| Author |
Subject |
zambocello
Registered User
(3/2/01 3:24:43 am)
Reply |
An
important question for orchestra cellists:
Playing lots of Stravinsky lately,
which makes for lots of quarter-rest solo opportunities. It made me
wonder.........
Of course it is a greater "sin" to play in a
rest than to leave out a note because of insecurity. But what is the
relative gravity of the two sins? How many left-out-notes equal one
play-in-a-rest? Is the ratio 5:1? 10:1? More?
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Ponticello
Registered
User
(3/2/01 3:33:36 am)
Reply |
Re: An
important question for orchestra cellists:
I would say the the ratio of gravity
between leaving out a note and playing during a rest is on the scale
of 1:0
Math people here should know what I mean! 
|
Steve
Drake
Registered
User
(3/2/01 9:37:51 am)
Reply |
Re: An
important question for orchestra cellists:
I wouldn't know, I don't do either.
Hah! If only the "it ain't bragging if it's true" phrase fit
in this case.
My MP3's
My Cello
Homepage
|
David
Sanders
Registered User
(3/2/01 9:53:27 am)
Reply |
Re: An
important question for orchestra cellists:
An interesting question, but I can't
quite figure out how you compare the two.
It certainly is best
not to play in a rest, and I would imagine if your reflexes stop you
from playing because you think it might be a rest, that's probably a
good thing.
I would say that the better thing to do would be
to mark your part with hash marks so that you're more secure. Of
course no matter how secure you are, the possibility always exists
for playing in a rest. There are not too many performances of the
Rite of Spring where there isn't at least one bloop. (We're playing
it next week in Chicago and then in New York, and I hope my words
aren't prophetic.)
|
Nvbob7
Registered User
(3/2/01 6:26:29 pm)
Reply |
Re: An
important question for orchestra cellists:
IMHO I'd have to say that
playing during a rest is a much worse sin for an orchestra cellist.
I've never gotten a sour look from a conductor for not playing a
note, but if you play ff during a grand pause expect a withering
look, if not a pink slip. You have a half a dozen or so other
cellist supporting you, so odds are you'll get help.
For a
quartet cellist it would be hard to say, any mistake stands out. One
of things I enjoy most about playing quartets is that you are the
cello section; you are out there, though not quite as much as a
soloist. During a rehearsal recently I couldn't do anything right,
and the 1st violin lightheartedly said there needs to be a cello
sectional.
|
Jon
Pegis
Registered
User
(3/2/01 9:03:01 pm)
Reply |
Important Question
I remember a few years ago one of
our subs came crashing in wrong during a rest for the whole
orchestra. The conductor didn't glare at him or anything, but the
sub was so upset that he took himself off of our sub list!
I have
a couple of different thoughts on this question. I've never thought
of it in terms of ratios before, but of course it is much more
noticeable when you come in during a rest. Rite of Spring is hard
for this reason since it's easy to get "gunshy" and play the whole
piece cautiously.
My other observation would be that if you play
in an orchestra long enough, eventually you'll have an unintentional
solo. That's part of being human. It's rare that someone would throw
the book at you if you hardly ever come in wrong. I suspect that the
people who would get the most grief from coming in wrong would be
the ones who do it the most often. Anyone out there have any
negative experiences they want to share?
Jon Pegis
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TerryM
Registered
User
(3/2/01 9:27:22 pm)
Reply |
Unexpected Cello Solo
I remember years ago when our
community orchestra was playing the Faure Requiem and I had an
"unexpected" solo. At the very beginning of the Offertoire, the
second cellos lead in followed by the first cellos and then the rest
of the strings. In our concert performance, my stand partner, who
was a lot more experienced than I was at that time, froze, bow in
hand on the string. Our conductor gave the downbeat and I came in by
myself. Of course, my first thought was that I had messed up. It was
only four notes and then the first cellos came in, but those four
notes were the longest notes I think I have ever played. That was my
first and last solo with orchestra.
Terry
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David
Sanders
Registered User
(3/3/01 11:19:21 am)
Reply |
Re:
Important Question
According to the "old-timers" in the
CSO, Beethoven 5th with Reiner was one where there were often
bloops, because even though everyone knew it so well, Reiner had
them tied up in such knots, that the mistakes happened.
One of my
first seasons, I was sitting with someone who had been in the
orchestra for 20 or 30 years, and then other orchestras before that,
was incredibly reliable, and we were playing one of the most
standard works, the Emperor Concerto. At the end of the first
movement, when the low E-flat comes about 5 or 6 times, first as the
only note in the bar, then twice in the bar, he skipped a bar and
played the third beat all by himself.
It can happen to
anyone!
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