Welcome everyone to my new Blog - MaestroChat! I am Alfred Savia, Music Director and Conductor of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (in Evansville, Indiana). While there may be occasional forays into other areas -- guest conducting, the ups and downs of my tennis game, the latest and greatest meal I just experienced in Italy -- this Blog will, first and foremost, be a chance to share much of the behind the scenes, backstage perspective of going from hundreds of thousands of black dots on paper - the notes on my score and the musicians' parts -- to the glorious music that everyone can experience in the Victory Theatre.
In particular, I intend to focus on a two year journey -- one that will begin in a few weeks with the 7th Symphony and that will culminate in the 9th Symphony at the end of our 75th Anniversary season. I'm speaking, of course, of the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven, arguably the greatest symphonic output of any composer in history. As the Philharmonic tackles each of these symphonies I will attempt to bring you into my world of preparing for each performance - sharing my perspective and insights as I re-examine each of these symphonies in preparing for rehearsals with the Orchestra. Along the way, I welcome dialogue with audience members, and hope that many of the musicians of the Philharmonic will also add their comments about the process. These symphonies, after all, are the true bread and butter of orchestral repertoire. Orchestras of every level all over the world play the Beethoven Symphonies regularly -- but to embark on performing the entire Beethoven Symphony cycle is a bold move for any Orchestra, especially one that is not in the "major" category. However, I have complete confidence in the Evansville Philharmonic's ability to face this challenge.
In the next day or so, I'll enter my first Post about getting the Beethoven 7th Symphony off the ground. It will begin with my early study and preparation, which took place earlier this month in a remarkable setting far away from my home base in Southwest Indiana. Stay tuned!
9 comments:
Sounds like a fantastic journey! I'm on board for all nine. Thank you in advance for not throwing "Wellington's Victory" into the mix...contrary to popular belief Beethoven did in fact write some awful music. But the symphonies are indeed at the sublime end of the spectrum.
When did you realize that this was your dream job?
Have you ever thrown your maestro stick into the orcestra?
DO you like pizza?
Hi i am a violen player in the philharmonic i love playing the violen did you ever play an instrument??
To respond to Kate:
Yes, I have thrown my baton into the orchestra, and off the stage as well. Fortunately it doesn't happen too often!
I Love Pizza!
And yes, I played (and still play a little) the Clarinet. I also play some piano, and have studied other instruments, including violin.
Hi!Do you like Italian food?
what is your favoret piece to play on the Clarinet?
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