Avery Davidson
Author's posts
Oct 09
Symphony No. 38 (“Prague”)
Now, many of you might be wondering, “He skipped No. 37. Why did he do that?” That is because, technically, “his” Symphony No. 37 is not his. He took it from a composer friend named Michael Haydn, and all Mozart did with the piece was add an introduction to the first movement. So, we are …
Oct 06
Fourth Week
I have now really started to delve deep into the textbook, which now has gone over all the basic techniques for conducting, such as what each hand is used for, how to conduct in different meters, and how to balance the different techniques all at once. I did not realize before that there are many …
Sep 28
Symphony No. 36 (“Linz”)
This second of the late symphonies was composed in 1783, when he was traveling back home to Vienna from Salzburg and made a quick stop at Linz. In my opinion, this is an underrated piece of music, and actually, it is my favorite of all of Mozart’s symphonies. There is so much in this symphony …
Sep 24
Third Week
Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that I could not get to this week. For example, I couldn’t see Mr. Meyer’s rehearsal with Instrumental Ensemble, and I didn’t get to go to my father’s rehearsal. Therefore, it was a slower week. However, I made immense progress on my studies of Mozart’s Symphony No. 39. …
Sep 22
Symphony No. 35 (“Haffner”)
The first of Mozart’s late symphonies was written for a commission from his childhood friend, Sigmund Haffner, who was going through a process of ennoblement. This symphony does not shy back from its monarch-like and aristocratic nature, as all the movements have some sort of royal aspect to them; the first movement has the great …
Sep 21
Mozart’s Late Symphonies
What would my life be without Mozart? He has given me so much: my first opera, my favorite opera, and these wonderful symphonies that have been the first scores I have annotated. I have marked up three of his symphonies now! There is a huge difference between just reading a score and actually studying a …
Sep 18
Second Week
More of the interactive parts have been coming into place! I have started to read “The Grammar of Conducting” textbook, which has been going over many of the basic techniques that is common knowledge to many conductors (how to beat four, keeping time, etc). I also got the opportunity to watch one of my father’s …
Sep 14
Duke Rehearsal #1
I am so glad and honored that I got the chance to watch a symphony rehearsal done by Maestro Harry Davidson. To fully study my father’s conducting techniques for rehearsal in detail made me feel so happy. There is one particular section of a piece that he rehearsed that I would like to share some …
Sep 11
First Week
This week was more of getting everything ready for many of the processes and studies I will start for the weeks ahead. I wrote an email to Mr. Nabors, who leads a men’s choir called Vox Virorum. I’m going to try to see if I can get into rehearsals with him to study how he …
Aug 13
Welcome!!
Hello Music Lovers!! My name is Avery Davidson, and I am aspiring to be a conductor. This blog will be used for describing what I do for my Independent Study, which is on the subject of conducting. Through this study, I will be looking at what makes a great conductor and how does a conductor …