#A-TO-Z CHALLENGE 2015 – LETTER “T” – THE TAMPA BAY SYMPHONY

When I first moved to Tampa from Detroit in 1994 for reasons almost too stupid to contemplate, but are rather amusing to relate, so I shall: I left my ex-husband violist who had become upset when I got a gig playing with the Moody Blues, and he didn't. Never mind that the money that came into the house all went into the same kitty, and never mind the fact that we met on a job where we both played viola (I really don't play anything else, although I've pretended to play the violin for money), he got his feelings hurt. I guess there was some expectation that the Flute or Zither Fairy would magically appear and voilà! this violist would become a flautist or a zitherist (whatever they're called); anything but a viola player, but sadly, none of that magic happened. What did happen, is that when I came in off of that tour at the end of the summer of 1992, I returned to school and picked a major that was completely different than music, viola, or anything artistic.

Back in 1967 and 1968, when I had the album, "Days of Future Passed" memorized, if anyone told me, I would one day play it with "The Moody Blues" I'd have called them a liar.

I went and majored in computer science, knowing full well that I was going to have some long, long nights wrangling with some mathematical-type concepts that I'm pretty sure I had either ignored, or never seen in the first place. I was not disappointed. This was a good way to keep my eye on the prize and off my rapidly-disintegrating marriage, as I played in various viola sections around Detroit and either entered the stage before, and left after my soon-to-be ex did, thus being relieved of the possibility of exchanging any words whatsoever with him. It was a crazy time, and intense, but in a way, a very good time, as I discovered within myself, an aptitude for numbers and logic that I had previously thought was non-existent. Up until that point, I had spent more time with my folks playing “Match Wits with Inspector Ford” as we guessed at what happened to Judge Crater, and dissected the meaning of “Message to Garcia”. My parents were kind of odd like that; they enjoyed conundrums, and what-ifs. I'm not entirely sure that either of them had both feet in this world, and I know for damn sure, that I have maybe one or two toes AT MOST in this world.

A typical Wallace photo -- taken by me. Notice that my mom's head is completely covered up by a giant-ass dog-head. Take special note of my father's (to the left) idea of "casual dress" which consisted of a ratty pair of his work dress-pants, cut off at the knees, the same shoes he wore to work and those lovely white, engineer's socks. You could not get that man in a pair of dress socks. My mom was dressed normally. I'm sure I had on jeans and a t-shirt. That gentleman lurking in the background is my godfather, Hank Birch. All of the Wallaces take pictures at LEAST this badly. Most are worse.

Anyway, I was in an accelerated program and ended up down in Hudson, Florida, at the completion of my two years, and was offered a job by IBM – I had divorced the viola player. I started working there, but was nervous, because I really wanted to play, and there were all of these little community orchestras up in Pasco-Hernando Counties and no one really knew who I was.

By chance, the third day I was in Hudson, I saw a man carrying a viola case in a local drugstore and I followed him and asked him if there were any orchestras around the area that I could participate in. He said there were, and he directed me to the H******* Symphony that was playing a concert within a couple of weeks. The conductor, a man named V****** B***, was putting together a concert, and welcomed me. There was only one viola player at the time. The orchestra is still in business and my good friend, Denise Isaacson is still playing up there. It is a nice little orchestra, but it is more dependent on the “snow birds” and is not very big. Anyway, a few rehearsals later, one of the clarinetists came to me and said, “Mary, how would you like to play in a 'real' orchestra?” I said, “What have you got?” Although I was enjoying myself, we were just kind of schlubbing our way through Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and that was rather dismal. Poor Mr. B*** seemed to not really have the concept of conducting in 6/8 and was just making circles in the air in Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen and the orchestra had taken on this sort of random, aleatory, twelve-tone quality. Thus, on the one hand, it sucked for Sarasate, but it was great for Arnold Schoenberg, I guess. My mother was in the audience, and of course, she loved it. She always loved a good train wreck and had lots of fun reliving it on the drive home.

