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Netty’s tour diary. Part 2 (singing-bowls, lost keys and officious ladies)

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Viola player Annette Isserliss concludes her US tour diary:

Thurs 17th

Awoke wondering how on earth the OAE homeward travellers (the players who weren’t staying on for the Heiner Goebbel’s concert) had managed to rouse themselves to leave at 6.00 am! Took the subway (with viola in tow) to meet cousin Judy in Chelsea, and after a guided tour of some of the finer architectural sights, we climbed up onto the High Walk: converted from an old railway on an overpass to a garden walk with views of Chelsea Harbour with Hoboken,New Jersey beyond, on one side, and interesting city glimpses on the other. Although botanically at this time of year it was confined to almost-budding saplings and crocuses (crocii??) it was exceedingly pleasant in the mellow sunshine. As we approached a bench with a be-hatted native simultaneously basking and scribbling, it looked up, and turned out to be fello viola Nick Logie! He was staying in NY a bit longer, not only for the sponsors’ reception that evening, but because his eldest son Sascha is currently working in NY for the UN.

We persuaded him to join us for lunch, and he gallantly took turns in carrying the viola, which was becoming heavier by the minute!

After lunch with Judy’s husband, cousin Marty, Nick wanted to listen to some of the Goebbels rehearsal, so we made our way to the studio on W 25th.

Rehearsal v intense and detailed, but it was good to reacquaint with Heiner Goebbels’ Songs of Wars I have Seen: a collaboration with the London Sinfonietta, featuring the female members reading excerpts from the writings of Gertrude Stein on the subject of the privations of war. It is a highly effective piece of Music Theatre, but involves quite a lot of multi-tasking and equipment! Anu Tali, our conductor, is petite, perfectionist and persevering. It is complicated to have to speak in a different rhythm to the music you are playing at the same time! There were some giggly moments too, such as harpist Helen Tunstall’s attempts to read (in a funny story) that her dog had diabetes, turning involuntarily into another word beginning with “dia………” It was all very hard work indeed, and we were relieved when Heiner Goebbels agreed to finish the rehearsal by 7.30. It had been most helpful to have him there for the evening part of the rehearsal, as he was very clear about what effects he wanted.

So good to re-encounter our colleagues from London Sinfonietta again!
And to find that Roger Chase would be playing: I’d known him since RCM, when we had adjacent viola lessons with Bernard Shore.

Fri 18th
Final day. To Greenwich for solitary breakfast. Thought I was practising my muttered speaking part and rhythm-thumping discreetly until diner in far corner lowered his New York Times meaningfully and observed me over his glasses. Wandered around village admiring the graceful doorways of the older red brick houses.Thence into the bowels of the subway again to emerge in Upper West Side, re-exploring old haunts. Then reluctantly back to the Vampire to practise.

Arriving onstage at Alice Tully for rehearsal, taken aback at the amount of paraphernalia cluttering the stage, which made it hazardous even crossing to my place! Wires and cables everywhere: music-stand- lights; microphones by every musician; side-tables bearing little lamps and tibetan singing-bowls with their sticks (for the epilogue) ditto; pick-ups to be attached to the tail-gut strings on our instruments; etc. Tricky to arrange one’s mic close enough to one’s mouth but avoiding hitting it with the instrument or bow! Another somewhat tense rehearsal…..I’m always so impressed at Shelagh Sutherland, LS keyboard-player, reading a long monologue whilst playing a complicated harpsichord movement by Matthew Locke!

It really is a highly effective piece of Music Theatre, and I’ve come to really appreciate the musical effects too. It feels quite polarised to be interspersing Goebbels with Locke: the latter so redolent of the time of Shakespeare.

We OAE ladies hung out in the dressing-room as LS did the 1st half of the concert. Poor Lisa B (flute) arrived in a state, because she couldn’t find the key to lock up her friend’s amazing apartment where she’d been staying, and had had to leave it open. All ended happily however, as the friend had accidentally walked off with the key!

We got on stage at the end of the interval (in spite of the officious ladies) to prepare ourselves with mic positioning, instrument pick- ups etc. I needed to get into heightened focus mode, as this situation demanded living in the “now” of the moment as well as being prepared for what was to come immediately after.

The performance felt really special in the event, even if more than a few of the singing-bowls turned out to be duds. There was a tape to reinforce the intended overwhelming ringing, so I mentally tuned into that so that I feel a part of it.

A big hit with the audience, happily, and a great end to OAE’s mega-busy week! Much contented imbibing thereafter, and to hell with the projected 06.00 start looming….

Annette Isserlis, Viola

You might be interested to watch a video about the piece by Heiner Goebbels here.

