Baltimore Symphony Musicians

Family: He and his wife, Margarita, have homes in Salzburg and Houston. They have one daughter, Anna, who lives in Paris.

Ellen Pendleton Troyer, Brian Prechtl and David Sheets had a conversation with Maestro Graf today:

You are quoted on the Houston Symphony website saying that "[Franco] Ferrara taught me how to conduct; [Arvid] Jansons showed me how to be a conductor.” I also understand that you studied conducting with the renowned Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache. What were these experiences like, and who made the greatest impression on you?

Franco Ferrara was a genius, but he had a strange and mysterious sickness. He was at times so intense that he fell unconcious from the podium! He conducted film scores of among others, Fellini’s Senso. Memories of him don’t fade. His skills at working on a score and building an orchestra are unquestioned. He was a model of a conductor, who for me was the image of how you can make a musical thought visible through a gesture. I know now a lot that I didn't know then. What he did and said, and how he worked on a score...he was so incredibly direct with no second thoughts in his music making. He showed me what you should do when you conduct. Arvid showed me how to be a conductor on an everyday basis - the discipline, day to day. You probably think that conductors destroy players, but conductors are often destroyed by orchestras! Celibidache... I loved and hated him at the same time!

What is one bit of advice you might give to an audience member who is interested in coming to the symphony but feels they don't know anything about classical music?

"Tapioca" is very easy to grab onto. It is very rhythmic, tuneful and fun. Everyone will hear the melody.

The young ladies in the violin world are taking the world by storm. You will be astonished at the level of musicianship of a young woman like Baiba Skride!

The Tchaikovsky is so fresh and not self-indulgent. It is like a fresh young Russian picture. It is interesting to hear all of the ideas that spring up that were later developed. Its like seeing the work of the younger Picasso, having the later Picasso in mind.

How would you describe to an audience member in a couple of sentences what it feels like to be on the podium in front of a large orchestra in a wonderful concert hall acoustic playing a great masterpiece? Are you thinking of the technique, the emotions of the music, are you aware of the audience behind you, are there moments of fear, is it nirvana? What's it like?

I love the sound of an orchestra, but when I am conducting my job is not to enjoy the sound but to be at work making all of the pieces of the puzzle come together. I am not paid to be the person enjoying it. We have to work! Usually we carry with us an image of the sound and most orchestras are more than ready to go there. Concert-goers should know that we conductors have had to learn how to judge the balance of an orchestra not from the podium where we hear a distorted sound, but from the audience's standpoint.

How would you describe the role of classical orchestral music in today's modern society; what does it have to offer us in these unique times we are living in? Is the role the same in American society as it is in Europe?

I think that classical music if its well conceived should bring you feelings that you don’t have everyday. Classical music can give such a range of emotions beyond the verbal world. It keeps your soul rich. 80% of music you hear on the radio is just to carry you a little bit, but classical music can give you such a wealth of deep emotions. You will feel enriched. I fear that we have a tendency to not be willing to listen as much. The "hum-along" feeling is getting stronger...wanting to hear what we know. It's a product of many things which are colluding against classical music, a product of the need to sell tickets, and of our limited reach to people. I would like to reach people where they are, like more radio stations doing our music. I don't want to preach, but just expose people and let them judge for themselves. You hear classical music mostly in elevators and toilets, which is not where it should be! It is not just for older people. Young people can have the same feeling, and its not a question of elitism. It would be great if people could come and enjoy these strong sensations.

Baiba Skride and her 1725 Joseph (Del Gesu) Guarnerius violin
with BSO Concertmaster with Jonathan Carney and his 1687 Stradivarius at Wednesday's rehearsal

Baiba is 24 years old and was born in Latvia, living there until she was 14. She studied in Rostock, Germany with Petro Munteanu, and now divides her time between Hamburg and Paris.

You may be wondering why there's a piece called "Tapioca" on this week's program - well, I have to claim some responsibility! About 15 years ago David Zinman and I wrote a ditty called "Let's Eat Tapioca" which sang the praises of this tropical dessert, and which purported to be the theme song of the mythical Tapioca Growers' Association of South America (TAPGASA). Being something of a frustrated comedian as well as a conductor, Zinman wanted to give his newly-launched Casual Concerts something of the flavor of public radio's "A Prarie Home Companion", complete with catchy advertising jingle. (Think Powdermilk Biscuits.) He quickly wrote out some goofy lyrics which I set to music, and before long he was singing the Tapioca song at each Casual Concert. Later, special arrangements of the tune were made for Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank, James Galway, and for full orchestra. By the time composer Stephen Albert was asked to write a two-minute curtain raiser to celebrate the BSO's 75th anniversary, this pseudo-tropical tune had become so well known to BSO concertgoers and radio listeners that he incorporated it into his own piece, which he called "Tapioca". Perhaps some of our more seasoned audience members can recall Zinman singing the song, which asserted that tapioca "can cure your halitosis and get rid of your neurosis..."

-Jonathan Jensen, bassist

November 17th - 20th:

Kwame Ryan conducts Ravel's Mother Goose Suite and Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle

Percussionist Brian Prechtl had a few words with Maestro Ryan this morning at rehearsal:

Bluebeard's Castle is not the most frequently performed work. Why do you think that is?

