Here’s some more news from around the orchestra world as organizations attempt to stem the tide of red ink as contributed and earned income continue to fall across the nation:
Tag Archives: symphony
why we love mahler
Ask almost any symphonic musician what works they love to play, and among the most often mentioned pieces will be those by either Richard Strauss or Gustav Mahler. Why is this? Well, to put it simply, these pieces constitute exactly what modern players are prepared to perform. Our entire musical education is essentially geared to create a technical base (both on the instrument and musicianship) that will enable one to perform these virtuosic pieces with relative ease.
Of the two, it is definitely Mahler who makes the more severe demands. In Strauss, one often plays an entire melodic line in its entirety, whereas Mahler demands superior ensemble precision by dividing up melodic lines among several diverse sections of the orchestra. Very quick changes in dynamics and tempi and texture also challenge the musicians’ ability to make quick adjustments on the fly.
So that’s why, after this weekend’s concerts of Mahler 4, you sense a buzz backstage – the orchestra is happy: we’ve risen to the challenge, and are feeling at the top of our game. The only problem? Just one more classical concert to go and then we’re done until September.
A quick shout out to our last-minute guest english hornist for last night’s concert – she sight-read the Barber and Mahler and sounded great. When I find out her name I’ll be sure to update this post.
Our English Horn sub last night was Jamie Roberts, Principal oboist of the Portland Opera – well done, Jamie!
news roundup
- Seattle Symphony Starts Music Director Search [crosscut.com]
- San Diego Arts Groups Suffering Cuts [sdnn.com]
- San Francisco Symphony Launches Social Network [washingtonpost.com]
- San Francisco Opera Cuts Millions From Budget [bizjournals.com]
- Baltimore To Get New Opera Company? [washingtonpost.com]
- Dallas Symphony Postpones European Touring [dallasnews.com]
- Baltimore Symphony Musicians Volunteer $1 Million In Concessions [washingtonpost.com]
schubert, dammit!
Edmonton Symphony music director Bill Eddins has another great post up today on his blog. Â It concerns the still pervasive elitist attitude in the symphony orchestra world. Â Here’s his opening salvo:
Strangely, I have lately run across a certain mentality in the orchestra business that I thought was heading into extinction. Â Silly me.
With a heavy sigh I report a sighting of that creature that we had all hoped had died out – the Convince-sualist.  These are the people who believe that Classical Music is Sacred.  Our Music is obviously Superior to yours, and you need to come to the Orchestra to be Convinced of our Superiority.  As so, there should be No Talking Ever at an Orchestra Concert as it disturbs the Holy Concert.  Clapping between Movements is strictly VERBOTEN!  At no point should an Orchestra stoop to the level of the poor audience and actually Entertain them – Mahler Forbid – but we should Convince them of our Artistic Brilliance and the Genius which is the One True Music.  If we would just play MasterWorks at every Worship … uhh…… I mean Concert, and never ever EVER play anything that is remotely identifiable as having been influenced by those lesser noises (I even shudder to mention the word Jazz or, Mahler Forbid, Pops), then the Great Unwashed Heathen will flock ….. FLOCK I SAY!!! ……… to our doors and bow themselves down before The Brilliance which is our Sonic History.
Proof positive that denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.
I think that people who actually subscribe to the attitude that Bill so cleverly skewers should remember that a few hundred years ago, Franz Joseph Haydn was actually making orchestral fart jokes (or their closest musical equivalents) in his symphonies in order to — hold on, wait for it — ENTERTAIN his audience.
Along similar lines, Greg Sandow has a perceptive post about orchestras and ensembles trusting their audiences:
Now, I could even name advatnages we’d get from an active audience. If we want their attention, we’ll have to earn it. And it’s not at all clear to me that 18th century audiences didn’t pay attention. Mozart’s famous letter about the premiere of his Paris Symphony shows an audience apparently alert to what he compose. He teased them by starting the last movement quietly, instead of with the loud, resounding coup d’archet — stroke of the bow — that in Paris was traditional. They immediately shushed each other, taken by surprise, then burst into cheers when, a few bars later, Mozart brought in the whole orchestra, forte. They understood the joke that was played on them.
an island of solace in a sea of fear
The news around the world has certainly been dismal lately. I find myself hearing about the latest bad financial news, rising unemployment rates, people turned out into the streets, and watch as my anxiety level starts to rise, with my blood pressure in quick pursuit.
Then, I think of the quartet concert I played in Astoria on Saturday afternoon. It was the inaugural musical event held in the Liberty Theater’s McTavish Room, a lovely little venue with beautiful hardwood floors and a giant crystal chandelier. It was a baby step for the organizers (Margery Bloomfield, Steve Forrester and Brenda Penner), who printed only 60 tickets (and sold them all!), but the warmth and enthusiasm from this small, dedicated audience was amazing. It was the epitome of what music-making is all about. Four players, brought together from across the country, playing great music for a delighted audience.
With all that has been going on in the world, and continues to unfold every day, this event was literally an island of solace in a sea of fearfulness – for performers and audience both.
The same could be said for the weekend’s OSO performances with violinist/conductor Itzhak Perlman. Few artists are known as much for the ebullience of their personality as for their music making as Perlman, and his warmth and gravitas filled Schnitzer Hall with a sense of peace and well-being. Some took issue with the performances this weekend, but the orchestra played with the utmost sincerity and devotion to Perlman, and that was good enough for many of us, both onstage and in the audience.
No matter what is going on in the outside world, the concert hall is a refuge from every day cares and worries. People are hurting, and so are many arts institutions. But these are the times when performing really is an act of civic caring. Now is the time, if you are a supporter of the fine arts, to make a small financial sacrifice and buy a ticket and come to the concert hall. If you’ve got a few extra dollars, send a check to the arts organization of your choice – five dollars wouldn’t be looked down upon these days: every bit counts.
The fine arts heal injuries that no medicine can touch, and put us in touch with those parts of ourselves that are ready to embrace beauty and hope in the face of ugliness and fear.