Alban's Blog

Moving – Unpacking – Playing Concerts in between….

Oy wey, I feel guilty, haven’t written in such a long time, and now I am writing without having anything specific to say. This will be probably the shortest blog ever on this page, but somehow I have to justify its existence, and since some people seem to read it, I don’t want to stop without at least trying to keep writing at least once a month. I just finished playing another Elgar performance in the very charming little city of Madison – I think it wasn’t a bad performance, but somehow I didn’t feel the closest of all connections with the audience; there was quite some coughing in the first minutes of the piece, and I guess it’s my upbringing to look for the blame in myself. I didn’t manage to engage them and draw them in with what I had to say with the music which resulted in the fact that they weren’t quite with me.What can one do if one realizes that? Start throwing some antics at them? No way, bad idea, even though it might do the trick, but I tried to just give as much intensity and emotion as I could to make the coughers be silent, and maybe I am wrong, but I think it worked later on. The orchestra did a wonderful job sticking with me and I can’t wait until tommorrow after having done some more thinking about the beginning, what to do to surprise the audience and take them with me from the start. Well, some might say, it wasn’t my fault, it was just bad atmosphere, maybe the weather was too cold and people were sick – my answer is NO! It is the performer who can create a breathless atmosphere in which nobody dares to make a noise, but it is very hard and doesn’t happen to often.

Yes, shame on me, I didn’t listen to the second half of the program, but I didn’t feel like listening to another performance of the Planets by Holst (in the past year I heard it probably 6 times). Tommorrow I’ll listen, I always feel I owe it to the colleagues in the orchestra and I think it’s arrogant to ignore the fact that there is a second half and another piece after “my” big thingy.

After playing almost too many concerts in the first half of the year, I am quite lucky that my schedule of September and October is rather light; this gives me the chance to build our nest in the new home, and it is coming along real well. I unpacked my last box right before leaving back to the States, having worked a couple of times until 4 am in the morning trying to organize and sort out things. I parted with many books which I felt weren’t worth keeping – three boxes filled with books went to charity, because I couldn’t stand throwing them away. This would almost feel like the burning of the books in 1935 (?) by Hitler’s people in Germany – for me books are almost something sacred, and I am unable to throw a book in the garbage, even if it’s the paper-recycle-garbage 🙂 CD’s I have not problem to throw away, especially bad recordings, but books? Never!

This morning I did a little outreach thing at a school nearby Madison, and it was funny for me to see how much more comfortable I feel now in front of a group of 15-year-olds. I used to be completely afraid, waiting for them to show signs of liking me, and now I don’t care anymore – I feel very much at ease playing some music for them and telling them things about me/cello/music/life of a travelling musician etc. even without being asked too many questions (in that age they are starting to get more self-conscious, afraid to make fools of themselves by asking something silly). But funny enough – I felt while playing for these highschool-students a better connection to my audience than tonight at the beautiful new concert hall here in Madison (it’s called the Ouverture hall – some wonderful man had given 210 Mio. Dollars to the city to build a new concert hall, and it is an impressively gorgeous hall). They did a wonderful job listening, even  though I didn’t feel on top of my game soooo early in the morning (no, wasn’t early, I just hadn’t had breakfeast yet).

Funny enough I am doing tons of single trips to America this fall; Kitchener/Waterloo in mid-September, Rhode Island at the end, now Madison, and on Nov 10 I am flying to Boston to do a Dvorak with Boston Symphony (how exciting, I love that hall there, and the orchestra is wonderful anyway) – I am being asked sometimes why I am doing these single trips, and the answer is very easy: I don’t suffer jetlag, and if my manager would connect the concerts, it would mean that I would have after each engagement with an orchestra at least 3 days off, because the concerts are most of the times on weekends, and I am only needed for rehearsals the day before the first concert, which is sometimes not until Thursdays or even Fridays. So I prefer flying back home, even if it means crossing the Atlantic Ocean (yes, I know, it is a environmental disaster this kind of attitude, and maybe I should start rethinking it…), just to be with my little family… 🙂

Now I have to run back to the hall, second half is over, and I am invited for some wine-tasting with some cheese – yeah!!

