Fun and Information Smorgasbord

Have you ever had a Sean Rasmussen in your life?  If so you will understand how impossible it is to explain to anyone what in the world a Sean Rasmussen is.

My father, also an Arkansas Hillbilly, would have said that Sean Rasmussen was a poet, but didn’t know it!  Longfellow.  For my dad anything or anyone who rhymed was a poet.

If that is too obscure you will have to understand that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was indeed a famous poet and my father was very fond of letting the world know that he was aware of this.

Since Sean Rasmussen is very tall and skinny, he qualifies for dad’s idea of a poet, Longfellow. However, since this is a blog about Sean Rasmussen, the internet marketer, it is important to get back to the subject matter and not continue in the hillbilly way of just chatter.

Of course one has to understand that Thunderbolt and Blogfoot play a big part in this whole world of getting it right.

It is with the greatest pleasure and pride that I announce that my dad, Dr Raymond Franks and Sean Rasmussen have a great deal in common.

Perhaps I should digress momentarily and let you know that my dad is/was my hero.  He was a clergyman who was dedicated to his role as a shepherd.

He gave his life 100% to the undertaking of helping people find a philosophy of life that worked and let them live a happy and productive life.  His model was Jesus Christ.

However, the model is not the issue here. Sean Rasmussen is also a very dedicated shepherd who is determined to share his hard earned knowledge and information with anyone who will genuinely embrace his philosophy of life which is simply look for your reason for existence and then live it to the full.

Sean Rasmussen sets an example for all of us because he had to work hard and believe hard to come to the inspired spot where he now is.

It was not presented to him on a silver platter.  He didn’t inherit it.  There were many who laughed at him.  There were also those who scoffed. Here is an example of the true Sean Rasmussen from a couple of years ago.

Fiji

However, the Sean Rasmussen who exists today is an example of someone who has found his reason for existence and is with the greatest pleasure sharing it with those of us who are mere mortals, but who want to follow his path of instruction and consequent fulfillment.

So join the legions who will be singing the praises of Sean Rasmussen, the internet marketer, for eons to come.

Speaking of singing, I don’t think Sean Rasmussen will likely become a musician or even a singer, but his son plays the piano so it seems only fitting that I add a present for him (assuming his father is in a good mood and wants to buy him something).  Here is the place to go for anything in the world of music.

So one indulgence that soothes my excitement at being alive is staying up late playing bridge on the computer with my favorite partners from around the world.  This is fairly inexpensive except in loss of sleep and consumption of red wine.

Then there is going to competitions around the country where I not only play bridge endlessly but catch up socially with bridge playing friends whom I haven’t seen and/or defeated since the last national tournament.

NEED FOR INDULGENCE

Probably most everyone feels he has the need and/or right to indulge from time to time.  Musicians are no different.  We live in an intense world where our feelings and emotions are often very exposed.  This can make us very vulnerable while at the same time giving us thrills second to none.

I am going to expose an indulgence of mine right here.

A few years ago I conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on tour with John Farnham, the Australian rock star.  I had the most wonderful time indulging myself in a new kind of music making.  So here is a link to one of the numbers we did on that tour.  I hope you enjoy it half as much as I enjoyed doing it.

After the indulgence of making music I think most of us feel the need for a different kind of indulgence.  For some it could easily be food and drink.  It is all too easy to think of the fact that for the musician the five o’clock hour if often eleven o’clock.  Consequently, since we mustn’t indulge in too much food or drink before work, we are very tempted to treat from eleven o’clock as our time for a drink, a big meal and then possibly a bit of our favorite armangnac.

COPING WITH TEMPTATION

We all know that eating after nine in the evening is not good for the digestion.  We also know that alcohol is not always a good friend unless used very wisely and with great discipline.  So since we can’t join the host of real people who can eat at a decent hour, have a glass or so of wine with that meal and settle down for the evening’s activities, what are we to do with the ever present temptation to indulge shamelessly in activities that eventually we are going to regret, assuming we live long enough for the regret to set in.

This is why disciplined musicians face their world as being wonderful but unique.  It won’t fit into the rules that society basically has set out, so we have to make our own.  This really is not so difficult to do so long as we approach it sanely and without complaint.  I am very fortunate in that my wife was also a professional musician so we could share our world even though it at times was not what was popularly considered normal.

INDULGENCES THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE

It really is just a matter of settling down and finding a way of life that is pleasing and follows all the rules necessary to be able to have a life as a professional musician.  There are many things that can distract us such as golf, fishing, bridge, sport of one sort or another, reading and on and on.  So, we do indulge and have a wonderful time doing it.  The only difference really is probably the actual scheduling of it since our main performances are normally at night and that throws routine out the window unless you plan carefully and sensibly.

