Comments for sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/orlando-philharmonic-orchestra-concert-lincoln-s-year

Comment #1267

2008-12-05T02:46:24Z

I did, though I seem to have forgotten to blog about it. I've never yet met a Stella Sung work I didn't like. See Rockwell Rhapsody, the March 1, 2008 concert.

Comment #1266

2008-12-04T13:14:49Z

I received my Phi Kappa Phi Forum today and it contained an article by Stella Sung about her compositions for Akron and Orlando on the topic of five Normal Rockwell paintings. Did you get to see and hear those?

Comment #1265

2008-11-06T22:09:10Z

I do wish I had been there. I am currently working in improvisation class to imitate the style of a certain late 15th century piece and it is quite difficult to stay within the given characteristics even though there is a lot of material to work with. I write out something that I think is in the style but my ear tells me it's not quite right and someone more familiar with the given piece can point out why. Dad's comment makes me think that he messed with the rhythm, but if the orchestra at the time was playing something more than a blanket of background sound (I don't know the arrangement) then that's unlikely. In any case the ornaments you chose can change the whole feel of a piece. Think Irish music! If the violinist is familiar with a particular type of music with an element of improvisation then that is likely to influence his 'free' playing a great deal.

Comment #1264

2008-11-03T20:00:40Z

I wish you could have been there; then maybe you could tell me what it was that bothered me so much. It's not that he played badly—he played well. Dad's impression was that he made it sound like Gypsy music, but I don't know enough about Gypsy music to say yea or nay to that hypothesis. It's not exactly that he added ornamentation; the two versions above that I like very much have ornaments. It's more that (to my mind) the kind of changes he made detracted from the tune rather than adding to it. They didn't "fit." I'm sorry I can't express it more clearly; I don't have the vocabulary, for one thing, and for another, at the time I wasn't trying to analyze why I didn't like it but was too busy dodging the blows. All I know is that if I'm crazy I'm not the only one. Dad had the same reaction, and so did the people sitting next to us, though naturally no one showed it during the performance; we talked politely about it afterwards.

Comment #1263

2008-11-03T13:39:51Z

What did he do? With such a long explanation, I still have no idea what bothered you so much.