Comments

  • Marika Fischer Hoyt

    Dear Alban,

    You sounded great last night! I think all of us regretted not having had more rehearsal time for the Elgar though. The guest conductor is lovely, but why he let us out early is a mystery, when most of us would have liked at least an hour more to rehearse that Elgar with you. Oh well, we’ll give it another try tonight.

    Tchuß,
    Marika in the viola section.

    Reply
  • Nigel

    I was at the Overture Centre last night, and loved your performance! from your first notes I was entranced. I may even return for a second performance tonight. Thank you!

    Reply
  • François Brunet

    Greetings Alban,
    I am sorry that Madison did not connect with you as you wish it should. I was surprised to read your blog, as your performance was a real eye-opener for me. I was impressed by the level of emotional commitment you seemed to have put in this performance (I was there on Friday night). I could even make complete abstraction of the program booklet players performing around me! I did not feel anything like that since I heard James Ehnes, back in my home town in Canada.
    I wish I will have the occasion to hear you again soon, and that you will enjoy the Saturday night better.
    Many thanks for your amazing work, and for coming to Madison.
    François

    Reply
  • Alban

    Sorry for having been a bit negative after the performance – it had nothing to do with the actual concert, it was rather me being in a bad mood and not having felt the way I like to feel, which often doesn’t have anything to do with how the actual performance went. And yes, I enjoyed Saturday night better than Friday night, but again, this might be my very own personal perspective.
    I find it very touching though, that you, Marika, are writing that the orchestra would have loved to rehearse a bit longer on the Elgar. I could have insisted to repeat certain things, but somehow I trusted that I could just fix it by being a bit clearer myself and by talking to the conductor in private after the rehearsal. You now, sometimes you get better results by letting an orchestra go home earlier instead of working until the last second, because then they are more on “our” side (conductors and mine), but I think it speaks very highly for your orchestra that you would have liked to work even more than you did already.
    Bravo for the concert tonight, I enjoyed it very much and look forward to another one in 10 hours 🙂
    Best wishes,
    Alban

    Reply
  • Kathryn

    Alban,
    I attended the Friday night performance and though I definitely am a novice, I enjoyed it immensely from start to finish. For me, your charm and energy resonated from the stage to my seat and my only regret is that I won’t see you in this area in the states any time soon.

    Any chance you will come to Milwaukee or Chicago?

    Bravo! And safe travel home,
    Kathryn

    Reply
  • Joanna

    Alban,

    It’s been a true pleasure to play with you this weekend, and to meet you on Friday at the Club 201 reception at the fancy-cheese shop. I agree with Marika; I think we would have enjoyed the opportunity to rehearse just a little more with you this week. Even though I play just ten bars in the whole thing, I’ve been very happy to sit and listen and experience this wonderful piece. Perhaps one day I’ll have the privilege of being in an orchestra that plays Dvorak with you! Best wishes to you in your upcoming travels and performances (hooray for a short break for you to spend with your family!), and thanks for the kind encouragement about auditions. 🙂

    -Joanna (MSO piccolo player)

    Reply
  • Ellen

    Hello, Alban–
    First, best of luck, good health, and much happiness to the three of you in your new home. Is it still in Berlin?

    About books: the first one I ever gave away was an obsolete, useless “health” textbook that had been required reading when I was in college. After that, though I still find it difficult to part with any books, Bill and I have to make room for new ones, so we usually give books to a library or leave them in a box for our neighbors to look over.

    A story about leaving things for the neighbors: before we moved from one of our former apartments, we decided to give away anything that we hadn’t used since our previous move instead of packing it up and moving it yet again. So, we put things in cartons or large, heavy trash bags at the foot of the steps just outside our building, and people would come by and take what they wanted. One late afternoon, when we’d left nothing outside, Bill took down a large trash bag of garbage for collection in the morning. Later, we saw that the bag was gone. And about half an hour after that, it was back, just where we’d left it. Someone in the neighborhood must have been really surprised and disappointed.

    Best,
    Ellen

    Reply
  • Kayla

    Mr. Gerhardt,

    Having seen you twice in San Diego, California before I moved to rural Wisconsin (respectively), I decided on Friday night to make the two-hour drive to Madison because of your enrapturing nature on stage, and to bring along another friend of mine, Max, to introduce him to your music.

