Sunset Piano Opus 2

I stumbled upon a neat art installation/performance project this morning called "Sunset Piano Opus 2." Mauro Ffortissimo is the artist behind the project to place twelve pianos along the San Mateo coast in Northern California for public performing. Dean Mermell is filming a documentary about the event that should be finished by December 2013.

From their Kickstarter page:

In early July, Mauro is planning to deploy twelve pianos at select locations along the beautiful San Mateo coastline. Anyone can come and play a piano by the sea, anytime. He's inviting some incredible bay area musicians to join him in bringing attention to the fragile state of the world's oceans, as well as the near extinction of the "personal" piano. Piano manufacturing has dwindled, and the neglect of acoustic pianos has caused thousands of them to end up in landfills. The "Twelve Pianos" project will focus the spotlight on two species with uncertain futures.

It occurred to me that Ffortissimo and Mermell do not directly address the environmental impact that this project may have on the coastline. However, the chosen spots seem to be in places where the public is already welcome and they profess that they are, "committed to doing everything in a totally environmentally responsible manner and to leave no trace." It looks like a neat project - I wish I lived closer so that I could participate.

-via Laughing Squid

What Makes a Great Tenor

This is a great documentary on tenors from the BBC. Roland Villazon is simultaneously charming and insightful. It's interesting for those in the know and informative for those who aren't. If you have 60 minutes to spare, you should watch it. Thanks to my former teacher Dale Morehouse for pointing the way.

The Evolution of the Treble Clef

The Smithsonian has a nice article with an overview of the treble clef and how the symbol we know so well came to be.

...So, with apologies to the more musically inclined reader, I looked into the origin of the treble clef and the answer was quite simple. The treble clef, the top symbol you see in the photo above, is also known as the G-clef, which gives you the first clue to its origin.

For more, visit Smithsonian.com. Via a Facebook post by Lauri's List

Andrew Bird on Performing

Tumblr's Storyboard posted a nice interview with musician Andrew Bird in February. I've loved Bird's music since I first heard it. His music is eclectic, polished, emotional, and unpretentious. My favorite songs include "Cock o' the Walk" from the Bowl of Fire album and "Measuring Cups" from The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Some may know him from the recent movie The Muppet's, where he performed the whistling for Walter's performance. He also performed a sweet and touching version of "It's not easy being green" for the movie album. He plays violin, sings, and dabbles in many other instruments.

In this interview he focuses on why he tries to capture an amateur spirit in his performances. If I understand him correctly, he's talking about when a performance becomes so highly polished that it lacks personality and emotion. I tend to agree with him that many modern performances lack spontaneity and genuine feeling. Instead of treating each performance as a new opportunity, many musicians tend to try to recreate the exact sound from a studio album. On the other hand, I think his training and skill as a professional give him far more choices when communicating with the audience. Without that skill set any mistakes he made would be awkward, and he would not be able to "use the mishap as fuel to bring the whole performance to even greater heights."

For a little more background on the interview, see the original post at Storyboard.

Radiolab Explores Tempo in Beethoven's Music

WNYC's Radiolab is one of my favorite programs. It's hosted by Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad, who explore the world around us. In a recent podcast, they discuss the metronome markings in Ludwig van Beethoven's music, which have been quite controversial. They focus on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony since it is so well known. Some performers feel that his markings are too fast, while others take him at his word. The faster you go the more exciting it is. Radiolab wanted to explore how fast is too fast. Here is a quartet from the Brooklyn Philharmonic performing the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony at 160 beats per minute. Beethoven's marking is at 108, so this is a little silly, but also kind of fun. 

One thing that is left out of the discussion is performance practice and how that has changed over time. Our understanding of the "correct" tempos have come through the filter of the Romantic Era, where bigger is better and therefore slower (and schmaltzier) is often the norm. Early 20th century recordings bear that out, but as we come to realize that classical orchestras were not as large, and that the pieces were performed in smaller halls, performances have become faster. Conductors who are part of the historically informed performance movement, like John Eliot Gardiner, tend to take Beethoven's symphonies as marked; they seem perfectly reasonable and – in my opinion – better served. You can hear the whole "Speedy Beet" episode (18 minutes) at Radiolab's website.