Notes From a Curious Listener

What strikes me most about the SummerFest lineup this year? It's the star-studded performers! Here are my quick impressions of the first four names that popped out at me while I read the brochure:

Gil Shaham, violin - Oh so nimble fingers belying sweet style

Gil Shaham has been coming to San Diego for years. We brought him to La Jolla for SummerFest in 2009. San Diego Symphony is bringing him back for performances on May 27, 28 and 29th. I think it will be fun to hear him backed by an orchestra and then again in a chamber setting at SummerFest; but maybe others will get tired of him. What do you think?

The message that comes through most clearly from four-time Grammy® Award winner, Dianne Reeves, is to nurture your own unique talent. She says it in  many different ways; and I understand why it is so important to her - as important as making the critics happy or selling a million records.

She believes, as I do, that ordinary, not extraordinary, people effect change. Ms. Reeves articulates this in an interview on Dec. 18, 2008 with Guerrilla Journalism at 1:37, "The most important thing that a person can do to effect change is to love themselves....We are each given something different to do specifically....If you are strong in knowing that you are essential ... and you do the things that you are supposed to be in charge of doing in this world, those things can effect change. You don't have to go global, you can start right in your own family and local." What an empowering message!

It was Sarah Vaughan, whose songs Ms. Reeves will be singing on Friday night, that showed her the possibilities of the voice. Ms. Vaughan had an amazing range from "true female baritone lows to mezzo-soprano highs" according to Wikipedia. Ms. Reeves also has an amazing voice with "superhuman control over tone and pitch", according to Hugo Kugiya of the Seattle Times.

This Sunday the China Philharmonic is playing for us at Copley Hall. The Orquesta Nacional de España was committed to playing but pulled out of their entire tour because the Spanish government ended the funding.

I knew when I heard about the debt crises in Europe that it would affect America's ability to sell products overseas. I knew that this would affect our stock market as well as job creation in the United States. I knew it was bad; but I didn't know that the first way it would affect me was through my music.

I love macro-economics because it tries to determine the best way to run the economy which, despite all appearances to the contrary, has a strong effect on our lives. Take our example here - the Spanish government runs short on cash so therefore we listen to a Chinese orchestra instead of a Spanish one. Amazing!

I randomly interviewed a few people in the audience during intermission and after the concert. The first two questions are simply because I want to know how to bring more people to classical music concerts. The third is from my research on Andre Watts.  There were no "ah-ha" moments. It was kind and comfortable. Enjoy.

I interviewed:

- One of my most favorite people in the world, my Mother, Anne Konrad

André Watts is a well-known name, but why? It's because he has been playing for so very long. He, like Joyce Yang, is a child prodigy; but he is now 65 years old. He was 26 when, in 1972, he received an honorary degree from Yale University, the youngest person ever to do so. He was also the first soloist to be broadcast on nationwide television in prime time. This was on Live from Lincoln Center, a Sunday afternoon show by PBS. Watts was 30 years old and well-known at Lincoln Center, having played there almost every year since he was 16.

The first time he played at Lincoln Center was with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein. What did he play? Liszt - the same composer featured in his recital here in San Diego on Friday, March 18th. 

Watts began playing Liszt early. His Hungarian mother encouraged him to practice by holding up Liszt as a role model. Wikipedia says, "Watts found inspiration in Liszt, adopting his theatrical playing style." I found a video showing that "theatrical playing style" which enriches the music with a quick fling of an arm here and  a whip of the fingers there. Also, his facial expressions, which perfectly fit the music, are - well - expressive! Watts clearly forgets himself when playing, focusing only on the music.  In an interview by Lucy Kraus, André Watts confirms this when talking about playing for a live audience, "My thing with my audience is that I come out, say "Hello, glad you're here. I'm going to sit down and you must all be voyeurs because you're going to hear everything I know, think, feel about this piece of music without my hiding or posturing."