Gunn Plays Shostakovich
Orchestral Excerpt Insights • 24-May-2021
Audiences around the world have marveled at the beautiful and consistent playing of Jennifer Gunn, piccolo of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her instrument may be small, but her approach to making music with it is mighty. In this Orchestral Excerpt Insights video, she describes the importance of airflow, sound concept and rigorous preparation. “An excerpt like the Shostakovich Sixth, first movement, needs a very strong, steady air stream, even though the printed dynamic of piano is deceptive and makes the player want to play less. But in fact, for me, that piano dynamic means power and strength in a tiny package. So I don't want to play loud, but I can't play without an inner strength and determination.”
Up Next in Orchestral Excerpt Insights
-
Yeh Plays Bernstein
In this episode of Orchestral Excerpt Insights, CSO Principal Percussion Cynthia Yeh demonstrates how a vibraphone can evoke the drama of Leonard Bernstein’s epic score from West Side Story. For Yeh, this excerpt comes alive when the player focuses on creating a scene and using the full ...
-
Yeh Plays Berlioz
When it premiered in 1830, Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique astounded musicians and audiences alike with its innovative instrumentation, form and exploration of extra-musical plot. In this Orchestral Excerpt Insight, CSO Assistant Principal Clarinet and E-flat Clarinet John Bruce Yeh demons...
-
Sharp Plays Beethoven
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 is known around the world, and although the music conveys power and beauty to listeners, the piece poses many challenges for its performers. In this Orchestra Excerpt Insight, CSO Principal Cello John Sharp explores three passages from the second movement, which is ofte...