Posted by Tony E on February 28, 2004 at 02:46:14:
I have something of a confession to make. A number of them, actually. For many years, I disliked both listening to and playing the V.W. Tuba Concerto. More recently, I’ve enjoyed “practicing” the VW. Portions of it at least. But, more as an exercise, and less as a piece of music. Perhaps that’s because…I’ve never particularly liked it as a piece of music!! It has never seemed especially musically coherent to me, either speaking of the solo line itself, or speaking of the melody line in relation to the ensemble. At its best, it has never struck me as one of VW’s better efforts. At its worst, it digresses to a disjointed, sort of “romping up and down the staircase” exercise that seems to seek no other musical end than to “romp up and down the staircase”.
Now, I understand this is heresy, and, I’ve felt guilty about this. As if, for some reason, I ought to like it…being a tuba player and all. And so, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of VW Tuba Concerto performances, thinking each time I’d finally hear the performance that would make me love to listen it. Nada.
Yet, I gladly forked over $48 plus parking to hear Chris Olka play the VW this evening. If nothing else, I love the sound of the tuba, and I suspect I’d enjoy hearing a great tuba player play just about anything. No matter if it was the VW, at least I’d be “blown away” by Chris Olka’s amazing tuba sound.
Only…I wasn’t “blown away” by Chris Olka’s amazing tuba sound. Sure, his sound was amazing too, but Chis Olka didn’t come to Benaroya Hall to blow anyone away. He came to present a unique musical interpretation. It was, in one sense of the word, a debut of the VW Tuba Concerto. For a mere $48, I was rewarded with the most engaging, lyrical, reserved, and coherent interpretation of this piece that I have ever heard. Where did the staccato stair romping go? Out the door, replaced in entirety by…well, romanticism. Except for a few places, where the romantic, melodic interpretation gave way to an almost swing-type style. Yes, I said swing (but only because I’m lousy at describing sound with words). Pitch and timing was a near perfect blending with the ensemble, which at times did him a disservice by failing to sufficiently get under his dynamic levels.
I don’t know how long Mr. Olka has been preparing his musical thoughts on this piece. But his choices of emphasis, color, shading, and nuance were absolutely original and fresh. He even used tone-focus as a coloration, creating nuance with contrasting levels of diffuseness. But those are pieces. He put them together to make a whole.
Mr. Olka is not just an amazing player. He’s an amazing musician. A genius? I don’t know…what should we call someone who has the ability to make you completely reconsider your perspective?
What does this mean for me as a player and as a musician? Well, I think it shows the power of the song. I can practice until I’m blue in the face. I can even fill my bag with various skills. But can I find my song in the music? As Zig likes to say…”Even the best marksman can’t hit a target he doesn't have”. Ultimately, the song is the target. Does my use of time and energy reflect that understanding?
Tony "humbled and amazed" E