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Blog cleaning day
2007-07-19 20:32:00
Today I had time to do some updates and maintenance to my blog diary. In the Luxembourg section I added a newspaper clip about the competition, which I received today (thanks Anne!). In addition I put the photos of my concert in St Petersburg to the "right place" chronologically, as well as the poster pics which I had time to take just... Read Blog cleaning day
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Final impressions of the Yuri Simonov master class
2007-07-15 19:20:00
Friday the 13th, the final day of the master class! Well, despite the ominous date everything went fine! I enjoyed some beautiful performances in the final orchestra rehearsal - especially Oleg Soldatov' interpretation of Don Juan by Richard Strauss! He is already an experienced conductor who gets what he wants from the orchestra. Still he is ambitious and curious enough to come to master classes to learn more! I have high respect for him! Oleg Soldatov conducting Don Juan After the rehearsal we gave roses to the orchestra players to thank them for the good work. They were a fantastic master class orchestra with a friendly but professional attitude. I am sure every participant got an honest evaluation of their skills just by listening how the orchestra played under their direction. Maestro Simon ov rehearsing After that we took a bus ride to Gödöllö, to a beautiful palace where the final concert was to take place. The orchestra played in open air, in less than ideal circumstances....
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Finally relaxing with friends...
2007-07-13 00:31:00
Today was my last "working day" on this master class - I conducted Ravel's "La Valse" and then was just listening to our piano session. No more working! Of course maestro Simonov throws his teachings around so that you cannot avoid learning from him! Today, for example, he gave a lecture on the importance of knowing the score and how to study it fast and efficiently. Then we went over and over again through some problematic passages of Strauss' "Don Juan", and in the end everyone in the class learned those places by heart! On the next master class, he said, everyone should know the pieces by heart before the first day! Quite a challenge! After the piano class I could finally go and relax with my colleagues. We went to eat in a Japanese restaurant, and then to a cafe with live piano music. Needless to say we had great time (except maybe not the one person who had still some studying to do for tomorrow - she seemed a bit stressed nevertheless...)! Later...
More About: Friends , Finally , Relaxing , Ends , Xing

