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Diane- Are you performing the 1911 edition? Most performances of the Stravinsky ballets are of the 1940 something editions. The only reason he made the later editions was so he could get copyright and therefore income, which he couldn’t get from the original editions. Maybe after all this time conductors are thinking of going back to the original versions.
Just to let you know: My teacher, Pierre Jamet, was the one who came up with the idea of an international harp competition and was part of the original organization that founded the Israel Competition. But their original plan was to hold the competition in a different country each time, not always in Israel. They chose Israel for the first competition because of the story of King David. But as soon as the first competition took place, the Israeli organizers took hold of it and kept it in Israel. I’m not sure how practical it would have been to move the location for each competition, so I’m not complaining about Israel. Maybe what they could consider is having a second location, say in Europe or in the U.S. and alternate between the two.
I was under the assumption that the Israel Competition and the U.S.A. overlapped repertoire so that potential contestants would not have to choose one or the other competition to play.
Zach- I would suggest that you listen carefully to the advice of your teacher. If she says that it’s not the right time for you to go, then take her advice. What you might consider(it sounds like you are quite young) is to go and observe the first time. Just see how the whole thing is run, which contestants advance from stage to stage, what can go wrong in a performance, etc. That could be the best preparation for actually entering a competition and giving a strong performance. Again, if you are young now then time is on your side.
Elizabeth- Interesting that you should mention this technique for practicing. I learned that very late, and I learned it from a little book that Jane Weidensaul wrote called Scientific Practice. It’s a great book.
In my student days I used to practice everything slowly, and then speed things up, one notch at a time on the metronome. But that didn’t work very well for me. The technique of practicing maybe only 2 or 3 beats at a time at full tempo or close to it works much better. I usually practice like this only with both hands together unless one hand has something that is really difficult.
I think you mean Sam Pratt. I believe he was the one, as head of the harp division at Lyon & Healy(which was a much bigger general music company in those days) who designed both the style 30(Princess Louise) and the Troubadour harp. He then asked Sam Milligan to put together a book of music that could be played on the Troubadour harp, which resulted in Fun from the First.
Alison- It’s 4:30 on Thursday and I’m sorry I missed your call. I’m going to the Ballet tonight too, so if you get this message in time, look for me on the grand staircase at intermission. I’ll be down at the ground level.
Also, you didn’t mention which string you were tuning that this was happening to. If the string is old, there could be a little dip or gouge in the string where the pins of the disc grab it. If you move the pedal to flat and then back to natural, maybe the disc is not grabbing the string in exactly the same place(in the gouge area) causing the pitch to be higher.
It’s also possible the harp just needs to be regulated. If there is some overmotion then when you put the pedal into flat and then back into natural the natural disc may not be in exactly the same position as it was the first time. But only a technician working on it can tell you exactly what is going on.
I think the term “Grandjany Method” came from the fact that his main competitor, Salzedo, very agressively promoted his “Salzedo Method.” People at the time probably assumed that since Grandjany taught something different, it must be Grandjany method.
Toscanini was famous for his breakneck tempos, and that was in the ’30’s.40’s,and ’50’s. So fast tempos are nothing new.
Sometimes the person who wins the audition already has another (good) orchestra job and goes to the audition with the idea that, if they win, they will use that win to try to get a pay raise out of the orchestra they are already with.
Sally- One of the things that is really important when you practice sight reading is to constantly move forward. Sight reading with one or two other people playing along with you is one way. Or playing duets(harp and flute for example) so that some outside force is making you stick to the beats. If nothing else, put a metronome on and don’t miss a single beat no matter how bad it gets. The most important point is to keep your eye scanning forward and to not stop.
