Today we're joined by our good friend and LA Phil principal cello, Robert deMaine. Bob tells us about his childhood, his musical family and an early teacher who gave him a complete musical education, including piano and composition.
He also unpacks how he fell out of love with the cello during his teen years and took an extended break from playing. Eventually he found his way back and went on a tear, pursuing a solo career and at the same time winning principal jobs in Hartford, Detroit, and finally Los Angeles.
Bob doesn't hold back as he discusses anxiety, negative self-talk, and the long road toward mastery of an instrument.
Key Points From This Episode:
Different orchestral seating arrangements
Bob's upbringing, important places and inspiration from his family
Having and then losing the best music teacher in the world
The difference between relative pitch and perfect pitch
Disasters in ice cream shops and disasters on stage
Bob's early jobs in music and testing boundaries with senior musicians
The Detroit Symphony and the strike that ended with Robert moving to LA
Bob's audition for the LA Phil and the hand problem he had leading up to it
The steps toward improvement and how they widen as you grow as a musician
Differences between teaching and coaching; bringing out the best in students
Recreating sounds, learning accents and the power of cultivating the ear
The event that precipitated Bob's performance anxiety, and the way through it
Upcoming projects for Bob, including his
Tweetables:
“I grew up playing on my mother's cello, and my sister played the cello that my mother played when she was a child, and it was a real beater.” — @robertdemaine [0:06:35]
“I don’t think I would have played as well as I did had it not been exactly that way. So much of it has to do with just timing.” — @robertdemaine [0:39:15]
“I’ve never really separated how one prepares for a symphony concert versus how one prepares for a concerto.” — @robertdemaine [0:39:51]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Robert deMaine on Twitter
Robert deMaine
Strings Magazine
Mariano Rivera
Leonard Rose
Janos Starker
Eastern Music Festival
Juilliard
Curtis
Central State University
Eastman
Good Will Hunting
Dexter
Days of Wine and Roses
Irving Klein Competition
Paul Paray
George Szell
Neeme Jarvi
Joseph Silverstein
Sliding Doors
The Matrix
Goofus and Gallant
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Guido Lamell
Anthony Bourdain
Now Hear This
Handel
Joe Rogan
Mash
Taxi
Transcript
EPISODE 32
[INTRO]
[00:00:00] NC: Hi and welcome back to Stand Partners for Life. I am thrilled to be here not only with Akiko.
[00:00:07] AT: Hello.
[00:00:07] NC: But our good friend and close colleague, Bob deMaine, principal cello here at the L.A. Phil, and actually we’re right here in Disney Hall, the bowels of the hall.
[00:00:16] BD: Our home away from home.
[00:00:18] NC: Yeah.
[INTERVIEW]
[00:00:32] BD: Thanks for having me on. I feel like I’m sort of your honorary stand partner, because I sit next to you in the orchestra.
[00:00:37] NC: Yeah. Actually – I mean, yeah, the usual. If everybody's there, we've got Martin, and then I'm sitting second right next to him, and then on my other side is you. When I first came to the orchestra, they had the violas where you are instead. So principal viola was on my other side.
[00:00:53] BD: The viola was there?
[00:00:55] NC: They did.
[00:00:55] BD: That’s something I’ve never seen before.
[00:00:58] AT: Wrong seating number two.
[00:00:59] BD: That’s right. Isn’t that David Sanders, like his lingo from Chicago or something?
[00:01:04] AT: I think we’re currently in wrong seating number four.
[00:01:06] BD: I like right seating number one. I mean, cello is on the left.
[00:01:10] NC: The outside.
[00:01:10] BD: Yeah,