Working hard
2007-07-11 20:43:00
Today it became obvious how hard work conducting is: I woke up early to study Stravinsky Apollon Musagete for the orchestra session - which went very well actually - and after that I had to gather myself to study Ravel La Valse and conduct it with the pianists. At the break in our piano session maestro Simonov showed me his notes from our first meeting 3 years ago in St Petersburg. It is incredible how organized he is - I remember him writing on his laptop during that master class, but I never would have believed that he has saved all he wrote and was able to dig it out to show it to me today. Apparently he makes a file about every person he is teaching! Anyway, the comments he made back then were really harsh - his impression of me after the first lesson must have been very bad. On the second day he wrote something positive too: "made progress", "feels the music"... Now, after this master class I will get a couple of pages of notes from these 10 days. That shoul...
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Another master class day & invitation to Poland
2007-07-10 23:28:00
Today we had another fine day at the master class. It is so great to see how everyone here is making progress, no matter what their skill level is. I cannot but to recommend this master class to everyone who wants a week of technical discipline in his conducting as well as very good insights to the practical side of working with orchestras. I got also some good news last night - I am invited to Poland , to the 8th Grzegorz Fitelberg competition in Katowice. I had to ask confirmation by email, since the web page still shows me as a reserve competitor. It will be great fun to go to another competition next autumn: First I will go to Croatia to the Matacic competition, where I will meet my new buddy Filip from this master class, and then I will compete with another new friend, Maja in Poland! And don't get me wrong, it will not be a bloody fight - I have noticed that competitions are a great way to meet nice people and have good time with your colleagues... ...if you are well enough pr...
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A rehearsal visit
2007-07-09 20:51:00
Unlike the rest of our class, I woke up really early this morning, to make it on time for the Budapest Festival Orchestra rehearsal in the Palace of Music. I had contacted the orchestra administration beforehand and they got permission from the conductor, Andras Schiff, that I can attend the rehearsal. The hall at the Palace of Music was something! It is new, modern and beautiful and sounded marvelous too. I will add a picture later where you can see it in all its glory. The orchestra was really fantastic also. The program was Haydn, Schubert and Mozart, and with the modern strings and woodwinds they used natural horns and natural trumpets. They sounded really good in this music. Maestro Schiff told me he is a bit afraid for the horns, who clam a high note easily, but in my humble opinion that is the price you have to pay to have a great brass sound for music of the classical era! When I came back to our own rehearsal hall for our master class, it seemed everyone was in need of a br...
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Almost a holiday in Budapest!
2007-07-08 23:05:00
Today we had a little bit more relaxed day than usual - and boy we needed that! The master class has been so intensive that there practically has been no free time. Professor Simonov is so demanding that after hearing the works to be conducted at the next session, everyone disappears to their rooms to nicely make sure they do a decent job next day on the podium... The repertoire for today was the same as yesterday: Schone Melusine by Mendelssohn, Der Schauspieldirektor overture of Mozart, Coriolan by Beethoven, Il Matrimonio Segreta by Cimarosa, and some Rossini and Schubert overtures too. I noticed an interesting thing which happens when you have to listen to the same repertoire performed over and over again: The Coriolan overture just becomes more and more interesting by each and every listening! It is such a marvellously constructed piece that every time you hear new things and appreciate the old things more. Cimarosa also stays really charming even after sixth hearing. I cannot ...
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On a Master Class with Yuri Simonov
2007-07-07 21:45:00
It is already the 5th day of the master class, but it took me this long to find an internet cafe where I can type with a normal speed and do not have to yield some Hungarian special keys on the keyboard... So, I am in Budapest and having a great time, working evenings with pianists and mornings with the Wagner-Liszt orchestra. I have taken some photos, but have to wait until I get to Finland to add them here. But you know, it is the usual stuff - someone conducting an orchestra or two pianos, the professor from back, the professor from side etc. etc. Someone eating or drinking, or a view from a lake... Yes, tomorrow we are actually going to have a free evening at some lake! But now to the actual masterclass stuff which for sure will interest some conducting students. Day 1: We saw maestro Simon ov run through the whole master class repertoire with the Wagner-Liszt orchestra. That alone was a sight to see! He was following a pre-planned schedule to the minute! So he must have calculat...
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St Petersburg - pics and a review
2007-06-27 16:08:00
I received today two photos of my concert in St Pete rsburg last month, as well as a link to a review (in Russian). I did not have time yet to read the review, but in case it says any nice things about the concert I might translate a couple of lines into English! Me conducting the Olympie overture by Josef Martin Kraus. This is me and soloist Kari Kriikku after a very good performance of Jukka Tiensuu's "Puro". And here is the review!
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Music festival has ended
2007-06-17 23:37:00
Last night we had the final concert of the Hot Springs Music Festival . The orchestra played Ma Vlast (Moldau) by Bedrich Smetana, An die schönen blauen Donau by Johann Strauss, and the 8th symphony of Antonin Dvorak. The orchestra, consisting of music students and their mentors, did a great job! Especially the brass was shining that night, much to thanks to inspiring coaching by the trumpet mentor Scott Moore. Besides the concert, I had to witness one remarkable trait of American character. The festival runs mostly on the donations made by private citizens, and before the concert it was announced that there is a "grant challenge" of 5000 USD made by one donor, and for the festival to get it, the audience should be able to match it by their collective donations during the 2 festival weeks. The challenge was short of only something like 500 bucks from the goal, but during that one intermission the audience came up with 4000 USD in donations! Four thousand!!! That means that ...
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Hot Weather in Hot Springs
2007-06-14 15:39:00
Conducting the Hot Springs Music Festival orchestra I have spent already two weeks in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They have a nice little music festival here, and I am assisting the music director (Richard Rosenberg) with two other young conductors, Case Scaglione and Dana Sadava. There is a lot going on, orchestral and chamber music concerts going on every day, and the players have all the time rehearsals or master classes. Just the need for assistant conductors seems to be overestimated. The job would be perfect for one assistant, but for three it is too little to do, especially since the town itself does not offer much entertainment... Yesterday we had a nice orchestra concert, which I opened with Rossini's overture to "La Cenerentola". After that we accompanied 8 (!) students taking turns playing the Vivaldi's Four Seasons, after which maestro Rosenberg conducted the original version of Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite. The locals really seem to appreciate their festival, the ...
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Leaving Luxembourg
2007-05-26 21:32:00
Deborah in the Finals The final day of the competition is past. I did not make it to the finals, but my friend Roberto was awarded Third Prize. Congratulations! There was no First Prize unfortunately. The jury seemed not to know exactly what they wanted, since so many experienced conductors were voted out in the previous rounds. I am convinced there were conductors professional and worthy enough for the First Prize! But this is how it went this time... How Ivan felt after the semi-final results... The Orchestra Philharmonique de Luxembourg did a heroic job playing many big works in the finals without rehearsal. There was Firebird, Brahms 1st and 2nd symphonies, Brahms Haydn variations and last but not least Rahmaninov 2nd and 3rd symphonies! I want to congratulate and thank the orchestra and its wonderful players. Hope to see you in the future! The Valley (photo by Ivan) Now all that is left is to pack and leave Luxembourg behind! It is a beauty among cities I must say. I don't k...
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Semi-finals starting...
2007-05-24 10:17:00
Yesterday was a happy day for me, since I passed to the second round of the competition here in Luxembourg. And not only me, but also my classmates Rober and Yuki and my friend Ivan! It is so nice to have so many friends in the competition - it somehow keeps the atmosphere nice and relaxed and it does not become a bloody battle... Of course it was a sad day to the eight young conductors who did not make it this time - including a few friends of mine as well. I feel sad for them, but this is how competitions are! C'est la vie!!! Going to see the Grand Duke The funny thing yesterday was, that we were granted an audience with the head of state, the Grand Duke Henry of Luxembourg! Today he will meet Vladimir Putin of Russia, so we were in good company! Unfortunately I have no photos from inside the palace, but you might guess the interior was royal!!! Grand Duke Henry was really nice to us and asked about our lives, the choice of profession etc. He is apparently really well educated i...
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Svetlanov competition begins
2007-05-21 19:43:00
Greetings from Luxemburg! A lot has happened during the past few days: I had a success on Friday in concert with Kari Kriikku and the State Hermitage Orchestra, on Saturday I conducted the first movement of La Mer for the Besancon pre-selection audition, and yesterday I traveled the whole day to Luxemburg. Yukihiro and the Jury The competition started today and I watched a couple of participants. It is very nicely organized and the orchestra is good. I have some friends here, too, my classmates Rober and Yuki, and Ivan whom I met in a couple of competitions, and Ben whom I met in New York last summer. Roberto, Ivan and Ben My turn to conduct will be tomorrow morning, so now I just relax and concentrate to that. I took some photos today, and I will add them to this page as soon as I am home!
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Rehearsing
2007-05-15 19:03:00
Second day of rehearsals with the State Hermitage orchestra. Tomorrow comes the soloist, and let's see what happens to the modern concert piece, Jukka Tiensuu's "Puro" clarinet concerto. It has been quite a challenge to rehearse it without the soloist! I did not remember how tired St Petersburg can make you. After both rehearsals I just had to nap for a couple of hours! Maybe the warm and humid weather has something to do with it as well... But I remember the same feeling from my student days here - always feeling somehow tired and out of tune.
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In St Petersburg
2007-05-12 12:53:00
I arrived yesterday to St Pete rsburg by train, and last night I already took a conducting lesson from my old conducting teacher Leonid Korchmar in the St Peter sburg Conservatory. I have to prepare Rachmaninov's 2nd symphony for the Evgeny Svetlanov Conducting Competition in Luxemburg, and I really have had no time to study the score, so I really need "professional help" to make the most of my time. I had a great lesson on the first movement, and this morning I had another one on the second movement. Tonight I will try a little bit of the third as well, if there is time after the official conservatory students have had their lessons. I should have taken a camera with me, by the way. On the way back to my place (thanks Serjozha for accommodating me for this week!!!) i saw a huge poster of my concert in the metro. There was a big picture of my soloist, Kari Kriikku, and his name on dog-size letters and after that a text "the most famous clarinetist of Finland". My ...

