Do Re Mi Zap Zap Zoom Zoom!

I've opened the door towards using Fourier analysis (FFT - Fast Fourier Transform) in my upcoming research. Thanks to an old friend from Thailand, I managed to get freeware called Audacity late last night - and tested it with my voice:


This is going to be interesting once I get started on using it for instruments. The questions that arise are 1. how far I can use it in musicological research without needing external mathematical expertise in interpreting the analysis, and 2. how sensitive current technology is towards analyzing sounds which are pretty close to start with. One way or another, this will be an interesting adventure.

A Purple-Toned Celebration: Showcasing the Viola

Concert programme introduction for An Afternoon of Chamber Music, Sunday, September 6, 2PM.

The viola has been called many things, from the “Cinderella” of the orchestra, to the mysteriously “purple-toned” instrument.* Those who have met the unique viola on the playing field have ranged from the world’s best violinists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Nigel Kennedy and Maxim Vangerov, to more unlikely characters like Jimi Hendrix, newly-crowned American Idol Kris Allen and the fictional Fantastic Four character The Thing.

Perhaps the magic of the viola is that just a shade more so than the signature grandeur of the trumpet or the characteristically ever-graceful harp, the viola’s triumph is in its versatility of colours in truly shaping itself to the hands and ideas of its player. Its imperfect dimensions (somewhat squashed as the ideal size for its pitch range being too long for even the best basketball players to handle) on one hand makes the player work even harder for sound colour. But on the other hand it is perhaps why the viola has been attributed as being able to convey the imperfections of humanity more clearly than any other instrument. Further, while the cello still boasts the frequency of vibration closest to the human heart, it is the viola that fits the range of the human voice.

This afternoon’s selections showcase the viola in the diversity of its roles, from a viola-only duo and quartet, to partnerships with the cello, violin, and a more traditional role in the string quartet. The centerpiece of the programme, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 is so rarely performed because of its challenging instrumentation focusing on the mid- and lower-range. Here we see the violas shine in a solo light as well as in the ensemble, exploring the full baroque range, celebrating the compositional genius of Bach in fugues and fluid phrases that flow from one viola to the next, and bounce back again.

Andrew Filmer

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* And oddly enough, both of those descriptions came from the same violist: the world-renown Kim Kashkashian.

An Afternoon of Chamber Music - FREE ADMISSION

September 6 at 2PM
ARECA Center of Performing Arts ~ 50, Peel Avenue

Programme:

W.F. Bach: Duo No. 2 ~ Tan Mei Ying and Samuel Khoo, violas

W.A. Mozart: First movement of the duo for violin and viola, arr. viola and cello ~ Joycelyn Tye, viola and Stephanie Tye, cello

A. Corelli: Arrangement of Concerto Grosso No. 8 "Christmas Concerto" for four violas: Lo Mei Yoke, Joycelyn Tye, Wong Chin Ning, Andrew Filmer, violas

J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 ~ Wong Chin Ning, Andrew Filmer, Joycelyn Tye, soloists. Ensemble: Lo Mei Yoke, Samuel Khoo, Tan Mei Ying, Stephanie Tye, Chee Hui Hui, conducted by Khoo Teng Jian.

Handel-Halvorsen: Passacaglia ~ Khoo Teng Jian, violin, and Andrew Filmer, viola

A. Piazzolla: Libertango and Por Una Cabeza for string quartet: Khoo Teng Jian and Lo Mei Yoke, violins, Andrew Filmer, viola, Stephanie Tye, cello.

The whole deal with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra Contest

All right, rather than explain it, I'll let you read it.

First, this:

YouTube Symphony Orchestra Contest

IMPORTANT YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY 12PM EASTERN TIME THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2009 TO REMAIN ELIGIBLE FOR THIS CONTEST

February 9, 2009

Dear YouTube Symphony Orchestra Entrant,

As the Official Judging Organization administering the YouTube Symphony Orchestra for YouTube, LLC and the London Symphony Orchestra Limited, it is our pleasure to inform you that your video submission has been selected as a potential Finalist or potential Alternate Finalist!

Please follow the link below and enter your YouTube Username and assigned Password. After entering the Username/Password, please select your preferred language option.

