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BADEN-BADEN (April 2006)

represented by

from left to right: Rachel Weston, Heather Cairncross, Amy Haworth, (Norbert Ommer - EM sound engineer), (Steve Reich), Micaela Haslam


 
"We flew to Frankfurt then took a train to Baden-Baden.  It was just as well that we had a one and a half hour gap in our travel schedule between plane and train, as our plane was delayed by nearly an hour at Heathrow.  We ran what seemed like miles through Frankfurt airport with our luggage, and made the connecting train with 2 minutes to spare.  It was the beginning of the holidays in Germany so the carriages were packed, and we had no seat reservations.  Fortunately we managed to commandeer 4 seats, but then spent the next hour and a half nervously expecting to be thrown out by someone brandishing a seat reservation.  Happily, that didn't happen.
 
Our hotel in Baden-Baden was lovely, right in the middle of the town, and it had a magnificent regal staircase.  Back to real life after the luxury of LA, though - I got the smallest room!  Hmph!
 


Festspielhaus

 


Ticket office

 

 The Festspielhaus used to be a railway station, and the ticket office is more or less as it would have been. Neatly tucked around the back of the old facade is an enormous opera house. You'd never guess it was there from the front. It's a very clever conversion, and a fabulous venue.

It was lovely to see Brad Lubman again.  It seemed like an age since we'd done a concert together.  This was to be Brad's first Tehillim and he was really up against it as there was hardly any rehearsal time.  In fact we had just one tutti rehearsal before the concert day.  A conductor's worst nightmare!   We usually have about 3 days to work on Tehillim with a new conductor.  Brad reckons The Rite of Spring is an easier piece to conduct.
 
 


Ensemble Modern players in Tehillim rehearsal
 

 
The Music for 18 rehearsal was straightforward, and brief.  The abridged rehearsal version is generally a good thing as far as we're concerned, but on this occasion it was Amy's first go at the piece and she barely sang it once through before the show.  Having performed Music for 18 fifty-four(!) times in concert, I forget how long it took me to get the "Na Na Na's" in the right place, vocally speaking.  Having been a wind player helps, but it's still a piece that you need to do in concert a few times before you find your own way of preventing tongue-seizure!
 


Rainer giving a cue in Music for 18

 
On the morning of our concert the Ensemble Modern players performed some of Steve's key instrumental works, spanning 30 years or so.  The programme was punctuated by "chats" with Steve.  The interviewer was a German lady who asked the questions in English, translated the questions into German, listened to Steve's answers, then translated them.  It was very impressive, but I think she would have done just as well taking the whole thing in English (judging by the audience's reactions to Steve's asides).  I think Steve was getting a bit fed up with the lengthy process! 
 
We were virtually straight into our general rehearsal, then there was just time for coffee and cake before our 6pm concert.  I love 6pm concerts!  It's nice and early to perform, so you're not too tired, and it's great for the audience as there's plenty of time to go out for dinner/drinks after the show without having a particularly late night.  Maybe I'm getting old, but 6pm concerts would suit me fine every time!
 
Tehillim came together really well for the concert.  Good old Brad had fixed all the tempi issues that had arisen in the rehearsal.  We didn't see much of the whites of his eyes during the piece(!) but it was a good performance, and Steve (and the audience) seemed delighted."

Micaela