So you see musicians are real people who not only entertain in every sense of the word, but work hard at it and sometimes even get paid for it.  They also have hobbies that will to one extent or another furnish them (me) with an outlet for the income.  My hobbies are bridge, driving, my dog (a bullmastiff), reading and going to concerts (including plays, opera, ballet etc as well as symphony, chamber music and solo recitals).

BRIDGE

For me one of the great hobbies is playing bridge.  As a musician there is the temptation to socialize with musicians, talk about music, listen to music, gossip about musicians and on and on.  I find that playing bridge is not only a great game but also a welcome relief from the world of music.  One of the more amusing bits for me was one night when I came home from the bridge club where I had had a very nice game with my regular partner, my wife asked me what his profession was.  I had to admit that I had no idea.  She then asked what his last name was, and again I had to confess that I had no idea.  I had played for months with this partner and only had his phone number and our schedule of games.  I knew his address because I sometimes collected him.  We ate and drank together as well as played bridge, but I played with him for several months before, prompted by my wife, I found out his last name and his profession.  However, this didn’t ever get included in our conversations.  They were and are always exclusively about bridge.

BRIDGE AND TRAVEL

Another wonderful thing about the game of bridge is that when traveling, which I do a lot, it is always possible to find a bridge club and organize a game.  You can play bridge in any language and with any age, sex, race, religion, sexual orientation and not be aware of any of these facts but only notice how well or not they play the game.

YOUR HOBBIES

People who are not professional musicians in many ways have the best of all possible worlds.  I always tell my students that if they think they can enjoy their lives with music as a hobby rather than a profession they should do just that.  Because unless you have a real passion that drives you through thick and thin you will never make it as a professional musician.  So for wonderful pleasure and fulfillment I recommend music to you as a hobby, pastime or pursuit as an amateur unless you have that burning passion that will force you to undertake the trials and turmoil of the music profession.

For instance, if you would like to learn easily to play the piano so you can become one of the real people then take a look at this idea! Otherwise enjoy listening, going to concerts, recitals, operas, ballets and letting music inspire you in many ways.

Musicians have to travel a great deal as part of the profession.  Being a free lance conductor it is my lot to have to go wherever I am invited and that can be anywhere in the world.  When I first realized that I would be traveling a lot I had to be careful not to succumb to the temptation of complaining about the time spend in transit.  You often hear people complain about the taxi ride to the airport, the time spent between arriving at the airport and getting on the plane, the customs clearance and how frustrating it can be for those of us who have left the guns and such at home and on and on.  It is true that there is a lot of routine and repetition in travel, but since it is a necessary part of the world that I have chosen to live and work in I think I have to find a way to enjoy it all to one degree or another.

Not long ago I traveled to New Zealand to conduct all sorts of things in a Gershwin Festival in Martinborough.  One of the great thrills was working with a great Maori soprano, Marie Te Hapuku.  Here is a link to her singing Someone To Watch Over Me with the Gershwin Festival Orchestra.  (By the way she is singing (has sung) Abigaille in Nabucco with me in September 2010 in Tokyo)

I find that I browse every single shelf of the bookstores in the airports if I have time on my hands.  It is amazing what you can find if you take the time to actually look at all the books and magazines that are there.  We all are often in such a hurry for some reason or another that we really don’t take the time just to browse and see what the world is offering us in the way of printed material.  It is absolutely fantastic how much there is to read and how everything one can possibly imagine is in one way or another referred to in print.  I often wish that everyone would stop writing for about 100 years and let me try to catch up.  I find it very frustrating when I see how many books I really do want to read and just don’t get around to reading.  I will admit to something that I find amusing.  I can from time to time get home from a trip and discover that I have purchased a book to read that I already have in the bookcase which I bought at some other airport and haven’t yet gotten around to reading.  So with two brand new copies of a book I couldn’t live without I just smile broadly and take one of them to dinner with me the next time I’m invited out and present it to my host with glowing remarks about what an irresistible book it is.

DRIVING INSTEAD OF FLYING

Driving is certainly a wonderful hobby.  I enjoy my red car very much and am happy to drive anywhere I can find an excuse to go.  I have gone over to diesel so this is now not as expensive as it used to be before diesel.  I drive whenever I can because I fly so much that it is a joy and relaxation to drive, listen to music and in general look at this wonderful world I live in.

Take a look if you are interested in travel and one of the best ways to organize it.

