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Videos: Piazzolla Tango Etudes for multiple woodwinds
Here are some videos from a guest recital I did at the University of Tennessee at Martin a few weeks ago. Among other things, I played Ástor Piazzolla’s Tango Etudes, originally for solo flute, in my own arrangement for multiple woodwinds soloist.
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New sound clips: Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 27, 2013
It’s time again for the annual post-mortem on my on-campus faculty recital. This year’s program was all Telemann, which was fun. Since some of my most formative years as a musician happened back when I was primarily a saxophonist, I still feel a little out of my depth with Baroque style, and preparations for this recital turned into a great opportunity to study, listen to recordings, and work on my ornamentation skills. (I found Victor Rangel-Ribeiro’s Baroque Music: A Practical Guide for the Performer to be invaluable, and it even has a chapter specifically on Telemann.)
I’m fairly pleased with how the A-minor oboe sonata turned out. My intonation has improved in leaps and bounds since I got some excellent reed advice at the John Mack Oboe Camp a summer ago (what a difference a change in tie length can make!). I did struggle a little bit on stage with the Mississippi Delta August humidity making its way into my octave vents, which you can hear in places in the following clip.
I have also been working on my double-tonguing on the oboe, and while it’s not perfect yet, I think it turned out quite well here. The fact that I wanted to use it on this piece probably belies some issues with my Baroque interpretation: it might have been more authentic either to slow down or to slur more, but I liked the effect and felt good about at least partially mastering the technique.
And, of course, it is great fun to play with harpsichord and cello. As we sadly do not have a full string faculty here at Delta State, I had to convince a cellist to come in from out of town. It’s scary to meet and rehearse with someone for the first time on the day of the recital, but the recommendations I had gotten for her turned out to be solid, and she played like a total pro.
I was determined to finally perform some recorder repertoire on this recital. My initial thought was to do the Telemann recorder suite, but since I already had the basso continuo lined up, I did some more research and discovered the delightful sonata in F major. The humidity had a fairly significant effect on this instrument, too, especially with me perhaps over-practicing on it in the weeks prior to the recital, so my tone and stability aren’t what I would have liked them to be. Too many cracked notes and response issues in the extreme upper and lower registers. Still, bucket list item checked off.
One definite doubling blunder: I went from oboe to recorder on stage, and wasn’t fully in recorder mode when I started the first movement. The recorder’s breath requirements are much lower than the oboe’s, and so I started off the movement with a rather ugly cracked note (not included in this clip…). But I am quite happy with how the slow movement turned out; here it is in its entirety: Read More “New sound clips: Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 27, 2013”
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Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 27, 2013
Bret Pimentel, woodwinds
Kumiko Shimizu, piano
Nicole Davis, celloWorks by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Faculty Recital
Delta State University Department of Music
Recital Hall, Bologna Performing Arts Center
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
7:30 PMProgram
Sonata in A minor for oboe and basso continuo, TWV 41:a 3 (c. 1728)
- Siciliana
- Spirituoso
- Andante amabile
- Vivace
Sonata in F major for recorder and basso continuo, TWV 41:F 2 (1728)
- Vivace
- Largo
- Allegro
Sonata in F minor for bassoon and basso continuo, TWV 41:f 1 (1728)
- Triste
- Allegro
- Andante
- Vivace
Fantasie no. 8 in E minor, TWV 40:9 (1732)
- Largo
- Spirituoso
- Allegro
Concerto in A major TWV, 51:A2 (c. 1728)
- Largo
- Spirituoso
- Allegro
Sonata I from VI Sonates en duo, TWV 40:118 (1738)
- Vivace
- Adagio
- Allegro
Notes
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) was a leading composer of his time, celebrated both critically and popularly. He is reputed as one of the most prolific composers of all time, with over 3,000 known works (count among his honors an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records). His output is not only staggeringly large, but also very diverse, sometimes to the chagrin of the churches that employed him; his operas and other secular projects were sometimes regarded as unseemly. Still, composers of the stature of Handel and J. S. Bach were students of his works. Read More “Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 27, 2013”
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New sound clips: Faculty woodwinds recital, Sep. 13, 2012
Here are some sound clips from my faculty recital last month. I try to make a point of keeping myself challenged, and mission accomplished on this one.
The repertoire, selected collaboratively with my outstanding pianist colleague Dr. Kumiko Shimizu, was all pieces with some connection to jazz music. First up on the program was selected movements from Claude Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano. Flute isn’t part of my teaching assignment at Delta State, but this piece was too fun to pass up and my flutist colleague Dr. Shelley Collins is extraordinarily supportive of my flute playing. Since I spend most of my work week living in reed land, however, my flute chops don’t get the attention I would like, and I’m a bit self-conscious about my sound and my control of the instrument. I hear a number of things on the recording that I am less than satisfied with, but overall I think it went okay, and it was well received by the audience (even the part of the audience whose grade doesn’t depend on keeping me happy).
Next was a new-ish piece by young composer Alyssa Morris, a fellow BYU alum. I had heard her Four Personalities for oboe and piano performed by Nancy Ambrose King a few years back at an IDRS conference, and it immediately sprang to mind when I started brainstorming jazz-influenced oboe pieces. We performed the first two movements (second, then first), which, to our ears, had the strongest jazz elements. The first movement (performed second) in particular has characteristic swing rhythms and figures, and it was strange but fun to tackle those things on the oboe.