Each folder contains two documents; (1) an Affidavit of Eligibility (or, a Certificate or Declaration as applicable) and (2) an Entrant Agreement and Release. Please print and complete both documents and return to Jeffrey Vitale by 12PM EST February 12, 2009 using one of these three methods: 1) Postal Mail; 2) Fax; or 3) Email with Scanned Attachment.

Cool, right? Good news, right? And then after sending over the affidavit and agreement, a missing video, query and then this:

Re: YouTube Symphony Orchestra Contest
Greetings,

Thank you for auditioning for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. We received thousands of video submissions from all over the world, and congratulations on having yours accepted and considered for this global collaboration. While you were a potential candidate, only 200 musicians were selected as finalists to move ahead into the voting process of the program. However, your video will still be considered as part of our "mash up" video created for Tan Dun's "Internet Symphony" piece.

Also, once the voting process is over -- your approved audition videos will again reappear on the symphony channel for everyone to see.

Again, thank you for your participation in this unique classical music project!

Kind Regards,

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra Team

I have a "macam itu ke..." feel about it, but thanks everyone who tried to vote. I really appreciate the support.

On the Go

Another monthly resolution ticked off. In other news (or rather, a continuation of January's resolution), voting for the YouTube Symphony finalists begins Feb 14 at 12 EST - basically Feb 15 for us here in Malaysia. One vote available per day for a week. My shortlisted entry is here, and I'd like to thank, in advance, everyone who plans to vote.

Please help me in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra contest

Hello everyone,

I didn't even expect to get this far, but I've been selected as a potential finalist/alternate finalist for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. If I make it to the second round, it will mean a sponsored trip to New York to play as a member of the orchestra in Carnegie Hall - a really great opportunity.

Part of this selection will be based on ratings by YouTube users (the number of stars at the bottom of videos). From 14-22 February, each YouTube user will be given the chance to vote once each day, and these votes will help influence who gets chosen.

If you have a YouTube account (or if you wouldn't mind setting up a free account), I could really use your help!

My entries are at: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrewfilmer. (I think the second video is the one to vote on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuhNU_Kq72U.)

I would like to say thank you, terima kasih and kop khun kap in advance for any support you could provide.

Cheers!

Andrew

Next Resolution, Please

It came, it went, it waved bye-bye.

(Which, by the way, is the insider's translation of "Veni, vidi, vici.")

And it was called January.

Like always, before you know it it runs right past, and a month is gone. Hard to imagine that it was only a year ago that I was hauling myself back to school through the snow after 3 hours sleep for second 16-hour day. And yet it's also hard to imagine that it's slowly creeping up to a year since I've been back in Malaysia.

And while I'm not entirely pleased how much of 2008 just went by, the new month resolution plan of 2009 seems to be a rather productive strategy. I managed to get a basic grasp of soundpost setting - and just as importantly, the tools and the 3/4 violin guinea pig in order to proceed with my Frankenstein experiments. Actually it's more like being a blind violin dentist, except that if I talked to my patient, you should, well, worry. And I auditioned for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra - not the best stuff I've recorded, but I think the overall spirit, "What the heck, here goes" deserves a bit of credit. If I'm only going out when I'm perfect, I don't go out much. And one thing I've realized towards the end of January is that I really need to get out more, and in more ways than one.

Thus, my February resolution, which is to try and find a way to make this project (with Jebat, and possibly with Jocelyn if she's still in town) happen:

(Click to enlarge)

It may happen, it may not, but if it's the latter it won't be from lack of trying. To that, the idealization of giving effort it's place and not just the cynicism of statistics, I am thus resolved.

January Projects: Sound Posts and This

Off the Presses

Must say, it is a thrill to actually see it in print. Hopefully somewhere down the line, I might be able to see how the research was applied. In the meantime, onwards we go.

Upcoming Event

I'll be doing the Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia with the MPO violinist at the close of the violin masterclasses.

Official website launched!

I'll still be blogging here; this is for professional purposes.
Do drop by the guestbook!

http://andrewfilmer.wordpress.com/

Sneak Peek: The Development of an Idea

Websites are meant to tell stories. But often enough there are stories to how websites come to be.