But, I digress. My clarinetist friend introduced me to the Tampa Bay Symphony, which at the time was directed by Dr. Jack Heller, who I believe, founded the orchestra in 1986. When I joined, it was an orchestra that had many retired musicians from the Cleveland, St. Louis and Boston Symphonies, as well as students, doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals from different walks of life.

As I've been writing this, I've been wracking my brain, but I do not think that I had to audition at that time. I ended up sitting 3^rd chair, and we played all kinds of great music, along with a lot of crowd-pleasing stuff. We had guest soloists and Young People's Artists and we still do now. The main difference lies in the approach of the two conductors. It was fun working with Dr. Heller; he's a good conductor, and we would always be able to pull off whatever it was, we were trying to play. We were a bit unruly. In particular, I remember when we had gone over one passage several times and it wasn't getting any better and he yelled out, “Violas! You're not a panzer division! Quiet!” This is no better or worse than the conductor in Detroit who hollered at the 2^nd violins during Respighi's The Pines of Rome, “Second violins, when you run out of notes, STOP playing!”

THIS is a panzer division!

courtesy:studio.americanviolasociety.org

This is NOT a panzer division!

I played with the Tampa Bay Symphony the first time for a couple of seasons, but time and other commitments forced me to give it up; IBM and later Verizon, was perfectly happy to have me take a laptop on the road, when I was touring as a free-range violist with Anne Murray, Styx, Smokey Robinson, Bobby Vinton, Alan Parsons Project, or whoever, and work from a hotel room, wherever I was. It was a great life. But, like all great things, they pass.

I had a really, really bad marriage, that certainly didn't help the latent health issues I was harboring. I went blind, and developed congestive heart failure. After an acrimonious divorce, I lost a house I was trying to buy and spent two years fighting the bank. I ended up homeless and my essential tremor finally came to the fore. I was forced to stop playing in 2008. That was crushing. When I finally, finally, finally, got a diagnosis in 2013 and treatment to stop the tremors, I had to work up the courage to play again. I waited for a sign. Last August I got one. The Tampa Bay Symphony was going to be playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in the fall. They weren't listing any auditions for violas, but, hey. If you don't venture, nothing is gained.

I ventured, went and played probably the most spastic audition ever; I thought it was horrible. Mark said “This is why we have lots and lots of rehearsals!”, then asked me if I would join. Hell ya!

I'm so glad I took that leap; the musicianship has improved, the morale and the overall musical artistry of the orchestra has improved immensely. Mark is the glue that makes the whole thing cohere. The wonderful thing that I love is that he treats us as fully mature artists in this musical journey we're all taking together. If we are struggling as a group, he will find a way to bring us together, usually with a clever little exercise that involves counting – music is 80% rhythm, after all – and we will go through that process a few times, generally under tempo, and then bring it up to tempo. He deliberately tries to keep our performances as true to the composer's intentions regarding tempi and interpretation as much as possible and it really shows. This orchestra which, a few years back, may have seemed like a run-of-the-mill volunteer group, is really something to hear. I listened to the raw recording of our performance of Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations and was knocked out by what I heard. I will leave you with an excerpt of the 3rd movement of Brahms' Third Symphony. I was not in the orchestra at the time, but the musicianship and playing are superb!

Postscript: I am aware that I am exceedingly late for my "T" letter. We currently have hospice in our home, for end of life care of my partner. I will participate as much as possible until the end, but things are more disordered than previously, and I must beg you extend the courtesy of allowing my erratic posting. I will not "claim" that I win the challenge, but will consider myself a participant. It is a sad time, but it is also one with great purpose and clarity. I can do no greater thing for a fellow being than to ease his way from this life and I will be fine, and back here for more next year. You will see a few more posts from me this year, just not in the way, I had originally planned, as things are moment-to-moment. 