I have a wonderful library of books which I have read and which I intend to read.  However, because of the amount of time I spend in airports I keep adding to it.  Also I am an Amazon.com addict.  I have a kindle which is getting loaded with books I must read on my next trip.  I also not have a iPad which has a book reading component.  I don’t remember what it is called, but I have already added six books to it in case I get stuck in the Singapore airport with nothing to read.  Reading is one of the great pleasures of being a real person.  I have rather catholic tastes and try to indulge them all.  Certainly it is a harmless and terrific way to get away from music for a few hours here and there.

If you want to join me with my Kindle Addiction, here is the place to satisfy it.

READING CAN BE HABIT FORMING

When I was in university and also in graduate school I had to read so much that I honestly thought that as soon as I got out of those institutions I would never read another book.  It is amusing and fascinating that the opposite has happened.  I seem to have form such a firm habit of reading and having to read and having to absorb everything I possibly could that I have not stopped reading ever since.  In fact I think I can honestly say that I average between four had five books a week that have nothing to do with anything other than my reading addiction.

So I suggest you beware – reading can be habit forming.

WHAT TO READ

The children often asked for suggestions as to what to read next.  I feel very fortunate that all three of them are habitual readers.  I know they read a lot of crap that I would never allow in my bookcase, but then there is a lot of junk there that they would never have in their houses either.  From so many points of view reading is a wonderful disease.  It gives us so very many topics of conversation and discussion.  Certainly it can lead to many wonderfully heated disagreements.  All in all I think that a family who reads a lot has a wonderful bond and an endless source of communication and discussion.

BOOKS AS GIFTS

I honestly feel that books can be among the most wonderful gifts.  You can tailor your gift to being personal, impersonal, professional, funny, serious and on and on.  It may be a revealing exercise, but it certainly it one of those things which can come in very handy in the overall scheme of living.  I love giving books and certainly enjoy being challenged by receiving one that I have not read.

MUSICIANS CAN READ NOT ONLY NOTES BUT ALSO WORDS

As a musician who loves notes and sounds I will admit that I also have a passion for words and the genius of being able to write.

So, I will now rest my case. Musicians ARE real people.

Something that sets us among real people is the fact that we love to entertain socially as well as professionally.  There is nothing more fun than spending more money that I have to indulge in preparing a banquet of the most wonderful foods, cheese, wine, champagne and armangac for a dozen or so of my closest friends or those whom I would like to be my friends like philanthropists (particularly those interested in sponsoring conductors), agents, orchestral managers, recording gurus and other such modest and interesting people.  In order to do this I have to have knowledge of and access to the best place to buy the food and wine.

BANQUET

A wonderful meal always reminds me of a wonderful symphony.  It has a carefully constructed form.  All the elements must be complementary and in the right order.  A four movement symphony usually is fast, slow, something different and then again fast.  It is not necessary to always have it this way.  There are many variations that have been very successful by great composers.  A meal is much the same thing to me.  A creative host/ess will put together with perfection a symphony with all the elements being in the right order and wonderfully compatible while being interestingly different.  I think I admire the planner of a great dinner as much as I do a great composer.  They are both sensuous beings who are doing their thing to tantalize the senses to the highest form of excitement possible within the bounds of acceptability and with the knowledge of and respect for the occasion.

BACKGROUND MUSIC

This is a part of social entertaining that I feel very strongly about.  Often when invited to dinner I find that from the time I arrive until I depart there is music of some sort playing in the background.  It usually is not loud enough to really hear and not soft enough to ignore.  Choosing music to accompany an evening which includes dining and drinking is usually done very carefully when I am invited because of my being a conductor.  I never know whether to comment, act appreciative, discuss the music chosen or to ignore it and hope that it will soon end and no one will notice and put something else on.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Personally I feel that music should either be listened to or not be played.  I find that I cannot ignore music.  It may be a professional problem, but I really find it difficult not to pay attention to it.  It is frustrating if I can’t hear it and equally frustrating if I can and am expected to talk and listen to talk as well.  I feel that I really must behave socially so I try to find a way not to let it distract or disturb me.  However, by the end of the evening I am exhausted from trying to talk through, over or during music being played and at the same time concentrate on what is being said or discussed.

I would be happiest if background music were banned.  It is a very difficult task, if not impossible, to please everyone.  Music surely was not intended as a opiate.  It was written by composers who had something to say and who wanted to entertain the audience.  I think we should respect the composer by listening to his music intently rather than trying to multi-task by listening and talking and eating all at once.

Whew, I am glad I got that off my chest.

I love entertaining professionally.  One of the things about this that makes me a real person is that getting paid to entertain doesn’t embarrass me or in any way upset me.  I am willing to accept this fact and use what I earn, as well as my credit, to indulge myself in other things such as entertainment and my hobbies.

