Ice, snow and electric violins

Cincinnati is having a bad weather day. Last night's commute was hell, from all indications. I had only to drive 11 blocks to Music Hall, and that took over 20 minutes. When I left there before nine, after the salt trucks and plows had had time to do their magic, it still took 40 minutes to drive the 12 miles home in no traffic. It was slushy, slippery, and dangerous.

Rehearsal with John Adams went well, despite the missing singers. Singers were still drifting in around 8 PM, when rehearsal had been scheduled for 6:15. He's a delightful conductor, very clear in his direction. His personality is upbeat and fun, and he uses tact to get the results he wants.

His music is extremely difficult to sing, primarily because of its rhythmic complexity, so I'm sure he has to deal with choirs that don't do it well. We're better than most but we're still having a hard time. He handles it all with aplomb. He told us last night about how On the Transmigration of Souls was a flop in London because the British chorus didn't understand how to sing the ordinary language of the piece.

The texts were taken from missing posters on the streets of NY after 9/11 and from remembrances of the victims that were published in the NY Times.

"He was extremely good looking. Girls never talked to me when he was around."

"He called me every day. I'm still waiting."

"I wanted to dig him out. I know just where he is."

"It's been three months, but it feels like yesterday since I saw your beautiful face, saying 'I love you to the moon and back.'"

It's hard to sing those lines without tearing up. You have to suck it up and concentrate on the performance, not the emotion.

The second half of the concert will feature Leila Josefowicz playing the electric violin in Adams' The Dharma at Big Sur. I'm looking forward to hearing it. The array of percussion at the back of the stage is a hint that it's going to have big sonic impact.