BRO 2020: Beyond the Concert Hall

For week 8, BRO violinist and former concertmaster Arnold Brown offers an evocative tribute to recently departed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He writes:

"I am dedicating my (slightly abridged and unaccompanied) performance of Max Bruch’s variations on the Hebrew melody 'Kol Nidre' to the memory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who dedicated her life to preserving and promoting the rights of and Constitutional protections for all Americans. Kol Nidre is sung at the beginning of the evening prayers on the Day of Atonement. Justice Ginsburg, you will never be forgotten. May you rest in peace."

This week, Blue Ridge Orchestra cellist Judy Handley shares a photo of her home practice space and a recording of her playing the Gigue from Bach's Suite No. 2 in D minor, a piece she's been working on this summer.

This week's Beyond the Concert Hall explores how music can be a source of joy and connection, even during the pandemic. Current and former BRO violinists Jennie Brunner, Meredith Candler, Kate Rickenbacker, and Merissa Gail Walkenstein have been meeting weekly to make socially distanced music since March. Enjoy this short video of the four moms and their musical kids striking up in locations all around WNC! 

For week 5, Mario Gaetano is back with a rousing rendition of Pietro Frosini’s “Jolly Callabero” on marimba in his home studio!

For week 4 of Beyond the Concert Hall, Brynn Heyes joins us from her home in Marshall with a flock of friends and three pieces celebrating birds. Brynn’s notes about her selections and their significance are included below for you to enjoy.

All my selections involve birds. When the pandemic began, a teacher friend from Oregon reached out and asked me for videos about my chickens and ducks to show her kindergarten and first grade students.  I then decided to incubate duck eggs so I could show her sweet students the process of hatching ducklings. The first video was a huge success with the students; parents and a few teachers from the school got on board as well, so it became a duck egg incubation saga. Somehow, I managed to get 11 to hatch in our home made incubator. At some point during my incubation education, our mama duck decided to build a nest herself and outdo me by hatching another 13 ducklings. I was overjoyed - my family, not so much. 

The first song is el cant del ocells, adapted by Pablo Casals. Pablo Casals is a hero and maestro amongst cellists the world over. After his exile from his home in the Catalonia region of Spain, he played this tune before every concert he was featured in. A traditional Catalonian Christmas song that he adapted for cello, the piece conveyed hints of his yearning to be home. The original carol is about the birds coming out at Christmas to proclaim the miracle that had occurred, and I truly feel that it can speak to us today in these times. I can't end this section without my favorite quote of Casals: "The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice at age 90. ‘Because I think I’m making progress,’ he replied." 

I chose to include Blackbird, by the Beatles, in memory of Breonna Taylor. I chose to play this simplistically and would encourage you to follow this link to see my inspiration for including this piece. 

If I were a rich man from Fiddler on the Roof was chosen because it has a line about Tevye showing off his fancy yard birds; ducks, chickens and turkeys, when he's a wealthy man - even though it appears he already has those things. Fiddler was renowned for being relatable to multicultural people across the globe, who weren't even Jewish. The story takes place in imperial Russia in the early 1900's. The pogroms portrayed in the hit Broadway musical involved relocating Jewish families; however, the real Russian pogroms were much more violent. This fact was known to the producers but nobody goes to a Broadway show to feel bad... At least not too bad. 

Thank you for reading and listening to me and my selections. I wish all our BRO friends and fans health, happiness and peace. 

Much love,
Brynn

In this week’s installment of Beyond the Concert Hall, Concertmaster Hanako and 2nd chair Kate B treat us to an al fresco performance of the Pastorale from Violin Duet Opus 38 No. 10 by Fereol Mazas.

Principal viola Brenda Phetteplace writes:

“Here are some scenes from my practice session on my porch.  The first shows the view from my music stand which is pretty much a laurel and rhododendron thicket in Pisgah National Forest.  The piece on the stand is the Prelude from J.S. Bach's Cello Suite #3 for Viola.  The second picture shows some necessities for practicing outdoors in summer, i.e. a citronella candle, tuner/metronome, glass of wine, and portable stand.  Rocks are optional.’

For those who would like to hear it, here is a recording of the incomparable Lilliian Fuchs playing the Prelude: