The APO Concert

The APO concert last night went well in many ways. The section took my suggestion for the seating arrangement, so my usual stand partner stayed where she normally sits, and someone filled in for me while I sat 2nd. The good part was that I could see and hear what was going on, but the bad part was that the stage was very cramped and I literally had no elbow room. However, I sat between Chris Dutro and Richard Strauss, and everyone was very friendly. I mentioned to Richard that "we're sitting even closer than when we play string quartets" to which he replied "thank God!"

The performance itself was shaky in the Nutcracker Suite and I think it was underrehearsed. But also I noticed more clearly last night that the order of pieces in that suite just seems wrong. The first one is OK, but the suite should end with the Pas de Deux, in my opinion. I don't know if the keys will work out if the order is changed, but my guess is that they don't particularly work out in the present order. I want to do some research on it and perhaps make a suggestion to David Chavez that we do it in a different order. I doubt that he'll want to change it, but one never knows.

I thought the Russian Easter Overture went well, probably better than it ever had in rehearsal. There was a continuity to the piece and also the right tempo. There were some tricky spots but overall it was probably the best piece in terms of the orchestra's performance at the concert. The Tchaikovski Violin Concerto was a little rough as far as the orchestra following the soloist, and I think in a couple of spots it showed. However, David Felberg's playing was outstanding from what I could hear. And the audience certainly seemed to appreciate it.

Tomorrow night is the "Best of Albuquerque" for the quartet, and it appears that the event isn't all that well organized... But I'm sure we'll play well. Hopefully we'll get some interest in terms of gigs. Until then!