Netty’s tour diary. Part 1 (CPE Bach, Birthdays and Viagra)

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Viola player Annette (known to many in the OAE as ‘Netty’) Isserlis made a diary of our recent tour to the US. Here’s days 1-3 with the rest following tomrorow. We hope to post some pics up soon too… A few additions from the blog editor in the brackets!

Mon Mar 14

Scene: Carluccio’s, outside Terminal 5, LHR.

Breakfast with husband Ken between red-eye flight in from Schipol (following 2 OAE concerts in Groningen and Nijmingen with Rachel Podger), and impending flight to USA: Ken to LA for solo concerts and Me to Boston with OAE and Sir Roger (Norrington), continuing the CPE Bachfest.
Dreadful news continuing to come through about the Japanese Disaster(s). Ken’s family all ok.

Painless flight to Boston followed by similarly painless Immigration, amazingly! It transpired that he chatty officer knew Yo-yo Ma personally….

Convivial dinner and bed not too early: it’s the only way to sleep through the 1st night, in my experience.

Tues Mar 15

A happy reunion with Sir Rog: a vision in pale pink, including his braces! He explained the apparent gloominess of the Harvard Sanders Theater (modelled on Oxford’s Sheldonian) as being fitting for a Memorial Hall. “Commencement”  over here apparently kicks in when you die, according to Sir. There was indeed a lot of dark wood around, but at least the acoustic was helpful!
Kati (Debretzeni, OAE Leader) announced that she would be hosting a post-Birthday drink for us after the concert, which brought forth approving noises.

Delicious lunch at “Legal Seafood Restaurant” with a mutual friend of Ally, Hetty and myself (all OAE players), and then back to Boston, and a post-prandial waddle around the hotel neighbourhood, which bordered Chinatown. The higher-minded members of OAE visited museums and art-galleries.

Concert a lively affair, helped by Bob Levin in the audience, grinning like a Cheshire Cat from the middle of the 2nd row throughout, unobserved (fortunately) by Steve Devine, who performed wonderfully in the harpsichord concerto. Bob bounced backstage in the interval, telling us he’d just recently had a hip replacement, but it was hard to believe! Richard Lester gave his usual highly charismatic account of the cello concerto, and Sir Rog enjoyed spiralling round to the audience triumphantly at the end of each symphony.

The hotel bar was buzzing until late!

Wed Mar 16

Raining. A subdued start to the long bus journey ahead, but people gradually perked up. Coffee-stop in a service-station that seemed solely geared to the needs of truckers, including a viagra-related section of mind-boggling variety.

Eventually the welcome sight of Manhattan hove into view, and in due course we streamed into the impressive foyer of the Empire Hotel, known to us as ” The Vampire” from days of yore. Sadly, the foyer is the most impressive thing about the hotel, as a lot of the rooms are tiny and dark, but at least no cockroaches or bedbugs this time, in spite of dark forecasts from our more pessimistic colleagues!
Lest this all sounds somewhat churlish, the ultra-positive thing about the Vampire is that it is on Broadway, bang next to the Lincoln Center, so extremely central, and very close to Central Park. The sun started shining as soon as we alighted from the bus, and I scuttled up to “Willow”, a boutique on Amsterdam, so beloved of OAE ladies that it ought to have a charter by special appointment to OAE! My mission was to find a coloured shirt for the 2nd concert on the 18th, about which more later.

It was Sir Roger’s Birthday, so we launched into a rendering of an apposite tune, to which he responded by asking for more vibrato! At the end of the rehearsal, following presentation of a card, 2 cakes (for general consumption) and something bottle-shaped, by Stephen Carpenter (OAE Chief Executive), a more doleful speech was forthcoming, on the occasion of Richard Lester’s last concert with us as a named principal. On top of his other commitments, he has a new baby.  However, happily clutching his bottle (Richard) he promised he would be available for future guest appearances.

The sold-out concert appeared to be a barn-storming success with the highly vocal audience! A great experience for us all, in spite of the somewhat overbearing backstage staff, who continued bossing us up to the moment we paraded out on stage. Not very conducive to Artistic Expression…

Afterwards, we were invited to a drinks reception, where we encountered, amongst other luminaries, Chris Hogwood and Alina Ibragamova.

Annette Isserlis, OAE Viola

Happy Birthday Sir Roger!

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Yesterday saw the Orchestra travel from Boston to New York for that evening’s concert at Lincoln Center – and it was also Sir Roger Norrington’s Birthday. At the Boston concert he was presented with this very appropriate T Shirt (we were playing the music of CPE Bach) which he proudly wore on the coach down to New York. A full report on the tour to follow soon, and if you’re in New York you can still catch the OAE when we combine with the London Sinfonietta tomorrow for a performance of Heiner Goebbel’s Songs of Wars I Have Seen tomorrow evening (18 March).