As an orchestra conductor, I'm not terribly tuned in to events that happen around the world. Certainly I'm aware of major world events, tragic and joyous, but my work generally suffers no impact when something goes wrong elsewhere on planet Earth. Until Eyjafjallajökull...If I had been in Europe when the volcano erupted, or if I were going to conduct a concert in Europe, it would be clear how it impacted me. But I was in New York, planning a concert in New York. The problem is: that the sheet music I need is in Europe.
"Seriously? You can't find the music in America?" No. On May 8, the Astoria Symphony is scheduled to perform Jean-Baptist Lully's Triomphe de l'amour Ballet Suite, a rarely performed piece from the early Baroque period. It's so rarely performed that there is only one edition of the parts commercially available, and it's published by Doblinger, and there isn't a single copy anywhere on Earth, except in Europe (that I know of). I'm told by multiple sources that there is virtually no way I can receive the parts on time, unless I spend a ton of money and don't mind the orchestra sight-reading at the first rehearsal. And I have to get really lucky for the parts to arrive before the first rehearsal. I'd have to be quite lucky for the parts to arrive before the concert, for that matter. Ugh."Why didn't you order the music much earlier, before the volcano erupted?" Besides the fact that I didn't know the volcano would erupt, and that it would keep planes on the ground for weeks, or that the parts didn't exist anywhere in America, I wasn't entirely sure the concert would happen because the Astoria Symphony is waiting for funds to arrive from the State of New York. It was a perfect storm.
"Have you called [someone you think might have the parts]?" Yes. They don't have the parts.
"Have you ever looked on IMSLP Petrucci Library?" Yes. There are no parts. And have you seen the score? Only an early music specialist could read the parts, even if they were available.
"Why don't you just change the program?" The concert theme is "triumphant love" and this Lully suite is the cornerstone of the whole program - the concert is billed as "The Astoria Symphony presents Le Triomphe de l'amour."
"What are you going to do?" Laugh. And then I'll substitute something by Tchaikovsky and have a really funny story to tell the audience in the pre-concert lecture.
The lessons I learned are: A) do not wait to order your music for a concert that is happening in less than a month, B) do not rely on funds from the State of New York for a concert, C) do not expect that a volcano in Iceland will have no impact on your concert in America, and D) do not program obscure music that is not in print in your hemisphere. And never do all three!
