the orchestral “product” March 27, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentI heard a great quote on Talk of the Nation today. It was a quote from Peter Drucker, the great marketing guru of our time. He said (and I’m paraphrasing here):
The decision to purchase is not about a product’s strengths and weaknesses, it’s about the consumer’s need to satisfy a want and how they anticipate the product fulfilling that want.
why orchestras have an image problem March 26, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentI just happened upon this short article about the departure of the executive director of the Tacoma Symphony (which was my first professional gig when I was in undergrad at the University of Puget Sound) - here, you read it in its entirety, and tell me what jumps out at you:
Amy Wigstrom, executive director of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, has resigned the position she has held since 2003. Wigstrom leaves to become the executive director of the American Heart Association in Tacoma.
they’re out there March 26, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentIt will feature a loch, a castle, the Beastie Boys and, its organisers hope, 20,000 “discerning music fans” who like their festivals with “a little more comfort” and can overlook the risk of drizzle.The promoters behind the Glasgow music festival T in the Park last week announced they were launching a new festival, called Connect, to take place in Inveraray Castle in Argyll and Bute in September.
It followed the launch a few days earlier of Fflam, another new event, scheduled for Swansea in July and featuring Keane, the Manic Street Preachers and Placebo. 30,000 tickets are now on sale.
The new events are merely the latest in what has become an increasingly packed festival calendar. Festival-going has been growing sharply in recent years, but this year, say music industry insiders, the demand for tickets and new events is unprecedented.
It is estimated that as many as 450 festivals, large and small, will be taking place around the country this summer.
Just caught this article from the Guardian newspaper in the UK. It tells of the huge increase in the number of music festivals (mostly popular music) in that country. It makes me think about the naysayers who say that the death of the industry is near, and the proof is in declining sales of recordings. I wonder how many of the millions of music fans that go to these festivals will have been drawn to the groups that play them by sound files that they downloaded, either legally or otherwise? I also wonder how much money the artists will make vs. their record companies? Then I wonder if the clamor over declining album sales and illegal downloads is about keeping the money flowing away from artists and into the pockets of the label moguls.
It also makes me think about things that musicians in the classical realm can do to promote their activities. Why aren’t the vast majority of U.S. orchestras putting music (live or studio recordings) on iTunes, for example? Because we’re hung up over “monetizing” the product. Management doesn’t want to spend money, and the musicians don’t want to lose any money that they might get up front. Meanwhile, we don’t make any recordings and we don’t get any more money than we would have in the first place. Maybe recordings ought to be considered as marketing tools rather than alternative income streams. Then we’d have marketing that actually brings in patrons who are excited about the whole experience that they got the smallest taste of by buying a concert online for $9.99.
We musicians can wait for the second “golden age” when we’re making serious money from recording residuals, but I think that we’ll be into our next generation of musicians and still awaiting that Shangri-la. Clearly, we have to have the courage to step up and make some unpopular decisions, which might include “giving away” some of our property in the form of recorded performances or studio recordings. I think that what we might get in return would make all of us - artists, managers and patrons - happier in the future.
violists are a multi-talented bunch March 26, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentJust caught this photo from the Baltimore Symphony musicians’ website - enjoy!
My orchestral repertoire class was taught by the great Rick Field, principal viola of the BSO.
courtesy of the BSO musicians page
the power of positive thinking March 26, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentWe had a visit from ICSOM (International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians) President Bruce Ridge today (as part of a three-day residency), which included a presentation and Q&A session with members of the OSO. The most interesting part of his remarks was that we musicians have a very powerful positive message to send out to our communities, large and small.
The arts are not dead, or even injured, in America - on the contrary, they are doing as well as they ever have. Public perception (and among those in the industry) centers on an imminent death of classical music, but there is in fact a thriving and vibrant classical music scene in Portland.
The other interesting part of his presentation centered on the fact that we are the only industry that sees its product (music) as the problem, not the marketing of the product. It seems obvious enough, but I hadn’t thought of it that way before he pointed it out. Orchestra managers and musicians are bending over backwards to cater to different demographics, bringing in video cameras, having casual concerts, changing concert nights and times in the hopes that more people will magically appear.
