#tchaikowsky

[composer-smash-or-pass]

[the-princes-fool]

Huge fan of skulls as a motif.

Also Tchaikowsky is my idol

[adrianvarelablog]

London City Orchestra autumn concert

This autumn I was invited to guest conduct the London City Orchestra, a fabulous, well-run orchestra made up of professionals, amateurs, and high-level music students, in their 10th anniversary year. The programme was big and varied: Ravel’s ‘La Valse’, Britten’s ‘Sinfonia da Requiem’, and the 8-movement version of Tchaikowsky’s ‘Swan Lake’ suite, to which we added the Finale to round things off, the famous tune thus bookending the ballet music.

The LCO and I have known each other for a few years now, with me coming in sporadically as a coach for different sections, and the occasional tutti rehearsal. But this was the first time they’d entrusted me with an entire project, from 1st rehearsal to public performance on Remembrance Day, which -we couldn’t have known at the time the schedule was drawn up -happened also to coincide with the largest Humanitarian/Ceasefire-in-Palestine march in the UK’s history. Trying to find unblocked roads through the capital on my rented bike with the scores and baton in the basket after busses, tubes, and taxis proved unavailable, I was half an hour late to the dress rehearsal.

This project was a good opportunity to implement my Orchestra Redefined approach. At its heart, the source of the approach is respect and love for others. If this seems like a dreamy, mystical claim and the reader would prefer that I spoke more technically or pragmatically, I’d say that my conducting, orchestral, and rehearsal techniques are merely the outward manifestations of a core that seeks to plunge into the orchestral players’ musicianship, outlooks and life experiences, and help them bring them out, channelling them into their playing as part of a large team. Contextualising the music, and relating it to our own experiences, from the most exalted to the mundane -often at the same time- is key.

The conductor here is one quite literally, a primus inter pares; no longer a despot, or at the very least, the archetypical figure of total power. A good degree of power the conductor may be perceived to end up with, in this approach, comes through the relinquishing of it to the players; in creating avenues for the individuals’ expression in concert with those around her/him/them: a kind of anti-power, more a Zen modus operandi.

Naturally, I have a firm, as-informed-as-possible artistic vision of the works we’re engaging with, and I’ll straighten the orchestra out whenever they need to be. I tell them off if I have to, and never accept anything less than the absolute best they (or any orchestra) can give. I always insist, albeit with kindness, empathy, relaxed humour, pulling their leg, self-deprecating, or other means, whichever fills the need on the spur of the moment. But the more collaborative pathway, with highly trained orchestral musicians, often for the first time in their lives, being both invited and then shown ways to bring their hard-won musicianship into the symphonic context, reaps a joyous musical-human garden of sorts. The people within the players emerge, their voices are heard, their experiences and outlooks are validated, and this is shared with others and with myself in musical conversation. The artistic results are of a very high standard, the people behind the instruments being happy, motivated, and engaged, with a sense of being valued.

The concert, with a brief speech from me relating our music to the day’s commemoration as well as current events, was a powerful, joyous affair that received a standing ovation. Later, the orchestra kindly wrote some of their thoughts on the term’s work. Their most used were: thanks, love, inspiration, fun, energy, passion, joy, insightful, relaxed, personable, and dynamism, and many mentioned how much they had learned. To them, and for the opportunity to share all of this with them, I am deeply grateful.

photo credit: @tradephotographer

[good-night-my-sweet-prince]

thinking about andré tchaikowsky, my sweet little shakespeare-obsessed gay, who just wanted be a part the shakespearean tradition even from beyond the grave, who donated his own skull in to theatre to cement his connection to art, his death only marking his transition from artist to art

and thinking about his skull being finally used after over two decades in THAT 2008 rsc production of hamlet

and thinking about THAT MOMENT from the film version in which hamlet says the line here hung those lips that I have kiss'd I know not how oft and horatio, like the sweet little gay that he is, looks at hamlet the very moment he utters the word kiss'd

andré, this is all you ever wanted and MORE

[aq2003]

I get a thrill every time I see the RSC skull story gets brought up (surprisingly often and in the randomest places) and people immediately assume that Tchaikovsky in the story is the one of the Swan Lake fame, from the 19th century, the great Russian composer.

Cuz yeah. That would be triple awesome.

And then people visibly deflate when they learn that the dead guy is from another century/country and not AS famous.

pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky (russian composer of swan lake/the nutcracker/1812 overture fame, also was probably gay) vs andre tchaikowsky (polish pianist, donated his skull to the rsc for hamlet) huge difference guys!!!