CAREER

I have been making my living conducting for a very long time.  I have been Music Director of Symphony Orchestras, Opera Companies and Ballet Companies.  As well I was for a few years Head of Music of an Opera Studio which was dedicated to furnishing the training needed for singers between university or conservatory and the profession.  I am still an active conductor, teacher and coach.  So I know the thrill of entertaining professionally in many of the areas of music making.

Below is a link to one of the fun times I had as a conductor.  I conducted a tour of Hello Dolly with the wonderful Australian Star, Jill Perryman.  Here is a video clip of the title tune with her and the company and with me in the pit.

CONDUCTING

For me there is nothing more thrilling than performing.  As a conductor it is second to none in excitement and has an emotional high that is not possible to describe accurately unless you have experienced it.  The rehearsal process is fascinating and interesting.  When you have a symphony orchestra you are facing a group of musicians who come from all sorts of backgrounds and are every age from very young to not so young.  Their musical training and heritage is also very varied.  The exciting job is to try to take these various elements and mold them and convince them that what you feel about a piece works and challenge them to do it your way.

THE ORCHESTRAL MUSICIAN

Performers have egos.  Soloists certainly do and they intend to do it the way they have prepared it.  However, the orchestral player’s ego is a very different sort of thing.  An orchestral musician has spent his life perfecting his ability to play his/her instrument.  This includes being able to play it in various ways and various styles.  The actual ego is most satisfied when one is able to play a piece wonderfully exactly as requested whether or not one actually agrees with what is wanted. This is a world that is rare and I think most interesting.  If, as a conductor, I am able to enthuse a player so that s/he wants to play as I ask, then I have been successful and we will have a wonderful performance.

IS THE CONDUCTOR A LEADER OR A DICTATOR

Many of my conducting students come to the world of conducting intending to dictate their superior musical knowledge and opinion.  My teacher once told me that no matter how good my technique is or how well I know the score there will not be a great performance unless the players want to play specifically for me.  This was very hard to accept as a student.  However, as a professional I have come to realize that this is true.  The musicians don’t have to like me, want to have a coffee with me or even talk to me, but they do have to want to play their best for me.  So the real art of conducting boils down to leadership.  This is an abstract field and maybe one day I will write a book about it.

I love conducting which I consider entertaining professionally.

If you want some fun and entertainment browse the site below for some wonderful moments in your life.

Concert going is great fun.  I am a wonderful audience.  I don’t go as a critic, but go to listen and be swept away into the magic world of music and/or theater.  Mind you this can if I’m not careful become quite expensive, but well worth it.

THERE ARE SO MANY CHOICES

I guess that my first choice is the symphony concert.  I think that listening to a full symphony orchestra live is second to none in aural and visual excitement.  The repertoire is vast and in most cities there are symphony concerts on a very regular basis.  I have fairly catholic tastes so I can enjoy most concerts.  There are some pieces that I have either heard so many times and/or conducted so often that I don’t rush to hear another version of those.  But, that leaves a lot of other music there for me to enjoy.

OPERA

Another wonderful form of music and theater is opera.  I love getting lost in the magic of the theater.  It is always a great joy to be transported away from reality for a few hours and live in a world that is total make believe.  Again I find that I am very happy listening to everything from Handel to something just written.  Somehow the human voice has a kind of beauty that is not possible on any man made instrument.

Below you will find a link to a fun bit from a production of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus which I conducted at the Sydney Opera House.  In Act II it is traditional to have guests at the party.  In this production our guests were none other than Fred and Ginger (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers).  So here is a video clip of their guest appearance at the Sydney Opera House with me conducting the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra in the pit.

BALLET

I think that ballet is one of the most interesting forms of music theater.  I am always amazed at how many people go to the ballet and don’t actually hear the music at all.  When I go to the ballet I find that I am very aware of the music all the way through and sit in awe and admiration watching how someone has been creative enough to transform the music into dance.  That’s not to minimize the thrill of seeing those incredible dancers do things that even when I young, fit and desirable I could not possibly have done.

CHAMBER MUSIC

As a chamber music pianist myself I must admit that I enjoy performing it far more than listening to it.  Somehow I think that if we go back to the roots of chamber music it really was for an evening of music making after dinner and possibly a glass or two of wine among friends.  I think that taking a small ensemble and training it to the height of perfection that is happening nowadays and them putting them on show or in a cage, as it were, is really not the spirit of true chamber music.  That is not to say that I don’t go, but I do prefer doing it to listening to it in a formal concert situation.  I can enjoy very much hearing my friends play in the living room while I indulge in dreams and/or a glass of red wine.

