Havanaise, and Understanding

August 5, 2008 at 10:23 PM

Well...these blogs are such funny things. I WAS planning to write many things about myself (as that's what blogs are supposed to be for, right?) but have to start with having had the opportunity to sit in on a piano rehearsal of Aida featuring the cover cast, led by Maestra Karen Keltner and accompanied by pianist Stephen Carey.

In the four years that I have been coming to Logan, Utah to play with the Utah Festival Opera I have indeed enjoyed playing under Karen and thoroughly enjoy watching her rehearse singers, as both her level of knowledge and commitment to the craft are truly astounding. During the act to which I listened (and I will, should time allow, be going back into the next room to hear the rest) I saw another facet of this woman, that being the very positive and (if I may) nurturing professional. Having played orchestral excerpts for Ms. Keltner in the past I was of course "not surprised", but I WAS also surprised and filled with a deep sense of gratitude to be reminded that in this wacky business that we call musicmaking there are still people like Ms. Keltner who not only understand all of an artist's transition points and takes - graciously - the role of being the guide.

Listening to this group of artists I was also reminded of what Jorja Fleezanis meant many years ago, but now - at age 37 - I understand (a bit more) the concept of keeping sound alive...

...which brings me to a recent (yesterday) performance of Camille Saint-Saens' Havanaise that I gave on one of the Logan Tabernacle Concerts....This is a piece that I performed first in a competition and later in a recital during my undergraduate. Then (this was 1994) I had the great privilege to take a lesson with Fredell Lack - and also met Kenneth Goldsmith (and life took a pretty healthy turn then). I have since played this piece in recital twice, those times being in 2007 during the Columbia Festival of the Arts, and decided to give it a go again this summer.

Being a violinist (and I'm sure that many of you will understand these thoughts) I found myself fretting a bit about the tempo of the second page and the issue of clarity AND the sixth and seventh pages (which are filled with chromatic thirds, sixths, and tenths, all to be played at a pretty rapid clip). Doing these drills was of course beneficial, but I do have to say - humbly - that I found myself somewhat stymied when playing the "easy parts": HOW do I keep the sound from dying on the long notes? How do I NOT play this as if it's simply an exercise in making clear differences between triplets and eighth notes?

Well, after listening to the recording, I guess I accomplished part of my task...but now, after this afternoon's trip into Verdi's vision of Egypt, I know the rest...for the next time...

More from the road,
Sam

From Roy Sonne
Posted on August 8, 2008 at 3:26 AM

Hello Sam,
I love your posts! You always speak from the heart. You articulate your feelings beautifully and precisely. And you are unafraid about revealing your inner self. Bravissimo!

We string players can all learn a lot from singers. I have had that opportunity -- my wife is a singer and voice teacher. Since I also play piano, I spent many years as accompanist not only for her but for her students as well. I regard those times as a crucial part in my development as a musician and artist. There is something so natural about singing, that we instrumentalists must always strive to emulate. And in addition, singers are always searching to express the meaning of the text through their singing. Of course, the other side of the coin is that singers are always trying to emulate instrumentalists too. My wife will often say to a student, " Imagine that you are playing this phrase on a violin!!"

Very glad to read about your journey into an understanding of the Havanaise. The real meat of the music is, of course in those "easy parts" the first page and the third and fourth. The fast sections find their real musical raison d'etre as a contrast to an exquisitely played main theme.

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Havanaise, and Understanding

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