May 17, 2007
Although violists and bassoon players have long argued over who gets the least respect in the music world, orchestras and ensembles of all kinds depend on the skill of a utility player so overlooked, he or she doesn’t even rate a mention in the program book. Today, a look behind the scenes – and behind the pianist – with LACO resident page turner, Daniel Stott.
How did you get into page turning? Was it a dream from childhood or something you just stumbled into?
Well, aside from the fantasy I always used to have about standing eerily close to Rick Wakeman while he was taking a blistering Moog solo, I didn’t give page turning much of a thought as a child. My first experience was in college (Isn’t everybody’s?!). A trombone player who was a friend asked if I would turn pages for his accompanist on his junior recital. I agreed to do it because I figured it beat the heck out of actually just sitting through the trombone recital. Just kidding. So, I apparently did a good job. The piano player played all the right notes at the right time and I didn’t get my head caught in the piano lid so it was a resounding success. After that, people seemed to figure out that I am either good enough at reading the music to be okay at it or I am too stupid to be scared of messing up. Now I get the best seat in the house for a concert.
Tell us about your particular technique.
Grab Page
Wait for nod
Turn page fast.
No, no I’m just joking. As you can probably imagine, turning pages is a fine art. The first aspect that requires special attention is the chair in which you sit. You are going to be getting up and out of it often so it better be sturdy and well oiled because nobody likes a squeaky page turner, NOBODY. Secondly, the only other thing to watch out for is that you need to grab the page with your left hand instead of your right. Now, I have never been a “Northpaw” (Is that even the opposite of a “southpaw?”) as a page turner and I have never heard horror stories about this either, but I bet that somebody somewhere has been knocked out by a flailing right elbow to the face. That would be embarrassing. Lastly, always remember to tell the performer “nice job” or “we’ll get’em next time.” They like to hear that and positive affirmation will give them renewed confidence to get back on that stage again.
Do you have a special regime you follow to stay in prime condition for the job?
Oh yes, I pray frequently.
You’ve turned for a lot of the biggies – Peter Serkin, Jeffrey Kahane, Orli Shaham – what’s it like to work with the stars? Are they good to their people, do their personalities leave room for the little guy?
All of the piano players I have met have been very nice and thankful to have someone freeing up their left hands. It is actually quite fun to read the music along with the performer and to see how they shape and stylize various phrases. The artists that the perform with the orchestra are amazing and do so many things to get the most music out of a phrase that I learn so much just by listening. I feel like I am getting a free education in musicianship every time I turn pages. Now, that being said, have you ever noticed that they always seem to sit between the page turner and the audience? I mean, what’s up with that?
What was the toughest gig you’ve ever had?
The toughest gig I ever had was the first time I ever turned pages for Jeffrey Kahane. He and his son, Gabriel, performed a four-handed Mozart piece. Now, I feel like I am not too bad at reading music, but that night threw me for a loop. To begin with, in the third measure, they jumped to a double time jazz feel and began improvising. Note well, it was not cut time. Whoops. I didn’t see that one coming. Page 1 and I already turned the page too soon. Once I got back on track that time I was confronted with a new problem. Gabe thought they were taking all repeats and Jeff thought they were taking no repeats. Needless to say, it became tough to decide what to do when Jeffrey Kahane was nodding for me to turn the page and his son was vigorously shaking his head trying to tell me not to. If you were in my shoes, what would you have done. This repeat/no repeat thing happened three times during this piece. I guess it was a good thing those two practice a lot because I wasn’t any help that night. Once they were finished, I felt like the biggest idiot in the world. These guys were so out of my league I couldn’t even turn pages for them. I just knew they were ready to fire me on the spot. But, cooler heads prevailed and they gave me another chance the next day. And boy, I was the most awesomest page turner in the world that day. Since then, Jeffrey Kahane hasn’t seemed to mind me turning his pages. (This story is entirely true except for the whole thing about me being the awesomest page turner in the world. I can’t corroborate that claim with any information or facts)
What’s the future of page turning? Any advice for kids coming up nowadays?
Have you seen those new electronic music notebooks? The music comes up on the screen which is on a stand. You only have to step on a pedal to turn the page. I can already see a world where the page turner doesn’t stand up during the performance. They will just awkwardly fish around under the piano with their right leg and hope to press the pedal at the right time. I don’t know, I think that might detract from the performance. But that’s me. For all the kids (1 or 2) reading this, here’s my final thought: We all know how to get to Carnegie Hall…Practice, practice, practice. But maybe, just maybe, you can get there by turning pages for that kid who is always “practicing, practicing, practicing.”
8 comments
Great fun, you two! There are good insights here, but mostly, I appreciate the humor in a week as busy as this one has been. slap Thanks; I needed that!
What a great blog! Very amusing and interesting - I loved the story about Gabe and Jeffrey Kahane. I can just see it now - one head nodding, one head shaking, and poor Dan just stuck in between.
I play the French horn - arguably the most difficult instrument in the world to play. But I would never, EVER, try and turn pages. That's just too much pressure. I'm not kidding. I'd rather play the debilitatingly difficult Strauss Concerto No. 2 on short notice...
Dan, you're a pro. I once saw a wanna-be page turner seriously botch someone else's recital by trying to turn from the BOTTOM of the page instead of the top. She ended up accidentally flinging the whole score to the floor. Meanwhile, the pianist tried to keep going from memory while the embarrassed page turner picked up the music, looked for the correct page, and placed it back on the piano. It was distracting to say the least. And, this is why I never volunteer for the awesome responsibility of page turning.
Hi,
My name is Julia and I am from Sydney, Australia. I work with a professional ensemble linked with the University of New South Wales. I am their assistant operations coordinator as well as their resident page turner.
I have been page turning for them and other international pianists for two years now and am fascinated with the art.
I am a singing major but do play piano as well which really does help enormously with the page turning.
I have had a similar experience with turning for a piece which had an improvised section. I basically had to stand up at the beginning of the page and wait till the pianist nodded!
The best piece of advice I have ever been given is if you do get lost, remember you are only a few bars out from where you actually are. I know this seems like a bit of obvious advice but when people do loose their place in the music they always seem to look towards the otherside of the page.
Anyway it was interesting reading this article. I have started keeping a journal about my page turning gigs as it is a wonderful hobby or job to look back on.
I noticed that those pesky pianists also stand and bow for the applause. I guess they think it's for them. We all know that it's for the page turner.
I loved the page-turning blog. It's about time those guys/gals get some public recognition. And it's not all that easy; when they make it look easy it just shows how good they are at it!
Eva - on the board of another chamber orchestra, on the other coast of the country. July 29, '07.
Dan - I've seen you in action with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and you truly are the awesomest page turner. I once turned pages for Jeffrey Kahane at a small recital in my home; he told me he wouldn't take repeats, but didn't tell me the music book had never been opened before. I had to pop up and try to get the almost-fused pages separated in time for the turns.
Keep up the great work!!
Your biggest fan, Ann