Current Radar - 11/1/22

Here are some things that have been occupying space in my head over the past couple of weeks.

The New Yorker profile of Toto Wolff. Like many Americans, I’ve become quite a big Formula 1 fan since watching the Drive to Survive documentary on Netflix. In the process, I’ve come to really love and respect the Mercedes team principal and owner, Toto Wolff. His personality and leadership style are defined by a few pronounced traits: He’s a gigantic perfectionist, he is intensely passionate about his work, and he is very competitive. Sure, these aren’t uncommon traits among successful leaders. What is uncommon is his willingness to be public about his struggle with mental health. It is very important that public figures are talking about this in public, especially ones who are understood to be successful.

Will Guidara’s new book Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. I heard Will on the Dave Chang Podcast taking about his new book and his radical views on hospitality, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I can’t wait to read this book and consider how it relates to the arts.

I’m pleased to be heading to Indianapolis next week to give a class at PASIC, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. My session is called Harnessing the Thunder: Musicality at the Concert Bass Drum and it is on Saturday, November 12th at 9am. This class is an overview of the fundamentals of playing the Concert Bass Drum that I have gathered over the years performing in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Major topics include 1.) Basic Strokes and Sound Production, 2.) Techniques for Rolls and Sustaining, 3.) Approaches to Dampening and Muting, 4.) Stick Choice and Style Considerations, and 5.) Tuning and Care for the Instrument. If you’re planning on attending this year, I hope you’ll consider attending. Also, that night at Bands of America Grand Nationals I’ll be there to see my dad get inducted into the Music for All Hall of Fame!

Pygmalion. This French period instrument ensemble is setting new standards for performance and recording, and I’m here for it. A few years ago, I had one of those “stay-in-the-car-until-its-over” times when listening to classical music radio. It was a Bach B minor mass recording that turned out to be Pygmalion, an ensemble that was new to me. Recently, recordings of the Bach St. Matthew Passion and Bach/Handel with the amazing soprano Sabine Devieilhe have been in very heavy rotation.