    In short, even though we were in quite literally the last row of Overture Symphony Center last night, there were quite a few moments when we just looked at each other with huge smiles on our faces nodding. You perform on the cello very much like a rock star, and did well.

    BRAVO.

    Here’s to every one of your future performances;

    Kayla

    Reply
  • Jan Bellon

    We just got home from the Sunday afternoon performance, and I’m in such a good mood from the music. Thank you for coming all this way to share your talent. It was a pleasure to watch you play and to hear your cello. It has such a rich, melodic tone. I was totally absorbed in the experience and didn’t want it to end. Again, thank you. Cheers, Jan

    Reply
  • Rodney Schreiner

    Alban,

    I heard the Saturday performance. I admit I was not prepared for what I heard, because I’ve never much liked the Elgar concerto (or much of Elgar’s other orchestral music — it seems to meander so), and I’d already heard it four times in the last two years. No, what I heard was something completely unexpected. The intensity of your performance brought the work into focus for me, and my attention was riveted throughout. You may have changed my opinion of the work.

    I also noticed that not only did you listen to the Holst, you joined the orchestra in performing it! Sort of an encore?

    Cheers,
    Rodney

    Reply
  • Alban

    Rodney, I am glad that you reconsider your judgement about the Elgar. The problem with this piece is the very strong tradition du Pre set with her incredibly charismatic playing. Cellists nowadays find it hard to emancipate from this idol which I think is essential though to make any piece of music work. This version you heard was maybe a bit different from du Pre, still not the way Elgar really wrote it, but maybe a bit closer to it… 🙂
    No, sitting in for the second half isn’t meant to be sort of an encore effect but it is tribute to my upbringing and my deep love for orchestra-playing. My father still co-leads the 2nd violin section of Berlin Philharmonic (since 42 years), and his love for orchestra-playing is definitely deeply instilled in me, so I take any opportunity to sit in the back of the cello section (whenever they let me join).
    Thank you all for coming to Ouverture center, I am very impressed with the fact that Kayla travelled for two hours – in Germany that wouldn’t happen, because two hours for us are a real big deal (you can almost cross half the country in that time…) 🙂
    Best wishes back from Germany, thanks again for writing,
    Yours Alban

    Reply
  • Rob Rickman

    Alban,

    I am Assistant Pricipal in the Bass Section of Madison. We tremendously enjoyed your performances this weekend…your control of tonal color was superb. I too wish that the conductor had spent a bit more effort in rehearsal and in following you, perhaps next time you will play with us under the baton of John Demain.

    all the best,

    Rob

    Reply
  • Geri Toole

    Hey Mr. Gerhardt,
    Greetings from Stoughton High School!! (The High School you recently visited) Hope your flight home was enjoyable. More so than us tall people could say! 🙂
    I wanted to let you know that my students absolutely LOVED your playing and conversation about life as a perfessional musician. They did not anticipate you to be so relatable and truly enjoyed your stories!! Many of the students went to the concerts throughout the weekend and said it was truly amazing!
    I personnaly wanted to thank you for playing with us this weekend, as a soloist as well as joining us in the Planets. Many of us orchestral musicians think it shows real class when a soloist wishes to join the orchestra for the last piece. As far as your performance in the Elgar, I have always loved the piece after hearing Jaqueline du pre perform it but you brought something really unique and elegant to the performance. Truly hope you come to visit Overture Hall many more times in the future!!
    Thank you from all of us in the Madison Symphony and the
    Stoughton High School Music Programs!!
    Geri Toole

    P.S. Just for your fun information!! 🙂

    “You bet” and other expressions such as, “You bet your life” and “You bet your bottom dollar” are shortened versions of “I suggest that you could bet your most valuable possession with absolute confidence that you would win the bet (i.e. not lose your money, etc.) When someone says, “You bet” it is the equivalent of “That’s for sure.”