#A-TO-Z CHALLENGE 2015 – LETTER “S” – MARK SFORZINI, AMERICAN COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR AND BASSOONIST; DMITRY SHOSTAKOVICH, RUSSIAN COMPOSER

Let's face it; life can be a mess at times. Mine's been total chaos for a while, and is likely to remain so, until. . . whatever. Anyway, now that I've finally wrested control of my system back from She Who Will Remain Unnamed, I can get this here posty-post on the road. It isn't exactly what I was planning, and poor Mark is up to his ears in Shostakovich, Copland and Prokofiev, so, we DIDN'T get to finish our interview. We WILL however, fill in some blanks now, as Mark is a highly interesting person, as well as a highly entertaining one (don't tell him I said that!). But, I am easily amused as you can tell by this sound clip:

'MURRRICA

Actually, I think pretty much everything is back-breakingly hilarious, so who am I to judge? Anyway, apparently, Mark had a seemingly normal childhood in Alabama playing the bassoon, and being a kid. I'm jealous of the fact that he was a 1979 World Hula Hoop Champion during a time, when Alabama was still in the 50s and Hula Hooping was cool. Fifteen years earlier, when Hula Hooping WAS cool in other parts of the U.S., I stunk at it. Like “stink on ice” at it. One hoop rotation, and that piece of plastic was on the ground. My folks could Hula Hoop. Hell, the DOG could Hula Hoop. I couldn't. But my slinky didn't slink either, so I was like caught in some kind of nerd hell-scape from my day of birth.

courtesy:downtownstpete.ilovetheburg.com                              

I think Mark is the only person I know who could pull this off and look cool doing so.

Anyway, Mark went on from that triumph to become principal bassoonist of the Florida Orchestra for 15 years, and only left in 2007, to take a bold leap into the abyss and start an opera company in St. Petersburg, Florida, a burgeoning arts mecca. Since the inaugural production of La Boheme, The St. Petersburg Opera Company has presented more than 30 operas and attracted a loyal following. Not content with producing only Italian opera, as Opera Tampa is wont to do, The St. Petersburg Opera has presented Ariadne auf Naxos, by Richard Strauss, Norma, Susannah, and Samson et Delilah, by Camille Saint Saens. He tosses in a little Stephen Sondheim from time to time and many of these productions are Tampa Bay area debuts.

Mark Sforzini, Director of St. Petersburg Opera, and Conductor of the Tampa Bay Symphony

Mark's excellence, drive and energy and his ability to put people and music together and his willingness to take chances, have landed him on 2014 Musical America's Top 30 Musical Professionals (I encourage you to read this list; it is a WONDERFUL read!). The list is an international one, citing one conductor in Odessa, Hobart Earle, who took his orchestra to the Odessa open market to play Ode to Joy, flash-mob style, in a country now torn by war and strife.

Mark so aptly fits this model. He is one of the finest persons I've ever met. When we talked about this interview, I asked him why he chose the Tampa Bay Symphony. He answered simply, “I didn't. They chose me.” He had over 10 years experience conducting by the time he was approached. Most of his experience was conducting opera and he relished the idea of having a chance to conduct more symphonic music. Having played principal bassoon for 15 years in the Florida Orchestra under so many different conductors he felt like he knew the symphonic literature very well. His “audition” pieces for the positions were Smetana's Moldau, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. All three pieces present different challenges to the conductor and I think they're probably a good benchmark to understanding how a conductor is going to think and work out the problems each work presents.

Hobart Earle's Flash-mob "Ode to Joy" in an Odessa Fish Market is stunning. He's number 17 on 2014's Musical America's Top Music Professionals. Mark is listed at number 5. There were actually 2 nominees from the Tampa Bay Area. When Mark was asked why Tampa Bay, he looked at the inquisitor and asked "Why eat?" Good answer!

