{"id":3251,"date":"2009-10-11T21:44:04","date_gmt":"2009-10-12T04:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/?p=3251"},"modified":"2013-02-07T19:57:31","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T03:57:31","slug":"leonard-slatkin-comedy-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/11\/leonard-slatkin-comedy-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"leonard slatkin – comedy writer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From LeonardSlatkin.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Detroit Symphony has announced plans for a completely revamped season, starting with its concerts this week. The programs will not be changed, at least the ones advertised, but the manner in which the works are performed will be altered.<\/p>\n

To begin, the orchestra will be seated with their backs to the audience. Music Director Leonard Slatkin said at a press conference yesterday, \u201cI feel that the listeners are distracted by seeing the faces of the musicians. By turning around, people will tire of looking at backsides and focus purely on the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that is only the beginning of the new era. For the final work on the program, Rachmaninov\u2019s 2nd Symphony, the conductor is not only going to reinstate the cuts sanctioned by the composer, but will add some additional ones as well. All in all the total performing time will be about 12 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe piece is so long and repetitive. Once you have heard the main tunes, well, they are so memorable that they do not have to be played again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slatkin went on to say, \u201cIt is my hope to perform a Bruckner cycle using this philosophy. In that way, we can get through all of them in one concert, perhaps with time for the two that have no number as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beethoven\u2019s 5th will get a trimming, but with a different rationale.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany years ago, I did a production of Tosca in Hamburg. The director told me that since everyone knows the opera, he wanted to eliminate many of the traditions that have bogged the work down. So there was no church in the first act. The heroine did not leap to her death at the end. Yes, we were roundly booed, but I started wondering whether the same rationale could be applied to symphonic music.\u201d<\/p>\n

So for these performances of the overly familiar Beethoven score, the opening five bars will not be played, since everyone knows how they go. It will be straight into the 6th measure. In fact, every time the four-note motto comes in and is played loudly, the passage will either disappear or be performed softly.<\/p>\n

Most of the soloists will be surprised to learn that the tuttis that usually herald the first entrance will go away. So no more three minute intro for either the Brahms 1st piano concerto or Violin Concerto.<\/p>\n

Slatkin has a reason for this as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not paying them to sit or stand around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other emendations include orchestration changes. The opening of Stravinsky\u2019s Rite of Spring, played by the bassoon in a high register, will now be intoned on the tuba, two octaves lower than printed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTubists at the beginning of the 20th Century were not as facile as today\u2019s artists. Bassoonists have plenty of solos. Why not let someone else have a chance at it?\u201d<\/p>\n

There will also be a chamber version of Mahler\u2019s 8th Symphony. Sometimes referred to as the \u201cSymphony of a Thousand,\u201d Slatkin hope to get it down to 46.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are fine chamber versions of the 4th Symphony and Das Lied, so precedent is on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another of Slatkin\u2019s projects is to present the complete organ works of Cesar Franck, transcribed for accordion. These will be played at the orchestras pre-concert recitals.<\/p>\n

Then there is the \u201cPictures Project,\u201d a round-the-clock set of performances including the 33 known orchestrations of the Mussorgsky classic. Long an advocate of alternate versions of the Ravel, Slatkin said \u201cIt is impractical to include one on each of our subscription concerts. So we will start on a Friday, and keep playing until we get through all of them. If we lose a member of the orchestra along the way, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, in keeping with the new seating arrangement, the orchestra will perform in street clothes, but the audience is requested to come in formal attire.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet them learn how long it takes to put on white tie and tails.\u201d<\/p>\n

Season tickets, subscription renewals and cancellations can be taken care of directly with the DSO box office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From LeonardSlatkin.com: The Detroit Symphony has announced plans for a completely revamped season, starting with its concerts this week. The programs will not be changed, at least the ones advertised, but the manner in which the works are performed will be altered. To begin, the orchestra will be seated with their backs to the audience. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[299,115,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conducting","category-music","category-the-orchestra-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-Qr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":473,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/10\/08\/slatkin-to-detroit\/","url_meta":{"origin":3251,"position":0},"title":"slatkin to detroit","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Leonard Slatkin Conductor Leonard Slatkin, one of the most prominent figures in American music during the last three decades, will be named today as music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Slatkin's appointment, all but a certainty since midsummer, ends an unusually long search that began when Neeme J\u00c3\u00a4rvi announced\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Leonard Slatkin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/leonard-slatkin.thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3555,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/05\/odds-and-ends-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":3251,"position":1},"title":"odds and ends","author":"Charles Noble","date":"December 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon Symphony Resident conductor Gregory Vajda conducts a recording of music by his mentor, the composer\/conductor P\u00e9ter E\u00f6tv\u00f6s, entitled As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams.\u00a0 The recording is one of three nominated for the prestigious 2010 MIDEM Classical Award. Conductor Leonard Slatkin has a compelling essay up on his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":897,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/03\/31\/slatkin-and-dudamel-start-to-make-marks\/","url_meta":{"origin":3251,"position":2},"title":"slatkin and dudamel start to make marks","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Some random orchestrally-themed news that I recommend to you: First, the Detroit Free Press published a wonderfully comprehensive article on the activities of Leonard Slatkin as he prepares to officially take the reins of the Detroit Symphony this Fall. Next, the Orange County Register reports on the first appearance in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3683,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/28\/my-2009-discoveries\/","url_meta":{"origin":3251,"position":3},"title":"my 2009 discoveries","author":"Charles Noble","date":"December 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I came across quite a few cool people and things in 2009, and as the end of the year approaches I'd like to share a few of them with you.\u00a0 Enjoy! 1. Quatour Ebene - this urbane and sophisticated young French string quartet gave an amazing performance in Portland last\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7838,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/09\/10\/nytimes-takes-note-of-oregon-symphonys-2013-carnegie-program\/","url_meta":{"origin":3251,"position":4},"title":"nytimes takes note of oregon symphony’s 2013 carnegie program","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"From the list of its most anticipated classical music events in today's New York Times: SPRING FOR MUSIC This annual festival of North American orchestras, conceived by top music professionals to encourage and reward adventurous programming, has in its first two seasons effectively filled what it has shown to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3191,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/03\/see-locally-hear-globally\/","url_meta":{"origin":3251,"position":5},"title":"see locally, hear globally","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"There have been a couple of recent classical music groups that have appeared recently in Portland that have garnered some well-earned recognition or have dropped new albums that are receiving acclaim in the world-wide press. The first of these is the Eb\u00e8ne Quartet, a young French ensemble that gave a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"fleckhussainmeyer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/fleckhussainmeyer-400x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}