Some years ago, in the previous millennium, I had a gig at a recording session involving Nadja. She was recording the Brahms Horn Trio with John Cerminaro, French horn, and Cecil Licad, piano. I was hired to turn page for Licad. I wrote about this session in Page Turner to the Starz: Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg, John Cerminaro, and Cecil Licad record the Brahms Horn Trio. The recording session was held in the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, a 19th century concert hall with superb acoustics.
The first day (quoting from the piece I wrote):
Wed 6 Jan: WLB goes through usual morning routine. Into bathtub at c. 7:00 and watch Today Show. Out of tub c. 8:30 to shave and dress. Eat breakfast while watching Regis and Kathy Lee. Should I take some paper clips so I can mark turning points in the music? Nah. Walk to Music Hall at 9:50 to meet Peter at State St. (side) entrance. Meets Peter at 10, who takes him up into the hall, entering through the stage entrance. Piano immediately to left as walk onto stage; piled with coat and French Horn gig bag. Other piano in middle of stage, with other chairs and mikes hanging from booms. A video camera on tripod aimed at the stage. Two young women on stage – are these the musicians?
Continue across the stage and off through the dress circle and up two flights to room that’s doing duty as the control room. Speakers, mixing board, recorders, electronic gear. Video monitor showing the stage – no direct line of sight between stage and “control room.”
Three people, Karen, Tom (recording technician), Bob (piano technician). WLB introduced around. Peter leaves. Karen asks if $10/hr is OK.
WLB: Sure.
Karen: You’ll have to submit an invoice to get paid, I’ll give you the information later.
WLB: Fine.
Karen: They’re pretty good at paying. You can have them mail it to you or I could bring your check with me next time.
WLB thinking (what next time?): Oh that's OK. I’ll wait for the mail. What’re you recording?
Karen: The Brahms Horn Trio, with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on violin, John Cerminaro on horn, and Cecile Licad on piano.Fwitt! the light goes on in WLB's head when he hears “Salerno-Sonnenberg” (but assumes absolutely cool and composed facial expression, matching Karen’s delivery of names). WLB is mainly into jazz, hasn’t followed classical for 20 years. But, a few years ago he was watching Johnny Carson and saw this impish violinist who played with great intensity and passion, though it was only the Carson show. She carried a picture of a baseball player in her violin case. Had a long name. Then only a few months ago, late 92, CBS did a 2-hour special on performers who had been featured on 60-minutes. There was that same violin player with the long last name, again. And now he was going to be turning pages at her recording session. What a delight.
I take a seat in front of the stage while they fiddle around with the sound. After awhile Nadja introduces herself:
Nadja: Are you the page-turner?
WLB: Yes.
Nadja: I wondered who you were sitting there so silently. I’m Nadja, this is John.
WLB: I’m Bill.The way she said “I’m Nadja” betokened an uneasy compromise with her fame. How do you survive as a human being when you are on the Virtuoso Track? It defines the way you present your art and make your living and gives others the right to anchor their hope, grief, & passion to what you do and become in performance. But what of your passion, not to mention your simple needs and wants? The North Star is a navigational aid only for those of us who are so far away. To those who live there, it’s the uncharted sea. How do you live as the uncharted sea that others use as a guide point?
* *
I'm wondering just whose recording date this is. It is a horn trio they’re recording, suggesting that the date is John’s. But Nadja is certainly the one with the name. The interaction does suggest it's her date, but not all that strongly. She's certainly not making strong displays of authority.
* *
Nadja, kneeling at her violin case doing something or other, talking to herself and/or no one in particular: “On Jan 15th I’ll be toity twee.” (WLB thinking: Is that 33? Thought she was younger.) Quite often she speaks in a little girl’s voice. It’s strange. Makes me feel protective. Assume it’s about coping with life on the Virtuoso Track.
Yes, that was very strange, to hear an adult woman speak in a high tweety-bird voice. She's not talking that way in the Johnny Carson clip, but she was often talking that way during this recording session.
There's more in the article, which pretty much covers the whole two days, including what people had for lunch at a local bar. One of my musical heroes, Dizzy Gillespie, died on the first day of the recording session, Jan. 6, 1993. I mention Diz to Cerminaro the next day. They played different instruments, different kinds of music, but a brass player is a brass player and music is music.
* * * * *
No comments:
Post a Comment