[marlinspirkhall]

Listening to a violin concerto by André Tchaikowsky and it sounds every bit as metal as you'd expect from a man who's performed as Yorick posthumously.

[macbethheadband]

Thats my blood at the end of macbeth btw. Yeah i gave them all that blood to use on stage. i was happy to do it

[yukinojou]

Also note this is not Russian composer Tchaikovsky, this is Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Andre Tchaikowsky who survived WWII and both the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw Uprising. He wrote an opera based on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, antisemitism and all, so asking to be in Hamlet was a grab at owning Jewish participation in the Bard's most famous play.

And hey, gay and pretty just like the other Tchaikovsky. I guess when you're looking for a Slavic pseudonym to throw off the Actual Nazis after you escaped from the ghetto, grabbing your idol's last name is a Choice.

tchaikowsky donating his skull to the royal shakespeare company in the hopes of becoming yorick is the most dramatic ass dark academia shit ever and you can’t convince me otherwise 

[prdzx]

Slo light " that fever " Davidge - Claire Tchaikowski

[petercushingscheekbones]

david tennant on off menu thoughts (i'm still pinching myself over this)

Love how David started off the podcast by slagging off a prop lamp (?) (then admitted he's worked with way worse *cough* *cough* dw)

David talked about using the real skull of André Tchaikowsky for Hamlet and he sounds soo excited and James and Ed got soo excited about it too (also david thinks it'd be a cool idea to donate his own skull to be used in a play)

Dr Pepper better give David a commission for all the promotion he's doing

David is right, bread is supreme

Love how James tries to sneak in a shitty regeneration joke about the bread changing and David straight up ignores him. multiple times. (like five times)

David liking snail (even though it is a posh wanker - his words - thing) may convince me to forgive him for hating sushi

I'm beginning to think David Tennant maybe missed a career as a food blogger, he can make whatever he talks about sound so delicious (although he did spend more time talking about the garlic butter and the plate than the actual escargot)

David not getting the weed references made by Kendrick Lamar made my day

David talked about having done a cooking show with his dad that his dad was a fan of, and it was so sweet

Love that James is such a fan of Kilgrave as a villain he just had to randomly bring it up (also Ed saying he set up a timer to see how long it would take James to mention it)

I kinda want to go to a Burn's Night thing now (also wdum Scottish people actually toast a sausage? i'm loving the descriptions of it though)

slightly irrelevant thought but they seem to be getting on so well, can James and Ed convince David to do taskmaster? (I have one secret agenda and it's called 'get david tennant on taskmaster')

James and David should totally do that documentary. actually they whatever they want to together. I would kill to see them do literally anything together

Ed made it a point to talk about and praise stellar David's tongue work as barty crouch jr (and then there was a lot of discussion about tongue)

potatoes!!!!! (he's right he's so right potatoes are amazing)

I'm just thinking of Stanley Tucci recommending David Tennant fancy wine and in turn David saying "so Stan, this is what you can do with a Mars bar" (he is scotttish after all) (I can't wait for the stanley tucci ep of his podcast)

David wanting Georgia to join him for his meal and then when given the option of having anyone else from all of history to join him as well, saying that he doesn't want to share a meal with anyone but Georgia😳

(also James and Ed invited themselves for dessert, can't help but imagine them third wheeling dt and gt)

David's choice of dessert - butterscotch angel delight with chunks of Mars bars and James' enthusiasm to try it out, reminds me of that time he (james) ate an entire pint of ice cream on tv

David ending the episode by calling James a wanker..

[olliegolliegee]

okay maybe it's because im an orchadork but i'm so surprised that not everyone knows that tchaikovsky was gay as shit. like what that man was so gay. i thought that was common knowledge. like, he had the very very bad marriage because (if i remember right) some girl who was in love with him threatened to kill herself if he didn't, so he tried it, it was a very horrible marriage, and then he died, most likely because of some non-boiled water infection that i think starts with c

[variousqueerthings]

@cowardlygod Andrei Tarkovsky was a Soviet filmmaker (Solaris, Andrei Rublev etc). The skull in RSC's Hamlet belonged to André Tchaikowsky, Polish composer and pianist (not to confuse with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the great Russian composer from 19th century).

