with Richard focusing on how new media can affect an artist’s performance, candid clips from 4 of the finalists including a couple of excerpts from their 1 on 1 rehearsals with James Conlon who arrived yesterday plus an interesting clip with finalist Yeol Eum Son and Cliburn general manager Maria Guralnik about the practicalities of being a non US resident about to be flooded with concert engagements. Some of this you will not see or hear on the web-cast!….
Plugging the Holes before Filling the Barrel (2009) – Opposite World!…..
Two articles jumped out at me over the weekend. Both reminded me of the constant tail chasing that goes on in the arts world. Sometimes we get so far behind our audience’s needs, that we end up doing either what we should have been doing all along but a little too late, or the opposite of we should be doing right now….
Lie to Me!…..
We all have our favorite TV or Radio shows that we watch or listen to regularly, whether they be a guilty pleasure, relaxation, passing time in the car etc…One of the best shows of the TV season was the Fox show “Lie to Me” and in the very intense season finale Dr. Cal Lightman played by Tim Roth said something that I can’t stop thinking about….
Plugging the Holes before Filling the Barrel (2009) – Put it in the Bank….
I’m 41 today yikes….On the theme of free tickets, when there are empty seats there is an opportunity for outreach. Subscribers have a choice of what to do with their tickets if they are not able to attend such as to give them to friends/family etc.. or to take a tax deduction. There is another choice that could be offered that would turn a subscriber into an active participant in a community outreach program…..