The accomplished St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conductor laureate, Leonard Slatkin, turns 80 years old today. That's difficult for me to believe. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was conducting an orchestra in which I played the bass? I remember him striding onto the stage, very matter-of-fact and businesslike, and saying to the orchestra, "Let's see how you're doing." We launched right into the first movement of Alan Hovhaness's melodic second symphony, "Mysterious Mountain." The first time he stopped us, he told our section, "Double basses, a light touch is needed on the pizzicato (to represent) pebbles falling down a mountain."
I think we all realized right away that Slatkin was a conductor who could open any score and get the results he wanted from an orchestra efficiently. That rehearsal wasn't just yesterday, though; it happened in 1987, and it's strange to realize that Slatkin was younger than I am now.
It's disconcerting how fast time has flown. That applies to this blog, as well. When I started it on September 1, 2014, I thought it might last a year or two. Ten years and 3,654 posts later, I see no reason to stop anytime soon. There will always be new music to review and gems from the past I've missed and wish to spotlight. As long as I'm capable of writing about music and radio stations that interest me, I plan to keep the posts coming. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed these first 10 years of musicandradiomusings.blogspot.com.