You may have seen an early version of this:


The black is sleek but after consulting an associate professor with specialization in this area, what's sleek may have to take a backseat to clearer contrast:


But then, if we're doing contrast, let's take it up a notch:


This next one was another idea from before. The webmaster mentioned to me that the little brush strokes are ambiguous enough to be music note heads or paint brush marks to represent the School as a whole, but somehow there doesn't seem to be a point of focus for the eye:


Then I got this idea of starting from scratch, upon a suggestion of seeing how the above designs might look over a white background:


I liked it, but then I realized that it resembled CNN's Election '08 coverage a bit too much. Enter a Photoshopped picture and some brush strokes:


And take in one suggestion of adding a little bit of simplicity:


This little design endeavor is actually quite gratifying. Especially since I have bruised bones in my wrists, played through a recital with them, and now am taking some medically-advised leave from the instrument. But as they saying goes... that's another story.

The Lyric Viola: 26 February 2008

Things are clearing up with the use of comp time for work, postponing one project and moving one exam forward in the run-up to the recital. One of the courses I'm trying to clear up in advance deals with the ability to compile very large (10-15 pages per two-week project) bibliographies to show you can source the materials if you wanted to do actual research. One of skills involved is trying to sort out the hundreds of titles which show up in online searches which just aren't relevant. In doing so you find what you might call strange bibliofellows.

We thought we had something when the topic of plainchant brought up Gregorian Chant and my Personal Organ Style. But then sourcing materials on Machaut's isorhythmic motets brought up Machaut and the Wild Beast. The most recent topic - the development of violin technique to 1700 - has allowed these gems to emerge:

Moss, Lloyd.; Priceman, Marjorie. Zin! zin! zin! A violin!
Namioka, Lensey; Kiefte, Kees de. Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear
Marioni, Tom. Beer, Art and Philosophy: a Memoir.
Lyndon-Jones, Graham. Real instruments and fake putti.

and one of my favourites yet:

Physiologie des professions: le violiniste: art-- mécanisme-- hygiène

I wonder if it means what I think it means, because violinistic hygiene as a research topic would be simply fascinating.

Good Boy

Today I took some time off, ordered a Mark Haddon novel, and decided NOT to buy a new recording of the Sinfonia Concertante.

Those who know my obsession towards collecting recordings of this work, thank you for your enthusiastic applause, and your congratulatory messages to my psychiatrist.

Up to now I've had the opportunity of collecting over 20 recordings of the work, and they've always had clear musical ideas, even if (and especially if) they were different from my own. And I've prided myself on my little niche collection by sheer numbers alone, never figuring I'd eventually come across a recording which simply wasn't worth adding to the collection - it's just too uncommon a work to be bashed about as badly as the Bach violin concertos have been. It feels weird. Like if you just discovered you're allergic to a small rare bean you're unlikely ever to meet. Or when you realize that small unseen particles can fly up to 6 feet from your toilet bowl if you don't close the lid when you flush and when you further realize what items lie in that 6 feet radius.

It's like being a mountain climber who looks at a mountain and goes, you know what, I think that mountain looks like an ice cream sundae gone wrong. I'm just not used to having a Sinfonia Concertante recording unconquered. Even if it sounds like an ice cream sundae gone wrong. Withdrawal symptoms. Brrr.

I also condensed and edited my research on Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante from seven thousand to three thousand words to fit the required length requirement of the American Viola Society's David Dalton Viola Research Competition. I've learned a couple of things in the process:

1. If your sentence begins with "There is...", there is at least one way to delete those two words and make that sentence sound that much better, there is.

2. A big difference exists between the words "challenging" and "daunting". That difference is aptly called the Atlantic Ocean.

3. A part of my academic soul jumps off a cliff every time I have to press the DELETE button.

On that last note, nibbling down research is clearly not for the faint of heart. I humbly vow to never again consume orange juice that is labeled "from concentrate".

Sneak Peak and a Happy New Rant

I've been feeling like there's a ball and chain shackled to my leg. Or a monkey on my back. Or a cloud over my head. Actually, considering that there are three of these on my case - a theory proficiency, a piano proficiency and a recital - I suppose I have all three. A cloudy monkey handcuffed to my leg. I'll never see a zoo again in the same light.

