Flying Woes – What Musicians Need to Know I

by Janet Horvath, Interlude

Cello en route

Smashed guitars, lost double basses, confiscated Stradivarius’, cancelled tickets and boarding refusals—what is a musician to do?

Recently a guitarist had his custom-built instrument safely stowed in the overhead bin on a flight to Nice. The stewardesses approached him in a funk. Despite his explanations as to why the guitar needed to be there, the cabin crew refused to listen and took the instrument away from him. Inevitably it arrived on the luggage belt in Nice smashed to pieces.

Longtime concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Andrés Cárdenes had a rude experience recently. “Just when I start thinking the airlines understand the law regarding violins as carry-on, the B35 gate agent in Pittsburgh tells me I can’t carry it on, nor would it fit. I immediately argued, whereupon she began laughing at me. Fortunately, I carry a copy of the law in my case and showed her. She then proceeded to ignore me as I tried to enter my frequent flier number—ignorant and disrespectfully rude. Nice job description, American Airlines.”

Another colleague recently flew Ryanair, Cologne to Madrid. He boarded. The crew immediately told him he couldn’t store the violin in the overhead compartment due to security reasons. (That’s a good one!) After having shown them that he actually paid an extra 50 EUROs to have the violin in the cabin, they claimed that he had to have an extra seat. After much discussion, they finally gave him two seats, the violin held by a mandatory seat belt. Indeed I suppose this would be more ‘secure’ than in the bin above. Principal cello of the Cleveland Orchestra Mark Kosower got the seatbelt treatment. Note the elaborate harness on his most recent flight—a very safe cello on Air Canada. 

Andreas’ violin on board

Of course Air Canada’s policies have created havoc among musicians with their incomprehensible rules. Recently, cellist Andrea Stewart, purchased two seats for herself and her cello paying the required additional surcharge to reserve the window seat for the cello. When she arrived at the airport though, she was told that since she had neglected to inform the airline that an instrument would occupy the second seat, she would not be allowed to board the aircraft. The problem, according to Air Canada, was that advanced warning is required so that the above-mentioned harness could be loaded onto the plane to secure the cello. In other instances Air Canada has refused to allow the purchase of tickets for cellos and last year they banned violas. Since then this policy has been reversed due to media pressure.

But their language still leaves a musician in a quandary:
‘Due to passenger loads, aircraft limitations and/or storage space available, we cannot guarantee that a musical instrument can be accommodated on board. It may need to be checked at the gate and transported as checked baggage. For this reason, musical instruments must always be properly packaged in a rigid and/or hard shell container specifically designed for shipping such items.

Piano on plane

Some airlines allow a lovely first class seat for the cello. All we need now is a lounge piano onboard, for those requests to ‘play a tune.’

Meanwhile, Robert Black, a member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who perform all over the world, somewhat confidently loaded his double bass onto a flight from Fortaleza, Brazil, to New York on TAM the largest airline in Brazil. When he arrived there was no sign of the bass! Days later the airline still had no idea where the bass was. At his wits end Black posted several photos and the following on social media:

“The bass is one of Patrick Charton’s B-21 models he made for me in 2009 (No. 13). It is a very unique and distinctive instrument. There are only about thirty of these instruments in the world. It easily stands out and cannot be confused for any other bass. There is a unique dedication inscribed inside.”

Amazingly enough, due to the Facebook photos, a colleague noticed the bass sitting in a locked office at the international baggage claim in Toronto, Canada. Yes Canada—from Brazil. He took a photo of it and sent the photo to Black who forwarded it to TAM airlines. No mea culpa from the airlines for several more days until finally the bass was shipped directly to the artist’s home in Harford, Connecticut via Federal Express from Toronto, undamaged.

On a routine trip home from Tokyo to Germany Japanese violinist Yuzuko Horigome’s Guarneri violin was seized at the Frankfurt airport. Apparently she had not shown the proper documents nor had she declared her $1.2 million violin. It would be held until she paid the fine of 190,000 euros ($238,400) in import duties. The violin was eventually returned and Horigome was spared the fine. But what agony! 

In another instance Yuki Manuela Janke was returning home to Germany after giving a performance in Tokyo, when customs officers at the Frankfurt airport confiscated her 1741 Stradivarius violin worth $7.6m claiming Janke might plan to sell it. If she wanted it back she’d have to pay $1.5m customs duty. The instrument known as ‘The Muntz’ violin had been leased to Janke since 2007 and the owners, the Japan-based Nippon Foundation, indicated that Janke had documentation, including her loan contract with the foundation, photographs of the violin, and other papers.

The lesson here is that one cannot be too careful! Carry the papers for your instrument and check each airline’s policy carefully. Print these policies. If you can, talk to a supervisor beforehand and get their name. (The U.S. Policy is downloadable below.) Arrive early to every flight. If the worst does happen and you must check your instrument, loosen the strings, and stuff the case with clothing so the instrument is padded and tightly held. Insist on claiming it at the tarmac rather than allowing it to descend on the conveyor belts. Put fragile and “this side up” stickers all over the best hard case that you can afford. Consider shipping via ground. Here also are links to the how to’s of shipping.

