"Two-part Harmony" by Cole Parker

[Rutabaga]

Goody gum drops, another Cole Parker story found right here.

James's challenges made me think of Luke in First Year.  I look forward to learning how James manages to deal with them.

And three cheers for Mrs. Ford.

R

[Ivor Slipper]

He may only just be starting to realise it, but James is a very lucky boy to have Mrs Ford as his music teacher.

This story is hitting the right notes for me.

 

[Cole Parker]

Very fortunate indeed, which we'll lean in Ch 2.

C

[Rutabaga]

Whoa - Mrs. Ford rocks!  Forget playing poker with her . . . I just would not like to get on her wrong side!

R

[Cole Parker]

I've known women like that.  Who of us haven't?

C

[Altimexis]

On 3/2/2024 at 12:16 PM, Cole Parker said:

I've known women like that.  Who of us haven't?

I'm married to one!

[Rutabaga]

So Mrs. Ford has identified three specific challenges that James needs to deal with, and seemingly has made big progress on the first one (replacing the smashed horn).  I can see here that French Horns can be pretty pricey, although it appears that Mr. McKindry has given enough to get some pretty decent instruments.  

We will have to see how they fare on the other two problems -- the bullying in school, and James's unsupportive parents.  Unknown at this point is whether Mr. McKindry will actually move Giff to another school, or whether, if not, the principal will actually take action to stop bullying by Giff and others.  And it's even more unclear whether anything Mr. McKindry said to Giff would actually succeed in keeping him from picking on James and others.  In a way I'm kind of hoping Giff tries something again so we can all witness the you-know-what hitting the fan.

As for the Glière piece that Freddie is working on, it really is a handful, especially for a 15-year old.  One rendition of it can be found here.  Despite being described as set in B-flat major, the piece has a poignant quality that may derive from the inherent tonality of the French horn, perhaps aided by our own experiences hearing French horns in sad or emotional parts of films.  But even more of a challenge comes from the staccato acrobatics that take place at roughly 5:30 in the piece.  As tricky as the French horn is to play, these runs would be extra tricky.  If Freddie can handle those he is a star.

Anyway, looking forward to the next installments!

R 

P.S. -- I didn't forget about the fourth issue that Mrs. Ford identified.  She gave hints that one of her own sons probably had to deal with the same thing.

UPDATE:  I discovered that I linked to the wrong Glière piece.  It should be this one, Nocturne from Reinhold Glière's 11 Pieces for Different Instruments and Piano, Op. 35, No. 10.  This piece would be far more manageable for a student at Freddie's level, although the French horn remains a challenging instrument to play in all circumstances.

[Rutabaga]

Ruh-roh - looks like the invincible Freddie actually got vinced.   We'll have to see if he has another trick up his sleeve.

R

[Cole Parker]

Glad to see you're into it!  The  Glière's  Nocturne is standard student literature, assuming it's an advance student.

I get a little tired of hearing it, actually!

C

[JamesSavik]

James is thinking....

 

[Ivor Slipper]

Could Freddie be said to be on the horns of a dilemma??

[Merkin]

Freddy is bold as brass because he has a lot of brass:  an F Horn has about 13 feet of tubing, while a B-flat Horn has 9 feet of tubing, hence a double Horn like his is over twenty feet of brass tubing.  Alas, my poor trumpet was only about 5 feet long, uncoiled. 
 

[Rutabaga]

1 hour ago, Merkin said:

Alas, my poor trumpet was only about 5 feet long, uncoiled. 

Size isn't important . . . it's how you use it.     

R

[Cole Parker]

Twenty-two and a half feet, if you want to be exact.

[Rutabaga]

I especially liked the part where Freddie was able to "play molto espresso passages with great rutabaga and exhibit his wonderful sound and musicality."  Warmed my heart, it did.

R

[Cole Parker]

Musicality and mature sound are invariably absent in young wind and brass players.  They don't feel the music.  They're too busy playing the notes.  Even when the marking is for rutabaga.

 

C

[Altimexis]

I never tried playing a wind instrument. I had enough trouble trying my hand at strings - piano, viola and guitar. Ultimately I decided that the musical instrument I played the best was the stereo.

[Rutabaga]

Looks like it's time for Mrs. Ford to devote her time and shrewdness to solving Problem No. 2:  James's parents (especially dad).