Source: www.pensionriskmatters.com

I actually am looking forward to my recital, but it seems that life is getting in the way of having a full devotion to it, and that truly bugs the heck out of me. I had thought that getting my As in Form and Analysis and piano would be sufficient enough considering the former is the highest theory course here and the latter had actual repertoire, and instead of extra practice time I'm reviewing theory concepts I never had a formal class in, and sight reading clefs I rarely ever use. It's aggravating because on some level I know that I quite simply and perhaps a little less-than-humbly don't respect the idea that I should be tested on these areas.

I feel like a final semester chef who is in the specialized business of baking bread being checked on whether I know how to go fly fishing and plant a rhubarb - the point is first that so long as one knows I could if I really wanted to put time into it, then consider why on this good earth would I ever want to?

On the positive side: I've finally been able to run through all the notes in whole recital program, and to borrow the words of a friend, there sure are a heck load of them. The musical progress isn't too far away too, and the new shoulder rest is a great help. The break has finally given me back some of the real inspiration of this repertoire, through being around some of the right people, being away from the wrong people, being in a different environment and having some time to construct my program notes and accompanying media. Preview (with tentative date and time) below.

I'm actually looking forward to 2008. Just months to go. It's time to extremely violently if still metaphorically - or is it the other way around? - shoot my fly-fishing rhubarb monkey.


P.S. Theory makes a heck lot more sense in places where they sing "God Save the Queen", and to even out the field everyone with prior knowledge in theory and/or piano should be forced to take proficiency in writing program notes - which, ironically enough, is in many cases the only one of those three which is an eventual doctoral necessity.

P.P.S. Another touch of irony: I actually believe in strict gun control. Malaysian law may be tough (death penalty for unlawful possession of even one article of ammunition), but it's loads better than getting shot.

P.P.S. Last but not least: Happy New Year everyone. May all your metaphorical firearms aim true at your monkeys, whatever they may be.

Fresh

I didn't even realize the new options for Blogger web design for my blog; but now that I have, it's been interesting changing the look. I'm still tempted to have a black background, because the pictures come out brilliantly, but I don't care much for the quality of the font readability, and my divergent interests are as much in text as in graphics.

Power Plays in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante

I'm really too packed with work to blog, and if I write about my personal life it's possibly going to end up on the depressing side, so I've decided to share my work with you. (My mind is far more interesting than my soul, on paper.) It's either incredibly inspired or in some weird way, cheap-skate to do so, but here it is. This is the introduction to a final paper for one of my courses here at IUSB (minus footnotes), which I'm hoping to submit to a national competition in viola research and eventually extensively expand into doctoral thesis. Under the protections of the Creative Commons license of intellectual property noted in the side bar.

Power Plays in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante:
A Question of Philosophies on Genre

For classical instrumentalists, there is rarely a question of democracy within the ranks: quite simply, it almost never exists. In orchestras, the conductor leads the music, in smaller chamber orchestras the concertmaster takes charge, and in most string quartets a primarius is appointed. When a soloist takes the stage, the symphony orchestra’s role – and thus that of the conductor as its leader – is to follow and support. Disruptions to this accepted hierarchy tend to end up with – to put it bluntly – really bad endings.

It is in this context that Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra poses uncertainties of how this leadership hierarchy functions. The sinfonia concertante genre flourished and dissipated in the short span of 60 years, and few of the works survived and remain played today. While the Baroque concerto grosso and the Romantic multiple-soloist concertos may give some indication of how musicians should relate, the issue of connections between these genres is contentious, and role of etymology is complicated since the term comes both from sinfonia (or an expanded form of sonata in Palisca’s definition) and concerto, which itself has complex roots. Besides which, the vast range between how soloists in Bach’ Brandenburg Concerti and those of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto provide some ambiguity as to who takes the lead. The recordings of this work and the information of performers and their views provided in the sleeve notes indicate a wide range of opinion as far as how the power plays can flow, which is an unusual occurrence for classical instrumentalists.