Welcome!
2007-05-10 11:42:00
Welcome to my blog! I named it G.P., because sometimes one needs a "Generalpause" in the middle of the busy conductor's life. At those moments I will dedicate a couple of minutes for writing on this page. At the moment I am in the middle of packing, since tomorrow I will leave to St Petersburg, Russia, for rehearsals and a concert on the 4th Nordic Music Festival. Young conductor's life is sometimes really a strain: usually there is no activities whatsoever for several months, and then suddenly you are asked everywhere at the same time! It happens to me all the time... This time after the concert on the May 18th I will travel to Luxemburg for a competition which starts on the 20th, and from there to US to assist on the Hot Springs Music Festival in Arkansas. I will be back home only in the end of June! But as I travel, I will try to stop at some Internet cafes to write about my impressions about the places, the people, the music... I hope you will enjoy traveling with me!

First posting
2007-05-09 19:40:00
First try to update this blog on Netscape. Safari did not seem to work...
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Italian Opera Gala by the Students of Sibelius Academy
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Resting before the opera concert... The concert should be online in a couple of days here: http://www2.siba.fi/sibatv/index.php?id=1 31&la=en While you are waiting, check out the last year's opera gala here: http://www2.siba.fi/sibatv/index.php?id=9 3&la=en... Read Italian Opera Gala by the Students of Sibelius Academy

Pedrotti preselections in Brussels
1970-01-01 00:59:00
There are two international conducting competitions organizing preselections before the actual competition - Pedrotti competition in Italy and Besancon competition in France (more about that later). So two days ago I travelled to Brussels to attend the last Pedrotti preselection. They had held them already in Trento, Montreal, Prague and Tokyo. In... Read Pedrotti preselections in Brussels

Concert at the Annual Clinic of Finnish Wind Music in Jyväskylä
1970-01-01 00:59:00
... Read Concert at the Annual Clinic of Finnish Wind Music in Jyväskylä

ONF on tour in Cologne
1970-01-01 00:59:00
... Read ONF on tour in Cologne
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