Considering the fact that one of these pieces is so familiar and the other, so unfamiliar to the orchestra, what will be the greater challenge to interpret with them, the Bartok or the Ravel?

Based on our first rehearsal, yesterday, do you think the orchestra will have difficulty with such an unfamiliar score?

Why did you choose to pair the Bluebeard’s Castle with the Mother Goose Suite?

Is there anything you would like to comment on regarding your week here with the BSO?

The Mother Goose Suite features one of the few solos for the contrabassoon, in the movement entitled "Conversations of Beauty and the Beast". I'll bet you can guess which one is the "silky voiced clarinet" and which one is the "ungainly contrabassoon". (To quote the BSO's Overture Magazine program notes about this piece). As the BSO's contrabassoonist for 23 years, I take exception to that characterization, but I understand it. The contrabassoon is one of the lowest sounding instruments in the orchestra: my lowest note is the same as the lowest note on the piano (so low that most people can't actually distinguish an actual pitch, but only a rumble). It most often plays a supporting role, providing a foundation to the woodwind section, or reinforcing the cellos and basses. When it is given a solo role, it is usually for special programmatic purposes, sometimes of a rather gruesome nature: In Richard Strauss' opera Salome, the big contrabassoon solo occurs when John the Baptist is beheaded. In Beethoven's opera Fidelio, the contrabassoon solo illustrates Don Florestan being forced to dig his own grave! Ravel is one of the few composers who appreciated the contrabassoon's melodic possibilities (even if I am the still the beast).

November 10-12: POPS ROCKS: Ben Folds

Ben Folds' unique style of piano-based pop and clever songwriting has won him fans around the globe. Don't miss him in his U.S. orchestral debut with the BSO! Check out his website: benfolds.com, and read a preview in the Sun: Ben's Symphony Orchestra

"I am a percussionist in the BSO and I am also the writer/producer of this weeks Music For Youth program, The Mystery Express. It's incredibly exciting to see something that you imagined and created on paper come to life. We have used fantastic excerpts from the orchestral repertoire to create a soundscape with which we bring a mystery to life on the stage of the Meyerhoff and Strathmore Halls.

The voice-over track tells a story in flashback of train trip taken by a young boy with his parents on the famous Orient Express. This trip takes the listener across many of the great capitals of Europe and in each we hear some of the music that expresses the character of all of these great countries. Along the way, a mysterious crimson box is stolen from the child's cabin propelling our story's young hero and a new found friend, to find out who took this box and what was in it.

Besides the story and music there are breathtaking images from the journey that transport the listener/viewer to far-away lands.

It is easy to be unaware of what goes into the production of any live performance. There are so many aspects to the public presentation that when done well, are completely undetectable. I have always been aware of most of them peripherally, as a person who sees the backstage side of concert production. However, this last week I got an up close dose of just how involved staging a production can be. Especially so, when the performance involves not only live music, but a voice over track, as well as visual components of slides/video and dance/movement. It is staggering to realize how all of these forces have their own potential pitfalls.

Thankfully, we have an amazing staff of technicians and crew that are so crucial to making a production like this come to life in a seemingly effortless fashion from the audiences point of view. I am looking forward to experiencing this creative process with all of you and your families!"

Join us on this mysterious and wondrous journey with the BSO next Sunday at 2:00 pm.

I was just a few minutes into the first rehearsal for this week's all-Grieg program, when I suddenly thought, " Hey, I should bring my daughter to this concert." Like many 13-year-olds she listens exclusively to pop/rock radio and her iPod, but Grieg's music is so melodically appealing and evocative that I can't imagine anyone not liking it, no matter how little attuned one might be to classical music. Non-seasoned concertgoers will probably be surprised at the number of tunes they'll recognize, especially if they've watched a lot of vintage cartoons. The principal theme of the piano concerto was made into a song years ago called "I Look at Heaven When I Look at You", (though it probably didn't get as much airplay as Rachmaninoff's smash hit "Full Moon and Empty Arms.") In short, this is a perfect concert for bringing along your kids, neighbors, and that brother-in-law who claims not to like classical music. Not that experienced listeners won't find plenty to enjoy - both the conductor Bjarte Engeset and the pianist Havard Gimse are first-rate (and appropriately Norwegian.) Some of the Peer Gynt selections are unfamiliar to me, and Maestro Engeset is spending a lot of effort in rehearsal bringing out the character of each piece. Gimse's interpretation of the concerto is fresh and individual, with some passages paced differently than I'm used to hearing. This concert will be a pleasure for me - and maybe even for my daughter!

-Jonathan Jensen, Double Bass et al

For all you die-hard romantics out there, this week's performances of the Greig Piano Concerto are not to be missed. Grieg wrote this when he was 25, in the throes of young marriage and a new baby. My own history with this piece started with my Mother reminiscing of listening to it with her high school sweetheart. After I heard for the first time as a teenager myself, I could understand her affection for this piece. I dare anyone not to be musically seduced, if not by pianist Harvard Gimse's playing, then by Phil Munds beautiful horn solos.

-Ellen Troyer, violinist

November 17th - 20th:Kwame Ryan conducts Ravel's Mother Goose Suite and Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle

November 17th - 20th:

**Kwame Ryan conducts Ravel's Mother Goose Suite and Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle**