"I want to teach voice lessons but only for rests. They can figure out the notes beautifully on their own. The rests not so much."
Composer Nico Muhly on Twitter

I loved this tweet for a whole bunch of reasons. First, because it is just so very true, then because it says so much in so few words and then it is just so darn funny! It made me think of John Cage, It was Cage whose music first made me realise that rests in a music score - the silences where an instrument or instruments do not play, are not just a gap in the music but form an essential part of the music. They may increase musical or emotional tension, may allow us to draw a metaphorical or literal breath or to prepare for the notes that follow. In any event, their contribution to the sound we ultimately hear, is a vital one. Cage made this point in, perhaps, the ultimate way in his piece 4'33". Most commonly the piece is performed by a pianist who sits at the piano, starts a stopwatch and plays not a note for four minutes and thirty-three seconds, during which time the three movements of the piece unfold. He then stops the clock and the piece is over. Needless to say, this 'piece' has come in for a good deal of flack since it was written in 1952. The most commonly heard sniping is said to be the comment "Anyone could have written that!" to which Cage famously replied "Yes - but they didn't!" Cage wrote the piece for any instrument or combination of instruments. I thought you might like to not hear the arrangement for full orchestra.

Ainsley - the Boy Wonder!
It gave me enormous pleasure this week to read in both the New York Times and on the Parterre Box opera web site, rave reviews for a production of The Runaway Slave, by Hans Werner Henze. This production forms a part of this year's Greenwich Music Festival, in Connecticut. This annual summer festival was co-founded by Portland Opera's Associate Music Director and Chorus Master, Rob Ainsley. While I have never been able to attend a performance there, I do follow the fortunes of the festival each year and it has been going from strength to strength. I am delighted for Rob that his efforts and success are now being appreciated at a wider level. Read here what Valmont had to say on Parterre Box.
An interesting little sidebar to this is that the costume designer for this production is Austin Scarlett, who some of you will, I imagine, remember from Season One of the reality TV series Project Runway.

And while on the subject of Boy Wonders...
As if Gustavo Dudamel's job as conductor of the L.A.Philharmonic and latest musical genius to step atop a rostrum were not hard enough, see this. He's to blame for this ongoing oil snafu in the Gulf!

Opera America
Last week was the annual Opera America conference which this year took place in Los Angeles. Each year, staff members from opera companies all over the USA meet to discuss items of mutual interest and invariably some interesting matters are brought up and the discussions about them become more widely disseminated. I shall ask around over the next few days and see what arose this year that might interest or effect you.

Take a walk on the wild side - and bring your dog!
I have long been a fan of Lou Reed and now I am wildly enthusiastic about his wife, performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson. The over-all reason is that last week she gave a concert outside the Sydney Opera House - for dogs! I found this totally enchanting. but when I read the news report of the event it was these lines which grabbed my attention and made me say "I love this woman!"

Anderson - who often plays music for her rat terrier Lollabelle - said the idea originated during a chat with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, while the two were waiting backstage at a graduation ceremony. "We thought 'Wouldnt it be great if you're playing a concert and you look out and everyone's a dog.'" Anderson said "So I thought if I ever get a chance to do that, I'm gonna do it. And today was it. So this is like a highlight of my life.

She would probably also have enjoyed the fact that the concert wasn't susceptible to the usual criticism.

Opera Theater Oregon
I have just heard from Executive Director of OTO that the company may have found a permanent home - the Guild Theater in downtown Portland. I do not have any more details yet but I am going to speak with Katie as soon as possible and let you know what the deal is. This could be a very exciting step forward for a company that I enjoy and admire (and on whose Board I sit). Watch this space.

Have a happy and productive week!