This dynamic goes beyond a simple decision of whether it is the conductor or one of the soloists who decides on matters like tempo and rubato, or whether there is the need for a conductor at all. The choice of a musical philosophy – whether the sinfonia concertante is more sinfonia or more concertante, or evenly so – determines among other things the dynamic range of the performance, the interpretation of connections between the soloists and the orchestra, and even the lengths of phrases and cadential destinations.

Of particular interest is the role of the solo violist: though none of the recordings have a violist in charge, it is conjectured by some that Mozart himself may have played the viola for it’s initial performance, and if this is so, as the composer he would almost certainly have been in a leadership position. The viola solo part alone however, does not give as much support to a claim of violist leadership in the sinfonia concertante; in cases where the orchestra does not require a conductor, the solo violinist becomes the director of the ensemble. Nonetheless, a choice of musical philosophy does determine how the viola part is interpreted even more so than how the violin part is interpreted. This is because of a certain predisposition to assume that the viola is to echo the violin throughout the sinfonia concertante – while the violinist may choose to stand out from the orchestra, in many cases the violist is still seen as dependent on the violinist, instead of standing as an equal. In this respect cases when the violist goes his or her own path is intriguing, and largely dependent on whether the musical approach chosen provides space for it.

There are two main approaches to the sinfonia concertante. One is an emphasis on the concertante aspect, in promoting the concertizing element and treating this work in basically the same way as the double concerto for flute, harp and orchestra, with the orchestra being in a subdued role. Many of the recordings in this fashion come from an emphasis in the celebrity of the performers such as David and Igor Oistrakh, though this is not always the case – Anne-Sophie Mutter chose both her violist and her orchestra, but selected an entirely different approach. A second philosophy is a focus on the sinfonia aspect. In one interpretation there is a look at its roots in the sonata and thus chamber music; in this approach a communicative approach is in effect, with dialogue being the glue of playing, and the soloists and the orchestra acting as equals. In another realization of the sinfonia focus, a look at the title of the work in the original French symphonie concertante leads to a perception of a symphonic approach with soloists attached, which happens mostly out of a human rather than musical source: the case of a conductor who has more celebrity status than the soloists. Regardless of its starting point as academic study or public relations, this approach, as with all the others, brings out certain unusual elements and adds to the richness of diversity in interpreting the sinfonia concertante.

The research embodied in this paper intends to look at these two contrasting philosophies through the ears of five chosen case-studies out of some 20 recordings from 1951 to 2007. While the interest is academically based, this can be of practical application in an awareness of choices musicians make when dealing with Woodley’s “treacherous” genre classifications, in power plays of their own.

Ramdom Stops on a Stream of Subconsciousness

I've just had a remarkable pick-me-up in the form of the Prelude to Bach's 6th Suite, which I finally found time to look at with a bit of patience and slow practice. It's as beautiful as Bach gets, but the real magic of it is that it's not as unnecessarily awkward for the instrument as tends to be the case for much of great Bach. Particularly helpful considering how utterly depressing these past three weeks have been because of various external factors... real frustration comes not from having to do everything yourself, but facing the unfortunate reality that somethings you're not allowed to do by yourself, and those things are the same ones which others in the position to do it, quite simply, don't.

There's a little temptation to try the Bach out for the reception of the opening of the Hammes Information Commons of the IUSB Library this Tuesday, where some of us have been asked to contribute a little music to the event. Which would be a rather reckless choice, but which has led me to think that there are at least two different kinds of performers: ones who go onto the stage because the found something beautiful and want to play it and share it and add their uniqueness to the pool of art. The other kind are ones who want to show how beautiful they can be be. For the former, concerts are an incentive to make sure the technical progress is in line with the musical ability - for the latter, the concerts are the end goal, without which there is no point to practice at all.

On the other spectrum of music is this, an excerpt of Recording No. 1582 of Plato and the Western Tradition, entitled "Columbus Day". If this is your first time listening to stuff like this, I suggest you just let it flow across you, and maybe think of pretty pictures... if you try to "figure it out", so to speak, I don't think you'll enjoy it much.