    Reply
  • uri vardi

    Alban,
    Thank you again for the inspiring concert, for your generosity in working with my students and for your openness in sharing your experiences and thoughts.
    Hope to see you soon again.
    Uri

    Reply
  • Alban

    Maybe I should explain Geri’s “P.S.”: I had asked her after somebody said “You bet” in reply to my “Thank you” what that expression means. Thanks for explaining it, Geri, but I still don’t find it very fittingly. “Thank you” – – “You bet” or “That’s for sure that you had to thank me for holding the door for you?” – mh…
    I enjoyed my hour at Stoughton High School tremendously, the students were absolutely adorable and I would appreciate very much if you could send them my very best regards. They listened extremely well to my few little pieces I played, and even their questions were very interested and sometimes brave (I know for teenagers it’s not soooo easy to ask just anything…).
    Best wishes from Berlin,
    Alban

    Reply
  • Carol

    Hello Mr. Gerhardt,
    I am emailing you from a small mountain town in Wyoming, USA. I know absolutely nothing about classical music, but just heard your piece from Seoul on NPR (national public radio) and was absolutely stunned. It was so beautiful, I wished to touch it,
    see it, breathe it in…I had no idea a cello could sound so….necessary. By that I mean to say it should be necessary for the entire world to hear it. It evokes compassion, love, struggle of mankind. How could their ever be wars if everyone was listening to your music? I have never emailed someone I haven’t met, but believe you must be very kind with an open heart to allow a stranger like me to write to you.
    We have a music festival of visiting artists that rotate through during two summer months, (www.gtmf.org) and I have been only twice, as I can’t afford the tickets. But I promise you now that if you ever came to play here, I would definitely buy a ticket and come to see you. And I keep my promises.
    From where the buffalo roam, and the cowboys still exist, you should bring your family with you to visit.
    From Wyoming,
    carol

    Reply
  • Alban

    Dear Carol,
    Thank you for your very kind words, but I can’t take credit for this; the piece I was playing was the Cello Concerto by Robert Schumann, which is one of the deepest and most passionate pieces written – I was just trying to make it work as well as I could, but at the end what you felt was really the suffering of Mr.Schumann, one of a few musical geniuses. Listen to his various songs, you will feel the same!
    I have been at Grand Teton Music Festival twice actually, once in winter, once in the summer, and I LOVED it! The first time I skied all day before my recital at night (and the days before during rehearsals), and the second time I enjoyed my long hike before playing with the orchestra.
    I wish to come back soon, we’ll see…
    Best wishes, keep on listening to NPR, what a great radio station!
    Alban

    Reply
  • carol

    Dear Alban,
    Please forgive my ignorance! I will pay attention for future concerts! And if you come in the winter again I would enjoy showing you around the ski area more. I work on ski patrol, one of my several jobs. Thank you for your kind reply to my previous email.
    Best regards to you and your family.
    Humbly,
    carol

    Reply
  • Stephanie Jutt

    Dear Alban,
    Another note from a flute player in Madison who loved your playing – even from the back, it was one of the most beautiful and personal sounds I have ever heard on the cello – bravo to you and thank you for coming. We were all really touched when you sat in with our orchestra – and now I’m even more amazed, since you heard it six times last year! I must have played it six times in high school myself and I hope this was the last time, as effective as it is! Please come back to Madison Symphony soon and perhaps you’ll get to work with a truly superb accompanist, our conductor, John De Main. Now my son Trace is your fan as well – he’s a first year cello student at Cleveland Institute of Music – hooray!
    All the best and travel safely, Stephanie

    Reply
  • Alban

    Dear Stephanie,
    yes, I would love to return and perform with John De Main – quite amazing, a chief conductor who is still being respected and even loved by his orchestra after 15 years of being the chief conductor. Thanks for the nice words, and congratulations for your son’s acceptance into the prestigious Cleveland Institute!
    Best wishes from Berlin,
    Alban

    Reply
  • Katharina Schaake

    Dear Alban,
    This article isn’t REALLY short…..
    At the moment I’m for 6 months in France and I’m trying to play the second part of the Saint-Saens,but it doesen’t really work……
    I’m always happy to visit this page an read some expressions of your concerts….I hope you will come at Siegen again…..
    Best wishes from France
    Katharina

    Reply
  • Guido

    Dear Alban,

    Please don’t throw CDs away! At least give them to charity shops so that us poor students can buy them cheaply!

    It’s good to read this blog entry,

    Cheers!
    Guido

    Reply
  • Alban

    Dear Guido,

    no, don’t worry, I haven’t thrown anything away – I gave many of the cd’s to charity, since I hate throwing away, at least somebody else can enjoy it one day…
    Best wishes,
    Alban

    Reply

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