A relative later asked Mark why he would accept a position with an all-volunteer orchestra, since in professional orchestras (and even in “community-level” orchestras, where the players are paid a fee) the players have rehearsed the parts before hand, or already know the charts, the group rehearses 3 or 4 times, plays the concert or concerts and you're done; the first rehearsal sounds good, and it's a matter of polishing and interpretation, but Mark feels that:

“there is something incredibly rewarding about exploring a concert program over a period of two to three months with people who have chosen to give of their time and talent for the joy of making music. Sometimes the first rehearsal doesn't sound so good, but by the concerts, the group is playing very well – and musically, with a solid interpretation of the works on the program. Each rehearsal shows noticeable results. Players in the symphony sometimes look tired when they arrive for the 7:00 pm rehearsal after working a regular job at the office, but often at 9:30 pm they are more energized and smiling more than when they arrived. I find the special journey from the very first rehearsal to the final concert with the people of the TBS highly rewarding. I’m a teacher by nature, and the community orchestra setting allows my educator/coach personality a chance to emerge more than it normally gets to in a one-week professional engagement period. That’s not to say that I’m ‘teaching’ them all the time, though. Quite the contrary, they have taught me so much about leading a large orchestra of eighty and have brought the notes on the page to life.”

That is one great answer! For people who think they're too busy, or too important to worry about what would seem to be a rag-tag bunch of volunteer musicians, I was really humbled by this answer. We, as the players, get so much out of our rehearsals. I'm in a unique position; I'm happy to be ANYWHERE playing, but to be back where I started and have this kind of experience is just a dream for me. I've learned more, and started to remember things I'd forgotten. Mark is ever patient with us and it's fun! We have a great time, but we're taking a bit of a darker turn here; like any art, music is not all happiness and light.

We've been rehearsing Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 for Big Orchestra. When I found out we were going to play this piece, I was ecstatic. I love playing Russian music. I'm also out of my mind most of the time. Beethoven has a stern gruffness, and whilst playing Beethoven, I feel I can take anything being thrown at me. My biggest weak spot in the whole wide world and we've discussed this (for those of you reading along at home, or on the bus, or whatever, already know) is Mahler. There are times I cannot listen to Mahler, AT ALL. This is one of those times. Right now, Shosty is running a close second, and there are times I've just about folded up on the whole shootin' match, but I can't.

His Symphony No. 5 for Big Orchestra is an oddity. I asked Mark, “Why this symphony for this orchestra at this time?”

“I would say a confluence of events at the time of picking this program: Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. At the time I was conducting Fiddler on the Roof which…. At this time, Russian and Ukraine were also all over the headlines. I kept thinking about Soviet oppression and how even though the USSR collapse in 1991, there are still so many examples in 2015 of oppression of the people. And, if you are oppressing the people, you are oppressing artistic spirit. This is where Shostakovich managed a triumph of sorts. In 1936, his writing had been called into question as being anti-Soviet. Masses of people were being executed during this time in Russia, and not just his art, but his very life were at stake. He published his 5^th Symphony with the phrase “a Soviet artist’s response to just criticism”. Yet, I, and many others, don’t believe he was simply pleasing the authorities. The amazing thing about Shostakovich 5 is that the composer manages to please the authorities and say something deeply meaningful to the common people all at the same time. There is very little marked in the score in terms of words so we must look very carefully at the notes. And a trained musician, can see hundreds of ways Shostakovich was telling his story through the music of the 5^th Symphony.

I remember when I first heard this symphony and circumstances surrounding it, and thinking “Huh, Stalin either had a tin ear, or like Richard Strauss, Stefan Zweig, and Joseph Goebbels, Shostakovich was deemed too well-known to just have him executed by Levrenti Beria in the Lubyanka.” However, on reflection, Stalin was paranoid about EVERYTHING and Shostakovich was a master at hiding his sentiments within his music. If nothing else, playing this piece has taught me that. So, I think it's a case of the former and Mark has pointed these things out to us along the way. 

During World War II, and on the Eastern Front, which incredibly, I know much more about than I do the Western Front, Leningrad, was under siege by the Nazis for 900 days. The USSR was our ally, and they actually bore the brunt of the Nazi assault along a 1,000-mile front beginning with Operation Barbarossa, on June 22, 1941, and continuing until the tide was turned and the war was taken to the Germans and ended when Germany surrendered unconditionally at Reims on May 7 1945, to the Allies. Anyway, Dmitry Shostakovich was living in Leningrad at the start of the siege, and was a volunteer fireman. He wrote the first 3 movements of his 7th symphony there. He finished the symphony in Kuibyshev, where he and his family had been evacuated and it was to have been played by the Leningrad Philharmonic, but there were only 14 members of the orchestra left, so the conductor Karl Eliasberg had to recruit anyone who could play an instrument. It should be pointed out, that no one is really sure what Leningrad Shostakovich had in mind when he wrote the 7th symphony; if it was the one that withstood the German siege, or the one Stalin had destroyed, and Hitler merely finished off. The Russians and their crazy sense of humor!