Stay tuned for the agony of ivory.

Variations on the Goldberg I

by Maureen Buja, Interlude

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) published his well-known Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, in 1741, in the 4th part of his Clavier-Übung (collection of keyboard music). Its creation story, as told by Bach’s biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel (1749–1818), wrote that Count Hermann Karl von Keyserling, president of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg and Russian ambassador to the court of Saxony in Dresden, had commissioned the work in 1738 for performance by his protégé, the young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727–1756), to amuse him during his nights of insomnia.

Herman Karl von Keyserlingk

Count Keyserlingk discovered the extremely talented Goldberg when the boy was only age 10 and sponsored him to study with both Johann Sebastian Bach and his oldest son, Wilhelm Friedmann. According to Forkel, writing in 1802, ‘Count Keyserlingk was often ill and suffered from nights of insomnia. During such periods, Goldberg, who lived in his house, had to spend the nights in the next room to play for him. Once the Count told Bach that he would like for his Goldberg some harpsichord pieces of such a light and cheerful character that he, Keyserlingk, could be entertained a little during his sleepless nights. Bach thought that he could best fulfil this wish by writing variations…. The Count later called them only “his” variations. He could never get enough of them, and for a long time, whenever sleepless nights came, he always repeated: “Dear Goldberg, play me one of my variations”.’

Bach composed the work with the idea of Goldberg as the performer, but rumours to the contrary aside did not dedicate the work to either Goldberg or Keyserlingk. The Goldberg Variations takes its name from Goldberg as its first performer.

Goldberg was a talented performer from an early age, and after his study with W.F. and J.S. Bach, his own compositions showed their influence. As the young Goldberg took up the new galant style, his compositions also anticipated works by J.S.’s son, C.P.E. Bach. Goldberg died at the age of 29 of tuberculosis and was declared to be a great loss to the Dresden court. Being in close proximity to his teacher, J.S. Bach, who had been appointed ‘Royal Court Composer’ to the Dresden Court in 1736, Goldberg disparaged his own compositions, often tearing them up, but current reassessment of works such as his harpsichord concertos has done much to show him as an outstanding composer, albeit one who died too young.

The Goldberg Variations, as published in the Clavier-Übung IV, noted the quality of the work: ‘Keyboard exercise, consisting of an ARIA with diverse variations for harpsichord with two manuals. Composed for connoisseurs, for the refreshment of their spirits…’.

J.S. Bach: Clavier-Übung IV, 1741, title page

As described on the title page, the work is a variation set, beginning with an original aria composed by Bach and followed by 30 variations. The aria first appears in 1725 in the Clavierbüchlein copied by Bach’s second wife, Anna Magdalena, and opens with a chaconne bass in its first 8 bars. 

The variations that follow ‘are derived from the harmonic structure and the bass line of the aria and are grouped in threes, every third variation a canon at a higher numerical interval, with the final variation a quodlibet, a hotch-potch seemingly remote from the original aria, which follows in conclusion’.

When heard on harpsichord, the work has a slightly different feel than the more common modern piano recordings. The softness of the piano is replaced by the more brittle sound of the plucked harpsichord, which may explain why Goldberg was described as playing it from a room separate from that holding the insomniac Count. 

We will be looking at the other versions of this work, i.e., the Goldberg in the hands and sounds of other instruments. As a teaser for what will be coming next, here’s the first variation done not by a keyboard instrument but by a vocal group:

SLIXS – “Quer Bach” – Goldberg Variationen, BWV 988, Variation Nr. 1 

This performance is by the German group SLIXS, who describe themselves as an ‘a cappella band’, and who bring all sorts of modern styles to our Baroque familiar.

Bond - Allegretto 2003

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Bond - Allegretto 2003 (Composition by Karl Jenkins)

Music is my life

 

What YOUR favorite composer says about you!