At the John Mack Oboe Camp over the summer, I heard a fine performance of this piece by the Oregon Symphony’s principal oboist, Martin Hebert. I also got some reed help from Linda Strommen (of Indiana University), which has greatly improved the pitch stability of my reeds. I’m pleased with the improvement over last year’s recital. I’m not sure I have entirely adapted tone-wise to the change, however, and I was a little surprised by my sound on the recording—to me, I don’t quite sound like me.
Read More “New sound clips: Faculty woodwinds recital, Sep. 13, 2012”
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Faculty piano and woodwinds recital, Sept. 13, 2012
Kumiko Shimizu, piano
Bret Pimentel, woodwindsFaculty Recital
Delta State University Department of Music
Recital Hall, Bologna Performing Arts Center
Thursday, September 13, 2012
7:30 PMProgram
from Suite for Flute and Piano
Claude Bolling (b. 1930)I. Baroque and Blue
V. Irlandaise
VII. Velocefrom Four Personalities for Oboe and Piano
Alyssa Morris (b. 1984)II. White
I. YellowThree Pieces for Clarinet Solo
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)I.
II.
III.Naima
John Coltrane (1926-1967), arranged by Bret PimentelPeace Piece
Bill Evans (1929-1980), transcribed by Brent EdstromFuzzy Bird Sonata
Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953)1. Run, bird
2. Sing, bird
3. Fly, birdBallade
Keri Degg (b. 1975) Read More “Faculty piano and woodwinds recital, Sept. 13, 2012” -
Recital preparation
A few of my students have had recitals or other solo performances recently. Besides musical preparation, this is the advice I give:Visualize. If possible, spend time in the performance space before performance day. If not, imagine up a good representation of what the space is likely to look and “feel” like. Mentally walk through the entire performance, from your arrival at the venue to your departure. Include every detail you can, no matter how mundane. In your mind’s eye, see yourself entering the stage, taking a tuning note, making a reed adjustment, waiting for the audience to fall silent. Audiate the whole performance the way you want it to sound. Hear the last note reverberating in the hall, then see yourself taking a bow and leaving the stage.
I find this valuable because everything feels familiar on the night of the performance. Even if I get some of the details wrong or leave something out, I can deal with those things as minor glitches in an otherwise controlled experience, rather than seeing them as part of a flood of unanticipated events. It also gives me a chance to think through any logistical issues; I take notes and make a to-do list while I do this exercise.
Warm up intelligently. I like to keep practicing to a minimum on performance day when possible. It’s not likely that I will make significant improvements in my preparation at that point, and I want my mind clear and body rested. If I have an evening recital, I typically do a leisurely warmup in the morning and make semi-final reed decisions. I focus the warmup on tone production and tension-free technique.
I practice the performance repertoire as little as possible on recital day. If there are difficult technical passages that I am worried about, I make a point of not trying to play them up to tempo, but instead run through them in a very slow and controlled way, focusing on tone and expression. That keeps my final practicing positive and constructive, rather than causing me stress about potential failures.
Have a good, normal day. I don’t want to depend on recital day rituals or superstitions, but I do want to be in a good mood. I don’t eat a special breakfast, but I eat something that is a favorite among my typical breakfasts. I don’t wear new clothes, but I wear something that I feel good in. I don’t take the day off work, but I do carve out a non-working lunch hour. Small, ordinary pleasures are the order of the day.
I find that if I make too big a deal of performance day, I overthink and attach unwarranted weight to the event. Keeping things good but normal makes performing less stressful.
I would be curious to hear your advice for performance preparation (besides the hours of practice). Please share in the comments section if you feel inclined.
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New sound clips: Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 30, 2011
I’m pleased to share some audio from my Delta State University faculty recital a few weeks ago.The big event of the evening was the premiere of Sy Brandon’s Divertissement for multiple woodwinds and piano, which seemed to be well received. It’s gratifying to be involved in the creation of a piece that fills a gap in the small multiple woodwinds repertoire—something than can be played by a woodwind doubler, without having to bring in a concert band, a truckload of electronics, or obscure instruments. The audience seemed to enjoy the derring-do of the final movement, which involves six instruments.
I’ve studied the Bonneau Caprice en forme de valse in the past and have had students perform it, but this was the first time I played it in public myself. Since I’m trying to balance a half-dozen or more instruments, I tend to shy away from pieces that seem too technical, and, in that respect, this was the riskiest piece on the program. I was mostly pleased with how it turned out.
Read More “New sound clips: Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 30, 2011”
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Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 30, 2011
Bret Pimentel, woodwinds
Kumiko Shimizu, pianoFaculty Recital
Delta State University Department of Music
Recital Hall, Bologna Performing Arts Center
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
7:30 PMProgram
Divertissement for multiple woodwinds and piano
Sy Brandon (b. 1945)
World premiere- Intrada
- Nocturne
- Valse
- Marche
- Romanza
- Galop
Caprice en forme de valse for alto saxophone
Paul Bonneau (1918 – 1995)Sonata for oboe and piano
Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963)- Elégie
- Scherzo
- Déploration
Sonata for clarinet and piano
Francis Poulenc- Allegro tristamente
- Romanza
- Allegro con fuoco
Ode to a Toad
Ray Pizzi (b. 1943)
Read More “Faculty woodwinds recital, Aug. 30, 2011” -
Woodwind doubling recital program, Northwestern University, 1950
A new Internet friend shared this gem with me (click for slightly larger):
Read More “Woodwind doubling recital program, Northwestern University, 1950”