R

[Rutabaga]

James ruminates:

Well, what he needed to remember, was that he didn’t like Freddie. That’s what he needed to concentrate on. Keep that thought in the front of his mind, a reminder to himself. The kid wasn’t serious, wasn’t dedicated to the horn. Freddie wanted to swim and play badminton—badminton!—more than he wanted to play music! And he was laughing with those girls! That’s what James needed to remember. He needed to push all those other thoughts right out of his head.

Sorry, James, but I don't think Cole is going to allow all that to happen for you.

R

[Cole Parker]

I see that grin your avatar is wearing, and can't read what you wrote  here without thinking a similar grin was on your face when you wrote it.

[Altimexis]

I’d have to draw exception to the notion that earning well over $75k is enough to make one wealthy, even in the 1990s in Cleveland or Chicago. Both cities have renowned symphonies though, with a succession of some of the best conductors in the world. An assembly line worker in Detroit could make more than that, even then.

I’m curious about the demand for soloist horn players. People pay good money for a live performance by a renowned pianist, cellist or violinist. The same can be said for trumpet, trombone and saxophone players if you include the realm of jazz. I can name several top players for all of those, and have seen several myself. However, I couldn’t name a single renowned horn player if my life depended on it.

Getting back to the issue of money, $75k in 1990s Chicago might be enough to afford a condo in a high rise with a partial view of the lake on the North Loop, but nothing extravagant. That’s barely affluent and certainly not wealthy.  In NYC, that was barely enough to be considered middle class and not nearly enough to live in Manhattan. From what I’ve heard, Boston isn’t much better.

Having a husband who’s an attorney in a top law firm, on the other hand, is another story. 

[Cole Parker]

Steve, You've probably got the wrong time frame on when the $75 was listed.  Yes, today, and even in the 1990s, major orchestra players made more than that.  But there was an earlier time when that was good money indeed, especially for women.

You've never heard of Dennis Brain?  Or Barry Tuckwell?  Odd.  Herman Baumann would be less of  surprise.  There aren't a huge number of notable horn soloists, but there are a few now and were a few back then. 

There are many concertos written for piano and violin, fewer for cello.  Fewer still for horn.  But you'd be amazed at  how many there are.  Here's a list of horn concertos by well-known composers.  It leaves out concertos by other, lesser-known composers; that list is even longer:  Bach, 1, Quantz, 4, Telemann, 6, Vivaldi, 2, Danzi, 1, Michael Haydn, 2, Joseph Haydn, 4, L. Mozart, 1, W.A.Mozart, 4, Bellini, 1, Franz Strauss, 1, Gliere, 1, Hindemith, 1, Jacob, 1, R Strauss 2.

C

 

 

[Altimexis]

Sorry, Cole. I just assumed the story was contemporary, given Ms. Ford’s sexual attitudes. Her attitude about losing her virginity could have been in the early sixties, or even in the 1920s. Assuming the $75k figure was in the 70s, that would be the equivalent of $300k today. People in that bracket consider themselves middle class, but most people would consider that rich.

I’ll be the first to admit my knowledge of classical music is limited. My parents’ tastes were frankly plebeian and I grew up with a very limited exposure to classical composers. I had even less exposure to jazz. Now, both are passions of mine. I have a 6TB collection of high-res digital music, but my knowledge is far from encyclopedic. I’m still learning and appreciate your recommendations.

[Cole Parker]

12 hours ago, Altimexis said:

Sorry, Cole. I just assumed the story was contemporary, given Ms. Ford’s sexual attitudes. Her attitude about losing her virginity could have been in the early sixties, or even in the 1920s. Assuming the $75k figure was in the 70s, that would be the equivalent of $300k today. People in that bracket consider themselves middle class, but most people would consider that rich.

I’ll be the first to admit my knowledge of classical music is limited. My parents’ tastes were frankly plebeian and I grew up with a very limited exposure to classical composers. I had even less exposure to jazz. Now, both are passions of mine. I have a 6TB collection of high-res digital music, but my knowledge is far from encyclopedic. I’m still learning and appreciate your recommendations.

And my knowledge of popular music is, I'm sure, much less than yours of the classical genre.  I was in high school when the Beetles became a smash in the country.  I never could understand why.

C

[Alien Son]

6 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

 I was in high school when the Beetles became a smash in the country.  I never could understand why.

C

You just don't have an ear for music!