that's too many tar/tchaikow/vsky's who've done cool shit

I thought I'd been cured of my terminal tar/tchaikow/vsky confusion but clearly not

a scottish man saying andré tchaikowsky sounds so much like a scottish man saying andrei tarkovsky, as it turns out

he probably even said polish composer in there, but my brain had tarkovsky bias and presumably didn't pick up on it

see how easily your listening comprehension can go haywire kids, think about that

probably the most egregious part of getting these all mixed up is the russian - soviet - polish part, I apologise to poland

LEARN YOUR TAR/TCHAIKOW/VSKYS KIDS YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF

that time yorick was played by a polish jewish composer who died nearly 30 years before the production

well did not know that david tennant was actually talking to andrei tarkovsky's real skull in hamlet until today

[slowlystupendousdelusion]

Okay so in an attempt to focus on the positives, here are some bullet points of what I remember from the Greg Doran & David Tennant Shakespeare talk the other week.

Touchstone was DT's first Shakespeare part and As You Like It was the Shakespeare play he first remembers being interested in as there was a tour of it that went to his school.

A licence was needed to be able to use André Tchaikowsky's skull for Hamlet as he had died within the last 100 years old. DT dropped it during dress rehearsal the first time they used it and a bit broke off. Luckily they were able to fix it as it was a cheek(?) bit that had fallen out and could be put back in.

DT did a fair impression of both Sir Ian McKellen and (I think?) Al Pacino (I think this was in reference to 'Looking for Richard'??)

DT felt a lot of pressure in relation to Hamlet to the point that he was curled up in the foetal position before going on and had to be talked out of it by the speech assistant

They hold 'gyms' during the rehearsal period where they go through the play line by line to make sure everyone understands what they're saying. They might have discussions about it if there's not consensus.

GD thinks Love's Labour's Won (the lost play) is Much Ado About Nothing. DT countered this (to much laughter) with the plot of DW S3 Ep2. There was clearly a large Whovian contingent in attendance.

I've mentioned this elsewhere but they talked about other productions of Macbeth and GD mentioned one he'd seen with the following joke in the Porter scene: "Knock knock" "Who's there?" "Tom" "Tom who?" "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" DT said he wouldn't tell Jatinder or he'd use it that evening

DT's least favourite Shakespeare is The Taming of the Shrew, I think GD demurred on this. Both said favourite is always the one you're currently working on. So Macbeth atm.

The talked about intervals and how Shakespeare didn't really have them - the crowd would be standing and some scenes were built in as a break. Some plays lose momentum if an interval is place in (Macbeth was cited). It can be a bit of a challenge choosing where to place one and they mentioned how in their Vers of Hamlet they put the interval mid-line to shake up expectations etc.

They talked a bit about iambic pentameter and how it's not as important as purists might have you believe. Shakespeare started having thoughts cross lines as he got older - perhaps to help the actors?

They talked about the challenges of such well-known plays and creating suspense etc. Some of the lines are problematic and how as a director, you're not an academic so if it doesn't work you can cut them!

DT mentioned Iago (among others) as a character he still wanted to play [🙏🙏🙏pls & ty]

One of the questions was about how his Shakespeare performances informed his part in Rivals. The response was that Jilly Cooper and Shakespeare actually have a lot in common in that they understand how humans act and wouldn't shy away from bawdiness etc.

They did mention Richard III a fair amount but the specifics aren't coming to mind

They talked about reviews and how you can dismiss the bad ones but if you do that then you can't really take only the good ones to heart. My friend noted that this topic was the only time GD looked slightly uncomfortable during the talk but I can't say I noticed that.

I didn't actually write notes at the time so I'm sure I missed a bunch, but my other take away from this was how charismatic and naturally funny DT came across.

[aq2003]

ngl i didn't really process this because he went on to talk abt all the red tape around it and how andre tchaikowsky was probably the last guy they would let do this but dt saying yeah i would be happy for my skull to be donated to the rsc for hamlet is so fun. me when i want to continue doing shakespeare even after i die

[vastlynormal]

i am meant to create art with other people!!! i should be out with the ones dear to me singing and playing duets and quartets and being in a band and making manga and comics together sitting cramped in one of their rooms with my makeshift desk, im supposed to be in an ugly old stinky garage playing tchaikowsky and in a professional studio drawing silly gay comics!!!!

yet there i am drawing a realistic pie at 12am and spending many hours on it just to get a good mark that wont bring me closer to doing any of the things mentioned above