[img]541|left|Carter Dewberry||no_popup[/img][Editor’s Note: Our every-Tuesday essayist, an acclaimed cello artist , presently is in the East on her first national tour.]
As I traversed the sheep-trodden fields, I caught strains of Beethoven's Pasorale Symphony riding on the wind.
Okay, I wasn't exactly in early nineteenth century rural Europe; I was sitting in a concert hall in Arkansas. My imagination, however, had me smelling a strangely inoffensive mixture of fresh flowers and wet wool.
Not for the first time, I saw this programmatic work as an archeological relic of a time before the onslaught of media. Perhaps it is so many years of living in Los Angeles, but I quite enjoyed sitting back in my seat and allowing my imagination to wander as opposed to having images fed to me. It's like the difference between seeing a movie and reading a book.
At the same time, my short-attention-span side was more than ready for the fourth movement's “storm” to wrap up. As many times as I have played the piece, I still couldn't guess when Beethoven would finally end the last movement… I lost track of the “tails.”
Judging by smiles that morphed into head bobs, I don't think I was alone this evening in my mixed response.
I plan my performances to appeal to the many sides of my musical character. This week in Arkansas, I am testing my theories on varied performance approaches to hundreds of students and adults of all ages. So far the response has been enthusiastic… I hope to keep it that way!
(For those living in northwest Arkansas, please join me at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
http://eventful.com/fayetteville_ar/events/
Ms. Dewberry, an accomplished cellist, completed her DMA in Chamber Music Performance from UCLA in December 2005. She received her MM in Cello Performance from UCLA in June 2002 and her B.M. in Cello Performance from Western Michigan University in April 1998. She also holds a B.A. in French with a minor in Women's Studies and Philosophy.
Her website is www.carterdewberry.com
She may be contacted at carter@carterdewberry.com