From left to right, you'll see Marie Fryar, Mike Nolan, yours truly, Prof. Dr. David Barton, and Valerie Rumpf. The Friday sessions are held in what is geographically the lowest point in the entire university: the basement of Northside Hall, Room 0068A. During the first concert of the year, Dr. Barton's wife Evie performed interpretive dance with us, while electronically artistized video was presented. I decided to take advantage of the occasion to bring a bicycle pump and blow up balloons in the middle of the concert.

And yes, to those who might ask, music is a serious profession.

I've also had the chance to have a real free hand at web design, without all the restrictions that the School of the Arts Homepage has because of image integration with the rest of the university:


Speaking of the university, this Wednesday there will be the installation of the 18th president of Indiana University. I've actually met the fellow, seems like a humble man, which is probably why - unlike some of his subordinates - he actually seems to listen. And he bothered to meet all us little satellite campuses. Anyhow, all of us get this email inviting us to such and such a room to watch the event: "The ceremony will feature the pageantry of a robed academic procession and a keynote speech in which the new president will share his vision for the university and its future. "

I always feel amazed at how much royalty there still is in academic institutions. Well, maybe not that amazed, I still want to walk come graduation in May 2008. Nevertheless, I was thinking, how about, you know, in some future generation: "The new ceremony will showcase the incoming president's academic leadership with a round of Jeopardy and an all-state spelling bee, following which the president will make a three-point basketball shot, indicating the value of a all-rounded academic experience. University attorneys are still uncertain whether the installation would be with the five-year warranty if he failed to get the ball through the hoop or misspelled 'chrysanthemum'."

What I find just as interesting, is that the format of the campus email puts an announcement of the President's speech next to "Weekly Special: Hot dog, fries and 16oz drink..." How that logically links up, one can only ponder.

"What is: things you do with your mouth?"

A Collegiate Rumination

It’s been a really… harried couple of weeks being back here, but I thrive on momentum, and momentum is what I’ve got. I don’t know what it is about having no time to do five things in a day that seems to be a personal challenge to do six things. Like carpe diem being time challenging you to a duel, it can be breathtaking in its own curious way.

That being said, I need to get more sleep, and more exercise, and this Saturday I’m going out and getting my replacement bike which got stolen while my housemate was using it over the summer. Technology just hasn't been working for me, but that's another story. Getting out will be good, an afternoon of coffee at a Barnes & Noble sounds like a good thing, especially with a rather recent infatuation with Rutter’s music.

I’ve come to realize that college life is an interesting balance of things which stretch, and things which squeeze. On the latter side, it’s the Harry Potter-esque playing to your strengths, bending rules when faced with dragons and finding what’s intrinsic to your life to achieve goals. Sometimes that means restructuring an ethnic music project to suit a high school life around kompang and joget, instead of researching the musicology of Bartok’s violin duos – other times it just means taking a bit of initiative and finding a concerto which works for you before being told what to play. On the stretch side, it’s about being thrown in the deep end and having no choice but to learn how to swim – and if a college is good enough, there’ll be just enough of floating debris to cling onto. Last year it was about learning the Walton from nothing in a year, and so far this year it has been about teaching myself Dreamweaver (and not just faking it by adjusting sample templates)...


and finally getting to playing the piano. I’m surprisingly satisfied with that last one – finally being able to play the Penang state anthem after years of listening to it in school assemblies… and on one occasion, with the pianist missing, seeing the music teacher get to the microphone, look down at me and call me to get to the piano – to which a thousand pairs of eyes looked at me shake my head frantically. My personal limit is four strings, no frets, touch of horsehair and a flirt of rosin, thank you very much. More than a decade later, there's something comforting about those black and white keys.

Speaking of deep ends, Amanda and I just had a little interesting experience playing music in the courtyard of my music school… and with this remarkable picture being taken at the exact moment when a leaf smacked my forehead and ricocheted upwards.


Other than the wind, which created more than a few musical complications, it was a good experience, and a first for the school as far as I know. A larger audience than most of our recitals. When a professor of mine approached me and asked why I decided to do it, I didn’t have a good answer. But having thought about it a little bit, it’s because music is meant to be shared, and getting out there is the only way to bring out both the adrenalin and magic of a live performance… as well as the real cracks in technique that I will later get back into the practice room to fix.


And in that way, it’s once again about there you are, it's college life, stretch and squeeze.