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Explore the fascinating link between your personality and musical tastes in this video: "What YOUR Favorite Composer Says About You!" We delve into the connections between classical music and personality types, decoding the unique traits associated with popular composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin. Feel free to share your go-to composers in the comments. #classicalmusic _______________________________________ ✍ All explanations and names of the used pieces: https://pastebin.com/1EeMug9M _______________________________________ 🎶 Names of the pieces: Bach - Suite No. 3: II. Air Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 [4. mvmt] Mozart - Symphony No. 35, “Haffner” [1. mvmt] Brahms - Symphony No. 1 [1. mvmt] Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6 [4. mvmt] Händel - Music For the Royal Fireworks Wagner - Die Walküre, Akt III: Walkürenritt Chopin - Nocturne No. 2 Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: II. The Death Of Aase Liszt - Liebestraum No. 3 in A-Flat Major Schubert - Schubert Serenade Mahler - Symphony No. 5 [1. mvmt] Bruckner - Symphony No. 4 [1. mvmnt] Ravel - Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 Stravinsky - The Firebird - Finale Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 [2. mvmt] Haydn - “Kaiserquartett,” No. 3 in C Major [2. mvmt] Mendelssohn - Songs without Words, Op.19b, No. 6 Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No. 5 [1. mvmt] Schoenberg - Suite for Piano op. 25: VI. Gigue Dvorak - Serenade for Strings in E Major [2. mvmt] Debussy - Clair De Lune Sibelius - Symphony No. 1 [1. mvmt] Bartók - Music For Strings, Percussion and Celesta [4. mvmt] Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene II: Dance of the Knights Clara Schumann - 3 Romances, No. 1, Andante Holst - The Planets No. 4: “Jupiter" Barber - Adagio for Strings Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique Saint-Saëns - Les Carnaval des Animaux - 7. Aquarium Lalo - Cello Concerto in D Minor: 1. Prélude Elgar - Enigma Variations, Theme Vivaldi - The Four Seasons: Concerto No. 4 in F Minor "L'inverno": 1. Allegro non molto J. Strauss II - An der schönen blauen Donau Georges Bizet - Carmen Suite No. 1: “Toreador March” Verdi - Dies Irae R. Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra: Prelude Smetana - The Moldau (From “Má Vlast”) Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 3 [4. mvmt] Hindemith - Mathis der Maler Symphony: 1. Engelkonzert Scriabin - 24 Préludes, op. 11: No. 14 in E-Flat Minor Satie - Gymnopédie No. 1 Respighi - 6 Pezzi, No. 5 Studio Rimsky-Korsakov - Flight of the Bumblebee Paganini - La Campanella Puccini - La bohème, Act II: “Musetta's Waltz” Borodin - Prince Igor, Polovetsian Dances: Moderato alla breve

Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major (Hélène Grimaud)

The Gold Piano

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851,956 views Sep 9, 2015

Johannes Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 Piano: Hélène Grimaud Conductor: David Zinman NHK Symphony Orchestra 0:32 - Allegro non troppo 19:16 - Allegro appassionato 28:32 - Andante 40:11 - Allegretto grazioso

Francisco Beltran Buencamino, Sr. - his music and his life

 

Francisco Beltran Buencamino Sr

Francisco Beltran Buencamino was born on the 5th of November, 1883 in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan. He is the sixth of ten children of Fortunato Buencamino and Luisa Beltran. His father was a church organist and band master, and his mother, a singer. Francisco was married to Pilar Luceno and they had two children, both of whom also took up music. 

Francisco first learnt music from his father. At age 12, he could play the organ. At 14, he was sent to study at the Liceo de Manila. There, he took up courses in composition and harmony under Marcelo Adonay. He also took up pianoforte courses under a Spanish music teacher. He did not finish his education as he became interested in the sarswela. 

In the early 1900s, Francisco Buencamino taught music at the Ateneo de Manila and at the Centro Escolar de Senoritas. At the latter, he founded the Conservatory of Music and was its head until 1938. At the same time, he also handled music lessons at the Liceo de Manila. He founded the Buencamino Music Academy in 1930. It was authorized by the Department of Public Instruction to grant music degrees. Some of his pupils were Nicanor Abelardo, Ernestina Crisologo, Estela Velasco, Beatrice Alba, and Amelia Hidalgo. In the 1940s, he started working as a musical director. He also composed music for films produced by Sampaguita Pictures, LVN and Excelsior. For a time, Francisco Buencamino frequently acted on stage. He also collaborated on the plays written and produced by Aurelio Tolentino. The Philippine Music Publishers, which Buencamino established, undertook the printing of his more important compositions, but it was not a successful venture. 

Some of the sarswelas he wrote are: "Marcela" (1904), "Si Tio Celo" (1904) and "Yayang " (1905). In 1908, the popularity of the sarswela started to wane because of American repression and the entry of silent movies. Francisco Buencamino then turned to composing kundimans. 

One of his earliest compositions is "En el bello Oriente" (1909), which uses Jose Rizal's lyrics. "Ang Una Kong Pag-ibig", a popular kundiman, was inspired by his wife.  In 1938, he composed an epic poem which won a prize from the Far Eastern University during one of the annual carnivals. His "Mayon Concerto" is considered his magnum opus. Begun in 1943 and finished in 1948, "Mayon Concerto" had its full rendition in February 1950 at the graduation recital of Rosario Buencamino at the Holy Ghost College. "Ang Larawan" (1943), also one of his most acclaimed works, is a composition based on a Balitaw tune. The orchestral piece, "Pizzicato Caprice" (1948) is a version of this composition. Many of his other compositions were lost during the Japanese Occupation, when he had to evacuate his family to Novaliches, Rizal. 

As a musical director, he was involved in anumber of movies such as "Mabangong Bulaklak", "Ang Ibong Adarna", "Mutya ng Pasig", and "Alitaptap". 

Francisco Buencamino died on the 16th of October, 1952. in the same year, he was given a posthumous Outstanding Composer Award by the Manila Music Lovers Society. 

Additional Information: Pianist Cecile Licad, is his grand niece. Composers Willy Cruz, Lorrie Ilustre and Nonong Buencamino, and actor Noni Buencamino are his grandnephews. 

Note: I've lost the original sources for this post. But they can all be surely found in the College of Music Library, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.