Later on,  in 1943, when the family had moved to Moscow, the tide had turned for the Red Army and the Eighth Symphony debuted. The public and more importantly, the authorities expected another triumphant piece from their pet composer. Instead, they got the Eighth Symphony, perhaps the most somber and violent in expression, within Shostakovich's ouevre to date. The government, assigned the name "Stalingrad" to the symphony, explaining that it was an expression of "mourning the dead" in the Battle of Stalingrad, and then effectively, but unofficially banned it until 1956. Shostakovich himself was to have said, "When the Eighth was performed, it was openly declared counter-revolutionary and anti-Soviet. They said, 'Why did Shostakovich write an optimistic symphony at the beginning of the war and a tragic one now? At the beginning we were retreating and now we're attacking, destroying the Fascists. And Shostakovich is acting tragic, that means he's on the side of the fascists.'"

His Ninth symphony was much lighter in tone, but that too, brought criticism. It was felt in certain circles, and again within the government, that he took the victory over the Nazis too lightly and his music was a fillip and not serious. Even the New York World-Telegram was dismissive of his work. 

Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitry Shostakovich and Aram Khatchaturian

He, along with several other composers would continue to be censured and limited in their work, until the death of Stalin. Once that dictator died, the strictures on music and other arts were freed up a bit. There is a new frost coming however, in the form of Vladimir Putin. He has made several statements and jailed several people for their musical output; the rock group "Pussy Riot" comes to mind. As long as people are not free to express themselves, people are not free. But, it's so encouraging to see people like Mark Sforzini and the men and women of Music America take their own fates into their hands and move ahead to bring freedom of expression to each and every one of us! Thank you Mark. Thank you for everything! 

#A-TO-Z CHALLENGE 2015 – LETTER “R” – RUSSIAN MUSIC

So, while the Russophile is off playing her Rachmaninoff (Рахманинов), Gliére (Глиэр), Glinka (Глинка), Rimsky-Korsakov (Римский-Корсаков), Ippolitov-Ivanov (Ипполитов-Иванов), Mussourgsky (Мусоргский), Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev (Прокофьев), Stravinsky (Страви́нский), or, I thiiiiiink Shostakovich (Шостаковича), I thought I would write a few words. She hates it when I get on HER computer.

courtesy:mapsof.net

There's a whole lotta music-writing going on here. We both love maps. It'd serve her right, if I just put a buncha maps out here and nothing else.

Oh, she'll tell you how she's in love with Beethoven and how he's her muse and all sorts of nonsense, but she's REALLY in love with the Russian composers! She can't get enough Russian music. Hell's Bells, if she could figure out a way to claim Russian ancestry she would! Then, I wouldn't have to listen to all that goddamned bagpipe music on St. Andrew's Day! That would be nice! If I have to sit through one more Bobby Burns night of drunken misread poetry at the St. Andrews' Society I may just take some hot pokers to my ears, but that might make it hard for HER to hear her precious Beethoven. Maybe, we'll just stay home and watch “Braveheart” and pick it apart for the 40^th time. That's always fun. It makes a good drinking game, but we quit drinking, several years ago.

Mary's mom saw this picture and wondered why William Wallace looked like Mel Gibson. "No one on her dad's side of the family looked anything remotely liked Mel; they all resembled John Wayne." I don't know which is worse.

Anyway, it's time for Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony; I can't get enough of the opening of that second movement. It's just heaven. Violas only! Can't have too many of those, now, can you? And by the way, since I'm such a shill. The Tampa Bay Symphony is playing Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto next season. Mary will love that! She was practically humming it in the womb, according to her mom. According to her dad? She was more like four or five years old. Dad was always a realist!