DVORAK Symphony No. 8

Chuck Jackson · Post by **Chuck Jackson** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:44 pm

1) John Williams is the greatest composer living today.

Don't know if he is the greatest, but I daresay he is the smartest. He got other people, including dead people, to do his work for him. That's what I call a job.

Chuck

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:03 pm

Without a doubt the smartest.

He knows what to look for
where to look for it
and how to use it.

All things in common with JS Bach, and look where it got him!

Chuck Jackson · Post by **Chuck Jackson** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:35 pm

All things in common with JS Bach, and look where it got him!

True, very true. But at least Bach stole, mainly, from himself.

Chuck

MartyNeilan · Post by **MartyNeilan** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:38 pm

windshieldbug wrote:All things in common with JS Bach, and look where it got him!

Mojo workin' · Post by **Mojo workin'** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:44 pm

OK, I do like the Carnival Overture. Especially coupled with the fastest machine gun in the world, capable of firing 6000 rounds per minute. I wonder if he had one of these in mind when he wrote Carnival Overture?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EpHi0kKqsU

Mojo workin' · Post by **Mojo workin'** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 7:03 pm

Phil, man, that was funny!!!

Excellent!

I'm not ALL gnashing teeth.

Thanks, Wade.

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 1:29 pm

Mojo workin' wrote: . . . . I too went to one of the top compositional schools in the country . . . .

So, please tell us more. When? Which school and degrees, instructors, compositions, theses, dissertations, publications, faculty positions?

I, who have never been blessed with a single music lesson, cannot say enough good things about how it makes me feel to be in the presence of true genius.

Mojo workin' · Post by **Mojo workin'** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:52 pm

I, who have never been blessed with a single music lesson, cannot say enough good things about how it makes me feel to be in the presence of true genius.

In the words of Roberto Duran, "No mas! No mas!"

The comment that you are responding to wasn't made in any sort of braggadocio, it was made to defend what I thought was a misunderstanding of my level of education, and to discredit 'esteemed' professors' low opinion of such composers as Shostakovich and Bruckner.

Interesting that Wade made the claim first of having gone to one of the top composition schools, yet you choose me to deride.

Would you like to take another shot, sir? It's five rounds for the price of three today.

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 12:48 pm

Dean E wrote:
Craig Garner wrote:This is one of my favorite pieces of music, period. If you are going to do it, DON'T TAKE A BOOK! Just sit back and listen.
As said already, it is glorious....even when there is no tuba part!

If you love this symphony like I do, you will be glad to know there is a brass quintet arrangement available!! No strings, no woodwinds, just brass - and the tuba part is A LOT more interesting!! You can find it on my website www.dorm40music.com or through sites like BVD Press, Robert King or Solid Brass Music. You can hear the 3rd movement performed by the Triton Brass on their MySpace page:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... d=54924497

Jobey Wilson on tuba. Great playing, Jobey!!
I accepted the gig and have a copy of the music.

The most technically difficult part looks like the first note, a ppp G nat, 4th space below the staff, without being warmed up. Fortunately, that note is very sweet to play on my horn, and if I slip in a little late trying to slot the note, such is life.

Thanks for all the offers and insights, everyone.

I was disappointed to learn yesterday that the chamber orchestra canceled the concert one week (and one rehearsal) before performance. The concert would have been the Dvorak 8th and two other pieces. The stated reason was they had not gotten everyone to attend rehearsals because of conflicting schedules. The bass and 1st trombones didn't show until next-to-last rehearsal, and were given tenor clef parts. I had been preparing to do the bass bone cues if they didn't find someone.

I sense that the Dvorak 8th was a little too ambitious to do with amateur ringers.

It was indeed a fun piece to play, with the hardest part--for me--being counting rests through extended passages with the tempo changes.

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 1:29 pm

bloke wrote:
Dean E wrote:It was indeed a fun piece to play, with the hardest part--for me--being counting rests through extended passages with the tempo changes.
Dean,

So-called "professionals" don't find this part particularly easy, either. Checking recordings out of the library (buying them "used" from Amazon/eBay/etc.) or studying a "pocket score" (obtained from your local library, your local university's library, or via interlibrary loan) are ways that many "professionals" learn scheduled unfamiliar works well enough to avoid such anxieties.

bloke "not rocket science"

Excellent ideas, Bloke. I like the idea of a pocket score, which I had not thought of.

I bought a CD, with a Border's coupon, and listened at work and in the car. I also used "Slow Gold" for a couple of hours to locate and familiarize myself with the entrances, however relying too much on the trombones which were not at the rehearsals.