Missouri Classical Music News and Notes

Different Trains by Steve Reich is reminiscent of the train trips he took from the East to West coast with his governess in order to remain in the joint custody of his divorced parents. Sometime later Reich thought about the fact that he was making these trips across the continent in the years between 1939 and 1942, when European Jews were also making trips across their continent but for tragically different reasons. In the three movements that comprise the work, Reich contrasts his own experience with that of Holocaust survivors. The voices featured on the prerecorded tracks are those of his governess, a retired Pullman porter who used to work on the trains which ran between New York and Los Angeles, and Holocaust survivors around Reich's own age.

George Crumb's Black Angels is the only string quartet to have been inspired by the Vietnam War. The title refers to the struggle between God and the Devil, and the work is intended as a parable for the troubled time in which it was written. It draws from an arsenal of sounds including shouting, chanting, whistling, whispering, gongs, maracas and crystal glasses. The quartet is amplified in order to generate many of these sounds as well as to create a surreal, if not psychedelic, sound meant to throw the listener off-center.

1. Everyone should play the same piece.
   
2. Stop at every repeat sign and discuss in detail whether to take the repeat or not. The audience will love this a lot!
   
3. If you play a wrong note, give a nasty look to one of your partners.
   
4. Keep your fingering chart handy. You can always catch up with the others.
   
5. Carefully tune your instrument before playing. That way you can play out of tune all night with a clear conscience.
   
6. Take your time turning pages.
   
7. The right note at the wrong time is a wrong note (and vice versa).
   
8. If everyone gets lost except you, follow those who get lost.
   
9. Strive to get the maximum NPS (note per second). That way you gain the admiration of the incompetent.
   
10. Markings for slurs, dynamics and ornaments should not be observed. They are only there to embellish the score.
    
11. If a passage is difficult, slow down. If it's easy, speed it up. Everything will work itself out in the end.
    
12. If you are completely lost, stop everyone and say, "I think we should tune".
    
13. Happy are those who have not perfect pitch, for the kingdom of music is theirs.
    
14. If the ensemble has to stop because of you, explain in detail why you got lost. Everyone will be very interested.
    
15. A true interpretation is realized when there remains not one note of the original.
    
16. When everyone else has finished playing, you should not play any notes you have left.
    
17. A wrong note played timidly is a wrong note. A wrong note played with authority is an interpretation.

Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz, words and music by John Stump. From "A Tribute to Zdenko G. Fibich". Arranged by Accident. Based on a Cro-Magnon Skinning Chant.

• Part 1
  
• Part 2

Don't forget to observe all performance markings such as "add bicycle" - "begin to fall" - "gradually become agitated" - "remove cattle from stage" -"RELEASE THE PENGUINS!" - "balance your chair on two legs" - "Shock therapy may be necessary to finish".

Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him one the most beloved tenors, has died, his manager told The Associated Press. He was 71.

Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August 2007.