The idea that we’ve got something great here in Portland (and other cities of similar size) and that we need to get the word out as loud and as proud as possible, just hasn’t been done. The Portland Youth Philharmonic has more institutional presence, as does the Portland Opera and the Portland Art Museum. This needn’t be the case: the OSO is the state’s largest arts organization, and we are the best, truly world-class.
Let’s get the word out - tell a friend.
arts ebb and flow in minnesota March 22, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentJust ran across this interesting radio story from Minnesota Public Radio about the recent exodus of top arts administrators during the 2006-2007 season (one of whom was former OSO president Anthony Woodcock).
spring is here! March 22, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, 1 comment so far
The crabapple and cherry trees in the neighborhood are exploding with blooms (as are local noses with seasonal allergies) and it’s nice to see the sun and temps in the upper 60’s.
duh! music makes you smarter March 19, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a commentInteresting study that just was released - read more here.
Here’s the teaser:
Scientists have uncovered the first concrete evidence that playing music can significantly enhance the brain and sharpen hearing for all kinds of sounds, including speech.
“Experience with music appears to help with many other things in life, potentially transferring to activities like reading or picking up nuances in tones of voices or hearing sounds in a noisy classroom better,” researcher Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University, told LiveScience.
These new findings highlight the importance of music classes, she said.
“Music classes are often among the first to be cut when school budgets get tight,” Kraus said. “That’s a mistake.”
wish list March 19, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, 1 comment so farA few months ago Elaine Calder asked the orchestra members to suggest guest artists with whom they would like to work. I’ve compiled a list of those who I’d personally love to see come, as well as those who I think would really create excitement and big audience numbers for our concerts. It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a big season of A-list soloists and conductors, and I think that sometimes you’ve got to spend money to make money, and skimping on guest artists can often come back to bite you on the wrong end.
Remember the recent big attendance figures generated by Itzhak Perlman and James Depreist? They cost a lot, but they make money for the orchestra. I figure that when you look through the season brochure or scan the pages of the newspaper, you want to see a name you recognize - that gets you in the door. I read somewhere that in print advertising, success is getting the consumer’s eye to stay on a page for 1/10th of a second longer than a comparable ad. That little catch of the eye is what adds up to success when your product is competing in a crowded field. So, without further ado, my semi-annotated wish list of guest artists:
Conductors
Yakov Kreizberg - he’s been here before, and I can’t wait for him to come back again - we’ve been lucky to have him as much as we have, he’s rapidly becoming one of the top guest conductors in the world today. He brings a wonderful combination of flexibility and rigor to his approach. His guest appearances here are always cited by the orchestra musicians as high points of the season.
Robert Spano - I worked with him years ago at Tanglewood, where he now heads the conducting program. He’s now the music director of the Atlanta Symphony. He is a dynamic force of nature who specializes in new music while bringing a new spin to old classics.
Michael Tilson Thomas - I played a concert under him while playing a week with the New World Symphony. He’s the closest thing we have to a modern day Leonard Bernstein, and he delivers all the goods: he can talk and he can conduct with the best of them. A Mahler symphony with MTT would be a trip to heaven, hell, and back.
Marin Alsop - she’s now music director of the Baltimore Symphony, where she’s putting together an adventurous season (very progressive). I think that snobbery kept her from being asked to come here in years past (being from the Eugene Symphony), but I think it’s time she was invited to come and work with us. It seems like Eugene is a couple steps ahead of us in terms of being on the right part of the cutting edge - maybe we could borrow couple of their moves for a change.
Soloists
Hilary Hahn, violin - she is one of the hottest violinists out there right now, and rightly so. She brings an Apollonian approach to playing that is so very satisfying, plus she has a diverse repertoire and a reputation for searching interpretations.
Alisa Weilerstein, cello - she’s the cellist to beat right now and her first Oregon engagement is at the little Sunriver Music Festival. She’s inspiring (for better or for worse) a lot of comparisons with Jaqueline duPré and recently made some high profile (and critically acclaimed) debuts with Big Five orchestras.