SOLO RECITALS

Solo recitals do give me a thrill.  I am sorry to see that they are becoming more or less a relic of the past.  Somehow the drama of a dark auditorium and the spotlight on a single instrument is magic and very personal for the performer.  I think that maybe the future will see a return of more solo recitals.  I hope so.

Your COMPUTER and your TELEVISION as they relate to music

If you would like to be able to convert your TV to your PC so you can see and hear musicians who are real people on your computer then have a look at this possibility!

As a musician I do from time to time wonder why people think that musicians are not real people.  We eat, sometimes even sleep, occasionally drink a drop or two and have learned to talk in some language or another.

EXTRAVAGANCE

I think the thing that makes us more real than anything else is how much money we spend on things that we don’t need.  However, we are very aware that we might need them one day.  For instance when I first conducted a Beethoven symphony I was not content to buy the score for that one but had to also buy a score of each of the other eight.  Of course I then had to have the best recording of the one I was learning so I purchased all nine of them as performed by as many of the great conductors that I admired who had recorded them.  Mind you I knew that I had to learn them from the scores and not from recordings, but I am the proud owner of several definitive scores as well as a host of what are known as the best recordings available.  I haven’t found the time to listen to all of them yet, but I will get around to it.  I feel I must confide a secret at this point.  I am really waiting for some record company to ask me to record all of them.  When this happens I will really have the recordings I need for listening.

If you want to hear some wonderful performances of these symphonies I highly recommend getting the Toscanni recordings which you can find at Amazon.

The joy of having conducted all of these magnificent works will be exceeded only when I have recorded them so everyone can hear for themselves.  You will have to wait a while for mine to be available, but Maestro Toscanni’s performances will certainly thrill you enormously.

You see musicians are real people.

There are several misconceptions and misunderstandings about brandy. Not everyone is aware that Armagnac, Cognac and Calvados are all brandies.

Those who have yet to experience the Excitement of the differences among them will all too often feel that they are comparable.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  These three brandies vary enormously.

One would expect certain things to be contributors to these differences. First there is the Soil Type. Then the Climate and Kind Of Grapes will also make a big difference. In addition to these obvious factors they also differ in Distilling Procedures and Aging Methods.

As someone once pointed out to me when an acquaintance of ours said that there really was no difference between Armagnac And Cognac – there is as much difference as between Bordeaux and Burgundy or if you prefer the Italian fine reds between Barolo and Brunello.

Maybe we should talk about location of these brandies. Armagnac is the southernmost of the three. It is 150 miles south of Cognac and about 100 miles east of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in the southwest corner of France. Its 15,000 hectares form the center of the area known as Gascony.

With Cognac on the west coast of France 150 miles north of Armagnac you get an entirely different feeling and certainly the cognac is vastly different from armagnac. Calvados is still on the west side of France but in the north.

An interesting fact which few people recognize is that Armagnac Was France’s First Brandy. Because of its concentrated, complex aromas and tremendous length, it still remains first in the hearts of True Connoisseurs. It is accepted that cognac is armagnac’s closest relative, but the differences are quite strong and unique.

As you can see from the slanted ways in which I write about brandies, I feel that armagnac is very much the most wonderful brandy. I hope that, if you haven’t, you will try armagnac with an open mind and understand why I feel it is truly the Most Beautiful Eau de Vie in the world.

Here is a chance to hear a professional talk about cognac and armangnac.

Maybe if we look at Gascony and its cuisine it will be easier to understand the wonders of armagnac. Ducks and geese are the backbones of Gascon cuisine. Nothing is wasted: from these plump birds comes the foie gras (fattened liver), magret de canard (duck breast), confit (quarters preserved in their own fat), grease (often used in place of oil), kidneys to be flambeed with armagnac, liver to be spread on toast, and the carcass which is often grilled over hot coals. Southwestern French specialities include: Truffles, Cepes, Foie Gras, Becasse (woodcock), Salmis de Palombes, the “Chabrot” after the Garbure (soup with cabbage, duck and beans), and the Apple Tart or Croustade.

Many people consider Gascony to be the Most Important Gastronomic Region of France. It certainly has produced some famous chefs like Andre Daguin and Alain Dutournier. All of that to one side however, do try at least a dozen different armagnacs with your after dinner cigar or whatever you have with your brandy and then tell me that there is another brandy that is worthy of being drunk.

If you do decide that you prefer cognac and/or calvados, please send your excess armagnac to me. Enjoy your armagnac in moderation, but do enjoy it and smile as you consume it.