Angela Hewitt, piano - one of my favorite pianists, and a favorite of Portland keyboard afficianados: I’d love to hear her do Bach, Beethoven or Mozart with Carlos on the podium, it would be a pairing for the ages, I suspect.
Stephen Hough, piano - he’s playing Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto this season, and I’d love to see him as often as humanly possible - my favorite pianist who visits regularly.
John Kimura Parker, piano - he is a HUGE Portland favorite, and I know he’d love to play with us again - there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be seen more often around here.
Yo-yo Ma, cello - he hasn’t been here in 11 years - bring him back, he’d be the perfect opening gala artist, and everyone has a great time when he’s on stage.
Daniel Barenboim, piano/conductor - it’s a pie-in-the-sky notion, I know, but to have him come and conduct some Wagner and lead a Mozart concerto from the piano, it’s a no-brainer. I would love to see the orchestra work with a huge A-list star conductor of his stature.
Other
Other notions: do some concert versions of opera with big name vocalists, using the Keller Auditorium stage to allow semi-staged productions, and bring in an influential director like Peter Sellars to do some provocative staging as well.
cellopalooza March 17, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a commentWe did a quick trip up to Seattle Friday night for the Seattle Violoncello Society’s Bach Suite Marathon on Saturday morning/afternoon. We arrived slightly late Saturday to catch the first of the suites performed by cellists from around Western (and Central) Washington. The performers included my lovely wife Heather Blackburn (she did the two Gavottes from the 5th suite) and our good friend Richard Treat, who did the two Minuets and Gigue from the 1st suite, as well as college educators from around Western Washington, members of the Seattle Symphony and Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, local amateurs, and a couple advanced high school and college students. The order was 2nd (d minor), 4th (E-flat major), 5th (c minor) with a lunch break, and then the 3rd (C major), 1st (G major), and the great 6th (D major). There were around 25 cellists in all who played the suites, with most taking one or two movements, either contiguously or apart. Applause was witheld until the last movement was played, then the cellists who had performed each suite stood and took a collective bow.
It was fascinating to see and hear all of the different approaches to both the suites themselves and to cello playing in general. It’s always amazing to me how personal the interpretation of Bach is. There was everything between full-blooded (and very much un-PC) Romantic tradition interpretations with lots of vibrato and portamento as well as more moribund tempos, and the “hip” (historically informed performance) style with minimal vibrato, no portamento and a more fleet approach to tempos. Bach’s music stood up equally well to all approaches, showing its innate sturdiness and flexibility to adaptation.
Especially interesting to hear was the 6th suite, the most virtuosic of the set, and very much on a different stylistic and musical plane than the preceding five. There has been some lively debate lately among Bach scholars as to the attribution of the cello suites, with some new evidence suggesting that at least some of them might have been written by his wife, Anna Magdalena Bach. The stark difference in every one of the typical dance suite components between the sixth suite and the other five at least begs closer examination. Either Bach was after something completely different in the sixth than in the others, or is it possible that there are two different authors at work? I don’t think that it all is explained away by the fact that the sixth suite was written for a five-string instrument. It bears too much resemblance to the violin sonatas and partitas for a mere change of instrumentation to be responsible.
The three performers for the sixth suite were John Friesen (Prelude and Allemande), who is the cello professor at Western Washington University. He did a yeoman’s job with two brutally difficult movements - all the more impressive since he had just driven down from Bellingham and was still panting from running in from his horrible parking space! Next was Amos Yang (Courante and Gavotte I/II), a member of the Seattle Symphony cello section, who did some wonderfully inventive, tasteful, and attractive ornamentations in the Courante. Last to appear was Joshua Roman
Most gratifying was the large turnout for this event - the church in which it was held was a near capacity for most of the day. Good coverage in the two local Seattle papers was surely a factor, as might have been the clouds and rain that moved in late in the morning, making a Bach marathon an inviting place to wile away the hours.
